Re: HRH Sanusi’s Verdict

Last week’s column received a torrent of rejoinders by text, email, WhatsApp messages and on the phone, a testament perhaps to the urgency of the issues discussed. Writers are, in a sense, made of their readers. I wish to thank all for reading, and for responding. All of us, writers and readers alike, are doing our duty as citizens and are bound by the same love of the country, even when and where we disagree. Therefore, I have reproduced below some of the rejoinders, with only slight editing in a few cases. Thank you.

I read your piece today and I could not agree more. As usual, it is an exposition of well-crafted prose and content. And I agree totally that in any of the social sciences, there can never be one way only of doing things. SLS by the way is the last person to talk about economic discipline. He is not an exemplar in that area by his way of life. He only wants to impress and be quoted in Bloomberg, WSJ, FT, etc.

Ilyasu Gadu: 0803 535 5706

From the White Paper view, it seems you are supporting former President Buhari. Where are the loans in trillions borrowed by the Buhari administration? It is a fact that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited all our troubles today from the bad economic policies of the Buhari administration. You have to agree to that with HRH Sanusi and don’t confuse things for it is not a debate.

lbrahim Biu Adamu: 0808 100 3000

Mr Suleiman, thanks for your article. The White Paper titled: “HRH Sanusi’s Verdict.” You said President Tinubu’ s policy of removal of fuel subsidy and unification of dual exchange rates cannot be considered as the ONLY POLICY OPTION as stated by Sanusi but you failed to tell us in your article what the alternative viable economic policy option or options could have been in the prevailing economic circumstances. I think in order to drive home your point, you should tell us.

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You also alluded to the fact that the PDP-led government did not maximise the benefits of oil price increases between 2009 and 2014. That is true.

You said further that in 2015/ 2016, the collapse in oil prices from 100 to 30 dollars, forced President Buhari to engage in huge domestic and international borrowing. YOU OUGHT TO HAVE TOLD US whether the borrowed money was used for the purposes they were meant.

Because not achieving these purposes further worsened the economy before President Tinubu came on board. Under the Buhari regime of dual foreign exchange rate, Emefiele and many privileged few became billionaires through round-tripping. They would collect dollars at official rates and sell through their fronts at black market rates, pocketing billions of naira without any economic activity or production.

This happened under the nose of the Buhari government. What destroyed the country’s economy more than this. Unfortunately, YOU DID NOT ALLUDE TO THIS FACT in your writeup.

President Tinubu decided to clear this economic mess by abrogating the dual exchange rate and unifying the rates. Yes, it further worsened the situation, which is highly expected. Sanusi has said it repeatedly that there is no MAGIC WAND to fixing the battered economy because it would first become worse before it gets better.

Under President Buhari, Ways and Means Advance was grossly abused and YOU ARE SAYING HE DOES NOT HAVE ANY FAULT. Currencies were printed without any income generated. The looting of the economy was unprecedented. And you failed to acknowledge all these.

Nobody is blaming President Buhari alone for the economic woes in the country. But his regime’s inaction to prevent over-invoicing of oil subsidy payments, unbridled corruption by his close confidants whom he could not supervise and forex exchange fraud during his regime contributed immensely to the worsening of economic problems.

You should have advocated for the looted fund to be recovered from the perpetrators whether under Buhari or any other because if we recovered Abacha’s loot, we should be able to get from others. Developing full domestic refining capacity and stopping fuel importation cannot happen in the Nigerian environment while oil subsidy still persists.

Adeniyi: 0803 352 6351

Morning sir, your article on 19th February 2024 in the Daily Trust Newspaper on “HRH Sanusi’s verdict”. The write-up is very good and very explanatory and informative but the Buhari administration that you did not give so much blame on is the issue I am questioning. Thank you.

McD: 0803 909 0852

When Sanusi Lamido has been agitating for subsidy removal, had he ever proffer solutions to its adverse effects? That Tinubu met Nigeria better than Buhari met it, is a fact. Sanusi thinks Tinubu will help to re-instate him, what did he know about the Nigerian economy?

0802 858 7750

Salam, just read your article in Daily Trust. A measure of rice is N4,300 in Gusau as at yesterday. Thank you, sir.

0803 394 9424

The responsibility for the current economic situation in Nigeria rests on both leadership and the led. On the part of leadership, both past and present, is policy failure. Measures taken in the past yielded insufficient results in addressing the challenges adequately and squarely. The current measures compounded the crisis. There’s no indication that what’s supposed to accrue from subsidy removal has been realised, let alone cushion the effects of the removal.

The removal of subsidy and the devaluation of the naira rather than adding economic and political value worsen our socio-economic conditions, with resultant higher inflation and threats of social unrest. The led exploited the lack of control by adjusting their prices on a daily basis, making essential commodities go beyond the reach of the common man. Instead of a remedy, the policy options adopted worsened the situation. There’s an urgent need for policy review.

Thank You.

Mukhtar Isa: [email protected]

HRH SANUSI’S VERDICT dwelt a lot on the apparent blame game over who is responsible for the current harsh economic situation in the country.

To start with, there is even the need to define what this subsidy really entails. When a late Head of State, General Sani Abacha (1993-1998), removed the so-called subsidy or a part of it, he set up the defunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) to cushion its effects. Former president Buhari ironically was entrusted with that interventionist outfit which made a tremendous impact.

When the same Muhammad Buhari became president (2015-2023), he removed the so-called subsidy at least twice without any visible intervention plan.

Enter President Tinubu last May. He was not even patient enough to settle down at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa first and to consult before removing the so-called subsidy. Granted, momentarily for academic purposes, that this subsidy removal is for real, but the drastic nature of its removal by President Tinubu was an economic and managerial fiasco of immense proportion.

The magnitude of the economic hardship brought about by the abrupt removal of petrol subsidy teleguided by the Bretton Woods institutions makes far-reaching, homegrown remedial measures quite imperative. Khalifa Sanusi Lamido’s apparent unconditional support for subsidy removal was akin to adding fuel to a burning fire.

As a matter of principle, subsidies, where they are real and accountable, should cover other critical sectors such as agriculture, education and health. But in our case, despite its questionable meaning and scope, subsidy has become a scam of a sort.

A national stakeholder roundtable needs to be constituted urgently to fully define subsidy, sectoral coverage, genuine beneficiaries, funding modalities, logistics, accountability, etc, for its sustainable management. There is for instance the viewpoint that production rather than consumption should be subsidised. A typical example is how big-time farmers are subsidised by the American government to ensure that food is sufficiently available and affordable for domestic use, strategic reserve and export.

Given the discovery of monumental fraud associated with the Emefiele-led CBN and other MDAs under his watch, former president Buhari no doubt shares tremendous blame for the current economic mess in the country. Had his government held key appointees accountable, many of the current woes facing the nation would have been avoided or minimised. But to continue to blame Buhari for even the problems created by the current government is somewhat overdoing it.

Garba Isa: 08029169551