The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has urged the federal government to listen to constructive criticism rather than treating every comment about poverty or hardship as an attack on the President.

He spoke virtually on Tuesday to the audience at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference, organised by the Oxford Global Think Tank.

“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.

He also raised concerns about the size of government expenditure, saying Nigeria could not pursue fiscal consolidation while continuing to spend without restraint.

He said the World Bank had pointed out that in the first half of this year Nigeria’s debt service consumed 124 per cent of federal government revenue.

He warned that the country needed to urgently address the sustainability of its debt and pursue structural reforms that had not yet been made.

Mr Sanusi said reform must go beyond removing fuel subsidies and liberalising the exchange rate, describing it as a comprehensive package that needed to address many other areas.

He said the government needed to make clear spending priorities, choosing between roads, electricity, agriculture and technology based on available resources.

He said every $10 billion spent on roads was $10 billion taken away from electricity and agriculture, stressing the need for deliberate choices.

He acknowledged that President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms had produced measurable progress, citing improvements in GDP growth, inflation and foreign reserves.

He said GDP growth had risen from an average of 0.9 per cent under the previous administration to 4.5 per cent, describing the change as progress that deserved recognition.

He added that the inflation rate had dropped from over 30 per cent to 14.6 per cent, with projections of 12.5 per cent by next year, and foreign reserves had grown to $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.

“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,” he said.

The emir said issues such as poverty, hunger, maternal mortality, malnutrition, education and healthcare remained serious concerns that the reforms had yet to address.

He said the government should have designed social safety net policies to soften the impact of reforms on vulnerable Nigerians from the beginning.

Mr Sanusi also called for more women to be brought into the centre of governance and decision-making, saying they were largely excluded from government at all levels.

He said issues such as maternal health, malnutrition and early child development were areas women understood and lived with, making their inclusion in policy-making essential.

The emir said Nigeria needed to move away from a ‘us-versus-them’mentality, urging both the government and citizens to see each other as partners rather than enemies.

He said if the government focused on fixing power supply, increasing agricultural productivity and investing in technology, it could add significant points to economic growth. 

(NAN)