THE URGENT TASK BEFORE CARDOSO
The CBN must regain its esteem as the custodian of financial wisdom
Mr Olayemi Cardoso has assumed office as the 12th Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), following his nomination by President Bola Tinubu and subsequent confirmation by the Senate. He is coming to that exalted office along with four newly appointed deputy governors at a moment of great expectations and tremendous anxiety created by two immediate factors: One, the prevailing circumstances about his predecessor, Godwin Emefiele, who remains in incarceration amid allegations of impropriety; and two, free fall of the Naira in the exchange rate markets due mainly to speculations as dollar becomes a store of value for many Nigerians. There are of course other challenges associated with the economy at a period most Nigerians can hardly afford the basics of life.
Regardless of the fancy figures and statistics being bandied in recent years, most Nigerians remain massively impoverished. Our youth cannot find work even though they keep trooping out of institutions annually. Banks continue to lend mostly to those who either do not need the loans or have no intention to repay them while majority of deserving prospective borrowers’ grumble. In general, our banks have no stomach for innovation and remain risk averse on venture capital. It is quite encouraging though that Cardoso has promised to address these broad concerns during his confirmation hearing, an indication that he has a firm grasp of the basic political and macro-economic environment into which he is stepping. What he does with this seeming awareness is an entirely different matter.
Cardoso must learn from the experience of his predecessor that dabbling into partisan politics is a slippery slope. Occupants of CBN Governor’s office or its equivalents in most jurisdictions, including notably the United States and the United Kingdom, try very hard to keep away from politics while dealing with the larger issues of mediating between the socio-economic objectives of the incumbent political dispensation and the monetary and fiscal policy measures required to achieve those objectives. But beyond side-stepping political booby traps that unfortunately terminated Emefiele’s tenure, Cardoso has the additional task of reverting the CBN to its requisite advisory and mostly technical intermediary roles. In this regard, his identification of developmental economics as a viable policy springboard deserves commendation and support when it comes into effect. This would seem to be the most credible route for ensuring that the CBN becomes more relevant to the needs and aspirations of ordinary Nigerians.
These are the realities that confront us and the CBN has a critical role to play in mitigating these disasters through its management of the banking sector and the general economic direction of the nation. In summary then, the CBN must create the monetary environment in which most Nigerians can honestly hope to realise their dreams for a better life through honest dealings in the nation’s financial system. For a people that have been acknowledged as hard working and enterprising, that is not asking for too much.
Ultimately, then, the best way to counsel Cardoso is perhaps to remind him of what the CBN is not. It is not a traditional government Ministry nor is it a political platform. It is not a philanthropic outfit nor is it a non-governmental charity. Most crucially, he must neither be an errand boy of the presidency nor set out on an ego competition with politicians and corporate show men. Instead, the CBN must regain its hallowed esteem as the custodian of financial wisdom and the government’s treasurer of last resort. In this regard, it must remain the epitome of accountability and should not hide under its regulatory authority status to violate the very rules from which its credibility and sanctity derive.
We wish Cardoso all the best as CBN Governor.
