…As Yusuf describes media critical to financial stability
By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief
Editor of Vanguard Newspaper, Eze Anaba, has charged Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to prioritise lending to the real sectors of the economy, especially agriculture, manufacturing, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and infrastructure, in order to achieve the $1 trillion economy by year 2030, set for the nation by President Bola Tinubu.
He gave the charge at the 36th Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Seminar for Finance Correspondents and Business Editors, in Abuja, yesterday.
He expressed disappointment that banks have not been lending to the real sectors of the economy at levels required to significantly grow the economy and that the trend must change to achieve the $1 trillion target by 2030.
Mr. Anaba said, “The President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria recently said that manufacturers cannot access loans.
“So, in this quest for a $1 trillion economy—yes, there’s nothing wrong with ambition. They say if you don’t have vision, you will perish. That’s true. But ambition must be matched with sincerity.
“The economy is driven by the informal sector—people who need N10,000 or N20,000 naira to buy items to run their businesses. The big manufacturers don’t even have the political connections to get the funds they need.
“Until the banks start operating professionally, fairly and justly, this quest for a $1 trillion economy will remain a pipe dream.”
The editor also observed that small business owners have been unable to access loans from the banks, thereby hindering their growth and expansion.
According to him, “Small-scale traders and businesses cannot access loans to run their operations. How do you drive an economy where loans are only available to those with political connections—people who will not use the money productively?
“Loans are only available to people who don’t even have the capacity to manage or run businesses. Many Nigerians have an interest in business. Can we access loans to run those businesses? Today, small-scale businesses are suffering due to lack of access to funds.”
He charged the CBN to be more aggressive in the performance of its regulatory functions in the banking sector.
The editor said, “To get the desired impact and to drive the quest for a $1 trillion economy, I urge the CBN to be more aggressive in its regulatory control of the banks. There are no two ways about it—the CBN has to be more aggressive.”
CBN media partnership
Mr. Anaba, who is the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), called for greater collaboration between the CBN and the media to put the banks on their toes by pressuring them to lend to the real sectors that would yield an accelerated growth of the economy.
His words, “Let’s talk to ourselves critically. How can the media and the CBN work together to make our financial institutions more purposeful, fit for purpose, and useful to businesses, so that our economy can grow?”
Mr. Anaba also urged objectivity among media practitioners, whom he said should always bear in mind the overall health of the banking sector and the economy in their reportage.
Earlier in her remarks, the Director of Payments System Supervision Department, Dr. Rakiya Yusuf, described the media as critical stakeholders needed to build trust among members of the public in the recapitalization exercise and the journey towards the $1 trillion economy.
She urged media practitioners to always bear in mind the grave responsibilities society has placed on them and remain constantly objective and patriotic in carrying out their duties.
In his own contributions as a panelist, the Director of Payments System Policy Department, Mr. Musa Jimoh, urged greater transparency by the banks as technology becomes more relevant in their operations.
He also called for greater human capital development, especially in the area of Fintech, noting that the nation had lost a lot of fintech experts to the “Japa” phenomenon and that steps must be taken to replace the lost expertise to man the technology infrastructure.
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