NewStats: 3,262,160 , 8,176,282 topics. Date: Sunday, 01 June 2025 at 04:22 AM 2l4f6p

Ahamefula Ogbu

The former Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, yesterday identified corruption, poor leadership and wrong-headed policies as the bane of Nigeria, citing the regime of paying subsidy on petroleum products as part of the corrupt practice that may bring the country to its knees.

Speaking on Arise News Channel, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria also described as an assumption, the notion that Nigeria is an oil rich country.

Sanusi declared: “This has always been a big joke for me and we also talk about the fuel subsidy. President Jonathan tried to remove fuel subsidy and the people protested. You are producing two million barrels of oil for 180 million people and that’s one barrel for 80 people. Saudi Arabia produces one barrel for three citizens.

“You produce one barrel for 80 and your share of that revenue from that barrel is maybe half, so it translates to one barrel for 160 people. We need education, we need healthcare, infrastructure, telecommunication, agriculture and you decide that what they need more than anything else is cheap fuel and that doesn’t make sense. We are throwing away millions of dollars in this scam called subsidy.

“When oil prices go up, other producers rejoice but not so for Nigeria. Our refineries are not working and we have this scheme called subsidy which is really a scam and practically everything that comes in goes practically out to import petroleum products and to pay subsidy on those products.

“When you deal with corruption, you also have to look at creating the opportunities for corruption. Corruption thrives when you create an opportunity for people to take advantage of things. When you talk about the oil industry, for example, if you eliminate fuel subsidy, you eliminate fraud worth billions and millions of dollars. If there is no subsidy, what is the incentive to come and forge bills of laden and bribe Customs and bribe people?

“If you don’t create an arbitrage opportunity in foreign exchange market, how do you create corruption there? So, I think we need to look at the structures and processes and make sure we eliminate the avenues and incentives for people to be corrupt.”

He said the second highest form of corruption “is appointing people who are incompetent to positions.”

Sanusi said: “Sometimes, it is not even so much of corruption but people don’t even know what they are supposed to do; people who do not know why they are there; people who do not have the sense that at the end of their efforts, they are still human beings.

“If every public officer starts thinking about how his actions and decisions affect a human being and how he can contribute positively to affect that human being, he will begin to address issues. But, I think you should ask, does this person even understand what he is saying, whether you are a minister or a civil servant? I think if you are a minister, at the end of eight years, you should assess how you affected the people.”


No to Zoning of the Presidency

Sanusi also said zoning the Presidency to a particular region may leave Nigeria “with two useless candidates” in 2023.

He said he had always objected to discussions that take into where a president should come from.

The former CBN governor said “Nigeria needs a president who can deliver, irrespective of where he is from.”

Sanusi said: “I have always objected to this idea that we should focus on where the president comes from. We have got southern governors saying we want the presidency and some northern governors saying that they want it in the north. Have you noticed that nobody has given the name of who they want?

“This whole thing is to corner the presidency to one part of the country and the big masquerade will come out. And that is why at the end of the exercise, you end up as Nigeria… presented with two useless candidates. Those who want to be president should show their face either from the north or the south.

“Meanwhile, we have before us very serious issues. You have a simple issue of electronic transmission of results which is designed to make the electoral process fairer and you have people saying that they do not want it, shamelessly announcing to the country that they want to rig. Why are we not talking about these issues?

“The greatest weakness we have as a country is that we do not think. We are very smart when it comes to making money by doing our work but we do not apply critical intellect to… and these guys just take the entire country for a ride.

“Give me a president from any part of the country who can deliver and we should vote for him. He is not taking the presidency to his hometown.”

Sanusi said civil society organisations and the national assembly “are not doing their jobs” in of holding political society to .

Everyone wants office; everyone wants favours from the government. If we had a strong civil society holding political society to , we would begin to improve and tackle issues,” said the former CBN governor.


Nigeria Better Together Than Divided

On those agitating for the breakup of Nigeria, Sanusi said Nigeria “is better together than divided,” pointing out that countries that embraced dismemberment had found themselves in various conflicts and blamed the elites for using ethnicity and other factors to divide the country for their selfish gains.

Sanusi, who said he was a strong believer in a strong united Nigeria, believes that “once the problem of leadership is addressed,” most of the right decisions taken, and the system cleaned up of corruption, things would take a postive turn.

He said: “You hardly find a country that is homogenous and the same is with Nigeria,; that is why we are better together because if you try to divide the country, it will lead to further divisions and war like you have in Ethiopia and South Sudan.”

He pointed at the North, West, East, Niger Delta and Middle Belt, which were all not homogenous and asked, “How many parts are you going to divide this country to ensure it is homogenous? The challenge is not in our diversity, the challenge is in the inability of the leadership to forge a nation.

“We got out of a civil war and we are yet to start thinking like one country where people believe we are one. What happens is that from time to time we tend to have people in certain circles that see Nigeria as a place for extraction of rent and corruption.

