It is typically an African social trait, mostly occurring within the unique benevolence of linguistic sophistry, to usually lace or rather spice up statements with proverbs, principally, it would shorten the length of the wordings in the related explanation, also, because of the definitive notoriety in the meaning of such adages, spoken or written words crafted with proverbial wisdom are almost and always more understood, most comprehended and linger longer on the minds of individuals addressed. Perhaps it is because of this accepted reality, that a short statement I overheard depicting the predicament of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, made most meaning about the current financial scandal afflicting the polity, when he stated that the Federal Government of Nigeria is trying to ‘throw the baby with bath water’, which practically and impliedly saw Sanusi as the baby, with the apex bank assuming the descriptive simile of the bath water.
The sequence of events, facts disputed and allegations made are as varied as the belief in the infamous cluelessness of the current Nigerian chief executive, however, what is not in dispute is the fact that the image of Nigeria in the international community is taking a huge battering, but most worryingly, our long established perception as a highly corrupt nation is being embellished into a concrete proof and not in anywhere is this felt as in the country’s primary national bank. Unlike many, I am not much interested in the fate that befell Lamido Sanusi, as he is already due to be going for a retirement or even the apparent attempt to tarnish his reputation, knowing that he is the type of personality who always fights for justice for others, thus why not himself and he even has confirmed his intention of seeking legal relief, on the disjointed allegations made against him. Rather, what I am most concerned about is the content and context of the report of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, which clearly indicted the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, as well as the management committee of the bank, exclusively equating the sins of the suspended chief executive to that of his deputy governors.
Had the president dissolved the entire board of the apex bank and sacked the executive management committee, whom the report of the highly disputed auditing panel has clearly indicted, it would have been an even less problem to the principal monetary policy institution in the land, alas, most of the leadership of the bank were condemned for acting with criminal intent to defraud the Nigerian nation. Yet, although the suspended Sanusi would not partake in any dealing of the federal reserve bank, the also accused Acting Governor Sarah Alade would, in fact, she will be the one who would pilot the affairs of the institution, pending the completion of the investigation, where the truth or falsity of claims would be established, until the clearance of the selected presidential nominee by the National Assembly and the eventual resumption of the new governor of the central bank into office. A simple safe assumption, would most likely project for her a period of not less than five months in office, in a fickle financial sector susceptible to mere speculations, misinformation and even exaggerated projections to influence the stock markets and monetary exchanges for quick personal gains.
One of issue that has not been disputed, despite the diversity of views by both the proponents and opponents of the suspended central bank chief is about the express autonomy of apex financial institution, as enshrined in the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007, which is premised on a certain and specified security of the tenure of office, having a certified date when a chief executive is to assume duties and where the period of office elapses. It is pertinent to note that this is also inclusive of the period during transition from an outgoing governor, to the new one expected to assume the mantle of leadership, an efficiently crafted smooth process that should not unsettle anyone looking for an opportunity to panic and cause grave damage to the value of the national currency or cause stock market fluctuations and affect investor confidence in the country as well as bother the multilateral financial agencies, who always desire certainty, stability and trust on a body that strictly governs the economy of a nation, determining gains and losses of millions every single minute of the day.
Now looking at the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria document holistically and the timelines of activities it was first issued as a query, dating back to many months ago or the middle of last year precisely, what with the back and forth between the office of Nigerian president and that of the central bank head, as confirmed by Goodluck Jonathan himself at the Presidential Media Chat. It would be safe to assume that the released report was a result of painstaking process, which must have weighted the implication of the president’s action, not only on the suspended governor but the Central Bank of Nigeria as an institution, where a remedial corrective action is taken, which punishes the head without damaging the main body. Of course, some might argue whether it is possible to do so, well, any auditing report that meandered outside numbers and figures to issue clear political statements, could as well have been tailored to indict only Lamido Sanusi, without the others, as the president had robustly countered in the media interview, while defending the glaring hypocrisy of letting other indicted management committee membership to stay, he simply said; we had to ensure continuity in leadership in order preserve the bank as a national institution.
Comments