[size=14pt]Credit crunch: There will be money to spend now - Aganga[/size]

YEMI KOLAPO


Concerns have been raised about the lingering credit crunch in the economy and its effects on individual and business welfare. However, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, says Nigerians will now have money to spend. He spoke with YEMI KOLAPO


[size=14pt]Don't you feel overwhelmed by the task before you, coming in at a time many experts say the economy is at its lowest ebb?
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I think it is fair to say that as people have rightly observed, due to a combination of factors, this is not a normal situation. We have less than one year to deliver and there are just too many challenges that will make this year a little bit unusual. I must say that it has been extremely busy, but that is not unexpected. I don't feel overwhelmed. I'm used to working very hard, so that is not a problem. I came in, expected to work very hard. I came in knowing that this is an unusual situation and that I have to do a lot of work. So I'm not too surprised that there is a lot of work to do within this one-year period.

[size=14pt]It is more difficult to deliver on promises in an election year when funds are likely to be largely misused? How do you intend to pull through the situation?[/size]

I'm glad you said it yourself, which means that people will understand that this is a difficult period. The trick, though, is to be very focused. We may have a lot of initiatives, things to deliver, but I think there are two or three critical things that Nigerians really want to see. That is why we need to be very focused and make sure that we deliver on at least those two or three things. And I believe if we do those two or three things, the Nigerian people will understand.

[size=14pt]What are these two or three things?[/size]

Let me start with what Mr. President has always said. Every Nigerian will agree that there should be electoral reform. Then power, every Nigerian wants power, improved power. They are not expecting any magic within one year, but they expect some level of progress. They are not seeing signs of growth in the economy. We should also put structure in place for good sustainable economic growth. And I think we should be able to deliver on those three things, at least.

[size=14pt]There have been reports of fictitious projects included in the 2010 budget, among other discrepancies. Can you tell us some grey areas that need to be fine-tuned?[/size]

There has been a lot of noise about the budget, but I'm not surprised. It is the biggest budget so far, with a significant capital expenditure. So, it is not unexpected that there will be a lot of commentary on it. There are issues, but what it means is that we have to be very careful with the budget itself and how we implement it. We have to monitor the revenue assumptions. More importantly, it is critical to ensure that whatever we spend is seen as an investment, meaning that we should generate good social and economic returns from whatever we spend. So, how we implement the budget and how we monitor its implementation are very critical.

[size=14pt]But do you think the budget can be successfully implemented as it is?[/size]

Budget is always implementable, but everyone knows that it is the biggest budget; everyone knows that the revenue assumptions were optimistic, and everyone knows that what that means is that we have to monitor it, and that we have to be decisive in whatever actions we need to take. Here, I can guarantee that we are 100 per cent on top of that. Nevertheless, I inherited a difficult budget, but it is now my responsibility to manage and monitor the implementation. This will of course involve some tough decisions, working closely with the National Assembly, which I must say has been very understanding and supportive.

[size=14pt]On the banking sector now, there have been complaints that the actions that have been taken, so far, by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, are slowing down the economy. What is your view on this?[/size]

It depends on who you speak to and what you understand reforms to be. If we ask, were the reforms necessary? I will say yes. Every country has gone through the same process. Every major international financial sector has gone through it. The most important thing is to have a stronger, better and stable financial sector that will emerge from the process. [size=16pt]However, unfortunately, there are some unintended consequences. There will be job losses; there will be loss of confidence in the financial sector; there may be a strong level of uncertainty. That is where the CBN Governor, the Minister of Finance and the Executive have a responsibility to make sure that we get the right balance.
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[size=16pt]One point I will like to make, however, is that people talk so much about the bad banks all the time, but they forget that there are about 14 strong, safe and stable banks in the country. We don't talk enough about those banks. We must help the banks to meet both their social and economic responsibilities to the society. We have a duty to build that confidence because the banking sector is crucial to the economic growth of any country.[/size]

Would you say that the handling of the crisis has affected the country's image in any way? Has it impacted negatively on investors' confidence, for instance?

