At a well attended leadership colloquium and award organized by the Akinjide Adeosun Foundation, the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria and the Khalifa of the Tijanniyah Sufi Order of Nigeria,His Highness, Muhammad Sanusi II declared that Nigeria was in a bigger mess now, than it was in 2015.
His words, “This is the only oil-producing country that is grieving at the moment when oil prices have gone up as a result of the Russia/Ukraine war. Our total revenue is not able to service our debt. And if anybody does not understand that we are in a complete mess, we are.
“We were in a deep hole in 2015. And between 2015 and now, we have been digging ourselves into a deeper hole.
“We thought we had a big problem in 2015. 2015 is nothing compared to what will happen in 2023. We have terrorism, we have banditry, we have inflation, we have an unstable exchange rate, and the worst thing is that those in leadership actually think we are going to thank them when they leave office, that we are going to appreciate them. There is no change.
“There is no sense of urgency. If you are running a company and your sales revenue cannot pay interest, you know you’re bankrupt.
“The levels of poverty, levels of insecurity, the rate of inflation, the unstable exchange rate, the lack of power” should worry anybody.
“When the total revenue of the Federal Government cannot service debt? And we are smiling. These are the kinds of questions we need to ask. And the reality is that there are so many Nigerians, who, given the opportunity will do well but they simply cannot contest in that space.”
Sanusi hinged the challenge on the lack of vision of some of the country’s leaders.
“What is our vision for Nigeria? Do we have a vision of one country? Do we have a vision of one united country, that lives peacefully with itself — diverse, multicultural, multi-religious but one?
“Leaders after leaders, most of those who have ruled did not have a vision for a united Nigeria. How would you like to be remembered after eight years as a President, after eight years as a governor, eight years as a minister, eight years as Governor of CBN? How will you like history to remember you? They have not thought about it.
“The vast majority of those in office have a vision that is limited to the next election. It is to win. And when you’ve won, you’ve reached a destination, not a journey”.
He told his audience that the vision of General Yakubu Gowon cascaded down.
He used his days at Kings College and the type of bonding that existed between and among students of different tribes and religions as an example of a vision for unity, explaining that 90 per cent of his friends are from other tribes and are in Lagos.
He wondered why the framework and mindset of unity remain missing in the country
The foundation is a non-profit organisation focused on charity in the spheres of free, qualitative education and free, qualitative medical outreach.
The event was its seventh which also marked the birthday of its founder, Akinjide Adeosun, husband of Olubamiwo Adeosun, Secretary to the Oyo State Government.
