Former Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has accused some Sharia law-implementing governors of stealing their state funds and using the same to construct a hotel in Lagos.
The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also said social disorder arises in the land when Muslims forget that they have to account for their deeds before God, even when they observe prayers and fast.
Sanusi gave these account during a virtual Ramadan lecture on Sunday, where he further stresses that selfishness, envy, and greed are worse sins than illegal sexual acts, homosexuality, and gambling.
Sanusi blamed some Nigeria’s problems on the misinterpretation of Islamic teachings. He called on Islamic faithful to uphold the obligatoriness of the heart over the physical to ensure God rewards them properly.
The economist said if leaders were conscious that they would account for the trust bequeathed to them, they would not steal public funds.
“On social order and Ibadah, you know when our hearts are not good, our deeds will not be good. We say we are Muslims, we go to the mosque and pray, and Allah says prayer stops evil deeds and wrong deeds. Why is it that we go to pray all the time, we fast all the time, and then we commit this evil?
“How do you get a Muslim to become a minister or governor, and all he is thinking of is how he is going to steal public funds to build a big house for himself or have billions for his children and deny people?
“When you know what the prophet has said about leadership, It is a trust, and on the day of judgment, it would be a source of bitterness, sadness, and regret, for those who do not keep that trust properly.
“When you sit down and know that you are going to account to Allah for this wealth, you are going to answer for it, how do you get to that office and steal public funds? This is why you have a social disorder.
“We even have had state governors who said they were practicing sharia, they were leading the implementation of sharia, and they were stealing money and buying hotels.
“There was a governor implementing sharia in a sharia state who stole public funds and bought a hotel in Lagos. And he says Allahu Akbar.
“Meanwhile, his state was left with no education, with no health care, with one of the most serious cases of security, most serious examples of backwardness.
“How do you explain that you have this external religiosity and then you have so much injustice? And that’s why I say the obligations of the heart are far more important than those of the body.
“Greed, selfishness, wickedness, envy. These are much greater sins than zina (illegal sexual intercourse), homosexuality, and gambling. The sins of the heart are greater than the sins of the body. We are focused so much on the external things.
“The purity of our hearts, the love for humanity, the fear of Allah, the knowledge that we are accountable to Allah, all of that is missing. What is obligatory on the heart is greater than what is obligatory on the external because this is what Allah works with.”
Sanusi also said the misinterpretation of some teachings of Islam “has been the cause of some of the problems that we are facing today”