Emir Sanusi says the 2012 fuel subsidy plan was reduced over fears of Boko Haram attacks.
He insists Nigeria’s subsidy policy damaged finances and increased long-term hardship nationwide.
The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, says the Goodluck Jonathan administration backed down from its plan to completely remove fuel subsidies in 2012 because it feared Boko Haram terrorists could take advantage of the nationwide protests at the time.
Sanusi, who was the Central Bank of Nigeria governor then, spoke at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference. He explained that security concerns pushed the government to cut the subsidy by only 50 percent instead of removing it entirely as earlier planned.
According to him, intelligence reports showed that suicide bombers could target the large crowds protesting in cities like Lagos, Kano, and Kaduna, which could have led to many deaths and a bigger national crisis.
He said the government wanted to avoid a situation where a single attack on protesters would overshadow the subsidy reform effort.
Sanusi also criticized Nigeria’s fuel subsidy system, calling it a policy that drained the country’s finances for years. He described the subsidy as a form of price guarantee that forced the government to spend beyond its income whenever global oil prices or exchange rates increased.
He noted that Nigeria moved from spending revenue to cover subsidy costs, to borrowing money to pay the bills, and later borrowing just to pay the interest on those debts.
Sanusi argued that if Nigerians had allowed the policy to go through in 2011 and 2012, the current hardship would have been less severe. He said the inflation at the time would have only risen slightly and could have been stabilized later.
The Emir also used his speech to fault Nigeria’s political leadership. He said many leaders forget their purpose once they get into office and focus more on wealth than public service. He stressed that leaders should be committed to improving education, healthcare, and the well-being of citizens rather than personal gain.
