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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as the apex financial institution, is the monetary authority of Nigeria on matters of currency. Its primary mandate is monetary policy, which aims to ensure price and financial system stability in order to promote economic growth. The CBN, like any monetary authority in the world, is entrusted with its responsibility by a stipulation of a parliamentary Act. In pursuance, the tenure of each management team at the CBN has been marked by defining policies—some commendable, others disastrous.
From Joseph Sanusi in 1999 to Charles Soludo, Lamido Sanusi, Godwin Emefiele and now Yemi Cardoso, the CBN appears to have had a chequered record of performance in executing its pristine mandate. The Cardoso team seems to be floundering, with economic indicators suggesting a failure to anchor inflation, stabilize exchange rate, or restore confidence in the financial system and the domestic monetary system for wealth creation by citizens.
A deeper dive into Cardoso’s tenure reveals troubling signs—not just in policy formulation and execution but also in corporate governance and professional ethics. Cardoso team seems to lack a clear direction of economic policy objective, which suggests the team’s depravity of cognate technical capacity; it is embroiled in hubris, nay, infatuation with perks and innuendos. The team engaged a 1-person consultant, now at the center of a brewing crisis within the CBN including serious concerns about due process in such hiring, controversial employee early retirement policy and vindictive termination of the career tenure of some employees.
It is evident that leadership at the apex bank is rapidly eroding trust and reputation, which attributes are bulwarks that are jealously guarded worldwide by such governmental agencies. This explains why Nigeria’s Senate had to summon Cardoso on the controversial wrangling of employees of the CBN; for instance, some employees who had significantly less than one week to their mandatory retirement had their tenure terminated while some with longer tenure horizon had such vindictive terminations commuted to retirement vide back door channels on a selective basis. Curiously, the employee early retirement targeted those at the lower rungs of middle management down to career entry point in service.
In general, the Cardoso trojan fists at the CBN fits the downside of the empirical evidence of Good to Great corporations by Jim Collins. Regrettably, the Nigerian economy is the worse for it while the economic welfare and security of citizens suffers impoverishment with consequential backlash on political authority and the incumbent administration; should this be a clue to a repeat of Carter-Volcker era of the USA?. In a nutshell, seasoned economists with cognate central banking experience are better optimisers of the mandate of central banks for economic prosperity and the smooth workings of monetary systems for wealth creation.
Erosion of CBN Independence and Reputation.
Historically, the CBN, and central banks in general, function as independent institutions, making decisions based on macroeconomic imperatives rather than political expediencies. In CBN, the consolidation of deposit money banks strengthened the financial sector, while orthodox interventions had clear economic objectives but with the Cardoso team, monetary policy has lacked coherence and focus.
Inflation continues to soar, and the naira exchange rate remains in freefall, with no clear strategy to mitigate the crisis. Beyond these economic failings, governance missteps have further dented Cardoso’s credibility and the reputation of the CBN. The controversial engagement of a 1-person consultant, which is generating internal unrest, points to a failure of due process in such hirings. The nature of this engagement—its legality, necessity, and the perceived favoritism—warrants urgent scrutiny.
Senate Summons CBN: a Symptom of a Larger Crisis
In recent times, the Nigerian Senate summoned the CBN leadership over a mix of its controversial policy affecting employee morale and invasion of psyche; it’s a signal of a deepening crisis at the apex bank that calls for a stitch in time. A policy of this magnitude, impacting senior officials and field staff who drive and anchor monetary policy, should have undergone extensive consultation and benchmarked against global best practices.
Instead, Cardoso’s team operated with opacity and impunity, further eroding trust in the CBN’s leadership and the institutional reputation of the CBN. The obvious failure to engage stakeholders in key policy decisions is indicative of a disconnect of the Cardoso team from global best practices in central banking as well as in economic policy management and administration.
The “Oso” in Cardoso and the Crisis of Legitimacy
In Yoruba culture, “Oso” signifies unexplainable wealth—riches acquired through means outside legitimate enterprise. The term “Oloso” has become synonymous with figures who acquire wealth through dubious or opaque transactions. The “word” “Oloso” in contemporary street slang best describes the mysterious financial elevation among the ladies of red light streets or easy virtues, whose lifestyle of living above means earned them the name; Oloso!
The swirling allegations around Cardoso and the financial benefits allegedly accruing to select individuals within the CBN evoke this troubling imagery. If these allegations hold water, it further justifies the urgent need for a leadership change at the CBN. Nothing best describes the shoving of cards like leadership attitude at the CBN making monetary policy look like a gambling game for strange wealth “Oso” making. The Institutional responsibility of CBN requires a deliberate and intentional policy design and engagement for wealth CREATION.
Why the President Must act Now
Nigeria’s economic woes are too severe for a CBN governor who lacks both the cognate expertise and the ethical compass to lead effectively. The global standard is clear: central banks should be led by economists with a deep grasp of monetary policy, financial stability, and economic research. Leaders of such institutions are often drawn from within the agency or similar institutions with extensive experience in applied economics.
Yemi Cardoso’s tenure has failed to inspire confidence. His policy missteps, coupled with governance scandals, threaten the reputation cum credibility of the CBN. If the President truly seeks to restore economic prosperity that delivers a positive knock-on effect on political stability and social justice, the first step is clear, appoint a qualified economist with a solid central banking background to lead the CBN. Anything short of this is a disservice to Nigerians, the economic future of the country and to the incumbent administration of Mr. President.
Mr. President can’t afford a CBN Team Lead that can’t be creative in view of the ongoing craze in extreme pendulum swings in the global space with two Orders; American and rest of the world. While a balance somehow is awaited, Africa and Nigeria in particular needs a CBN team competent enough in economic policy management and administration to help political authorities.
In this regard, the President needs to survive by shielding his head from the knock-on effects of the ongoing global swings that will come his way as a result of permutations for 2027 election cycle. The home-grown concept of Agbado Economy proposed by Mr. President during campaigning for 2023 elections must at this time be in the hands of a team that can establish the president as one of the best political economic philosophers out of Africa.
Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi, is absolutely a commendable brand in Apostolic and Nation Building efforts towards a changed nation and a renewed and revived church, within the Nigeria Church and political ecosystem.
The Bold, Inspiring and Dynamic Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi is a man worthy of all encouragement to see him do more for the salvation of humanity and liberation of Africa and the black race. The President of Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.
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