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Soludo blames economic crisis on poor policies

By Uzoma Nzeagwu, Awka
19 May 2017   |   4:35 am
The former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, has stated that the current economic crisis affecting Nigeria was as a result poor ideas from policy-makers.

The former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, has stated that the current economic crisis affecting Nigeria was as a result poor ideas from policy-makers.

Soludo said: “Poor ideas transcended over superior ideas, and we went into recession which was slightly avoidable. That is why academics must be alive to their responsibility of nudging the country to reality.”

Presenting the lead paper during the 2017 international conference of the Department of Business Administration, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka, yesterday, the former CBN governor blamed the previous administration for laying the foundation for the recession.

He said part of the problem was because Nigeria failed to save funds at a time when there was unprecedented boom in oil prices, but rather engaged in unprecedented borrowing.

“If you borrow at a time of boom, what will you do in time of lack? At the same time, when we had boom, we had unprecedented unemployment.

“The problem with Nigeria’s successive policy-makers is that once oil goes up, we take it that it will remain so, and we continue to spend. But once there is a shock and oil goes down, we just think it is temporary and we start borrowing.

“They brought in the Single Treasury Account (TSA) and channelled funds into one account that did not allow spending, and they also fixed the price of foreign exchange. These are things you do not do,” he said.

Soludo said that the way to put the country on the right track is to think beyond oil, saying that it had done Nigeria more harm than good.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFUND, Barau Jibrin, represented by Mr. Alex Unachukwu, commended management of the university for hosting such a conference, particularly at a time when Nigeria needs the knowledge of academics to tackle her challenges.

The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Joseph Ahaneku, also commended the choice of Soludo as a lead paper presenter, saying he remains a world-known economist, renowned for fixing economies.

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