Elites Aren’t Fighting For Nigerians… Their Interest Is ‘National Cake’ – Sanusi

• Citizens must be good representatives of their beliefs, religion, ethnic group

The former emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi, says leaders from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones who claimed to be fighting for the people are only using such opportunities to advance their own selfish interests.

Sanusi, a former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and renowned economist, said this at The Platform, an annual conference organised by Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos, on Thursday.

The virtual event hosted by Poju Oyemade, its convener, was to commemorate the nation’s 60th independence anniversary.

Nigeria has witnessed series of ethnoreligious crisis which has led to strident calls by several groups for a referendum and secession.

When asked about ways to address the perennial crisis and restore peace, Sanusi opined that Nigerians must recognize that irrespective of political office, every citizen must be good ambassadors of their beliefs, religion and ethnic groups.

He said the people must change the perception that only politicians and public office holders are the representatives of the people.

He said those who claim to represent the interest of southerners and northerners 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.”

Sanusi also commended the federal government for its decision to remove fuel subsidy.