[size=16pt]That is where we have to be very careful; that is where we have to get the balance right. As I said, every country has gone through it, and they are stronger. You cannot tell me that I can't put my money in banks in the United Kingdom or the United States. In every country, you have good banks and you have bad banks, banks that have made mistakes or that have had poor risk management processes and have failed. It proved that there was no bank that was too big to fail.

But a problem that we may have, and that is my personal opinion, is that we have not talked enough about the ones that have done very well. When we talk too much about all the negative things, we are not necessarily showcasing the true picture of the Nigerian banking sector.[/size]

[size=16pt]Unfortunately, that is the only thing the foreign investor hears or thinks about. Every country that has rescued its banking sector has done that because the banking system is crucial to the economy. We just have to support the banks, make sure they have the right governance; make sure they have the right supervision. They must have the right capital adequacy ratio, the right liquidity and they have to be able to support the government to fulfil the economic responsibilities.

The problem we have today is that it is not apparent that they are fulfilling those obligations. What we need to do is to focus on those 14 or 15 banks so that they will continue to do a terrific job while we support the rest. We should support them so that they can deliver their socio-economic responsibilities effectively.
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[size=14pt]There has been so much talk about the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, especially now that the bill seeking its establishment has scaled through the Senate hurdle. Can it really solve most of the banks' problems?[/size]

It depends on what you mean by banks' problems.

[size=14pt]Their non-performing loan problems, largely.[/size]

[size=16pt]I would say those 14 banks do not have that much problem. We talk about banks, banks, banks, but we only talk about the problem banks. There are problem banks everywhere in the world. So, I refuse to say and accept that (Nigerian) banks have problems.[/size]

Let's talk about the problems of the troubled banks then.

Good, troubled banks. They have two or three issues. They have liquidity issues and they have capitalisation issues. The CBN governor has dealt with most of the issues. At the moment, what the AMCON is going to do is to improve liquidity by taking some of those assets. Capital will be injected into the banks but that does not deal with the recapitalisation issues. The whole idea is that it will make those banks more appealing to existing shareholders, Nigerian investors and other international investors who want to invest in those banks. But those 14 or 15 banks have no liquidity problems. They have money. If they have a problem today and you speak to them, it would be that of confidence.

[size=14pt]Do you see a bright future for the sector despite all that has happened?[/size]

[size=16pt]Of course yes. If you don't have a virile financial sector, you can't have a strong economy. To grow the economy, we need capital, we need labour and we need productivity. A lot of the capital comes from the banks, so we must have a framework that allows them to continue their lending process, especially to the critical areas of the economy.
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At the moment, what I hear is that they were not lending to the real economy before now and that the lending was mainly to the capital market and to the oil sector. That was not good and this is one of the benefits of the reform. It will reshape lending and let the banks fulfil that economic responsibility. Their job is to provide credit, the capital for entrepreneurs and businessmen to invest in businesses and grow the businesses, thereby improving productivity and helping to grow the economy. That is something that is still missing and those are the things that we need to change and I'm sure they (the banks) are capable.

[size=14pt]Many experts are worried that all the country is doing now is sharing and spending revenue as it comes. What is the Ministry of Finance doing to build the Excess Crude Account again?
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In the days of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, they did a terrific job with that policy. The law as it stands today, does not necessarily permit that structure because all the income that goes into the Federation Account has to be shared across three tiers of government. So, in order for you to create any excess, you need the consent of both the state and the Federal Government. So that is one of the challenges we have even though it was established.

But in the last two three years, we have seen oil prices go up and down, and I think, over this period, everyone, including the most hostile to the idea of setting something aside, have seen the benefits of having some savings. But the reality is that no matter how poor you are, you don't spend everything you have.

Our parents, when we were young, trained us to save. We had pockets where we put gifts given to us by family friends and others because it was prudent to do that. So, if individuals do that, it looks strange that a country will not do that, more so, that more than 70 per cent of our revenue comes from a depleting asset. When you look at that, what it may mean is that it is not necessarily income; it is actually sale of assets. And that asset belongs to Nigerians today and unborn.

So, it is social responsibility to make sure that you put some aside for the future generation and also for you because you may need it.

