Boko Haram Threat Made Jonathan Reconsider Subsidy Removal — Emir Sanusi

The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, has revealed that the Goodluck Jonathan administration shelved its 2012 plan to completely remove fuel subsidies due to fears that Boko Haram insurgents could exploit the widespread protests that followed the announcement.

Speaking at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference, Sanusi — who served as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the time — said the government feared that terrorists could attack protesters, resulting in mass casualties.

According to him, the administration had initially planned a full subsidy removal but opted for a 50% reduction after assessing the potential security risks.

“The only reason the government compromised and did 50%, not 100%, was Boko Haram,” Sanusi said. “There were thousands of Nigerians protesting in Lagos, Kano, and Kaduna. We already had suicide bombers in the country. If one of them had detonated a bomb among those crowds, killing 200 people, it would have escalated beyond subsidy issues. So, I give President Jonathan credit — he was determined to do it.”

Sanusi condemned Nigeria’s fuel subsidy regime, calling it a “naked hedge” — an unsustainable economic mechanism that drained the nation’s finances.

 “It was not a subsidy; it was a hedge,” he explained. “Government told Nigerians they would not pay more than a fixed price per litre, no matter global oil prices or exchange rates. When oil rose from $40 to $140 per barrel, government paid the difference. When the exchange rate doubled, government paid again. We moved from using revenue to pay subsidies, to borrowing for subsidies, to borrowing just to pay interest on borrowed funds.”

The Emir argued that if Nigerians had supported the Jonathan administration’s full subsidy removal in 2011–2012, the country would have avoided much of the current economic hardship.

 “If Nigerians had allowed it, inflation would have risen slightly from 11% to 13%, and we could have managed it down later. That small pain back then would have saved us from today’s crisis,” he added.

Sanusi also delivered a sharp critique of Nigeria’s political class, describing the country as a “classless society” where education and integrity rarely translate into good governance.

“If you take 109 Nigerians at random and place them in the Senate, the result may not be different,” he said. “We have educated people in power behaving like illiterates — forgetting their education once they assume office.”

He decried the culture of sycophancy and corruption among public officials.

“Why would a well-educated person become a praise singer? Why can’t he tell his boss the truth? By the time you become a governor, you should be beyond chasing money. You have the power to impact millions — to build schools, provide healthcare, and save lives — yet many leaders only think about houses and wealth. Are you that cheap?”

Sanusi’s remarks revisited one of Nigeria’s most contentious economic episodes — the 2012 Occupy Nigeria protests — which forced the Jonathan government to partially reverse its decision to end fuel subsidies after nationwide demonstrations crippled the country.