Opinion: There Is No Future for Nigeria Without Restructuring, The Soludo Banking System Example - Mbe Nwaniga

We will always fear restructuring.It sends cold shivers down our spines.When CBN governor; Chukwuma Soludo talked about restructuring the banking system in his 13 point agenda in 2004 after being appointed into the position,Nigeria went ablaze.
Wild rumours started flying up and down when he said there would be fewer banks after the restructuring.

Then he dropped the bomb in his Consolidation Of Banking Institutions Through Mergers And Acquisitions:"Banks that do not meet the minimum paid up capital by end of December 2005 or which remain unsound and marginal would be liquidated by January 2006”.

The elites went from Obasanjo to NASS.Some accused the CBN governor of having "an Igbo agenda".Many people withdrew their savings and changed it to dollars or dug a hole in their backyard and buried it there under polythene, plastic or metal wrap.I had like 45k in Standard Trust Bank which i couldn't withdraw because i was in the UK at the time but because i knew Soludo's capabilities in solving problems right from Nsukka,i didn't worry.

Well,in the end,what did we get from the banking reforms?Our financial institutions strengthened and touched the skies.Our foreign reserve rose to $64 billion by August 2008(the highest ever in Nigeria history)and my STB account changed to UBA with my 45k still intact.It even accrued significant interests.
We went through the world financial crisis of 2008 looking better than the USA,UK and Japan.

Many Nigerians are shouting about political restructuring now and they are getting the same Soludo treatment by those that will always resist a change of status quo.

Looking at the results of Soludo's reform is a peep into the future of Nigeria once it is restructured.

Support the political restructuring of Nigeria to safeguard your future.There is no future for Nigeria without this much needed restructuring.

Mbe Nwaniga