The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has described recent remarks by the 14th Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi on his decision not to publicly support President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms as parochial and self-serving.
It said he has finally proved to his audience that he is an economist who is primarily driven by self-interest rather than national interests.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, TMSG argued that the former Central Bank governor stands the risk of being seen by Nigerians as one who priotises self over general interest.
The group said: “Emir Muhammadu Sanusi has a reputation for being outspoken on national issues bordering on the economy because of his antecedents. For that, he has enjoyed public fame and acclaim.
“Even as governor of the Central Bank, he actively promoted some of what have become key pillars of the Tinubu economic reform agenda such as fuel subsidy removal at a time it was seen as an unpopular option. He was also known to be opposed to multiple exchange rates.
“We can still recall how exactly two weeks after President Bola Tinubu assumed office, Emir Sanusi told State House, correspondents after a closed-door meeting with the President that Tinubu started on a sound note by removing fuel subsidy and unifying multiple exchange rates.
“In his words, ‘as you know, many of the issues that we have been talking about — the subsidy that has caused haemorrhage on the fiscals, the multiple exchange regime and so on — these are issues that I have been personally talking about for a long time and I am happy that on his very first day, he has addressed these issues and the markets are happy.
“And still in 2023, he seized the opportunity of a lecture series at the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs (NIIA) in November to canvas this argument: ‘I think every economist knows that multiple exchange rates are a problem, but as long as politicians can give themselves a dollar at 400 Naira and sell at 700 Naira, they are not ready to listen to the economists.’.
“We dare to add that anyone in doubt about Sanusi’s position on the Tinubu reforms as recent as last year can scour the Internet to know where he stood. So, the question that many Nigerians are right to seek answers to is what changed?
“To hazard a guess, the answer is not far to fetch. Emir Sanusi was emphatic that his friends in government have not been true friends in a veiled reference to the Kano emirate crisis, which is now the subject of litigation.
“We see that inference as a negation of the integrity, fairness, and justice that Emir Sanusi, had for years, stood for.
“It is inappropriate for any individual that lays claim to such virtues to expect ‘his friends’ to Ignore the rule of law and proceed to use that reluctance to interfere as the basis for his intervention in a national discourse.
“However, Emir Sanusi is not irredeemable. We are consoled by the fact that despite his recent proclivities, he admitted that what Nigerians were going through was a ‘necessary consequence of decades of irresponsible management.’
“This, to us, is an honest acknowledgement that President Tinubu was right after all and on course too.”
TMSG noted that Nigerians expect Emir to continue to be a true statesman by staying the course no matter how bad the weather is.
