He said: When the minister is there, you tell them, “You
know, Hon. Minister, Nigeria is very lucky to have you in office.” No!
You tell the minister that you are doing well, but, you know there are
these areas that you must change. If a policy is wrong, it is wrong.
Nothing will make it right. And it has to be changed. So, this is what
we did. Look at real sector wages. It was not just Nigeria, it was all
over Africa. Look at sovereign debt fuelling growth. If you take the
example of an individual. You happen to know bank MDs and you can make a
few phone calls and get loans. You borrow N1 billion here today and
build a very nice mansion in Abuja.
You borrow another N1 billion and
let your family go out on first class ticket as you are travelling all
over the world. You borrow another N5 to N6 billion and buy a private
jet. We have very many people in Nigeria who you think are very rich.
But, who are really bankrupt, because everything about them are being
financed by bank debts.
When one debtmatures they have enough
connections to call another bank, borrow and refinance that debt. They
are not earning anything. They have private jets. They have yachts.
Their families travel first class. They go abroad and stay in the most
expensive hotels. It happens. And it is happening today. What do you
think of those people? When you think about such people, do you think
they are foolish people? Or do youthink they are wise people? So, what
would you say of a country that does this? So, you feel growth by
borrowing money, pay salaries, people spend money on pure consumption
spending, nothing is produced.
It’s fine. It’s short term. But, it is
not sustainable. How much can you continue to borrow and consume without
producing? - Muhammadu Sanusi II
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