Don’t consider critics as enemies, Sanusi tells FG

Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, has cautioned the Federal Government against perceiving every criticism as an affront to President Bola Tinubu. At the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference, Sanusi urged the administration to accept constructive criticism, stating that poverty or difficulty-related comments do not necessarily indicate government enemies.

The monarch also expressed concerns about the government's spending habits, highlighting that Nigeria could not achieve fiscal consolidation while continuing to overspend. He pointed out that the World Bank had noted that in the first half of this year, Nigeria's debt service consumed 124% of federal government revenue.

Sanusi emphasized that the reforms needed to be comprehensive, going beyond removing fuel subsidies and liberalising the exchange rate. He described the package as one that required addressing various other areas, such as prioritizing spending between roads, electricity, agriculture, and technology based on available resources.

The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) boss acknowledged that Tinubu's economic reforms had yielded measurable progress, citing improvements in GDP growth, inflation, and foreign reserves. GDP growth has increased from an average of 0.9% under the previous administration to 4.5%, while inflation has decreased from over 30% to 14.5%. Additionally, Nigeria's Central Bank reserves have risen from negative levels in 2023 to $55 billion.

However, Sanusi stressed that issues like poverty, hunger, maternal mortality, malnutrition, education, and healthcare remained significant challenges that the reforms had not yet addressed. He urged the government to develop social safety net policies to mitigate the impact of reforms on vulnerable Nigerians from the beginning.