sanusi lamido sanusi : neither the washington nor beijing consensus – developmental models to fit african realities and cultures speech by mr sanusi lamido sanusi, governor of the central bank of nigeria, at the eirenicon africa public lecture series ( eapls ), held at the royal school of medicine, london, 27 march 2012. * 1. 0 * * introduction the need for radical re - thinking on development strategy is imperative for african countries to be relevant in the global economy. this is further reinforced by the stark reality of extreme poverty in africa. over the years, the share of africa in global trade remained insignificant despite the implementation of the policies that were recommended by international financial and development institutions, such as the international monetary fund ( imf ) and the world bank. the dismal performance of african economies calls to question, the effectiveness of the economic ideologies being prescribed by international institutions, and points to the need for a paradigm shift in order to achieve sustainable development. over the last quarter of a century, africa has been at the receiving end of liberal orthodoxy from these institutions that have persistently advocated, amongst others things, privatization of state - owned enterprises, free trade, intellectual property rights protection and deregulation of foreign direct investment ( fdi ) as requirements for developing countries to grow and develop. this policy prescription was what john williamson coined the “ washington consensus ”. this neo - liberal ideology is reflected in the policies of the bretton woods institutions : the imf, the world bank and the world trade organization ( wto ). specifically, both the imf and the world bank condition their offer of assistance to developing countries on the strict adherence to the washington consensus policies. the consensus had continued to be under severe criticism because the performances of countries that adopted its doctrine, especially in sub - saharan africa, latin america and the former soviet bloc showed that it had failed to deliver sustained growth as promised by its promoters. the remarkable economic growth of china in the past 30 years, with the country having declined to adopt the original and extended framework of the washington consensus, has raised further doubt on the unassailability of its capabilities. the significant economic miracle of china which has been described as the “ beijing consensus ” by joshua cooper ramo, represents a symbol of china ’ s success and a challenge to the washington consensus normative power. the beijing consensus is enshrined in three principles of innovation, chaos management promotion and theory of self

joseph o sanusi : management of nigeria ’ s domestic debt keynote address by dr joseph o sanusi, governor of the central bank of nigeria, at the 7th monetary policy forum organised by the central bank of nigeria at the cbn conference hall, abuja, 22 may 2003. * * * distinguished senators, honourable members of the house of representatives, distinguished invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honour and privilege to welcome you to the 7th edition of the cbn monetary policy forum. the theme of today ’ s forum “ management of nigeria ’ s domestic debt ” has been chosen in view of the increasing concern over the rapid growth of nigeria ’ s public debt and its implications for economic stability. an escalating debt profile presents serious obstacles to a nation ’ s path to economic growth and development. the cost of servicing public debt ( domestic and external ) may expand beyond the capacity of the economy to cope, thereby impacting negatively on the ability to achieve the desired fiscal and monetary policy objectives. furthermore, a rising debt burden may constrain the ability of government to undertake more productive investment programmes in infrastructure, education and public health. to avoid such a situation, it is imperative that the quantum and structure of the nation ’ s debt be carefully managed in a manner that is consistent with the country ’ s growth and development aspirations. to appreciate the dimension of nigeria ’ s domestic debt burden, it would be pertinent to undertake a brief review of its development. first, nigeria ’ s domestic debt stock stood at n23. 5 million or 1. 0 per cent of gdp in 1960 and subsequently, increased rapidly to n8, 231. 5 million or 16. 2 per cent of gdp in 1980, reaching n1, 160. 0 billion or 83. 6 per cent of gdp as at end - december, 2002. the sharp increase in domestic debt stock, over the years, was attributable largely to the failure to embark on necessary adjustment, particularly at the time of declining revenue, that resulted in growing fiscal deficits and further domestic debt accumulation. secondly, the bulk of the debt has been in short - term treasury securities with maturities of less than one year. thirdly, the banking system, mainly the cbn remains the dominant holder of federal government securities. ladies and gentlemen, it bears repeating that one major problem that has hindered the attainment of macroeconomic stability and sustainable growth has been the excessive reliance by the federal government on borrowing from the banking system,