A former Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi, has accused all the regional socio-political groups in the country of fighting their pockets alone.
Speaking at an annual conference organized by Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos, on Thursday, The Platform, the former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) slammed groups such as Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, and PANDEF of being selfish.
Sanusi, during the virtual event which was to commemorate the nation’s 60th independence anniversary, noted that all the regions must stand up for themselves instead of allowing such groups to speak for them.
Sanusi said the only way to solve several ethnoreligious crises in the country and stop the different calls for a referendum is for every citizen to be good representatives of their beliefs, religion, and ethnic groups.
He said those who claim to represent the interest of all the regions due to the political positions they occupy are more concerned about their pockets than happenings in the various areas they represent.
“Ethno-religious crisis is not so much from Nigerians but the Nigerian elites. We have identities in Nigeria but the construction of opposing identities, the political process, is basically the Nigerian elite competing among itself for a share of the national cake,” he said.
“I don’t think that the people who say they are fighting for Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba are really interested. I mean when they get there at the end of the day, it is about them and their families.
“There is nobody out there that is really representing north or south or east. They claim to be if you look out there in the cabinet. In the history of Nigeria, there has never been a government that does not have people from every part of the country.
“So the first thing to recognize is that we must get away from the sense that holding political office is what makes you representative of a people.”
