Nigeria’s former Central Bank Governor and Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has identified inconsistent government policies as a major reason for the country’s slow progress in both economic and agricultural development.
Speaking at a high-level dialogue jointly hosted by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) on the sidelines of the Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja, Sanusi said that Nigeria’s habit of abandoning reforms after every election has crippled growth and discouraged private investment.
According to him, the constant policy resets that accompany political transitions have made it difficult for long-term reforms to survive.
“Our biggest problem as a nation is policy inconsistency,” Sanusi lamented. “Every new administration behaves as though history starts with them. The civil service, which should safeguard institutional memory, has failed in that role, leaving us to recycle the same discussions every few years.”
Sanusi recounted how, during his time as CBN Governor, he initiated a study of six agricultural value chains to improve credit flow to farmers and attract investors. He pointed to the tomato industry in Kano as a case study where reforms were derailed by outdated regulations and lack of follow-up.
“We discovered 13 tomato varieties ideal for processing into paste,” he said. “But outdated laws made their commercial use impossible. We pushed for reform, but before it matured, the initiative was abandoned.”
He argued that the government’s role should be to build investor confidence rather than attempting to solve every agricultural problem directly.
“Government alone cannot fund every farmer,” he noted. “What it can do is create the right conditions for private capital to flow.”
Sanusi also criticized frequent policy reversals, particularly those affecting food imports, which he said have damaged farmers’ confidence and weakened the banking sector.
“Each time we change direction, we destroy investor trust. When we reversed import restrictions to lower food prices, we wiped out farmers’ profits and created bad loans. That’s not sustainable,” he warned.
He urged policymakers to link agricultural planning to long-term national goals and avoid short-term populist shifts.
“If we want to end poverty and insecurity, we must strengthen value chains and ensure continuity,” Sanusi said. “The next administration must not keep restarting from zero.”
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State also spoke at the event, describing agriculture as Nigeria’s most dependable economic pillar.
“Agriculture contributed over 26 percent to GDP in the last report, while oil accounted for just about 4 percent,” Sule said. “That tells you where our true strength lies.”
He shared how Nasarawa has backed its words with action by securing 10,000 hectares for farming, starting with 2,000 hectares, and expanding further after a successful harvest sold directly to Olam Nigeria.
“We’ve now added another 1,300 hectares with new irrigation systems,” he revealed. “Our produce goes straight to the Lafia silos for preservation before being sold to processors. Government can do more than regulate—it can participate.”
Governor Umar Dikko Radda of Katsina State emphasized that improving seed quality is crucial to achieving higher yields.
“Most of what our farmers plant are grains, not certified seeds,” he said. “Without good seeds, productivity will remain low no matter how much money is spent.”
Radda highlighted fragmented land ownership in the North as another hurdle, calling for innovation and mechanization to overcome it.
“Our lands are divided into small plots. The way forward is to combine modern technology with improved seeds to raise output,” he added.
He also backed Sanusi’s call for stable agricultural policies, noting that investors are discouraged by constant uncertainty.
“We must build agro-processing zones to add value locally,” he said. “That’s how to create jobs, increase farmers’ income, and boost the economy.”
On his part, Olam Nigeria’s Vice President, Ade Adefeko, revealed that the company is deepening its investment in local agriculture with a new $45 million soy processing plant in Ekiti State.
“We see opportunities, not obstacles,” Adefeko said. “Our continued investment in Nigeria shows our confidence in the sector’s future. What we need are steady, investor-friendly policies to sustain growth.”
