Nigeria’s GDP Growth Failing To Improve Citizens’ Welfare says Emir Sanusi

The Emir of Kano and former Central Bank Governor, Muhammadu Sanusi II, says Nigeria’s economic growth figures are not translating into better living standards for most citizens. He made the remark while delivering the keynote address at the 7th African International Conference on Islamic Finance in Lagos.

Sanusi warned that headline indicators like GDP growth and inflation often conceal worsening conditions for ordinary Nigerians. He said growth concentrated in narrow sectors could mean that while the economy appears to expand, the majority of citizens are becoming poorer.

The former CBN governor urged Islamic financial institutions to promote inclusive growth by investing in rural areas and supporting small and medium enterprises. He said true financial inclusion requires reaching people at the “bottom of the pyramid,” rather than focusing on urban clients in Lagos and Abuja.

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Sanusi also called on Islamic finance operators to mobilise capital for grassroots development and to challenge cultural barriers limiting women’s participation in the economy. He cited projections showing that by 2050, 85 percent of the world’s poor will live in Africa, with Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo accounting for half of that number.