Lamido Sanusi: ‘If the population as a whole starts protesting what is going on in our country, how many of them can they kill?' Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters
Aristocrats rarely turn whistleblower. After all, they are more often than not the beneficiaries of a social order that guarantees them a life of privilege. So the least one could expect is that they avoid rocking the boat. Criticism of the status quo is supposed to be the preserve of the have-nots.
Hence the surprise of many when Lamido Sanusi, scion of one of the most powerful royal families in northern Nigeria, started talking publiclyabout alleged corruption in the oil industry and billions in missing revenue.
Sanusi had, up until now, led a pretty predictable life. He attended the right schools, enjoyed a successful banking career and in 2009 was appointed governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Hardly your stereotypical activist candidate.
