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 The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the central bank and apex monetary authority of Nigeria established by the CBN Act of 1958 and commenced operations on 1 July 1959. The major regulatory objectives of the bank as stated in the CBN Act are ...

(1967–1975) during the military regime of General

Yakubu Gowon Yakubu Dan-Yumma 'Jack' Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a retired Nigerian Army general and military leader. As Head of State of Nigeria, Gowon presided over a controversial Nigerian Civil War and delivered the famous "no victor, no vanquish ...

. He was later elected governor of

Cross River State ) , image_map = Nigeria - Cross River.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of Cross River State in Nigeria , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint ...

(1979–1983) in the

Nigerian Second Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region en ...

Background

Isong was born on 20 April 1920 in

Eket Eket is one of the 31 local government areas in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The name ''Eket'' or Ekid also refers to the indigenous ethnic group of the region and to their language. The Eket people use the endonym ''Ekid'' for themselves and their l ...

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe ...

. He studied at University College, Ibadan,

Iowa Wesleyan College Iowa Wesleyan University is a private university in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. It is Iowa's first co-educational institution of higher learning and the oldest of its type west of the Mississippi River. The institution is affiliated with the United Met ...

, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and the

Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) is the largest of the twelve graduate schools of Harvard University. Formed in 1872, GSAS is responsible for most of Harvard's graduate degree programs in the humanities, social sciences, and natura ...

, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Economics. He taught economics in the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

before joining the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as secretary, later becoming director of research. He was seconded to the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

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 The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...

(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.

Later career

After retirement from the CBN, Isong entered politics and was elected the first civilian Governor of Cross River State from 1979 to 1983 on the

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian ...

(NPN) platform. In 1981 Isong had to deal with a border crisis with

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

that originated in the Ikang area, visiting the trouble spot in person. In 1982, having contributed to the growth and development of Nigeria, Dr. Isong was honoured with Nigeria’s national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFR). Clement Isong was opposed in the 1983 elections by Senate President

Joseph Wayas Joseph Wayas (21 May 1941 – 30 November 2021) was Nigeria's Senate President during the Nigerian Second Republic (1979–1983). Background Wayas was born in Basang, Obudu, Cross River State on 21 May 1941 and attended the Dennis Memorial Gram ...

, who was the leader of the NPN party's "Lagos Group" and also Senator

Joseph Oqua Ansa Joseph Oqua Ansa was a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He was elected two terms in 1979 and 1983 to represent Cross River south senatorial district during the Nigerian second republic (1979-1983). He was a member of the National Part ...

who was the senator representing calabar senatorial district they supported Senator

Donald Etiebet Chief Donald Dick Etiebet (1934 - 21 July 2015) was a Nigerian politician who was a senator during the Nigerian Second Republic (1979 - 1983). He was then elected governor of Cross River State with the support of the then Senate president Josep ...

as governor. Etiebet won the NPN nomination and the subsequent election, taking office in October 1983, but the result was moot due to the resumption of military government after a coup by Major-General

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

in December that year. Isong died on 29 May 2000. His portrait features on the 1,000

Naira The naira (sign: ₦; code: NGN) is the currency of Nigeria. One naira is divided into 100 ''kobo''. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the sole issuer of legal tender money throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It controls the volume ...

note brought into circulation on October 12, 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isong, Clement Nigerian bankers Central bankers 1920 births 2000 deaths Governors of Cross River State National Party of Nigeria politicians Harvard University alumni Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria Commanders of the Order of the Federal Republic Iowa Wesleyan University alumni Nigerian expatriates in the United States