But I think the concept is now clear to almost everyone, which is the reason why we have started to engage with the National Economic Council to now develop a more robust institutional framework that will allow us to manage that excess revenue in a way that we can use it to stabilise oil prices if we need to. More importantly, we should use a large part of that as savings for the future and what this means is that you can even then use that to make more money by investing, not only in local and international securities, but also in infrastructure. We will all benefit from the investment and get our returns from it. So, I think it makes sense to everyone that we should do that and that is what we are going to do.

[size=14pt]The President has ordered a comprehensive probe of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation's accounts and you have been directed to see to that. How far have you gone?[/size]

Mr. President directed that we should carry out an audit of the NNPC and we have started acting on that directive. We have invited international firms, local/international firms, to begin the audit. What I have read is that there had been quite a number of audits and that people knew when those instructions were given; they sometimes did not hear when they had been implemented, but more importantly, they didn't get to hear the findings. This time, we will make sure you have the findings.

People's pockets are dry and businesses are not going on as usual. What specific steps are the Ministry of Finance and the CBN taking to ensure that the nation gets out of this phase in the shortest period possible?

The CBN and the Ministry of Finance are working together; there are no two ways about that. The reason why we appear to be where we are is that it appears a large percentage of Nigerians rely on government spending. And if that is the case, given that projects have been approved and that we are beginning to spend, that should not be an issue anymore. There will be more money to spend now because we have to engage contractors and we have to engage consultants here and there. Money will start to flow through the system again. If the problem is with government funding, that process has started. If it is with credit, then we need to get the banks to start lending. And what are we doing? Part of the things we are doing is to make sure that there is certainty in the sector.

However, in most cases, what the banks have said is that the money is there but you need to have the right projects to lend to. If you don't have the right project, the right initiative to fund, then of course, you won't do that because you are afraid of having bad debts. We have a number of initiatives that we will bring on in the next month or two. For instance, we want to give entrepreneurs the technical support to help them develop bankable projects and get capital providers to work on them.

That is one initiative you will be hearing about in the next month or two, and we intend to replicate it in different sectors. We are already working with key stakeholders; we are working with key technical support providers, and we are working with a number of local and international capital providers, who are extremely supportive. This is because one thing we want to focus on this year is job creation. The level of unemployment is terrible. Given the youthful population we have in this country, if you don't create jobs, you are not just slowing down the economy; you are creating something that is going to cause a social problem in the next two years.

[size=14pt]Concerns have been raised over increased government borrowing at this time, particularly since this government only has about a year to go. How do you ensure that the country doesn't fall back into the debt trap?
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Every Nigerian is right to be concerned about borrowing because we never ever want to be in the situation we were before. So it makes sense for every Nigerian to watch and shout. It's their country; it's their money, they are tax payers, we are accountable to them. But we need more information to make people feel more comfortable. We need to let them know that we understand their concern; we are on the same page with them and we do not want to be in that situation ourselves.

Therefore, we have controls in place to make sure that we never end up in that position. So, whatever they see us doing, it's all about asking the right questions and you get the answers. The loan people have referred to mainly in recent times, is the World Bank's $915m.

That amount again, is not for the Federal Government alone, but for federal and state governments. States are borrowing through the Federal Government and there are 14 states involved in the programme. The second point is that that $915m is supposed to be drawn over five years. It is not as if we have received cash of $915m. The third point is that out of the $915m, only $179m will be drawn this year, 2010. The fourth is that it is concessionary loan, which means that it has 10 years moratorium, which is grace period and repayment of about 40 years. The interest rate is 0.5 per cent, so it is the cheapest source of funding, and every country takes advantage of it. South Africa just did it. China takes advantage of it; they've just begged China not to come back again.

The most important point, based on monitoring or the control of that money, is that the money is not just made available to the country like that. It is from the World Bank and they are monitoring. These are projects that they are involved in, they are monitoring and they are part of. They will only release that money if they see that work is being done. Do you know how long it took for us to take that loan? We kept getting phone calls to say do you want it or you don't? If you don't want it, there are many other countries who want it, we are taking it back. But these are important projects; part of it has to do with power; part of it with transportation in Lagos State.

