Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, on Wednesday, said President Bola Tinubu’s administration lacks credible people to explain its economic policies.

“I don’t want to help this government. They’re my friends. If they don’t behave like friends, I don’t behave like a friend. They don’t even have people with credibility who can come and explain what they are doing. I’m not going to help.”

“To be honest, I could make a few points to explain what we are going through—perhaps it was predictable, or maybe avoidable. But I’m not going to do that. I’ve chosen not to speak about the economy,” Mr Sanusi said at the 21st Memorial Lecture of Chief Gani Fawehinmi held in Lagos on Wednesday.

Mr Sanusi’s statement followed his lamentation about the “unbearable” economic hardships in Nigeria under Mr Tinubu in 2024.
“People are in a dire situation,” Mr Sanusi said then. “I’m aware that people now resort to buying half a pepper because of the high cost of food items. This is unbearable.”

Mr Tinubu’s removal of the subsidy and unification of the exchange rate have seen fuel prices spike to N1,000, while over N1,500 trades for a dollar.

Food prices have soared as inflation hit over 34 per cent in the past 19 months under Mr Tinubu’s watch, forcing Nigerians to hit the streets in a 10-day protest in August 2024. However, Mr Tinubu has repeatedly said that the prevailing hardship occasioned by his policies is a necessary sacrifice for a better future.