“You have different class factions of the elite who profit from creating a stage for themselves. If you have a northern president, how does that affect a poor northerner who is unemployed? If you have a southern president, how does it affect the common man in the south? It may benefit just a few from that zone

“I am a strong believer in Nigeria and I feel we are better off as one country than a divided country. 70 per cent of our problems are from wrong-headed policies.”

https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2021/10/02/sunusi-nigeria-throwing-away-millions-of-dollars-in-the-scam-called-subsidy/

Throwing away or stealing?

E nor go better for Nigeria politicians..

He is guilty too. From the jumbo retirement package he and his predecessors award themselves behind us all when when retiring from CBN during their era that we don't see the CBN budget to how he ,like many of the elites, actually and still benefit directly from this unfair subsidy system. You can't act pious on this issue sir. Talk is cheap o. Ours is a completely unfair system because only the elites and urban,town and city dwellers,some of whom are even mostly idlying away online, are enjoying this so-called subsidies on petrol and electricity.

The rural dwellers without roads and electricity who are not directly benefitting from this largesse should take a class action against the FG and demand for either the subsidy be scrapped or they get a form of subsidy equivalent to the electricity and petrol subsidies their fellow citizens in the urban areas and cities are enjoying.

There must be equity and justice for the rural dwellers too. I once travelled through a large expanse of villages without roads and electricity yet they have no basic provision like water, rural health clinics , standby ambulances etc to meet their basic needs because their folks in the urban areas have stolen all the wealth as subsidy on electricity and petrol.

It is a criminally unfair system that make me cringe at the hypocrisy of urban and city dwelling citizens complaining about poverty in the hinterlands. You and I are feeding fat on their destiny for as long as they are not compensated for the long years of the subsidy they are paying for but not benefiting from.
It's daylight robbery and everyone is guilty.

FG must scrap the subsidies or give an equivalent of same to our rural dwellers.
God bless Nigeria.
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I so love this man. He talks so much truth that not many like him. In fact, I think he is feared, which is why the corrupt and ignorant hound him out of any office he holds, and I would not be surprised to hear he's one day been assassinated.

Inasmuch as he spoke some truths, I hate it when the actual words aren't used. Which one bi throwing away again.

Can't looting be called looting!

Illuminatiship:
E nor go better for Nigeria politicians..

Tah! No lie u wished the cake reach ur hand

We need this kind of man in our political system but they won't give him the chance. Na one dead and about to die men that are struggling for power.

He is making sense here

Good morning, Jama’a an tashi lafiya?! In Classic’s voice.

Ok

Very true

But saying the truth in Nigeria is liable to get you abused...apparently you want the poor to suffer.

But the thing is, when you put price controls on petrol, and pay a subsidy to compensate the resulting losses, you end up with bad refineries, chronic fuel scarcity, and massive importation of fuel.

Venezuela subsidizes fuel to the point that it costs N40 per liter there....meanwhile, they are losing $18 billion annually to smuggling. Their entire petrol infrastructure is in a mess because there is no profit to fix the refineries there.

That's all I am gonna say on the matter.

The disgraced emir has spoken the truth...and FWIW he backed GEJ's attempt to remove subsidy. I did not like GEJ, or Buhari...but if GEJ had been allowed to remove subsidy in 2012...by now we would have had working refienreis, and saved billions of naira, and the value of the naira would be better.

When Jonathan removed subsidy

Buhari and His Yoruba Muslim minions gathered at ojota to humiliate their generation..

Nonsense and ingredients

This people

Nigeria is one of the easiest countries to make easy billions if your are privileged, dishonest & clever.
So much lawlessness & financial impunity in the land.

I like this Sanusi

Nigeria na scam before, na from foundation.

If u need hardwood for your house roofing, call me, my number dey for my signature, I dey sell woods

Will Nigerians buy fuel at 320 naira

I just love this man

Mmmm

Sanusi, we know your type!
You believe in ONE NIGERIA

Yet you were crying, you couldn't stay where Ganduje isolated you, because it was beneath you!

Imagine what the masses are going through!

Honourable of Nairaland, I put it before you that an offer has been made to this man!

I rest my case!

Everything about Nigeria's government is scam.

ednut1:
Will Nigerians buy fuel at 320 naira

Yes, we would. When basic wage increases to like ₦100k a month.

Shut the f.uck up aboki!!!

Same subsidy GEJ wanted to remove, as advised by the now WTO DG and you lots occupied the streets in 2012?

Bunch of illiterates who can't see farther than their noses.
Keep dreaming of becoming Nigerian President, after all, dreams don't cost a penny!

But you participated

It's when they are not in power that they talk like they know it all, but when they get there they become vegetables

Nigeria will thrive if we start operating under an Islamic system of Government- EL-ZAKZAKY

FutureIsFemale:

Nigeria next president na woman, we would start from there.