[size=14pt]You have talked about growing the economy in double digits. Is this not a tall ambition, going by the fundamentals on ground?[/size]

It's a very simple ambition. We have a great country and we should be disappointed with the level of growth. We did about 6.6 per cent, but this is not the sort of growth we should be doing. Our contemporaries are doing better. However, we are doing well, compared to the developed economies.

Last year, or between 2008 and 2009, we did better than most of them. The only countries that did better than us were India and China, but we should be doing much better. One main reason why we are not doing so well is because of the infrastructure deficit. We don't have power, which means manufacturing is not where it should be and businesses are not where they should be.

This means cost of doing business is higher; cost of food is higher than it should be and everything is higher than it should be. Now, you just imagine that we now have power. Without doing anything, productivity will increase significantly and the biggest factor in economic growth is productivity. If we solve the power problem, you will see a big change.

We've done double digit before, many years ago, so it is not something that is impossible. We are capable of doing far better than we are doing now, so I would say that we are doing 6.6 per cent without trying hard. If we try just a little bit hard, we can achieve sustainable double digit growth. We just need continuity in policy, we need continuity in approach and we need to deal with the infrastructure deficit that we have.
http://odili.net/news/source/2010/may/25/823.html

Paddy_lo, you are being polite. Dis no be subliminal o! Dis nah wetin oyibo dey call 'a vote of no confidence'.

Sanusi should go on a permanent vacation, but unfortunately he will be around for some election mago mago.

SapeleGuy:

Paddy_lo, you are being polite. Dis no be subliminal o! Dis nah wetin oyibo dey call 'a vote of no confidence'.

Sanusi should go on a permanent vacation, but unfortunately he will be around for some election mago mago.

I second that!
Paddy is always polite.
Agaga's erudite views undercuts the sharia banking principles of Sanusi. I hope Ibime, Jarus, biina, tbk47, and others will read the article. It's a whole new day

What a breath of fresh air! See how professional this guy is. He makes Sanusi look like a wheelbarrow pusher!

It is very clear that Sanusi is groping in d dark, when it comes to d Nigerian economy.

last week they claimed the Government had passed a confidence vote on Sanusi because Sanusi has not been replaced.

But Government simply chose the pragmatic option. The politics of sacking a CBN Governor is very complicated and Government simply did not want to immerse themselves in that within the short time left in this Presidency.

If Sanusi had any integrity left in him though he would have resigned but he has simply chosen to hang on to technicalities.

Impressive. This is someone who knows his job and exactly what has to be done.

mikeansy:

last week they claimed the Government had passed a confidence vote on Sanusi because Sanusi has not been replaced.

But Government simply chose the pragmatic option. The politics of sacking a CBN Governor is very complicated and Government simply did not want to immerse themselves in that within the short time left in this Presidency.

If Sanusi had any integrity left in him though he would have resigned but he has simply chosen to hang on to technicalities.

Resign? No way.
From Prof. Ekeh's article, it's obvious Sanusi can't let lesser born-non-Fulani mortals like Agaga, Abimbola Babalola, and Jonathan tell him what to do.

People always see what they wanna see. Some other guys were hailing this as an endorsement of Sanusi's reform, whilst others claim a subliminal inference, whether real or perceived. I am of the belief that no CBN Governor talks excessively about bad banks except to correct persistent lies about the health of such banks and his ulterior motive for intervening in them. For those claiming this as an anti-SLS briefing, it is ironic that Aganga has now confirmed that indeed we do have troubled banks, and hopefully we can put the matter of the bad banks to rest, and focus on the positive ones.

Its like some people here in NAIRALAND will never have peace until SLS is sacked so let them continue.

Agreed. There are weak (bad) banks in Nigeria. But has sanusi done anything to make them any better? NO. Rather his policies, modus operandi and careless statements are begining to affect the good banks negatively.

Make them commot the guy jare.   

This is definitely comprehension wahala

^^^^^

Mos def. . . On your side, that is!

Its very true a lot of people have comprehension problem or what has Aganga said that Sanusi had not said already. I hate it when people just become ethnically bias, Aganga said we can grow the economy in double digits and even be ahead of India and Brazil and they hail him but when Sanusi said our economy can be larger than South Africas they all ran to the market insulting the man.

