Sanusi: Debt burden threatens Nigeria’s economic sustainability

Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has warned that Nigeria’s rising debt burden and wasteful government spending threaten the country’s economic sustainability, urging the Federal Government to exercise fiscal discipline and prioritise expenditure on critical sectors.

Sanusi said debt service consumed 124 per cent of Federal Government revenue in the first half of 2026, citing World Bank figures, and argued that the country could not achieve fiscal consolidation while continuing to spend without restraint.

The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria spoke virtually on Tuesday at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference in Abuja, where he called for a review of government spending priorities and greater investment in electricity, agriculture, roads and technology.

Speaking alongside businessman Atedo Peterside, Sanusi called for tighter government spending, stronger institutions and increased private sector investment to address Nigeria’s economic challenges and accelerate growth.

Sanusi, who spoke virtually, said Nigeria could not achieve fiscal consolidation while continuing to spend without restraint, warning that the country’s rising debt service obligations posed a serious threat to economic sustainability.

Citing World Bank figures showing that debt service consumed 124 per cent of Federal Government revenue in the first half of 2026, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria said, “That is not how to respond to economic distress.”

Sanusi urged the Federal Government to listen to constructive criticism rather than interpret complaints about poverty and economic hardship as attacks on the present-day leadership.

While acknowledging improvements in some economic indicators under the current administration, Sanusi said the reforms had yet to translate sufficiently into better living conditions for ordinary Nigerians.

He noted that economic growth had increased from an average of 0.9 per cent under the previous administration to 4.5 per cent, while inflation had declined from above 30 per cent to about 14.5 per cent.

He also cited the increase in foreign reserves to $55bn as evidence of progress.

“I think moving from an average growth rate of 0.9 per cent to 4.5 per cent is progress. Moving from inflation of over 30 per cent to 14.5 per cent is progress.

“Moving from the point where in 2023 the central bank’s reserves were maybe negative to where we are now, having reserves of $55bn, is progress,” he said.

However, Sanusi argued that the government needed to prioritise expenditure, particularly in critical sectors such as electricity, agriculture, roads and technology.

He said, “Every $10bn spent on roads is $10bn taken away from electricity and agriculture.”

Stressing the need for deliberate decisions on allocating scarce resources, he added that economic reforms should go beyond fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange liberalisation to address structural weaknesses, poverty, hunger, healthcare and education.

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Similarly, Peterside said Nigeria should not be satisfied with economic growth of about four per cent when the country needed to grow at 10 per cent to generate sufficient jobs, expand businesses and improve living standards.

The former Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Holdings described weak investment as a major constraint to economic expansion, stressing that Nigeria needed to increase investment as a proportion of its Gross Domestic Product.

He said the absence of a level playing field, political patronage, corruption and regulatory harassment were factors in the country’s weak private sector and discouragement to investors.

Meanwhile, former President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, called for a $10bn Africa Artificial Intelligence Frontier Technology Fund to anchor a $50bn investment mobilisation programme over 10 years.

Adesina said Africa risked remaining a consumer of technologies developed elsewhere unless it invested in research, infrastructure, skilled manpower and home-grown innovation.
He said artificial intelligence could generate between $61bn and $103bn in additional economic value for Africa if deployed at scale.

According to him, the proposed fund would bring together development finance institutions, African governments, institutional investors, philanthropic organisations and technology companies.

He said, “Africa cannot become a technological leader if we do not finance our scientific ambitions.”

Adesina also stressed the need to invest in electricity, broadband connectivity, computing infrastructure and technical education to enable African businesses to compete globally.
He said Africa’s population was projected to approach 2.5 billion by 2050, investing in young people essential to the continent’s economic future.

Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said Nigeria’s ability to convert knowledge and technology into productive economic activities would determine its future prosperity.

He disclosed that the Federal Government was pursuing an approximately 90,000-kilometre open-access fibre-optic network backed by an estimated $2bn investment to expand broadband connectivity.

Tijani also highlighted plans to strengthen computing infrastructure, develop local artificial intelligence capabilities and train skilled Nigerians through the 3 Million Technical Talent programme.

He illustrated the economic cost of low technology adoption with agricultural productivity figures, saying Nigerian maize yields averaged between 1.5 and 2.5 tonnes per hectare, compared with about 10 tonnes in Brazil and Argentina.

The convener of the conference, Arunma Oteh, called for stronger domestic capital markets, increased retail participation and greater mobilisation of pension funds to finance long-term economic development.

She said governments, businesses, investors and financial institutions must work together to create an enabling environment for investment, job creation and sustainable growth.