By Abba Hamish Sani
Africa-Press-Nigeria The former Emir of Kano and one-time Managing Director of First Bank, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has lamented that the nation’s economy has not been diversified, over 60 years after the discovery of oil in Nigeria.
No need of zoning
Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi, the former Emir of Kano, has said zoning may leave Nigeria with two “useless presidential candidates” in 2023.Currently, the issue of zoning has heated the polity as the governors are divided along the north and south.
While Southern governors have demanded that their region should produce the next president, their northern counterparts have said a rotational presidency is unconstitutional.
Sanusi said he has always been opposed to the idea of a rotational presidency.
He said what Nigeria needs at the moment is a president who can deliver.
“I have always objected to this idea that we should focus on where the president comes from. We have got southern governors saying we want the presidency and some northern governors saying that they want it in the north. Have you noticed that nobody has given the name of what they want?” he said.
What not to do
“This whole thing is to corner the presidency to one part of the country and the big masquerade will come out. And that is why at the end of the exercise, you end up as Nigeria… presented with two useless candidates.
Those who want to be president should show their face either from the north or the south.
“Meanwhile, we have before us very serious issues. You have a simple issue of electronic transmission of results which is designed to make the electoral process fairer and you have people saying that they do not want it, shamelessly announcing to the country that they want to rig. Why are we not talking about these issues?
“The greatest weakness we have as a country is that we do not think. We are very smart when it comes to making money by doing our work but we do not apply critical intellect to and these guys just take the entire country for a ride.
“Give me a president from any part of the country who can deliver and we should vote for him. He is not taking the presidency to his hometown.”
Sanusi, however, noted that although he’s an advocate of less money at the centre, the governors slamming the federal government are also guilty of not distributing funds to the local government.
He said, “I don’t want to talk about this matter because it’s in court but what we need is to learn how to distribute our resources properly.
“I’m a strong advocate of less money at the centre because this puts too much concentration on money from Abuja but the bulk of this Tax problem comes from not implementing what we have.
“These governors fighting for VAT are extremely undemocratic they hold on to money meant for the local government yet keeps complaining.
“The state governors complain what federal government do to them but don’t care about what they do to the local government, thereby ignoring the constitution.
“If we really want to put in for federalism we need to respect our constitution and do it at all tiers of government then I believe our constitution can work.
“Let’s make what we have work and we’ll see this constitution is not that bad.”
Sanusi, who spoke on Monday during a reception organised in his honour by Egba Muslim in Abeokuta, asked presidential aspirants to be prepared for the numerous challenges confronting the country.
To be honest, we are living on extra time. In 2015, we were in a deep hole. In 2023, we will be in an even much deeper hole than in 2015,” he said.
“Those struggling to be president, I hope they understand that the problems that they are going to face are multiples of the problems that were faced in 2015. All of us have to be ready for difficult decisions and if they are taken, we are all going to pay for them.
“But the solution is not for all of us to jump into politics. This country needs good politicians. It needs imams, pastors, and bishops who are going to stand up and remind them (politicians) of the fear of God.
“It needs technocrats who are going to critique their policies. It needs traditional rulers who are going to speak as the conscience of the people. Everyone has a role to play and we should try to play that role to the best of our ability.”
Spiritual Intervention
The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor also called on Nigerians to pray for good leaders at all levels.
He asked Nigerians to elect leaders who are competent to deliver the dividends of democracy to the benefit of the people.
While warning the people against voting for people who woo them with money and other greek gifts, Sanusi advised that the electorates should choose leaders based on merits
“I think the most important thing is that we should continue to pray for our country that whoever emerges as president, governors, senators, leadership at all levels, that we get good leaders,” he said. “We should also remind ourselves as citizens that we owe it to ourselves because we know that this country deserves better than we have been given.”
Sanusi, who spoke on Monday during a reception organised in his honour by Egba Muslim in Abeokuta, asked presidential aspirants to be prepared for the numerous challenges confronting the country.
Ahead of the general elections, former Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has said that Nigeria is living on extra time with deeper challenges to be confronted from 2023.
To be honest, we are living on extra time. In 2015, we were in a deep hole. In 2023, we will be in an even much deeper hole than in 2015,” he said.
*What the candidate should know**
“Those struggling to be president, I hope they understand that the problems that they are going to face are multiples of the problems that were faced in 2015. All of us have to be ready for difficult decisions and if they are taken, we are all going to pay for them.
“But the solution is not for all of us to jump into politics. This country needs good politicians. It needs imams, pastors, and bishops who are going to stand up and remind them (politicians) of the fear of God.
“It needs technocrats who are going to critique their policies. It needs traditional rulers who are going to speak as the conscience of the people. Everyone has a role to play and we should try to play that role to the best of our ability.”
The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor also called on Nigerians to pray for good leaders at all levels. He asked Nigerians to elect leaders who are competent to deliver the dividends of democracy to the benefit of the people.
While warning the people against voting for people who woo them with money and other greek gifts, Sanusi advised that the electorates should choose leaders based on merits
“I think the most important thing is that we should continue to pray for our country that whoever emerges as president, governors, senators, leadership at all levels, that we get good leaders,” he said. “We should also remind ourselves as citizens that we owe it to ourselves because we know that this country deserves better than we have been given.”
