Lamido Sanusi says that his decision not to seek a second term as Nigeria’s central bank governor recognises that he has “annoyed” many people whose approval he would have needed to secure office again

Lamido Sanusi, Nigeria’s central bank governor, has shed light on his decision not to seek a second term in office, saying that the choice acknowledges that he has “annoyed” too many of the political elite whose support he would have required to win another five years in office.

“I’ve always seen myself as a one term governor,” he tells from This is Africa the sidelines of African Development Bank meetings in Marrakech, Morocco. “The enormity of the banking reforms required certain very difficult decisions, and I don’t think I would have taken those decisions if I was seeking a second term because they were ones which annoyed many people whose approval I would have needed for another term.”

Appointed in the midst of a debt crisis in 2009, Mr Sanusi has overseen the reform and recapitalisation of Nigeria’s banking sector. That process required some controversial decisions, including firing the chief executives of eight leading banks over huge non-performing loans and other mismanagements within their institutions. And the governor has been unafraid to challenge the country’s lawmakers too, particularly over their control of spending.

Mr Sanusi says he is satisfied that he has met the goals he set himself on coming into office.

“I have never believed that it’s the length of time you stay, it’s really what you achieve - and it was important to set clear targets. I came into office at a time when the banks were about to collapse, when inflation was above 16 percent, when the exchange rate was all over the place and reserves were crashing, and my task was to restore stability,” he says.

“We have fixed the banks, the exchange rate has been stable for two years, reserves are up to $48bn, inflation is down to single digit and will remain within target for the rest of this year.

I think my work is done - and there is always virtue in knowing when it’s time to go.”

The governor and ex-First Bank of Nigeria chief executive will be taking a sabbatical and has not decided on a future position, he says: “I’ll probably disappear for about a year and then we’ll see.”