A former Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has said that Nigeria led a false life during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria said this in an interview he granted in Hausa language on Monday.
The interview, with the author as Abdullahi Misili, went viral on Monday afternoon.
In it, Sanusi said that President Buhari failed to seek expert opinion in running the economy, a situation that led to massive borrowing, including N30 trillion from the CBN.
He said things were so bad under Buhari that round tripping: getting dollar at the official exchange rate from the CBN and selling it at a higher cost in the black market, became the order of the day.
He said owing to this disconnect in the economy, a “boy” who was not known to have worked anywhere in his life bought a jet.
Sanusi equally told his interviewer that he in under pressure by some people to speak on happenings in the country under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said the time was not ripe for such.
He added that though he will not say Tinubu is flawless, it will only be right to speak when the President goes astray.
Sanusi said in the interview: Sanusi said, “The last eight years, Nigeria led a false life.
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“The government borrowed from within and without.
“About N30 trillion was borrowed from the Central Bank.
“All the revenue the country generated in the last few years couldn’t service debt.
“Debt service exceeded 100 per cent.
“Government borrowed to service debts.
“No country can grow this way.
“Time will come when one cannot borrow any more.
“Additionally, there will be nothing to pay debts.
“Those writing, demanding that we speak on the current situation in the country, this is not the right time for me to speak.
“It was like a driver on the road driving recklessly despite a wise counsel telling him of a crater ahead.
“What will you tell after plunging the car into the hole?
“People refused to listen to us then.
“We will only now advise them to be patient.
“I will never say Tinubu has pushed Nigeria into difficulty.
“I am not saying he is flawless or flawed.
“We will speak when he goes astray.
“The government can’t pay subsidies since it doesn’t have the means.
“If they add tax, we have to pay since borrowing is impossible.
“If the CBN printed more naira, the dollar would jack up to N1,500.
“We must suffer.
“When I was the CBN governor it was N150.
“Today it’s somewhere around N900.
“They treated the economy the way they wanted and refused to listen to experts.
“In the last eight years, only sycophancy succeeded.
“The sycophants bought dollars at N400 and sold N540.
“An inexperienced boy who had never worked anywhere owns a private jet.”