By UDEME CLEMENT

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, wants managers of financial institutions in Nigeria and the ECOWAS sub-region to exhibit high level of technology and modern banking techniques to ensure sustainable growth and curtail the Euro crisis.

He gave this advice while addressing financial experts from Nigeria and ECOWAS at the regional conference on ‘Post-economic reforms, implications for sustained economic development in ECOWAS’, organised by West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), in Abuja.

He said, “As a region, we must be prepared for the spill over of the Euro zone crisis on our economies and financial systems. In many EU countries, spill over risks from the financial and economic woes in the Euro area periphery have intensified and with weakened growth and sluggish transition from public to private demand in the United States , there are concerns about upsurge in financial volatility brought about by developments in Euro area and the weak strength of the global economy.

“While the humanitarian crisis in East Africa poses further threat to many African countries, average growth rate for most economies in the region are projected at 6 per cent on the back of strong domestic demand and accelerating exports. In the ECOWAS sub-region, relative normalcy has returned to Cote d’Ivoire after severe disruptions following the 2010 presidential election.

CBN Governor,Lamido Sanusi

The presidential election has come and gone in Nigeria and economic and political activities have returned in full swing. The CBN has, in recent times, adopted monetary tightening measures in order to curtail inflationary pressures and sustain financial stability”.

Sanusi explained, “The global financial crisis exposed the weaknesses in economic governance framework and revealed severe shortcomings in regulatory oversights in many countries, particularly the advance economies.

The crisis, most critically, revealed the importance of the interconnectivity within the financial system, and between the financial system and the rest of the economy, such that a distress in one segment of the financial system, can lead to a wider financial crisis and severe economic meltdown beyond the domestic boundaries of the originating economy.

This systemic relationship further calls for the need of a collaborative effort, by all parties, in implementing post-crisis economic reform programs.

“In the last years, at re-positioning our financial system, particularly the banking sector as a critical engine for economic growth in the sub region and the reforms have been quite challenging, the consequences are painful in most of our economies. The sacrifices have been worth the while.”

Sanusi expressed satisfaction about the initiative of WAIFEM bringing together financial experts, policy_makers and academia from the sub-region to exchange ideas on issues affecting the financial system in the region. “The institute has foresight on capacity building effort in the sub-region. The Board of Governors has no regret in establishing WAIFEM. WAIFEM was set up in 1996 to build capacity in macroeconomic, debt and financial management in the member countries’ apex banks.

“In my opinion, WAIFEM has lived up to expectations. It is not only a centre of excellence in capacity building but also a centre for networking of public sector officials in the ECOWAS sub_region. The impact of WAIFEM programmes have been attested to by the various user institutions, he said.”