On the banking sector now, there have been complaints that the actions that have been taken, so far, by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, are slowing down the economy. What is your view on this?

It depends on who you speak to and what you understand reforms to be. If we ask, were the reforms necessary? I will say yes. Every country has gone through the same process. Every major international financial sector has gone through it. The most important thing is to have a stronger, better and stable financial sector that will emerge from the process. However, unfortunately, there are some unintended consequences. There will be job losses; there will be loss of confidence in the financial sector; there may be a strong level of uncertainty. That is where the CBN Governor, the Minister of Finance and the Executive have a responsibility to make sure that we get the right balance.

One point I will like to make, however, is that people talk so much about the bad banks all the time, but they forget that there are about 14 strong, safe and stable banks in the country. We don't talk enough about those banks. We must help the banks to meet both their social and economic responsibilities to the society. We have a duty to build that confidence because the banking sector is crucial to the economic growth of any country.


He said the reforms were necessary, other countries have gone thru the same thing and that the financial sector would come out stronger, the consequences are unintentional and he went ahead to specify that the CBN governor, The Minister of finance and the entire Executive Council have a responsibility, so what has he said that shows Sanusi to have been wrong.

Even when he spoke of people talking about troubled banks he couldnt have in any way be referring to SLS talking he seems to be referring to Renaissance Professionals and co who have kept shouting and warranting the CBN gov always having to clear the air cos believe it or not if those guys are allowed to keep repeating the thrash people will start believing them and losing confidence in the banking sector.

My position has always been that Sanusi does not need to be condemned or commended because he is only doing his job and has carried out the job in a way he judges as best and please is there any action he has carried out that can be said to be out of line or that didnt follow that due process and take note that all members of the bankers committee are in agreement with him.

I rest my case here for all ye educated illiterates on this forum who know next to nothing about banking please sit back on your seats and listen to intelligent people analyse instead of just calling for the sack of a man, like his sack will make things right in this country.

marvix:

Its very true a lot of people have comprehension problem or what has Aganga said that Sanusi had not said already. I hate it when people just become ethnically bias, Aganga said we can grow the economy in double digits and even be ahead of India and Brazil and they hail him but when Sanusi said our economy can be larger than South Africas they all ran to the market insulting the man.

Somebody with comprehension problem, being ethnically biased; please look into the mirrow.

On the banking sector now, there have been complaints that the actions that have been taken, so far, by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, are slowing down the economy. What is your view on this?

It depends on who you speak to and what you understand reforms to be. If we ask, were the reforms necessary? I will say yes. Every country has gone through the same process. Every major international financial sector has gone through it. The most important thing is to have a stronger, better and stable financial sector that will emerge from the process. However, unfortunately, there are some unintended consequences. There will be job losses; there will be loss of confidence in the financial sector; there may be a strong level of uncertainty. That is where the CBN Governor, the Minister of Finance and the Executive have a responsibility to make sure that we get the right balance.

Unintended consequences is not the same as unexpected consequences. When our CBN governor opens his big dirty mouth telling the whole World how corrupt our banks are(not knowing that the problem is global), what do you expect? Loss of confidence of course. When you criminilize lending money without collaterals, what do expect? People wouldn't borrow money again, and when people and businesses don't borrow money from the banks, guess what? Business suffer, economy suffers, people loose jobs---- these are expected consequenses any economist should know, they're not "unintended consequences"

One point I will like to make, however, is that people talk so much about the bad banks all the time, but they forget that there are about 14 strong, safe and stable banks in the country. We don't talk enough about those banks. We must help the banks to meet both their social and economic responsibilities to the society. We have a duty to build that confidence because the banking sector is crucial to the economic growth of any country.

He said the reforms were necessary, other countries have gone thru the same thing and that the financial sector would come out stronger, the consequences are unintentional and he went ahead to specify that the CBN governor, The Minister of finance and the entire Executive Council have a responsibility, so what has he said that shows Sanusi to have been wrong.

Even when he spoke of people talking about troubled banks he couldnt have in any way be referring to SLS talking he seems to be referring to Renaissance Professionals and co who have kept shouting and warranting the CBN gov always having to clear the air cos believe it or not if those guys are allowed to keep repeating the thrash people will start believing them and losing confidence in the banking sector.

