The 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has called envy, avarice, and self-centeredness “much greater sins” than illegal sex, homosexuality, and gambling.
When Sanusi gave a guest lecture on Sunday during a virtual Ramadan lecture titled “Some dimensions of the concept of ibadah,” he made this statement.
The former governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank, or CBN, added that some Muslims fail to remember that they will answer to God for their deeds, which contributes to the social unrest in the nation.
People fast and pray, he continued, but they still do terrible deeds “because our hearts are not Islamic.”
Sanusi said that a governor of a Nigerian state that implemented sharia had embezzled money and used it to purchase a hotel in Lagos.
Sanusi stated his state was still a “very serious example of backwardness” without naming the governor.
He said that leaders would not embezzle public cash if they were aware that they would be held accountable for the trust placed in them.
“You know when our hearts are not good, our deeds will not be good,” Sanusi remarked in reference to social order and Ibadah.
“How do you explain that you have so much injustice and this external religiosity?” he said. For this reason, in my opinion, the duties of the heart are significantly more significant than those of the body.
“Evil, greed, selfishness, and jealousy. These are far more serious transgressions than gambling, homosexuality, and zina (illegal sex). More than the sins of the body are the sins of the heart. We give too much attention to the outside world.
There have even been state governors who have claimed to be directing the application of sharia, practicing sharia, plundering money, and purchasing hotels.
“In a state where sharia was being implemented, a governor embezzled public monies and used them to purchase a hotel in Lagos. Then he exclaims, Allahu Akbar.
“In the meantime, his state was left with one of the worst security situations, the worst instances of backwardness, no healthcare, and no education.”