The Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi, who is also the immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s endorsement of the CBN forex policy, as an encouragement of corruption.
In a recent discussion with Financial Times, while praising the president’s removal of “wasteful and corrupt fuel subsidies”, the Emir noted that the current foreign exchange policy of the CBN would give rise to the familiar rent-seeking and corruption which were the hallmark of the subsidy regime.
“He (Buhari) has put an end to the [crude] swap regime which is also one side of rent-seeking and corruption. He has made the NNPC start producing accounts, so there is greater transparency,” Sanusi said.
“These measures are good for the economy and display strong political will to change the system. But getting monetary and fiscal policies right will be crucial for broader progress in structural reform.”
According to FT, Sanusi said that Buhari’s anti-corruption demeanor is “totally inconsistent” with the forex regime he assented to, while further stating that it “encourages corruption and rent-seeking similar to the fuel subsidy regime”.
Sanusi frowned at the said CBN policy describing it as a monetary regime that has “very obvious drawbacks that far outweigh its dubious benefits”.
“Unfortunately, because the exchange rate is right out there in front now, monetary policy is being seen as the barometer for broader economic thinking. It is sad that on this one policy you get it so wrong that you risk taking away attention from everything else you are doing.”
