CBN, UBA Train Students on Nationwide Financial Literacy

Ademola Babalola in Ibadan

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the United Bank for Africa (UBA) have stepped up the campaign for financial literacy across the six geopolitical zones of the federation in an effort at ensuring that over 80% of Nigerians are depositing their monies in Nigerian banks by year 2020.

The CBN and UBA management staff at a separate interface with rural students of Leo Community Grammar School, Apata, Ibadan and Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo, Oyo state said the renewed efforts was to encourage savings among people living outside the state capitals.

While the CBN management was led by its Principal Manager of the Consumer Protection Department, Mr. Damola Atanda, the UBA was led to Oyo Alaafin by its Executive Director, Ayoku Adeoye Liadi, who is the ED in charge of Lagos and West banks.

Atanda told reporters that the CBN was marking the October 31st world saving day and has accordingly directed the banks nationwide to go into the hinterlands to strengthen the implementation of National Financial Literacy Framework (NFLF) by highlighting the importance of savings to the rural students so as to safeguard their future and the nation’s economy.

The CBN officer said the primary objective of the programme is to increase awareness on importance of savings, earning a livelihood, inculcate savings habit, employment and entrepreneurship for personal and national development.

While stressing that the CBN was covering over 200 secondary schools in remote areas of the country for this year’s world savings day, Atanda also warned people to beware of wonder banks, just as he re-echoed the need for over 400 selected students of Leo Community to always remember the saying which goes thus: “Don’t save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.”

Ayoku Adeoye Liadi, while speaking with newsmen in Oyo said the aim of the campaign is to encourage savings among upcoming generation in the country.

Over 400 students and teachers from the school were taken through over 30 minutes educative talk on advantage of saving in baking sector, especially at younger age.

According to Liadi, “Banking is what people think is a high activity but it is not, everybody should have an account in a bank. The students here do not even think that they should have an account in a bank, but with this, I think they will tell their friends and others about having an account in a bank. It’s what if we do it a lot in rural areas make things better.

“It is important we inculcate the savings culture when people are young. When you start at a relatively young age, you will grow with it, we are also talking to them but they are been neglected in the past. We don’t want a situation when you get to university or working that you start saving. When we catch them young like this, and I think the right thought and message is for many people to be bankable.

“This is going to help the system. There are a lot of money outside the banking system. The number of students we talk to here are about 400 today. This programme is expected to create awareness among the people outside the state capital for savings and financial literacy, most importantly. It is just to encourage people that they need to keep their money in banks for safety purposes to avoid theft.

“That is why Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is trying to implore many commercial banks to go there to tell people that there is need for them to save in a formal institution,” Liadi said.

Commending the initiative, the vice principal, Administration, Olivet High School, Mr. Tunde Sulola commended the UBA’s initiative.

He said: “The programme is a laudable and wonderful programme. It is an eye opener. Apart from the students, some of us that are teachers too have been seriously exposed to the tenets of savings.

“Apart from the fact that all our students are excited, they will go back home to tell their parents the need for them to begin to save and the teachers too, we have been lifted and we will pass the message to our children by the time we get home.

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