The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has taken a financial literacy campaign to students and young people as a part of the 2024 Global Money Week.
This is even as the apex bank said the financial inclusion rate in Nigeria peaked at 74 percent in 2023, representing an 8 percent improvement from 64 percent in 2020.
Addressing students and young people in Abuja, Philip Ikeazor, the Deputy Governor, of Financial System Stability said it is important for young people to imbibe financial literacy skills to secure their future financially.
The GMW is an annual global awareness–raising campaign which seeks to educate young people, from an early age, on the importance of having the right knowledge, tools, attitudes, and behaviours necessary to make sound financial decisions and ultimately, achieve financial well–being for the future. Every year in March, the world celebrates the
To commemorate this year’s GMW, he said the CBN has lined up a host of exciting activities and programmes to create the desired awareness amongst the students.
The school mentoring is one of such programmes lined up to celebrate the 2024 edition he said.
The theme for this year’s edition is “Protect your money, Secure your future.”
He said the theme captures the importance of learning, from an early age, to always think about your future when making financial decisions and plan accordingly.
“It emphasizes the importance of not only making money, but understanding frauds and scams, saving, and investing for your future. Equipped with such skills at this young age will enable you to achieve financial independence and a financially secure future” he noted.
He noted that “having an income and making a substantial amount of money does not guarantee financial security. What is important is your ability to develop and hone skills and attitudes to manage your financial resources to have a secure future.”
In addition to this, he said “it is vital to know the types of frauds and scams, how to respond to scammers, and various ways to protect your money online and offline.”
“This also implies knowing how to report to a bank if you do have an encounter with scammers or fraudsters. In essence, the financial decisions you make today and the education you acquire today have a huge impact on your future. Therefore, when you learn these skills at a young age and with consistent practice, you will have a brighter future. So, be smart about your money while you are still young; save, budget, and become educated” he told them.
