Celebrate Clement Nyong Isong on His birthday..RIP

Clement Nyong Isong, CFR (20 April 1920 – 29 May 2000) was a Nigerian banker and politician who was governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (1967–1975) during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon. He was later elected governor of Cross River State(1979–1983) in the Nigerian Second Republic.

Background

Isong was born on 20 April 1920 in Eket, Akwa Ibom State. He studied at University College, Ibadan, Iowa Wesleyan College, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Economics. He taught economics in the University of Ibadan before joining the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as secretary, later becoming director of research. He was seconded to the International Monetary Fund as an adviser in the African Department.

Central Bank Governor

Yakubu Gowon appointed Isong governor of the CBN in August 1967, an office he held until September 1975. He headed the CBN during the Nigerian Civil War (July 1967 – January 1970) and during the subsequent oil boom.

 During his tenure Nigeria avoided running up unsupportable debts. Isong complained that Nigeria was accumulating foreign reserves but had "nowhere to invest them properly", although there was huge scope for infrastructure improvements. When the United States Senate killed the foreign aid bill in October 1971, Isong said the $35 million in annual aid was a drop in the bucket.