The Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has said his experience as a traditional ruler opened his eyes to the true extent of poverty in Nigeria.
Speaking in Abuja on Saturday, May 31, at a public lecture held to commemorate the 60th birthday of former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, Sanusi remarked that despite his previous roles in government and finance, it was only as Emir that he grasped the harsh realities faced by many Nigerians.
Delivering a goodwill message at the lecture themed “Weaponization of Poverty as a Means of Underdevelopment: A Case Study of Nigeria,” Sanusi said the country’s elite remain largely disconnected from the conditions under which the majority live. “Many of the elite in Nigeria do not know what poverty is. As an economist, former CBN Governor, I see the numbers. I did not know poverty until I became Emir,” he said.
He recounted the conditions he encountered in rural communities, from inadequate shelter to unsafe drinking water and dilapidated classrooms. “You go to the village and see the water they drink, the houses they live in, the two-block classrooms without roofs,” he said, questioning the nation’s priorities. “Do we actually love the people or do we just love ruling over them? What are our priorities. We make overheads and underpasses for ourselves in the cities while there in the rural areas cannot reach hospitals. We are in crisis, how do we get out should be our focus.”
Sanusi called on political leaders to show genuine empathy towards those they lead, urging a shift from self-serving governance to people-centred policies.
Also speaking at the event, former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, lamented what he described as a recurring failure by Nigerians to elect competent leaders. “We keep electing people who only know how to grab power but don’t know what to do with it,” El-Rufai said, highlighting a pattern of leadership that fails to address the country’s developmental needs.
In his contribution, former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf, stated that many of the problems brought to hospitals are not medical but stem from broader socio-economic dysfunction. He blamed widespread poverty on systemic corruption and poor governance, warning that unless Nigerians become more discerning in their electoral choices, the cycle of underdevelopment will persist.
