Real reason Jonathan suspended 2012 Fuel Subsidy Removal — Emir Sanusi

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has revealed that former President Goodluck Jonathan suspended plans to remove petrol subsidy in 2012 due to fears that Boko Haram insurgents could target protesters.

Sanusi, who was the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor at the time, said the protests against subsidy removal lasted nearly two weeks and crippled economic activities nationwide.

Speaking on Tuesday at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference, themed “Better Leader for a Better Nigeria,” the Emir explained that the subsidy policy was misunderstood and poorly handled under Jonathan’s administration.

He described the petrol subsidy regime as a “naked hedge” in which the government maintained a fixed pump price regardless of fluctuations in global oil prices, exchange rates, or interest rates, a move that eventually forced the country to borrow heavily to sustain it.

“If you look at the template, all those amounts were being absorbed. The federal government was saying, ‘I have an unlimited pocket.’”

“So we moved from using revenues to pay subsidies to borrowing money to pay them, and then borrowing again to pay interest on those loans. We had become bankrupt,” Sanusi said.

He argued that Nigeria’s current economic challenges could have been less severe if the Jonathan administration had implemented the subsidy removal policy earlier.

“If Nigerians had allowed the Jonathan government to remove the subsidy in 2011, there would have been pain, but that pain would have been a very tiny fraction of what we are facing today,” he added.

Sanusi disclosed that the CBN at the time had projected only a slight rise in inflation from 11 to 13 percent following subsidy removal, but the plan was later halted due to security concerns.

“It was like, if one day one of these suicide bombers went to the protesters and exploded a bomb, killing 200 people, it would no longer be about subsidy,” he said.

“So I have to give President Jonathan credit. He was determined to do it, but the government compromised and removed only 50 percent because of Boko Haram.”

The Emir also criticized Nigeria’s political elite, saying many educated leaders abandon their values in pursuit of personal gain.

“By the time you become a governor, you should be beyond looking for money. But many live like illiterates despite their education,” he lamented.

Sanusi had earlier commended President Bola Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy, saying it saved Nigeria from bankruptcy and ended an unsustainable regime that burdened government finances.

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