The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, has advised the Federal Government to tolerate constructive criticism, warning against treating complaints about economic hardship as attacks on President Bola Tinubu.
“It’s not every time people talk about poverty or talk about difficulty that they’re just enemies of the government or making an attack on the president. That is not how to respond to economic distress”.
Speaking virtually at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference on Tuesday, the former Central Bank Governor raised concerns about the size of government expenditure and the rising debt profile of Nigeria.
He made reference to the recent World Bank data which revealed that debt servicing consumed 124 per cent of the Federal Government’s revenue in the first half of the year.
Sanusi warned that the government cannot pursue fiscal consolidation while continuing to spend without restraint. He urged the Federal Government to outline clear spending priorities and address the sustainability of the nation’s debt, emphasizing that structural reforms must go beyond the removal of fuel subsidies and the liberalisation of the exchange rate.
Despite his reservations, the monarch acknowledged the measurable progress produced by the economic policies of the current administration.
He mentioned that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth has risen from an average of 0.9 per cent under the previous administration to 4.5 per cent, while inflation has dropped to 14.5 per cent.
He also commended the administration for growing the central bank’s reserves from a negative position in 2023 to $55 billion.
However, Sanusi expressed concern that issues such as poverty, hunger, malnutrition, and healthcare remain largely unaddressed, stating that the government should have deployed social safety net policies from the onset to cushion the impact of the reforms on vulnerable Nigerians.
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