A former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof Charles Soludo has opened up about the threats he received when he introduced the banking consolidation policy in 2004.
According to him, he had to leave Nigeria because of the numerous 19 written threats he received over his policy.
He spoke with journalists in Awka, the Anambra State capital and said: “I am a very impatient person to see change happen and I am passionate in anything I focus on.
“At that time, no bank in Nigeria was in the top 1000 banks in the world. If you needed to make an investment of $500m, you had to go through the then 39 banks and it was an impossible task. If you wanted to borrow abroad, there was no bank here to guarantee that.
“So, I came to the realization that if we wanted to build a private sector-driven economy, it was not possible with the rickety ‘mama and papa’ banks, which could not guarantee even N3m loan. We, therefore, needed to pull down the house and rebuild it.
“There was nothing I did not see. I received 19 written threats to my life. Even there were attempts to kidnap my children at Offa in Kwara state. So it was a very brutal revolution. I had to evacuate my family during the banking consolidation because when you want to uproot a system, it is usually a deadly routine.
