Finance expert,Akin Oladeji John-Brown, has faulted the recent nationalisation of three banks in the country, stressing that it was not the solution to the problems in the banking sector.Speaking to newsmen in Lagos at the weekend, Oladeji John-Brown said that most nationalised companies throughout the world could not be said to have performed better, stating that such decision would only provide temporal relief.According to him, though the bridge bank model may be flawed by some stakeholders, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) have succeeded in stabilising the financial market.The nationalisation of some banks, he said, was a short term measure meant to achieve long term market stability.'The intervention of CBN, NDIC and AMCON in the so called contrived nationalisation and subsequent acquisition is a business game that cannot stand the test of time. The whole timeline for the recapitalization of the banks is too artificial and just meant to achieve what I see as pre determined goals,' he said..He further argued that nationalisation was good provided it is well thought out and carefully implemented.A thorough restructuring and cleansing of the system, he said, would help to restore sanity. Equally important, according to the expert is the imposition of good corporate values, effective and incorruptible regulatory framework which he said would produce long term benefits than the current cosmetic approach.He called for a holistic approach by all finance services sector's regulators to protect investors. He sympathised with investors that lost all their hard earned investment in the nationalised banks, adding that was part of the risk that inherent in the stock market.The expert however blamed the regulatory agencies for not doing enough to protect investors.Oladeji John-Brown continued, 'You don't need a sooth sayer to know that there is a failure of regulation in the financial system. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is part of the system and cannot be expected to do better than what is currently operating'.On the new initiatives by the stock market regulators to take the market out of the wood, he said those initiatives would take time to come into fruition.He added, 'There is a life cycle to market crash. Average recovery age of market crash is between 4 to 5 years. There is nothing unusual in the Nigeria case except that we refused to accept global market realities when it happened. A dynamic multi initiatives approach will solve the problems.He advised the Minister of Finance, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, to consider local peculiarities in the formulation of economic policies. As Coordinating Minister of the economy, Oladeji John-Brown said it would be erroneous to think she could single handedly affect the lives of the ordinary Nigerians. Okonjo-Iweala, he added, should work with others as a team. 'In fact her exotic experience may be an albatross to effective running of government policy if she does not consider local peculiarities'.He advised the government to ensure there is consistency in policy formulation and implementation in order to attract foreign investors. Lack of continuity, he said, is the nation's major drawback.
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