Did Emir Sanusi Really Ask That Question?

Elempe Dele

The question Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former CBN governor, asked about borrowing is now on every lip in Nigeria:

“You cannot remove wastages and continue borrowing. If you’ve not paying subsidy and you have the money, why are we still borrowing? What are we borrowing form?

— Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Emir of Kano

Yes, he asked it. But was the question justified? Let’s look at the numbers.

_First, subsidy removal didn’t fix the budget. It only plugged one leak._ Fuel subsidy cost roughly ₦400 billion monthly before removal in May 2023 — about ₦4.8 trillion yearly. That hole is gone. But others remain.

_Look at the 2026 budget:_
– _Total spending_: ₦58.18 trillion
– _Projected revenue_: ₦34.33 trillion
– _Deficit_: ₦23.85 trillion
– _New borrowing_: ₦17.88 trillion
– _Debt service_: ₦15.91 trillion — 46% of revenue.

So even if FG collects every kobo from oil, taxes, and customs, it still needs ₦17.9 trillion to fund the 2026 budget.

_Where does the money go? It’s not hard to see:_
1. _Capital projects_: ₦26.08 trillion — Sokoto-Badagry Highway, Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, rail, power, security. “We will spend with purpose,” says FG. And we all know how bad our infrastructure was in 2023. Almost all federal roads were decrepit.
2. _Power subsidy_: ₦1.9 trillion in 2024. Discos remit only 30% of household bills. The Senate is already pushing for full subsidy removal.
3. _Recurrent spending_: ₦15.27 trillion for ministries, NASS, wages, overheads.
4. _Debt service_: ₦15.9 trillion. You can’t default without crushing the Naira and future credit.

_Add oil theft and vandalism._ Budget assumes 1.84 million bpd at $64.85/barrel. When pipelines are breached, revenue crashes.

So the real question for Sanusi is this: _What do we do to fast-track development when needs dwarf earnings?_ Why does America, the world’s largest economy, still run deficits and borrow?

_Sanusi was too narrow._ Nigeria’s problem isn’t just subsidy. It’s revenue. We earn ₦34 trillion but plan to spend ₦58 trillion in 2026.

If we stop borrowing as his question implies, 41% of the 2026 budget vanishes — ₦23.85 trillion. What do we cut?

1. _Stop paying debt?_ The Naira collapses. No lender touches us again.
2. _Cancel highways, rail, power projects?_ Infrastructure decay continues.
3. _Slash salaries?_ Soldiers, police, teachers, doctors, civil servants go unpaid. Ministries shut down.

_Consequences?_ The Naira falls. Inflation rockets. Power grid collapses because Discos can’t pay GenCos. Universities shut down. No FAAC to states. Insecurity explodes in days, worse than it is today.

Yes, raise revenue. But you can’t close a ₦23.85 trillion gap overnight. We can’t double oil output instantly. Triple VAT and allow SMEs to die. Hike personal income tax 40% without revolt. Sell all assets? Once-off sugar rush.

_So Sanusi knows this:_ Nigeria is borrowing because it wants to spend ₦58 trillion while earning ₦34 trillion. If he’s suggesting we scrap capital projects and fund only salaries and debt, is that really the counsel of a former CBN governor?

_Elempe Dele is a journalist. He writes from Okpe._