The CBN’s role in lighting up Nigeria

I did some research on central banks around the world and their roles in their countries. I checked the South African Reserve Bank, Bank of England, Reserve Bank of India, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the State Bank of Vietnam. They all have the same responsibility—monetary policy and financial services regulation.

However, two of them are peculiar. In addition to the typical central bank duties, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have unique responsibilities. According to the RBI’s website, “The Reserve Bank is one of the few central banks that has taken an active and direct role in supporting developmental activities in their country”.

But while their development activities are limited to financial service companies and banks, Nigeria’s central bank’s responsibilities extend to other sectors. According to the CBN’s website, “In addition to its core functions, CBN has over the years performed