Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the CBN, will undoubtedly live on in the imaginations of Nigerians, for better or worse, as Experts explain how Emefiele’s monetary policies wrecked Nigeria’s economy.
Emefiele managed Nigeria’s monetary policies and, by implication, the economy from June 2014 to June 9th, 2023, when Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration removed him.
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However, economic analysts have given Emefiele a low rating for meeting the CBN’s main objectives. The primary goal of the CBN is to ensure economic and price stability, to issue legal tender currency in Nigeria, to maintain external reserves to protect the international value of the legal tender currency, to promote a sound financial system in Nigeria, and to act as a banker and to provide economic and financial advice to the Federal Government.
Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index, also known as the inflation rate, climbed by 241% under Emefiele’s supervision, the highest since his predecessor Sarah Alabi’s brief tenure as CBN governor.
Emefiele’s term has had the highest inflation rate since 1999. For example, during Joseph Sanusi’s tenure from May 29th, 1999 to 2004, inflation climbed by 80%, and during Charles Suludo’s reign from May 29th, 2004, to 2009, inflation increased by 68%.
Meanwhile, from June 3rd, 2009 to June 3rd, 2014, the Sanusi Muhammed Sanusi rule saw a 62% surge in inflation. Despite consistent increases in the Monetary Policy Rate to combat inflation, Nigeria’s inflation remained high.
While the May inflation rate has yet to be revealed, the country’s April inflation rate is 22.22 percent, with interest at 18.5%. Multiple exchange rates were a big setback for Emefiele’s administration. Nigeria experienced a dual currency regime, the parallel markets refer to the official and black market rates.
According to the parallel market pricing, the Naira fell from N167.2 to N765 per US dollar in 2014. During Emefiele’s tenure as Nigeria’s legal tender manager in June 2014, demand deposits climbed from N5,884,873 to N20,498,1143, credit to the private sector increased from N16,927,983 to N44,100,132, and currency in circulation declined from N1,496,742 to N2,379,072.
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Emefiele’s naira redesign program, which resulted in currency scarcity in the first half of 2023, has been highly criticized for inflicting misery on Nigerians. Capital imported into Nigeria fell from $21 billion to $5 billion between 2014 and 2016.
Meanwhile, from $12 billion in 2021 to $24 billion in 2019, there has been an increase. However, imports of capital fell from $10 billion in 2020 to $5 billion in 2022.
