Sanusi says Nigeria’s economy is about to collapse

Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has raised an alarm over the state of Nigeria’s economy.

Sanusi, while speaking at the closing ceremony of the Kaduna Investment Summit, tagged KadInvest 6.0 on Friday, September 24, 2021, said, the country’s economy is on the verge of collapse.

The ex-CBN governor said apart from the fact that Nigeria is having difficulties in oil production, the product is now being rejected in the global market.

“The goose laying the golden egg for Nigeria is about to die,” Sanusi said.

The dethroned Emir of Kano further said the future lies in a knowledge-based economy, adding that Nigeria is far behind many African countries in innovation index.

He said, “Only eight of every 100 Nigerians who start primary school complete university.

“Globally, work is being redefined; 30 to 40 per cent of workers in developed economies will need to significantly upgrade their skills by 2030. And what are the major drivers of this redefinition? ICT and remote working, which we have seen even here with COVID-19.

“There is increased automation and artificial intelligence. Very soon, robot will take over work in most countries and those who would have job are those who operate the robots, manufacture the robots or service the robot.

“A few months ago, Germany was able to produce enough renewable energy for the entire country’s need. Today, we are having difficulties selling Nigerian oil. So, not only are we having problems to produce, even when we produce, the market is not there.

“So, this is forcing a change, and for us a country that depends on oil, things need to change.”

Sanusi, however, emphasized the need to create an enabling environment for economic growth and development through skill creation and empowerment for young Nigerians.

He also called on the federal government to encourage market access saying, “If Kaduna state government continues with its e-government plan, it will be a big market itself and it will encourage investments which are all knowledge economy aspiration and a shift in government spending to match the priority.”

While congratulating the government of Kaduna State for the feat, he said the aspiration outlined in the state's e-government plan is critical to addressing Nigeria’s dwindling economy resulting from the over-dependence on oil revenue.