Sanusi Speaks On Goodluck Jonathan
OpenLife Nigeria reports that Muhammadu Sanusi II, known by the religious title Khalifa Sanusi II, who is the spiritual leader in the Tijanniyah Sufi order of Nigeria has spoken about former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The former Emir of Kano, on Thursday, expressed his angst at the current situation Nigeria has found herself, insisting that the country is in a deeper hole and a bigger mess now, than it was in 2015.
The former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, While speaking as the Special Guest of Honour at the Akinjide Adeosun Foundation, AAF’s, Leadership Colloquium and Awards, Chapter 7, themed ‘Are Good Leaders Scarce in Nigeria,’ noted that : “This is the only oil-producing country that is grieving at the moment when oil prices have gone up as a result of the Russia/Ukraine war. Our total revenue is not able to service our debt. And if anybody does not understand that we are in a complete mess, we are.
“We were in a deep hole in 2015. And between 2015 and now, we have been digging ourselves into a deeper hole.
“We thought we had a big problem in 2015. 2015 is nothing compared to what will happen in 2023. We have terrorism, we have banditry, we have inflation, we have an unstable exchange rate, and the worst thing is that those in leadership actually think we are going to thank them when they leave office, that we are going to appreciate them. There is no change.
There is no sense of urgency. If you are running a company and your sales revenue cannot pay interest, you know you’re bankrupt.
“When the total revenue of the Federal Government cannot service debt? And we are smiling. These are the kinds of questions we need to ask. And the reality is that there are so many Nigerians, who, given the opportunity will do well but they simply cannot contest in that space.”
Sanusi’s overview of the state of things in Nigeria in comparison to Goodluck Jonathan’s era provoked lots of comments in the media space notably when he accused the Jonathan’s administration of financial impropriety in 2014.
At that time, Sanusi alleged failure of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to remit $20 billion to the Federation Account.
On why he keeps criticising people, Sanusi said “People say to me, ‘why do you keep criticising people? Why do you keep talking about public policy?’ And I say I was a public officer and I have a record – talk about my record. I met inflation at 15.6 percent, left it at 7.8 percent. I stabilised the exchange rate; I saved the banks. I transformed the payment system.
“I have my record. And because I had the opportunity to serve, I served and I left a record, so, I’ve earned the right to criticise any public officer who is incompetent and I’ll call him out. I think we need to start calling out incompetence.”
About Author
