also major players on the global economic arena. indeed, nigeria ’ s poor economic performance, particularly in the last forty years, is better illustrated when compared with china which now occupies an enviable position as the second largest economy in the world. in 1970, while nigeria had a gdp per capita of us $ 233. 35 and was ranked 88th in the world, china was ranked 114th with a gdp per capita of us $ 111. 82. the major factors accounting for the relative decline of the country ’ s economic fortunes are easily identifiable as political instability, lack of focused and visionary leadership, economic mismanagement and corruption. prolonged period of military rule stifled economic and social progress, particularly in the three decades of 1970s to 1990s. during these years, resources were plundered, social values were debased, and unemployment rose astronomically with concomitant increase in crime rate. living standards fell so low, to the extent that some of the best brains with the requisite skills to drive the developmental process left in droves to other nations, and are now making substantial contributions to the economic success of their host countries. however, since 1999, the country returned to the path of civil democratic governance and has sustained uninterrupted democratic rule for a period of 11 years. this in itself is a great achievement and gives reason for hope in a country that has been burdened with almost three decades of military rule. it has provided an opportunity to arrest the decline of the past and provide the launch pad for the take - off into an era of sustainable and all - round economic development. the successive civilian administrations since 1999 have committed to tackling the daunting challenges. economic growth has risen substantially, with annual average of 7. 4 per cent in the last decade. but the growth has not been inclusive, broad - based and transformational. agriculture and services have been the main drivers of growth. the implication of this trend is that economic growth in nigeria has not resulted in the desired structural changes that would make manufacturing the engine of growth, create employment, promote technological development and induce poverty alleviation. available data has put the national poverty level at 54. 4 per cent. similarly, there has been rising unemployment with the current level put at 19. 7 per cent by the national bureau of statistics ( nbs ). furthermore, the country lags behind her peers in most human development indicators. for example, while china and thailand are on the 5th and 22nd positions,

sector of the economy. the four cardinal pillars of the reform are : enhancing the quality of banks, establishing financial stability, enabling healthy financial sector evolution, and ensuring that the financial sector contributes to the real economy, which is very critical to the type of growth that translates to improved welfare. 16. enhancing the quality of banks entails the initiation by the cbn of a five part programme to enhance the operations and quality of banks in nigeria. this programme consists of the following : industry remedial programmes to fix the key causes of the crisis ; risk - based supervision ; reforming the regulatory framework ; enhanced customer protection ; and internal transformation of the cbn. issues such as effective corporate governance, data quality, and financial crime have seen increased attention. more so, consumer confidence is also being tackled in the reform programme as complaint desks have been opened to ensure that financial services are delivered to customers as transparently and fairly as possible. 17. establishing financial stability entails conscious actions by the cbn, and other regulatory agencies to stem wide fluctuations in the key macroeconomic indicators. the high points of this pillar include, strengthening the financial stability committee within the cbn, establishment of macro - prudential rules, development of directional economic policy and counter - cyclical fiscal policies by the government and further development of capital markets as alternative to bank funding. it is hoped that the new macro - prudential rules would leverage on the following : limiting capital market lending to a set proportion of bank ’ s balance sheet ; prohibiting banks from using depositors ’ funds for proprietary trading, private equity or venture capital investment ; and adjusting capital adequacy and forward looking capital requirements driven by stress tests by the cbn. 18. enabling healthy financial sector evolution entails the cbn reviewing the basic one - size - fits - all model of banking. this has made possible the emergence of international, national, regional, mono - line and specialized banks such as non - interest banks, etc, with different capital requirements commensurate to the depth of their operations. 19. the fourth pillar of the reform has direct bearing on the development of the real sector as it seeks to position the banking system to contribute to the growth and development of the various sectors of the economy. the spirit of this pillar is anchored on the fact that real economic growth must be supported by actual rise in physical goods and services. this segment of the reform has sought to break from the classical orthodoxy of leaving the allocation of financial resources to the market forces. rather, the