Bank Account Numbers Don’t Equal Financial Inclusion—Emir Sanusi

Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammadu Sanusi II, has sias the number of Nigerians with bank accounts is not a true measure of financial inclusion, insisting that access to financial services must translate into productive economic activity and not just account ownership.

Sanusi spoke on Wednesday in Abuja at the launch of the 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria (A2F) survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA).

He said opening an account or moving money electronically does not, by itself, lift people out of poverty or generate income, and called for financial services to be more closely tied to agriculture, manufacturing and other productive sectors.

Citing groundnut farmers in Kano, Sanusi said a company producing ready-to-use therapeutic food for malnourished children had resorted to importing peanuts from Argentina because local farmers could not meet the required quality standards. He said the answer was not simply enrolling farmers on digital platforms, but training them, improving production and linking them to buyers.

The former CBN governor also renewed his call for the apex bank to prioritise price stability, describing inflation as the biggest threat to savings and wealth creation in the country.

He proposed that fintech companies and payment service providers use the transaction data they generate to design savings, pension and insurance products for Nigerians outside the formal banking system, suggesting that even small sums such as N100 per transaction could be channelled into savings or insurance where the systems allow.

Sanusi said such products could also protect market traders against risks like fire outbreaks and shield farmers from crop failure.

On regulatory decisions during his tenure at the CBN, Sanusi said one of his regrets was delaying the entry of telecommunications companies into financial services, noting that telcos already had the infrastructure and reach that could have accelerated financial inclusion, particularly in underserved communities.