FORBES MAGAZINE' S Person Of The Year Award

Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi Wins FORBES MAGAZINE’S Person Of The Year Award

Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has won the vote for Forbes Magazine’s African Person of the Year.
He came out tops in a vote that was keenly contested and included Africa’s richest man and compatriot, Aliko Dangote and Nobel Peace Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Nigerian banking sector has witnessed reforms since his appointment as the banking chief of Nigeria in 2009.
The apex bank rescued nine banks and sacked their executives who were accused of being culpable in the fraudulent practices of the bank’s operations.
Most of the executives were charged to court for misappropriation public finances.
The votes were cast by Forbes magazine’s readers through an online poll.
He beat Mrs Sirleaf, the Liberian president who was awarded this year’s Nobel Peace prize, Mr Dangote, a Nigeria business tycoon who tops Forbes’ list of Africa’s richest people, former Cape Verde President Pedro Verona Pires, who won this year’s $5m (£3.2m) Mo Ibrahim prize for good governance in Africa and Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan Nobel Peace laureate who died in September.
Sanusi was last year named Central Bank Governor of the year by a financial publishing magazine, The Banker.
He has attracted so many critics due to the loss of jobs his reforms has caused in the banking sector.
However, while receiving the award, he stated that the role of the central bank is not to create jobs but to ensure an environment that will ensure businesses thrive, reports Daily Trust.
He urged the government to tighten fiscal discipline and discourage imports.
“You cannot be exporting crude and be importing petrol”
Despite Nigeria’s standing on the oil producing states ranking, poverty has remained endemic in the country.