Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, emir of
Kano, says no president influenced his decisions unduly while he was governor
of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He disclosed this in an interview
with CNBC Africa at the annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association
(NBA).
Sanusi said the lack of political
interference in the operations of the CBN under his watch enabled his
administration to control inflation, fix banks and transform the payment
system.
Speaking on the need for
collaboration in building sustainable institutions, Sanusi said the country has
institutions that work but the right people should be appointed to do the work.
He said: “Institutions are those
things that lay the foundation for longterm growth and development. And when we
speak of institutions, we are talking about the legal arrangements that define
their roles; that also give transparency and consistency to their actions.
“Whether we are talking about
independent electoral bodies, independent central banks, independent regulators
or the police force, how do we get them to understand that they have a role
that is in the service of the entire nation and not at the short term
discretion of whoever happens to hold political power? This requires the legal
framework that can assess them of their roles.
“I keep saying that the CBN act
is one of the best central bank acts in the world. So, in terms of decision
arrangement, we have it. But we also need the executive to respect that independence.
We need the central bank itself to protect that independence. We need the
legislature to ensure that is being done.
“Look, I was governor of central
bank. In my five years as governor, I never had a situation in which
politicians influenced my decisions unduly. Sometimes, they will like to have
lower interest rates; sometimes, they will like you to be a bit softer, but
none of the presidents I served ever said you must do this.
“They didn’t express the view. If
the central bank wanted to do it and it was within our purview, they allow us
do it. Because of that, we were able to control the inflation, fix the banks.
We were able to transform the payment system, do the BVN.”
On the issue of migration, the
emir said: “You cannot discuss migration exclusively when you don’t discuss
development. What is it that makes people want to leave?
“You cannot impoverish a part of
the world and create a ghetto and expect people not to run out to prosperity.
You need to create some pockets of prosperity where they live. And that is all
I want African leaders to do.”
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