The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, said on Saturday that money-based politics was a major factor responsible for unprecedented corruption and bad governance in the country.

The monarch, who is also the President-General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), made the assertion at the 23rd Ummah Convention, organised by the Ummah Movement, in Abuja.

The theme of the convention was, “The Muslim Voice on Good Governance in Nigeria.“

He regretted that the nation’s political culture had deteriorated and become increasingly mercantile, where money becomes everything, saying “we cannot allow full reins to money politics and expect corruption to go away.

“This is partly responsible for bad governance that has characterised our polity, subverting our development, perpetrating poverty and eliciting the unending social conflicts.

“This money based politics will continue to fuel the unprecedented corruption we see in our society; as a result of these our pristine values as people have been supplanted and our future thrown into jeopardy.

“All leaders, political, spiritual and traditional need to come together to salvage our polity from dangers that the current political culture poses.

“The consequences of ignoring these standards are already showing and we must not wait until the bubbles busts, “Abubakar said.

He admonished leaders at all levels to take issues of leadership seriously, saying “we cannot ignore centuries-old wisdom which places high premium on leadership and places criteria for shouldering responsibilities.“

He said that in Islam, leadership was fundamental and it was bestowed at every level as a trust from Allah and for which Allah would hold those entrusted to account.

The monarch, therefore, advised Muslims to be at the forefront of advocating and leading with examples in promoting ideals of good governance.

Sultan noted that in Islam governance was people-centred, designed to meet the welfare and security of citizens, adding that the measure of good governance was the quality of life of the governed.

Earlier, Mrs Amina Omoti, former National Amirah, Federation of Muslim Women’s Association in Nigeria (FOMWAN), said good governance was very important aspect of human existence.

Omoti added that good governance was the citizens right and demand from the leaders as well as a religious duty, adding that provision of social amenities and welfare by the government was a critical aspect of governance.

“For the Muslims, it is an integral part of his or her religion to call everyone and in this case those in position of authority to do the right thing and persuade them to refrain from doing those things that will lead to decadence in social values.