Former Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has become the latest voice to express concern over the country’s worsening economic and security situation.

Sanusi, who spoke at the Akinjide Adeosun Foundation (AAF) leadership colloquium, held in Lagos on Thursday, said the APC-led government has allowed Nigeria’s economic and security situation to deteriorate, becoming far worse than what it was in 2015.

The former Emir of Kano, who was critical of the past administration led by Goodluck Jonathan, decried Nigeria’s rising debt. He said the country has already become bankrupt, describing the situation as being in a “deeper hole.”

“We were in a deep hole in 2015. And between 2015 and now, we have been digging ourselves into a deeper hole. We thought we had a big problem in 2015. 2015 is nothing compared to what will happen in 2023,” Sanusi said.

“We have terrorism, we have banditry, we have inflation, we have an unstable exchange rate, and the worst thing is that those in leadership actually think we are going to thank them when they leave office, that we are going to appreciate them. There is no change,” he added.

His criticism follows the throng of other voices condemning the lukewarm attitude of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government in the face of the “mess.”

Sanusi said Nigeria’s bankruptcy is masterminded by its inability to cash in on the oil windfall orchestrated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“Nigeria is the only oil-producing country that is grieving at the moment when oil prices have gone up as a result of the Russia/Ukraine war,” he said, adding that the nation’s inability to service its debt is evidence that “we are in a mess,” he said.

Nigeria’s public debt portfolio has significantly risen above N41 trillion due to massive revenue drop from oil export, creating a huge debt to revenue ratio disparity.

“Our total revenue is not able to service our debt. And if anybody does not understand that we are in a complete mess, we are. There is no sense of urgency. If you are running a company and your sales revenue cannot pay interest, you know you’re bankrupt. When the total revenue of the federal government cannot service debt, we are smiling,” Sanusi added.

Last month, the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed announced that the cost of servicing debt surpassed the federal government’s retained revenue by N310 billion in the first four months of 2022, confirming the fear that Nigeria’s debt is no longer sustainable.

Buhari pledged to diversify Nigeria’s economy with focus on agriculture. However, the president has failed to redeem that pledge due to terrorism and banditry raging in the north, which have greatly jeopardized farming activities in the region.

Besides this, the government has been criticized for enacting policies that have been detrimental to the country’s economic well being. For instance, in 2019, Buhari announced the closure of Nigerian land borders, and subsequently the import ban of food items including the staple rice. The decision has been fingered as the major reason why Nigeria’s inflation rate has risen above 18%, compounding the nation’s poverty situation.

Everywhere is HOT – Israel/Palestine, China/Taiwan, Russia/Ukraine, and the regulars with failing states and failed states. Yes, if you look deeper, one thing is evident: prosperity in an absolute economic sense may not bring peace in this world. I would not have imagined that China would do live military drills around Taiwan, even as I remain flummoxed on the real purpose of US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s mission in Taiwan. 

China does not like the visit: “a severe impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, seriously infringed upon China’s sovereignty and (territorial) integrity and … undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.” And China is cutting many bilateral relationships with the US. In ancestral Africa, when leaders of two kingdoms stopped talking, unease would envelop the subjects.  Why? Silence during war is the loudest noise possible! The world is not better when the US and China are not speaking with each other. 

Top Chinese military officials have not returned multiple calls from their American counterparts this week as a crisis erupted in the Pacific over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, according to three people with knowledge of the attempts.

Beijing’s ghosting of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley comes as China continues launching missiles and positioning warships and aircraft in unprecedented military drills around Taiwan. Officials and experts say China’s silence is a shortsighted and reckless move that increases the risk of escalation in an already tense situation.

On that trip, what is the cost-to-benefit analysis for the Taiwanese people who could be under ruins if China miscalculates? As you look deeper, you will notice that humans are unique: our stable state is confusion and confrontation.

This brings me to a suspicion: Africa’s mess may not be that we’re not a rich continent but rather, our paralysis is a designed state to balance the metastasis of the global confusion. Indeed, only fools will allow superpowers to stimulate them into crazy decisions. Ukraine wants to join NATO; now, it is under ruins. Taiwan hosts a special visitor for two days; now, it has given China valid reasons (real, perceived, justified or otherwise) to cause confusions in its lands.

Across all indicators, it is now Taiwan 2.0 even as Madam Speaker will be in her house tasting a  new meal from McDonalds. If China stops sending silica to Taiwan’s TSMC, the economy of Taiwan will be rattled and its global importance will fade. 

African leaders must be strategic to ensure we do not ignorantly stimulate avoidable confrontations, scoring unnecessary own-goals!

 China cut off contacts with the United States on vital issues Friday — including military matters and crucial climate cooperation — as concerns rose that the Communist government’s hostile reaction to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit could signal a lasting, more aggressive approach toward its U.S. rival and the self-ruled island.

China’s move to freeze key lines of communication compounded the worsening of relations from Pelosi’s visit and from the Chinese response with military exercises off Taiwan, including firing missiles that splashed down in surrounding waters.

After the White House summoned China’s ambassador, Qin Gang, late Thursday to protest the military exercises, White House spokesman John Kirby on Friday condemned the decision to end important dialogue with the United States as “irresponsible.”

The White House spokesman blasted China’s “provocative” actions since Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory. But Kirby noted that some channels of communication remain open between military officials in the two countries. He repeated daily assurances that the U.S. had not changed its policy toward the Communist mainland and the self-ruled island.

A Key Global Company On The Path of US and China Battle for Supremacy