Muhammad Sanusi II, Emir of Kano and former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said that the petrol subsidy removal prevented Nigeria from going into bankruptcy.
Gatekeepers News reports that Sanusi commended the policy reform on Saturday at the second edition of Kano International Poetry Festival (KAPFEST), organised by Poetic Wednesdays Initiative.
The monarch described the subsidy arrangement as unsustainable, stressing that it forced the government to absorb the costs of fluctuating global oil prices, foreign exchange rates, transportation, and refining.
He said, “Subsidy was simply the government saying, ‘If the price of petrol is N100, Nigerians will pay N70 and I will pay N30’.”
“But beyond that, the government also placed a hedge, fixing petrol at N65 per litre irrespective of whether the international price of oil was $10 or $100 per barrel. Who paid the difference? The government. And this was always going to bankrupt Nigeria.”
Sanusi criticised successive governments for neglecting local refineries, arguing that subsidy only enriched foreign refineries while costing Nigerians employment opportunities.
He said, “If you look at the billions and billions spent on subsidy and imagine that money invested in refineries, Nigeria would not be where it is today.”
“I have nothing against subsidies if you are subsidising production. My objection has always been subsidy on consumption.”
The Emir recalled warning against the policy during his time as CBN governor in 2012, comparing Nigeria’s fiscal trajectory to a man running towards a ditch.
He said, “Government revenue could no longer carry the subsidy burden. At some point, we began borrowing to pay the subsidy, then borrowing to service the debt. It became unsustainable. That is exactly what I said would happen, and this is where we are.”
The emir urged Nigerians to view subsidy removal not just as an economic reform but as an opportunity to build a stronger and more self-reliant nation.
