Joseph Oladele Sanusi
| Joseph Oladele Sanusi | |
|---|---|
| Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria | |
|
In office 29 May 1999 – 29 May 2004 |
|
| Preceded by | Paul Agbai Ogwuma |
| Succeeded by | Charles Chukwuma Soludo |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
24 September 1938 Ogbagi, Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria |
Chief (Dr.) Joseph Oladele Sanusi (born 24 September 1938) is a Nigerian chartered accountant who was Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from May 1999 to May 2004.
Sanusi was born on 24 September 1938 in Ogbagi-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria. He studied at South-West London College and Kingston College of Technology, England from 1962 to 1965, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. He became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in 1969, and became a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Bankers in 1987.
Sanusi worked first as an Accountant in England, then with the Board of Customs and Excise in Nigeria. He joined the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 1966 as a Deputy Manager. He became a Departmental Director in 1977, Chief Executive of the Securities and Exchange Commission (1978–1979), Executive Director, Monetary and Banking Policy (1979–1984), and Deputy Governor (1988–1990). Sanusi left the CBN to become managing director and Chief Executive of United Bank for Africa (1990–1992), then managing director and Chief Executive of First Bank of Nigeria (1992–1998). He was also Vice-Chairman of Nigeria Merchant Bank and Chairman of Banque Internationale du Benin.
In May 1999 Sanusi was appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria by President Olusegun Obasanjo, serving until May 2004. Sanusi was picked as a safe and conservative banker. He quickly introduced foreign exchange controls in an effort to reduce the drain on foreign reserves which had fallen from over $7 billion to under $4 billion in the last two years, and to defend the Nigerian naira. Oil revenues, the primary source of foreign exchange, had dropped below the level needed to cover basic requirements. The business community was hostile to the efforts to prop up the currency, believing that devaluation coupled with exchange market reform was necessary.
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