President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that the global economic headwinds caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may have destabilized the Nigerian financial system but for the inventiveness of the sector’s regulators.
Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the 15th annual banking and finance conference of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Buhari praised the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), the National Insurance Commission, and other key stakeholders for their hard work in ensuring the country’s financial system’s stability.
Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, represented the President, who assured the entire banking and finance community that the government would continue to support the industry in all appropriate ways to ensure the sector continues to deliver on its mandates while creating value innovation for its customers.
Buhari stated that what Nigerians urgently require is a Nigeria of the future that leverages its strengths, competencies, and cultural diversity to address the challenges that plague its people, ranging from climate change to pandemics and insecurity, and that the “government will continue to formulate and implement policies aimed at promoting self-sufficiency in critical areas such as energy, agriculture, health, and technologies.”
Buhari also stated that throughout the last seven years, his administration has supported the repositioning of the Nigerian economy within an evolving Glocal (global and local) environment through numerous initiatives.
He cited initiatives such as the government’s support for Nigeria’s creative industry, indigenous small and medium-sized businesses, and the agricultural sector, which have increased the capacity of indigenous enterprises to compete with counterparts from other countries, while reiterating that current efforts would be sustained and expanded to more sectors of the economy.
Farouk Gumel, Chairman of Union Bank, who delivered the keynote address, advocated for banks to have a stronger physical presence in rural areas, saying, “there has been a lot of talk about closing branches in rural areas and being more efficient, but I think what is needed at this time is re-branching of banks into smaller entities such as rural branches that are targeted at meeting the banking needs of rural dwellers.” We no longer want large branches, but rather smaller and smarter branches whose goal will be to provide financial services adapted to the needs of rural people, the majority of whom are farmers.”
Gumel emphasized that great progress has been achieved in the last six years to bring banking to rural communities.
“In recent decades, the discussions have centered on food, agriculture, farmers, and the fintech sub-sector. I believe that there has been a lot of awareness, which has resulted in a lot of interest and investment. People talk about revolution all the time, but I believe it is more of an evolution. It is tough to change people’s attitudes overnight. Changing behaviors requires time and effort. While a result, expectations must be moderated as we work our way to our desired destination.”
Ken Opara, the Institute’s President/Chairman of the Council, stated that innovation is bringing forth new ways of doing things that are transforming the landscape of the financial services business more than ever before.
“As a result of the dynamics,” he continued, “the financial services sector will need to respond to this transition considerably faster.” Services, goods, and technical advancements that were novel and valuable yesterday will be obsolete today. It is a reality that the financial services industry has changed faster in the previous few years than at any other period in history.”
He stated that, as the world evolves, the financial services industry will need to explore innovation and reorganize its operations in order to succeed in the future.
