Investing On Light Trains Won’t Develop North – Emir Sanusi

BY AMOS TAUNA, KADUNA – The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi II Lamido Sanusi, on Wednesday in Kaduna said investment on light trains won’t solve the economic problem of the country.
Addressing the Second Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit, the former CBN Governor said, “Borrowing to invest in light trains in regions like Northern Nigeria does not drive the economy, but instead encourages them to join the trains to attend weddings or naming ceremony.
“At the end of the day, a nation and a state is only transformed by vision, once the vision is flawed, every single thing that follows logically collapses.”
According to emir, that the Federal Government spends whooping 66 per cent of Nigerian revenue on servicing debt interest, while a paltry 34 per cent of the revenue is reserved for capital and recurrent expenditure.
The Kano monarch noted that there was Africa’s rising debt after the debt relief by the London and Paris clubs, adding that the economic growth would not come from borrowing but from local and foreign investments.
“Federal Government spends 66% of revenue on interest of debt leaving only 34% of revenue available for capital and recurrent expenditure. In the 2017 budget presented by the President the amount earmarked for debt servicing is in excess of the non oil revenue.
“The problem with the budget is that it goes for more debts considering that 66% is paid as interest from the nation’s revenue; that means, more debts will be accumulated for the country so where do we stop, 70%, 80%.
“As a country, both national and state government level, the model of borrowing has reached its limit growth can only come from investment because you cannot continue to borrow unsustainably.”
Speaking on the Keynote address titled, ‘Promoting Investment in the Face of Economic Challenges,’ Sanusi said if North-west and North-east were to be countries ,they would be one of the poorest countries in the world, noting that Borno and Yobe states are poorer than Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
He said the two regions were backward in all human development indices such as adult literacy, maternal morbidity, infant mortality, girl child completion rate, per capital income and number of children out of school among others.
The monarch lamented the recurring impasse between the executive arm, National Assembly and the judiciary, noting that it could only serve as distraction as it does not allow the national leaders focus on issues affecting the common man such as power, education, healthcare and infrastructure.
“All the conversation is about the national assembly, the executive, the judiciary, conflict between this politician and that politician as well as confirmation of EFCC boss. Within the period in review there has been no serious conversation around the people. It has created noise at the expense of good efforts.
“If you create noise, nobody is seeing your progress on security, the fight against corruption. All we see is a constant struggle between certain politicians and others holding this country to ransom and all of us have been sucked into it,” he said.