The Desk — Finance, Policy & the View from the Street By Kemi Adeosun
If Nigeria wants lower interest rates, we need to stop looking at the CBN
Governor Cardoso — with the greatest of respect — it is not you.
I can already see some people Googling my credentials. Save the data. I studied economics before I became an accountant, and economics — unlike most things you study — never quite leaves the bloodstream. I am not claiming omniscience. I am claiming a view. And the view is this: if we really want lower interest rates, the CBN Governor is not the person to look to.
With the greatest of respect to Governor Cardoso, the room where Nigeria’s interest rate is actually set is not in Abuja. It is in the save-or-spend decisions households and companies make and whether we trust the institutions enough to leave money there.
