A former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo, has said his family went into exile because of several threats to their lives when he introduced the banking consolidation policy in 2004.

Soludo added that he received 19 written threats to his life following that policy.

He stated this in an interactive session with some journalists in Awka, the Anambra State capital.

Soludo, who is contesting for the governorship of Anambra State on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, said a good leader must be adamant and revolutionary when embarking on progressive policies.

He said, “I am a very impatient person to see change happen and I am passionate in anything I focus on. At that time, no bank in Nigeria was in the top 1,000 banks in the world. If you needed to make an investment of $500m, you had to go through the then 39 banks and it was an impossible task.

“If you wanted to borrow abroad, there was no bank here to guarantee that. So, I came to the realisation that if we wanted to build a private sector-driven economy, it was not possible with the rickety ‘mama and papa’ banks, which could not guarantee even N3m loan. We, therefore, needed to pull down the house and rebuild it.

“There was nothing I did not see. I received 19 written threats to my life. Even there were attempts to kidnap my children at Offa in Kwara State. So, it was a very brutal revolution. I had to evacuate my family during the banking consolidation because when you want to uproot a system, it is usually a deadly routine.”

The Professor of Economics said his quest to govern the state was not for personal enrichment as God had blessed him all round, even before he became 30 years.

•Text (excluding headline) courtesy of The PUNCH.