financial sector and the transmission mechanism 3. evaluating continuously the effectiveness of existing development finance initiatives such as agriculture credits and import - export guarantees 4. taking the public lead in encouraging examination of critical issues for economic development ( impact of infrastructure such as power, port and railways ) 5. leading further studies on the potential of venture capital and private public partnership initiatives for nigeria 6. cooperating with a state government to run a pilot programme in directing the financial sector ’ s contribution to the state ’ s social economic development. 3. 6 closing remarks nigeria ’ s economy in 2009 is like a structurally - compromised ship in a storm. this is partly due to inherent economic weaknesses such as insufficient diversification of the economy, high security risks, a complex business operating environment and inadequate infrastructure. financial sector and overall economic success will require the cbn and nigeria to do a lot of heavy lifting in many policy areas. rapid financialisation is not just a risky growth strategy ; it is also a lazy way of growing an economy. a sustainable growth path can be achieved only through substantial and fundamental economic reform. this includes ensuring that physical and institutional infrastructure is of a scale and quality required. it also calls for political will to act to reduce corruption and uphold the rule of law. i have gone into great detail to lay out clearly our vision for the banking sector and our roadmap to the future. it is indeed a great honour for me to have been given this opportunity and i can think of no better platform than this. in the next few weeks we will conclude the internal cbn restructuring exercise and also set up teams with clear targets and work streams. the reform process is on - going and happens over time. a final word to the graduating students. a university degree, and especially a doctorate degree, is the beginning of your education and not the end of it. walk into life and through life as a thirsty woman or man drinking from the fountain of knowledge. at every stage you will find your learning in a previous stage useful. over the course of your life you will discover that no knowledge is useless. guard jealously words of wisdom you come across from great men of history and you will find them good advice at some stage in your life. during the most difficult days of the ongoing banking reforms i found comfort in these short words of the roman emperor and philosopher - king marcus aurelius : “ do what is right, not popular ; do what you do for others first, and for yourself second. ” most important for you as

allow banks to be international, national or regional players. 18. one big lesson learned from the recent crisis is the need to review the existing rules and laws relevant to the financial industry in nigeria in line with the new financial environment and international best practice. in the wake of growth in the volume and complexity of financial transactions involving both local and foreign investors in the postreform era, the challenge is to ensure the cooperation of both the legislature and the judiciary to work closely in the enforcement of the existing laws relating to the financial system in order to engender confidence in the system. there is a compelling need to reform the laws that pertain to the mortgage sector particularly the land use act. this requires the strengthening of the primary mortgage institutions and the review of the relevant laws such as the land use act. with respect to loan recovery within the framework of the financial services industry, there is need to establish special courts that will handle cases of loan defaults, credit fraud and insider abuse - related cases promptly. the cbn is scaling through on a number of legislative reforms aimed at unlocking the bottlenecks to the smooth flow of credit to the real sector and especially to small and medium enterprises. 19. a major challenge in the liquidation of the failed financial institutions in the country is the prompt disposal of their assets for the settlement of the depositors. this calls for expedited action on the operationalization of the assets management corporation ( amcon ) as well as the revision of the necessary laws that will make it possible for both the cbn and ndic to liquidate failed institution ( s ) without prolonged litigation by the institution ( s ). 20. maintaining a safe and sound banking sector is essential, given the key role that banks play in facilitating economic growth and financing developmental projects, particularly key infrastructure, agriculture and industry. most emerging market economies have been known to use the domestic financial institutions to execute real sector big ticket projects and financial institutions in nigeria should not be an exception if we hope to achieve our developmental objectives. 21. distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by noting that the evolving financial landscape, with benefit of hindsight, is capable of providing the platform for sustainable economic growth and development and economic resilience if all stakeholders in the nigerian economic commit to all the various reforms and initiatives being implemented as well as commit to good governance and transparency in their respective areas of operation. i have no doubt in my mind that nigeria is destined to be an economic power and a force to be reckoned