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Sanusi Reveals Why Nigeria Must Not Reverse Economic Reforms

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has warned that Nigeria’s habit of reversing economic reforms has repeatedly pushed the country backwards.

Sanusi spoke on Wednesday at the launch of the Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) 2026 Survey Report in Abuja.

He said Nigeria had made significant progress in monetary policy reforms during his tenure, but later abandoned those gains and was forced to start over.

“I think one of the sad things about the country is how easy it is to take 10 steps forward and then take 30 steps back,” he said.

Sanusi said when he left the CBN, inflation had fallen to about 7.8 percent and the apex bank had moved towards inflation targeting and established a framework for tight monetary policy.

“We had already moved to some targeting, 6 to 9 percent. We had all the models. We thought we had established this discipline of tight money. We had an independent Central Bank, and then all of a sudden went back to ways and means and funding, monetising fiscal deficits, creating inflation,” he said.

He noted that the reversal meant Nigeria had to “start all over again” and stressed the need to recognise where reforms have delivered progress while fixing unresolved areas.

Sanusi also raised concerns over the disconnect between Nigeria’s huge financial flows and weak economic growth. He cited data showing OPay recorded about $368 billion in transactions last year, while Nigeria’s nominal GDP stood at roughly $300 billion, warning that high transaction volumes do not necessarily reflect increased production or incomes.

At the same event, the former CBN governor admitted that he was wrong to have delayed the entry of telecommunications companies into Nigeria’s financial services space.

“I’m responsible for delaying the entry of telcos into this space,” he said, explaining that the decision was influenced by concerns over depositors’ funds after the banking crisis at the time.

“I wasn’t comfortable allowing companies that I was not the primary regulator of to have access to a huge pool of funds,” he said.

He said the growth of fintechs has since shown telcos could have accelerated financial inclusion much earlier.

“I do think if I had allowed that to happen, there would have been much more progress,” he added, commending subsequent CBN administrations for opening the space to telcos and fintechs.

According to him, banks lack the footprint to reach millions of Nigerians, while digital financial service providers have been able to bridge the gap.

“I think we’ve made more progress in the last few years than we did in the first one because the banks simply don’t have the boots on the ground,” he said.