Sanusi: Fuel subsidy removal saved Nigeria from bankruptcy

Muhammad Sanusi II, Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says abolishing the petrol subsidy rescued Nigeria from financial collapse.

Speaking on Saturday at the second edition of the Kano International Poetry Festival (KAPFEST), organised by the Poetic Wednesdays Initiative, Sanusi described the subsidy regime as “a ticking time bomb” that pushed government finances to breaking point.

“Subsidy was simply the government saying, ‘If the price of petrol is N100, Nigerians will pay N70 and I will pay N30,’” he explained.

“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.”

The monarch lamented that successive administrations failed to channel subsidy funds into productive investments.

“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,” he said.

“Instead, we exported jobs to foreign refineries and continued to weaken our own economy. We paid to create employment abroad while our young people sat idle at home.”

Sanusi clarified that his criticism was not aimed at subsidies in general but at what he described as “subsidising waste.”

He explained that he supported subsidies directed at production, such as assisting farmers to grow food, but opposed those applied to consumption.

According to him, funding consumption amounted to pouring resources into an endless void.

Recalling his warnings as CBN governor in 2012, he said the dangers had always been clear.

“At the time, I said Nigeria was like a man running towards a ditch. 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.”

He added that the removal should be seen not just as an economic necessity but as a chance for renewal.

“This is not merely about saving money. It is about creating a future where Nigeria is not at the mercy of oil prices.

“It is about building a nation that can stand on its own feet. We must seize this opportunity to rethink our priorities and to invest in our people.”