The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has said Nigeria has not been fortunate with quality leadership for a long time, stressing that poor governance has hindered the country’s growth and development.
Sanusi, who spoke at the second Kano International Poetry Festival organised by the Poetic Wednesdays Initiative on Saturday, lamented that the nation has for years been saddled with what he described as “lousy leadership.”
He said, “You rise and fall with the quality of your leadership, and Nigeria has had lousy leadership for a long time. You cannot give what you do not have until we begin to look at the people whom we choose to lead us.
“And that’s the truth. I mean, in most parts of this country, you look at people who are leading you and you say, Oh God, is this really the person? How did we end up here? You see it every day in the newspapers.
“You see it in the news. You see what happens in the legislature. You see the kind of debates that we are having, the kind of arguments that we have, the kind of time we waste on issues that are totally unimportant, the pettiness. You look at other countries, you look at other parts of the world, people are discussing climate change, discussing artificial intelligence.
“We are still talking about Yoruba or Igbo or Hausa, Northern or Christian, you know, that is, we are still mired in that debate. We are still in conversations that we had in the 1960s.”
The monarch urged Nigerian youths to rise and take over leadership from the older generation, noting that with determination, they could “retire them and take over the country.”
Sanusi also backed the removal of fuel subsidy, warning that the country would have gone bankrupt if President Bola Tinubu had not ended it.
He said, “If you look at the billions and billions that were spent on subsidy, if that money had been spent on refineries, I have nothing against subsidies. If you are subsidising production, I said it very clearly, my objection is the subsidy on consumption because we’re keeping refineries in Europe open. We’re giving jobs to refiners.
“And if we had taken 2012, we would not be where we are today. Now, people say to me, Why aren’t you talking? I say, what am I to say? This is exactly what I said would happen because, beyond a point, government revenue will not be enough to pay the subsidy. You have to borrow to pay the subsidy.”
The emir further warned that the country’s rising debt profile and reckless spending by governments could have severe consequences on the economy in the future.
