Running the Central Bank of Nigeria is a challenging job. Most people think that the CBN governor has a magic formula to deepen the strength of the economy and the currency without efforts from the ministries of science, agriculture, etc. So, if the Naira falls, call the CBN governor. Unfortunately, in all nations, the strength of currencies comes from warehouses and factories (the old industrial type of Dangote Cement and the modern type we see in startups like Egoras). Yet, we see the money shrine in Abuja as the best temple to decide the fate of Naira.

Of course, the CBN has a role to play on how those factories operate through monetary policies which affect many things in the  economy. As we evaluate those, Godwin Emefiele comes into that view. When he called the deal to change the Naira notes, I had expected many to just THANK HIM.

But it seems there is nothing he can do that will win the hearts of the majority. That policy is a hat trick even though there were goals against,  but generally it is a game we can all enjoy to see how it plays out. But that may not be the only thing.

Yes, “The Central Bank of Nigeria has said it would launch a national domestic card scheme on January 16, 2023.The scheme will be launched through the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) in partnership with the Bankers Committee….The bank said apart from fostering innovation within the Nigerian domestic market, the scheme would allow banks to offer a variety of solutions including debit, credit, virtual, loyalty and tokenized cards amongst others. …But a national domestic card is expected to rival Visa and Mastercard, the market’s biggest players.”

If this card system goes ahead, Verve from Interswitch will have a major competition. You can also say that for Visa and Mastercard cards within Nigeria. But it is not clear how the CBN card will be integrated into the global payment system.

While we commend CBN for these ideas, it has to watch how it is reshaping competition, and making it likely not exciting for private sector banking players to have motivations to invest in innovation. We have e-Naira. Now, they are bringing a domestic card scheme which I think is a great idea except that allowing the apex bank to run it, instead of going through the consortium of banks, may send the wrong signals.

Emefiele is playing many drums, he is hoping that Nigerians will dance along. He needs to watch carefully as he can create uncertainty that many will not care to invest in the financial sector since it appears the government via CBN can do everything. This is not to say that a domestic card scheme is bad in any way!

All Together {LinkedIn Summary)

Not sure how to summarize this one here. But I want to note that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has had a lot of music out there recently. We have the eNaira which may freeze commercial banks if it had succeeded. Now, it wants to run a card issuance scheme (local version of Visa and Mastercard). If it succeeds, Interswitch Verve may have a problem ahead.

While we welcome new ideas, the apex bank must evaluate how these activities will affect interest on new investments in the economy. I do not believe that CBN will beat the commercial banks on innovations even if the products are made free for users.

CBN should focus on catalytic initiatives and not these marginal interventions which our commercial banks can band together and execute. I support a local card issuance scheme but I do not want it driven by the central bank. The Bankers committee can lead these initiatives under the supervision of CBN. They have got great results in BVN and other initiatives.

Sure – the message is clear: mop up all Naira notes by changing the notes, force people to comply with the digital-economy regime, and then give them the local cards to complete the end-to-end playbook. We get it and I commend Emefiele. But he needs to calibrate so that as he beats these drums, the music will be clear for the right dance steps.

On Wednesday, Elon Musk tweeted a video of himself entering Twitter headquarters with what appears to be a sink in his hands.

The video, which he captioned “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!”, is believed to be a suggestion that he would be closing the Twitter deal on or before the Friday deadline.

Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in! pic.twitter.com/D68z4K2wq7

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2022

Musk has been in a dogfight with Twitter since he made his $44 billion acquisition bid for the social media platform earlier this year. The world richest man had in July, informed Twitter that he’s pulling out of the deal due to suspected inaccuracies in the number of users – which he said majority is made up of bots.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO agreed to pay as much as $54.20 per share in April, way above the price of Twitter shares at that time. His attempt to walkout of the deal forced Twitter to file a lawsuit to compel him to finish what he started. Musk’s fake accounts claim was believed to be an excuse the billionaire was going to use to get a cheaper deal. But he argued that not knowing the actual number of users left the business’s true market value in doubt.

However, earlier this month, Musk had told Twitter that he would proceed with the deal on the agreed price, setting up a potential out of court settlement for the parties.

Besides sharing the video of himself with a sink at Twitter HQ, the 51-year old also changed his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit”, suggesting his new position as the owner of the social media company.

One of Musk’s biggest challenges to the deal was funding. He had sold $7bn worth of Tesla stock in August to raise money to complete the acquisition, but his backers started to rethink the deal. Many believe that Twitter was overvalued.

But once again, his partners have rekindled their interest in the deal, after Musk tweeted earlier this month that Twitter will serve as a preamble to his X ‘everything’ app.

Bloomberg reported that the banks involved in the takeover have finished putting together the final credit agreement and are in the process of signing the documentation of the $46.5bn in equity and debt financing for the takeover. Musk reportedly told them that he plans to close the deal on Friday.

A number of banks, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, are said to have committed $13bn in debt financing to support the deal.  Under the deal, equity investors, including Oracle Corp co-founder Larry Ellison and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, will contribute $7.1bn.

Tesla shares have taken a hit since April when Musk made his offer, losing over $400 billion. Musk who had been counting on the testimony of a whistleblower – former Twitter engineer who had accused the company of gross misconducts – especially on security and data management, was hit with major setbacks after court rejected his pleas, including his prayer for a delayed trial.

A Delaware Chancery Court judge had given Musk until Oct. 28 to close his acquisition of Twitter if he wants to avoid a trial.

Twitter is Musk’s preferred social media platform. In his letter to the company’s shareholders, he promised to take the company private, make it more profitable if they approve his offer. Musk’s U-turn on the deal pushed Twitter stocks from $44 per share on April 14 to $32 in July. The report that he is back on the deal has seen Twitter share price jump to $53.32, where it is currently trading.