The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has cautioned ministers and presidential aides in President Bola Tinubu’s administration against sycophancy, urging them to offer honest and constructive advice that can help rescue Nigeria’s struggling economy.
Speaking at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference and Book Launch held in Abuja, Sanusi lamented that Nigeria’s governance crisis has been deepened by flattery and the marginalisation of truth-tellers.
“Our leaders listen, but only to those who tell them what they want to hear,” Sanusi said, according to Vanguard. “Nigeria has too many sycophants in government. Those who speak the truth are seen as enemies of the state.”
The former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) decried the culture of excessive praise and blind loyalty in political circles, describing it as one of the biggest obstacles to good governance.
“You sit in a meeting and the President is there. The first thing people say is, ‘Mr. President, I want to thank you for your great leadership. God has blessed Nigeria by making you our leader,’” he said. “By the time they finish laying that foundation, it is their advice that the President accepts. But when you tell the truth and point out what is wrong, you become the enemy.”
Sanusi urged Tinubu’s ministers and advisers to restore integrity and accountability in public service by speaking truth to power rather than seeking personal favour.
“Those who work with the President must understand that it is not in their benefit to turn themselves into praise singers,” he warned.
While commending the Tinubu administration for removing fuel subsidies and unifying the exchange rate, Sanusi cautioned that the success of such reforms depends on institutional discipline, prudent fiscal management, and a reduction in wasteful spending.
He advised the government to demonstrate leadership by example through cutting unnecessary costs, reducing the cabinet size, and ensuring transparent management of public funds.
“If you stop paying subsidies but continue borrowing more, it means you’ve filled one hole only to dig another,” Sanusi said. “The real challenge now is the quality of government spending and the management of revenues saved. In 2012, we warned that the subsidy was unsustainable, but politics took over. Now, those who once led protests against it have inherited the problem and had no choice but to do the right thing.”
The conference, themed “Reimagining Leadership and Governance in a Changing Africa,” brought together policymakers, development experts, and academics to deliberate on practical strategies for effective leadership and institutional reform across the continent.
