Who Is Emir Sanusi Fighting For?

Emir Muhammad Sanusi II of Kano has praised the APC-led government for returning the country to meaningful economic growth, which he put at 4.5 per cent of GDP in the second quarter of 2026.

His only caution is the impact the government’s reforms have had on Nigerians at the bottom of the pyramid.

Atedo Peterside, a former chief executive of Stanbic IBTC who narrowly missed out on replacing Sanusi as CBN governor in 2013, has much stronger words to describe Nigeria’s economic trajectory.

In a recent interview, Peterside said the reforms are succeeding in making the rich richer while the poor are getting poorer. The reforms, he insisted, are worse off than they were three years ago.

The bottom line for Peterside is that the reforms have failed at least 100 million Nigerians.

If the Emir genuinely wants the government to address the impact of the reforms on ordinary Nigerians. A good place to start would be advocating for a new minimum wage that workers can actually live on.