Dormant eNaira revives fresh scrutiny of Emefiele’s tenure at CBN

IN October 2021, the Godwin Emefiele-led Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched the eNaira, Africa’s first central bank digital currency. It was marketed as a bold leap into the future and a signal that Nigeria intended to sit at the front row of financial innovation. The launch, presided over by then President Muhammadu Buhari and championed by Emefiele, was framed as a transformative step toward deepening financial inclusion, reducing the cost of cash management, and modernising payments in Africa’s largest economy.

“The use of CBDCs can help move many more people and businesses from the informal into the formal sector, thereby increasing the tax base of the country,” Buhari said.

Today, however, the platform is largely dormant as its app has been removed on Google map. What was once celebrated as a flagship reform has faded from national conversation, prompting renewed scrutiny of Emefiele’s tenure at the apex bank and raising broader questions about the design, timing and governance of Nigeria’s digital currency experiment.

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At launch, the eNaira was pitched as a solution to several longstanding problems. The CBN argued that a sovereign digital currency would drive inclusion by bringing unbanked Nigerians into the formal financial system. It would facilitate cross-border trade, enable faster government payments, and reduce reliance on physical cash, which he touted as an expensive burden on the monetary system. Officials also suggested that it could help improve transparency and limit illicit financial flows.

But uptake was slow but rose at the early stage. From 360,000 downloads in the first weeks after launch, downloands reaached 840,000 by mid-2022, according to the CBN. But one year after launch, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said fewer than 0.5 percent of Nigerians had actually used the eNaira.

Despite early promotional campaigns and directives to banks to onboard customers, many Nigerians saw little reason to adopt the eNaira when existing mobile banking apps, fintech wallets and instant transfer systems already met their needs. The value proposition remained unclear to everyday users. For merchants, integration was limited. For consumers, incentives were minimal.

The project’s challenges became more pronounced during the controversial cash redesign and naira scarcity crisis of late 2022 and early 2023. At the height of the cash crunch, the CBN aggressively promoted the eNaira as an alternative to physical notes. Yet even then, adoption failed to surge meaningfully. Nigerians, struggling with point-of-sale shortages and network failures, turned instead to established banking channels and fintech platforms rather than the central bank’s digital currency.

Critics argue that the eNaira rollout reflected a broader pattern during Emefiele’s leadership: ambitious policy moves executed in a top-down manner, often without sufficient stakeholder buy-in or market readiness. Over his nearly decade-long tenure, the CBN expanded its footprint beyond traditional monetary policy, intervening directly in sectors ranging from agriculture to aviation. While supporters credit these interventions with stabilising key industries during periods of economic stress, detractors contend that they blurred institutional boundaries and weakened policy clarity.

Within that context, the eNaira has become emblematic of both innovation and overreach. Nigeria was indeed among the first countries globally to launch a central bank digital currency. But being first did not automatically translate to being effective. Analysts note that successful digital payment systems depend heavily on trust, seamless integration, and strong consumer education — areas where the eNaira struggled to gain traction.

“I did not see any value that the eNaira was meant to create. It was just all noise,” said a 28-year-old engineer, who lives in Abuja. “I used it a few times and wondered how that was meant to work for me.”

There are also questions about cost. Though official figures have circulated at different points, the total expenditure on development, promotion and maintenance of the platform has never been fully itemised in the public domain. With the system now largely inactive, scrutiny is intensifying over whether the investment delivered commensurate value.

Defenders of the initiative argue that the dormancy of the eNaira does not necessarily invalidate its conceptual merit. Central bank digital currencies remain an evolving frontier globally, with many countries still in pilot phases. They note that Nigeria’s financial ecosystem, particularly its vibrant fintech sector, may have inadvertently reduced the urgency for a state-backed digital alternative. In a market already rich with instant payment options, the marginal utility of the eNaira was arguably limited.

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Yet the decline is difficult to ignore. For a project that was presented as a cornerstone of monetary modernisation, its current inactivity suggests either strategic recalibration or quiet abandonment. Neither has been formally articulated in detail, leaving room for speculation.

Emefiele’s suspension and subsequent legal battles have further cast a shadow over policies introduced during his tenure. As investigations into aspects of his leadership continue, the eNaira has resurfaced in public discourse as part of a broader assessment of legacy. Was it a visionary step that came too early? Or a costly experiment launched without adequate groundwork?

“I am not convinced that the CBN did its due diligence before starting the initative,” said an Abuja-based economist, Dr Noah Ejegba. “Was there a market survey to determine what Nigerians wanted? Was there adequate demand before launch? Were banks carried along?Was the technology robust? Emefiele and his directors must tell us what happened to the initiative and how much was spent.”