The loss of confidence by Nigerians and the outside World on our economy is the direct result of Sanusi's badly staged road shows around the World. Have you forgotten his trips to London, South Africa, and even China where the fool went not to promote our good banks, but to tell the World how corrupt banks and their CEOs had been, and even how some of them deserved to be shot without being tried before a formal court. Some people have warned repeated against such stupid and outlandish statements right from day one, now you tell us that the loss of confidence is from PR group criticizing the rogue CBN governor? The loss of confidence, I tell you is not only from Sanusi's behaviours, but from thinking that a modern nation such as Nigeria would somehow end up with a buffoon like Sanusi as it's CBN governor. Then again, it's Nigeria, it's the only place where a president could have disappeared for 5 months and nothing happens to his tenure. Is it then a surprise that an economic illitrate could somehow find his way into the most exhalted economic chair of the nation That's the cause of loss of confidence my friend. If you interpret the referrence to banks as implying that outside groups such as the RP were the subject of that discussion, then it be obvious that you lack the capacity to understand basic reading comprehension.

My position has always been that Sanusi does not need to be condemned or commended because he is only doing his job and has carried out the job in a way he judges as best and please is there any action he has carried out that can be said to be out of line or that didnt follow that due process and take note that all members of the bankers committee are in agreement with him.

What?
Did you just land from outerspace?
You want to re-write this debate, or catchup with all the raging discussion on this topic for the past 9 months? Bankers' committee? Which ones, the ones he fired, or the ones he sent to jail, or the ones he appointed into offices himself?
Be real.

I rest my case here for all ye educated illiterates on this forum who know next to nothing about banking please sit back on your seats and listen to intelligent people analyse instead of just calling for the sack of a man, like his sack will make things right in this country.

Once again, look into the mirrow to see a big stark educated illiterate. Better still, just go into the next office there at CBN and look into Sanusi's eyes, and his clownish bow tie.

Unintended consequences is not the same as unexpected consequences. When our CBN governor opens his big dirty mouth telling the whole World how corrupt our banks are(not knowing that the problem is global), what do you expect? Loss of confidence of course. When you criminilize lending money without collaterals, what do expect? People wouldn't borrow money again, and when people and businesses don't borrow money from the banks, guess what? Business suffer, economy suffers, people loose jobs---- these are expected consequenses any economist should know, they're not "unintended consequences"

and you dont want to agree you're an educated illiterate?

where in the world is lending by word of mouth legal?

and what is wrong in saying the banks are corrupt? oh oh, Benarke will fold his arms and pat a CEO in the US on the back if he misrepresent facts or declare profits when actually the bank is making a loss?

where in the world is such condoned? This is the only country where good intents and actions are criminalized and rogues and criminals are lauded because of selfish and criminal interests. jail await all of una

When our CBN governor opens his big dirty mouth telling the whole World how corrupt our banks are(not knowing that the problem is global), what do you expect? Loss of confidence of course.

When you criminilize lending money without collaterals, what do expect? People wouldn't borrow money again, and when people and businesses don't borrow money from the banks, guess what?

this sums up whoever posted this garbage


nice to see what the anti sanusi brigade consider to be buisness

oyb:


this sums up whoever posted this garbage

nice to see what the anti sanusi brigade consider to be buisness

exactly, business is good when billions are given on paddy paddy level

den never holla

tkb417:

and you dont want to agree you're an educated illiterate?

where in the world is lending by word of mouth legal?

and what is wrong in saying the banks are corrupt? oh oh, Benarke will fold his arms and pat a CEO in the US on the back if he misrepresent facts or declare profits when actually the bank is making a loss?

where in the world is such condoned? This is the only country where good intents and actions are criminalized and rogues and criminals are lauded because of selfish and criminal interests. jail await all of una

This is where you always go wrong as usual. Leave the courts and appropriate authorities to prove corruption, there is no need to destablize our banking system because of your allegation and suspicions.

No country will survive by tolerating and supporting corruption in the banks, ministries, and other parastatals, but those serious and grave allegations must be proven using the nation's due process channels, not have one single individual make himself the accuser, prosecutor, judge/jury, and executioner like Sanusi has done over the past 9 months.

