Sanusi, widely respected by economists in Nigeria and
abroad, was suspended by President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday over alleged
financial misconduct, a move seen by many analysts as politically motivated.
Sanusi has accused the state Nigerian National
Petroleum Company (NNPC) of misappropriating $20 billion (14.5 billion euros),
allegations that earned him powerful enemies across the government.
In an interview with AFP in Lagos , Sanusi said many of the people
advising Jonathan are sycophants who do not speak frankly about the extent of
corruption in government.
“When you sit with President Jonathan himself
he appears a nice simple person who is trying his best to do his best,"
Sanusi said.
"His greatest failing obviously is that
he is surrounded by people who are extremely incompetent, who are extremely
fraudulent and whom he trusts.”
Jonathan, who has led Africa 's
most populous country and top oil producer since 2010, is expected to seek
another term in elections next year, but must first overcome unprecedented
divisions within his own party.
When Sanusi was removed, just four months
before his tenure was set to expire, analysts voiced concern that Jonathan was
seeking to sideline an increasingly vocal critic of his government's record on
corruption.
- Rights threatened? -
Sanusi learned of his suspension while in Niger for a
regional meeting. He immediately returned to Lagos , where intelligence agents from the
Directorate of State Services (DSS) seized his passport.
On Friday, he secured a temporary order from
the Federal High Court in Lagos
barring DSS agents or police from arresting him.
“I thought taking away my passport was the
beginning of infringement on my fundamental human rights," Sanusi told
AFP, explaining why he had already sought court protection.
Regarding the allegations against him, Sanusi
said he had earlier this year heard of a report condemning his performance and
wrote to Jonathan in "June or July" asking if an explanation was
needed, but received no reply.
The first time he was formally notified about
the allegations was the day he was suspended, he said.
He argued it would be too simple to describe
his removal as payback for his attacks on the NNPC.
"Since 2009 I have been annoying the
government... You’ve got people who think I have the wrong friends, people who
think maybe I have not distanced myself enough from people who are seen to be
opposition figures,” he further said.
The list of his enemies may have been built
up over years, but the NNPC affair appeared to be the final straw.
- Unprecedented graft -
The NNPC has become notorious as one of the
most opaque oil companies in the world, but Sanusi said the extent of the graft
may have reached an historic high.
“I think everybody has known that NNPC is
rotten. I don’t think it has ever been as bad as this,” he told AFP.
He has levelled various accusations against
the company, but an alleged kerosene subsidy payment scam has received
increased attention.
Even though the NNPC pays subsidies to
kerosene vendors, Nigerian consumers still pay full market price for the
product.
According to Sanusi, the so-called kerosene
subsidy money in fact pays for "private jets...yachts... and expensive
property in Beverly Hills and Switzerland ."
Sanusi has ruled out running for elected
office, but said he may still have a future in public service.
In the short term, he voiced readiness to
face any attacks that may be coming from those committed to preserving the
status quo in a nation where, despite massive oil wealth, most of the 170
million people live on less than $2 a day.
“If I am sacrificed in whatever way, my
freedom or my life... if it does lead to better accountability it will be well
worth it,” he said.
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