Nigeria Has Pulled Back From Economic Collapse - Sanusi

Nigeria Has Pulled Back From Economic Collapse - Sanusi

HRH Muhammad Sanusi II, the 16th Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has commended the apex bank's aggressive measures to restore economic stability. Speaking at a high-profile economic forum in Abuja on Wednesday, the influential monarch described the CBN's actions over the past year as a critical intervention that averted a full-blown collapse, even as the nation grapples with elevated interest rates and persistent inflation."I have nothing but positive words for what the Central Bank has done," Sanusi declared, his voice carrying the weight of his dual legacy as a traditional ruler and a veteran financial reformer. "We are coming from a background of very high instability as a result of loose money and uncontrolled growth in money supply, and the central bank has taken the last one year to mop up all that money."Sanusi's remarks come at a pivotal moment for Nigeria's economy, which has been under intense scrutiny since President Bola Tinubu's administration initiated sweeping reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the foreign exchange market in mid-2023. These measures, while painful in the short term, have begun to yield dividends, according to the emir."Interest rates are high, yes, but we have stabilized the exchange rate," he continued. "We have pulled back from the brink of total economic collapse. Inflation is coming down, it's still at 20%, but it's coming down from the very high levels of a few years ago. We have built our foreign reserves to over $40 billion. The economy has grown in the first quarter by more than 3%, second quarter by more than 4%. And this is the first time in a long time that the economy has been growing faster than the population."The emir's optimistic assessment aligns with recent official data from the National Bureau of Statistics, which reported a 3.1% GDP growth in Q1 2025 and 4.2% in Q2, outpacing the country's estimated 2.5% population growth rate. Foreign reserves, which dipped below $20 billion in early 2024 amid currency pressures, have indeed surged past the $40 billion mark, bolstering investor confidence and easing depreciation fears for the naira.Sanusi, who himself helmed the CBN from 2009 to 2014 and is credited with exposing billions in unremitted oil revenues, tempered his praise with a call for complementary fiscal discipline. He expressed support for ongoing tax reforms under Tinubu's government, aimed at simplifying the tax regime and reducing the burden on low-income earners, but urged deeper cuts in governance costs and targeted investments in agriculture and power infrastructure."I do have some reservations about one or two things like importation of food and quality of expenditure and nature of overheads," Sanusi added, echoing concerns raised by economists about policy inconsistencies that could undermine private sector gains. "But I think we're on the right path, and we've got to keep working to get to the destination. We are coming from a bad place and have come very far in the right direction now."

Source: Nigeria Has Pulled Back From Economic Collapse - Sanusi

 - NigerianEye
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