Nigeria has suffered from lousy leadership for years – Kano Emir Sanusi

Nigeria has suffered from lousy leadership for years – Kano Emir Sanusi

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has expressed concern over Nigeria’s longstanding struggles with ineffective leadership, stating that the nation has endured decades of what he termed as “lousy” governance.

Speaking at the second edition of the Kano International Poetry Festival (KAPFEST) on Saturday, the prominent traditional ruler emphasized that Nigeria’s fortunes have been hindered by a persistent lack of competent leaders.

The event, held in Kano and organised by the Poetic Wednesdays Initiative (PWI), brought together poets, intellectuals, and cultural figures from across the country.

According to Emir Sanusi, the recent removal of the fuel subsidy by the federal government may have prevented the country from plunging into bankruptcy.

He described the move as a necessary, though difficult, economic decision.

He also stressed that the path to national recovery lies in the pursuit of good governance, noting that Nigeria’s current state is a result of repeated leadership failures over the years.

“Good governance is the only way out,” he said, highlighting the urgent need for visionary and responsible leadership to steer the country toward stability and growth.

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 who 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 on 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,” he added.

The Emir, however, urged Nigerian youth to take charge of the nation’s future by stepping up to replace the older generation currently in power.

He emphasized that with determination and unity, young people have the capacity to retire the old guard and assume leadership roles across the country.

He further reiterated that fuel subsidies were never a sustainable policy, adding that Nigeria would likely be bankrupt today if President Bola Tinubu had not taken the bold step to remove them

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 subsidizing 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,”