The 14th Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has lamented the current state of the nation, saying Nigeria will not be where it is if public office holders take their job seriously.
Sanusi, who spoke in Lagos on Sunday at a stage play titled “Emir Sanusi: Truth in Time”, charged politicians to be accountable to the people.
The former Kano Emir recalled how he wrote a confidential letter to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor voicing his strong concerns about the economy.
“If every President, every governor, every minister, every commissioner took seriously, this country will not be where it was,” he stated.
“If people are willing to be ministers, commissioners, governors and presidents for eight years, and not tell us how they have improved our lives, we have a problem.”
He asked Nigerians to take charge of the country, he said Africa’s most populous nation will not move forward until actual steps are taken.
The ex-CBN governor also spoke on why he usually criticises government policies he found not to be good enough, saying what many do not know is that he would have advised the officials privately for months before going public.
On the current administration, Sanusi said he warned the Federal Government of the dangers of its policies in 2015, especially how it would destroy the economy.
“With the current administration, I spent the whole of 2015 and 2016 speaking to everybody who should be communicated to, and telling them that the economic policies they were pursuing were going to destroy the Nigerian economy.
“It was only when that failed that I spoke publicly, and we had to speak. Now the question which everybody is asking is should an Emir speak? The answer is yes and it depends on what you are speaking on,” he added.
According to Sanusi, he served as Chief Risk Officer at the United Bank for Africa, at First Bank, and also as CBN governor; as Emir of Kano for six years.
He stated that he would be ungrateful to God if he expressed regret or sadness over his removal as emir despite his position in life.