CBN threatening livelihoods in Nigeria
19/02/2010
The Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN's) policy to clamp down on the amount of lending carried out by the country's financial institutions is harming prosperity.
That is according to Polycarp Ebri, writing in Nigeria's Daily Sun publication, who said that the middle class, which has only appeared in the last few years after a long military rule, is now being threatened.
Many Nigerians now have a sustainable means of livelihood and can afford to purchase new cars and household appliances, but the global recession has caused the CBN to move to regulate the banks too harshly, meaning people can now no longer access credit, it was claimed.
"[Loans] enhanced the profile of many young Nigerians. Banks ... also offered job opportunities to thousands of fresh graduates and have by so doing empowered them economically, thus swelling the middle class cadre," Mr Ebri said.
However, former first lady of the US and the nation's current secretary of state Hillary Clinton recently claimed that the overall quality of life among Nigeria's citizens has deteriorated in recent years, thanks to political corruption.
