Video: Emir Sanusi hails CBN’s mop-up of excess cash, credit reforms for pulling Nigeria from economic brink
Emir Lamido Sanusi
Abdullateef Fowewe
Muhammadu Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has delivered a resounding endorsement of the bank’s recent monetary policies during a panel at the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit (#NES31).
Speaking on the Federal Government’s push for a “simpler, fairer, and more efficient tax structure,” Sanusi praised the CBN for stabilising Nigeria’s economy after years of “loose money and uncontrolled growth in money supply.”
The Emir outlined key achievements over the past year.
“I have nothing but positive words for what the central bank has done,” Sanusi began, crediting the bank with decisive action.
He highlighted how the CBN “has taken the last one year to mop up all that money,” leading to stabilised exchange rates and a pullback “from the brink of total economic collapse.”
Sanusi noted tangible progress despite challenges.
Inflation, while still at 20%—“still very high”—is “coming down” from peaks of a few years ago.
Foreign reserves have surged to over $40 billion, and GDP growth has outpaced population growth for the first time in years, with the first quarter exceeding 3% and the second quarter topping 4%.
The endorsement comes as Nigeria navigates high interest rates and ongoing inflation, but Sanusi emphasised long-term gains, “This is the first time in a long term that this economy has been growing faster than the population.”
