Emir Sanusi reveals why Buhari Must Prosecute Looters

Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, has urged the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to recover looted funds from individuals and groups and also prosecute culprits to serve as a deterrent to others. Here are two interesting things to note from the lecture he delivered on the deregulation of the downstream oil sector and Nigeria’s economic development at the National Defence College, Abuja on Wednesday.

Nigeria is bankrupt

“Nigeria is bankrupt; we are bankrupted by a policy that was foolish, that was unrealistic, and unsustainable, and by all means our refusal over the years to listen.

“We are surprised that we have an economic recession; we are actually surprised that we are in recession? We created the recession.”

Fuel subsidy was a scam

“The whole issue of fuel subsidy was set up to create an opportunity for a few people to make money, and it was presented in a manner that convinced everybody that it was for the poor.

“For every 30,000 metric tonnes of kerosene imported into the country, the Federation Account lost $20m. We were importing six to eight vessels per month for six years until this subsidy unload; the Federation Account was losing from $120m to $160m every month.

“This is just on kerosene; can you imagine a country losing $120m every month to a non-existent subsidy on kerosene, and not on the PMS.”