Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Monday ruled out going into politics as a prelude to run for the 2015 presidential election after finishing his tenure in June 2014.
Sanusi, who spoke on Hardtalk, a BBC current affairs programme, said even though he had been approached to vie for an elective post after the expiration of his tenure, he would not do so as he had no interest in politics.
Sanusi said: “In my life, I have never gone for anything in which I had no preparation. I am the governor of the central bank today because I am an economist and I am a banker and I think I was prepared for that job.
“I have no preparation for politics; I have no interest in it. I don’t know how many times I have to say that, but people always say what they want to say. People have spoken to me and they continue talking to me and I give them the same answer. I am not ready, I don’t want it and I am not interested.”
According to him, being a good central bank governor does not necessarily mean that one would succeed as a politician.
“I have seen enough people being successful in their professional life and then go into politics and destroy everything they have built.
“So I think if I go into politics, it will destroy everything I have built. I have stayed in Abuja long enough to know that I cannot survive one year in that space (politics). I think it requires a particular type of skill to be there and I don’t have those skills.
“Surely if I were interested in politics, I would ride on my record at the central bank. I don’t need to spend money. I have brought down inflation, I have a stable exchange rate, I have a track record to go on; I don’t need that,” he added.
Sanusi described the 2011 elections as the “most expensive in the world”, saying election years globally are always accompanied by a lot of spending.
When quizzed on the ongoing debate over the zoning of the presidency to the north by some politicians, the CBN governor argued that elections should not be based on where the president comes from, adding that people should instead focus on what individuals have to deliver and offer the country.
Speaking on the agricultural sector, he said the imposition of a 100 per cent tariff on the importation of polished rice was not healthy for the economy as it encourages smuggling.
“I don’t believe that tariffs are the way, certainly tariff will not address the problem and I have made that very clear. High tariffs simply make rice smuggled from the Republic of Benin from which they charge five per cent, more attractive because we have porous borders.
“The real challenge with agriculture is dealing with productivity, irrigation, seeds, fertliser, training and access to market,” he said.
Source: Thisday
