Economic experts have stated that Nigeria’s economy suffered due to the wrong policies implemented by the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
During a virtual seminar organised by the Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (ACMAN) on Tuesday, these experts said that many investors lost confidence in the apex bank and left the country as a result.
The theme of the seminar was “Mitigating Reputation Risks in Financial Industry Regulatory Institutions (Focus on CBN).” Experts had much to say about the challenges facing Nigeria’s economy and the actions needed to solve them.
Prof. Magnus Kpakol, former Chief Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo, blamed the country’s lack of productivity for the shallowness in reserves and GDP growth. He believes that the CBN should collaborate with the government and other stakeholders to improve productivity and increase Nigeria’s output.
Mrs. Toyin Sanni, CEO of Emerging Africa Group, added that the management of the CBN and financial sector must work in harmony to achieve desired goals while avoiding a repeat of the immediate past Governor’s mistakes.
Mr Johnson Chukwu, CEO of Cowry Assets Limited, stated that systems and structures were necessary to prevent future Central Bank governors from repeating the same mistakes as their predecessors. He suggested that performance target indicators be put in place to measure the performance of the CBN Governor.
In addition, Professor Auwalu Haruna, the Director of the Ahmadu Bello University Business School, Zaria, called for the development and deepening of the financial market, particularly for Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) and to ensure policies and decisions were well-communicated to avoid conflicts of policy.
Haruna believes that it is crucial to develop the SME sector to provide more enhanced employment and working opportunities. Conclusively, they emphasized the importance of finding ways to develop business models in agriculture and equipment production to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported inputs, in turn, strengthening the naira.
