By Bayo Wahab
The Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammad Sanusi II, said he agrees with about 80 percent of President Bola Tinubu’s policy direction but has reservations about certain aspects of fiscal management and food importation.
Speaking in an interview with News Central on Tuesday, Sanusi commended the administration for stabilising the economy through improved fiscal discipline and better monetary policy coordination.
“In terms of monetary policy and stability, I have nothing but commendation for the government. On the fiscal side, we have had an improvement in revenue-to-GDP ratios, improvement in debt service ratios, and a contraction in the deficit. These are positive steps, but we still have a long way to go,” he said.
The former CBN governor, however, noted that while the government had made commendable progress in revenue generation, it must pay closer attention to the quality and efficiency of public spending.
“I would like to see a better look at fiscal expenditure. We’re still spending too much money on government — on the cost of governance, too many political appointees, too many officers,” Sanusi said.
“If we do not improve the quality of spending and put a rein on expenditure, we’re going to continue borrowing.”
He warned that Nigeria could fall back into a debt trap if it failed to manage its post-subsidy savings prudently.
“After saving money from these expensive subsidies, after building up the government balance sheet, you go and spend it, and then you have to borrow again,” he cautioned.
“So we still have some steps to go on the fiscal side, but the first thing was to fix revenue, and I think with the tax reforms and what you’ve seen so far, the fiscal side is on its way.
Sanusi also called for structural reforms in agriculture, describing the government’s policy on food importation as counterproductive.
“I would like to see that we put a stop to the mass importation of food. I know it was driven by a desire to bring down food prices, but it is, in the end, very counterproductive to domestic production and domestic producer prices,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria must focus on strengthening its agricultural value chain to boost local food production and achieve sustainable food security.
“Hopefully, we will get to a point where we go back on track with the reforms in the agricultural sector — fixing the agricultural value chain and relying on domestic production to feed the nation,” he said.
Summing up his assessment, the Emir of Kano said the administration had made significant strides despite the country’s economic challenges.
“All in all, I think I would say 70 to 80 percent of what the government has done and the direction it is on, I support,” Sanusi stated.
“I do have some reservations about one or two things, like the importation of food and the quality of expenditure and the nature of overheads, but I think we’re on the right path… we’ve come very far in the right direction.”
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