Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has ruled out going into politics and running for office in 2015, after finishing his tenure in June 2014.
Speaking, Monday on Hardtalk, a BBC current affairs programme, Sanusi 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.
“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.”
Sanusi noted that 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.
Asked about his take 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.
