The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has warned the Federal Government against mistaking criticism for hostility, insisting that Nigerians speaking out about poverty and economic hardship should not be branded enemies of President Bola Tinubu.
The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor delivered the strong message while speaking virtually at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference on Tuesday, where he called on the government to embrace constructive criticism and confront the realities of economic hardship.
Sanusi cautioned that complaints about hunger, poverty and rising living costs should not be dismissed as political attacks, stressing that such concerns demand serious attention rather than defensiveness.
“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,” he said.
Beyond the warning on public criticism, the monarch raised fresh concerns about Nigeria’s spending habits, mounting debt burden and the sustainability of the country’s economic reforms.
He questioned how the government could pursue fiscal consolidation while continuing to spend without sufficient restraint, pointing to figures attributed to the World Bank showing that debt servicing consumed 124 per cent of federal government revenue in the first half of the year.
For Sanusi, the figures underscore the urgency of confronting Nigeria’s debt challenges and making difficult decisions about government spending.
He argued that the country's economic reforms must go far beyond the removal of fuel subsidies and the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market, insisting that Nigeria needs a comprehensive restructuring of its economy.
The Emir also challenged the government to establish clear spending priorities, warning that scarce resources cannot be stretched across every sector without deliberate choices.
According to him, government must decide what matters most at any given time, whether roads, electricity, agriculture or technology.
“Every $10 billion spent on roads is $10 billion taken away from electricity and agriculture,” he said, highlighting the difficult trade-offs facing policymakers.
However, Sanusi did not dismiss the gains recorded under Tinubu’s economic reforms. He acknowledged improvements in key economic indicators, including GDP growth, inflation and foreign reserves.
He noted that Nigeria’s average GDP growth had increased from 0.9 per cent under the previous administration to 4.5 per cent, while inflation had reportedly declined from above 30 per cent to 14.5 per cent.
He also pointed to the improvement in the country's foreign reserves, which he said had risen from a negative position in 2023 to about $55 billion.
“I think moving from an average growth rate of 0.9 per cent to 4.5 per cent is progress. Moving from inflation of over 30 per cent to 14.5 per cent is progress,” Sanusi said.
“Moving from the point where in 2023 the central bank’s reserves were maybe negative to where we are now having reserves of $55 billion is progress.”
But the former CBN governor warned that improvements in headline economic figures must not overshadow the harsh realities confronting millions of Nigerians.
He identified poverty, hunger, malnutrition, maternal mortality, poor education and inadequate healthcare as critical challenges that remain unresolved despite the reform measures.
Sanusi further faulted the timing of the government's social intervention efforts, arguing that safety nets should have been built into the reform programme from the outset to cushion vulnerable households against the immediate consequences of economic adjustments.
His central message was clear: economic progress cannot be measured by statistics alone while millions of citizens continue to struggle with the cost of survival.
The Emir urged the government to recognise the distinction between genuine criticism and political hostility, warning that dismissing public complaints would not solve the economic problems confronting the country.
For Sanusi, the challenge before the Tinubu administration is not merely to push through reforms, but to ensure that their benefits reach ordinary Nigerians.
Sanusi Warns Tinubu: Don’t Treat Critics as Enemies