If you don't understand that nobody here encourages criminal beheviours by banks or other companies, maybe you're missing the point because of your own self-righteous attitude--not unlike the pious Sanusi.

oyb:




this sums up whoever posted this garbage


nice to see what the anti sanusi brigade consider to be buisness

------aaaaand your point is

This is where you always go wrong as usual. Leave the courts and appropriate authorities to prove corruption, there is no need to destablize our banking system because of your allegation and suspicions.

No country will survive by tolerating and supporting corruption in the banks, ministries, and other parastatals, but those serious and grave allegations must proven using the nation's due process channels, not have one single individual make himself the accuser, prosecutor, judge/jury, and executioner like Sanusi has done over the past 9 months.

If you don't understand that nobody here encourages criminal beheviours by banks or other companies, maybe you're missing the point because of your own self-righteous attitude--not unlike the pious Sanusi

valid point but hey, something drastic had to be done

ive said it here many times that his method might be faulty but what the govt needs to do is help finetune his brash method
Naijaking1, ur wahala is too much

tkb417:

valid point but hey, something drastic had to be done

ive said it here many times that his method might be faulty but what the govt needs to do is help finetune his brash method
Naijaking1, your wahala is too much

Thank you, at least we're now making progress.
Sanusi's methods are definitely faulty, and nobody needs to sugar coat it. I have always agreed there were problems in Nigerian banks no question, but do you creat a [size=18pt]mountain[/size] of a problem while trying to solve a mole sized problem?
Some administrative moves, decisions, and policies can be rectified, corrected, and even finetuned, but some of them needs to be completely abolished and wiped off completely. Sanusi's moves tends to fall into the last category, we need to restore confidence to our system,
No, no, my wahala no too much, because I just don't understand why reasonable people who stay in the America and Europe, and who seem to know how things work overseas wouldn't want same for Nigeria.

People do have a comprehension problem, can someone clearly outline and not throw up conjectures how he disses Sanusi or briefed against him. If anything he endorsed the reforms, said they were necessary and that Sanusi has dealt with the majority of the issues wrong with the problem banks.

The idea that his suggestion that we need to find a balance and talk about the good banks can be interpreted as a no-confidence on Sanusi is at best laughable. I can't remember reading or hearing Sanusi say Nigerian banks are bad, it's always been about the odd 5-7 banks, when the reform started it was well publicised that a number of banks had already passed and were financially strong.

He's not saying anything Sanusi hasn't said.

@Naijaking So now you agree with Aganga's position that the banks Sanusi intervened in were 'problem' and 'trouble' banks, why have we not seen any articles from you condemning the likes of Cecilia Ibru and Erastus Akingbola for their mismanagement and incompetence?

In fact I think the title of this thread should have been 'Olusegun Aganga, Finance Minister Also Endorses Sanusi!' . That is what he has done in essence, using a significant amount of convoluted rhetoric that 'oyinbo' people are known for.

Well let's see what he has got to offer as an ex-Managing Director (Partner) of Goldman Sachs. The US Treasury has had a few love affairs with a number of former Goldman Sachs executives - not too sure where that got them - they are more interested in chasing the ever elusive 'Alpha' at any cost .
.

texazzpete:

@Naijaking So now you agree with Aganga's position that the banks Sanusi intervened in were 'problem' and 'trouble' banks, why have we not seen any articles from you condemning the likes of Cecilia Ibru and Erastus Akingbola for their mismanagement and incompetence?

You really don't get it do you?
These peoples' cases as still being investigated, tried, and winding through the courts, and you want me to write an article condemning them
What type of nonsense logic is that?
Even if you're 99.99% certain that they committed crimes, non-islamic modern approach would be to give them the benefit of court trial granted that they may have less 0.01% of being innocent.
You should also be ashamed of your cockeyed view of right and wrong, because many other bank CEOs probably mismanaged their banks more than these personal enemies of Sanusi.

^^^^
guy, you go wound o!
When will you get off this rant of yours?
87% of the 2753 posts you have made on this section are Sanusi comments.They are filled with loads of emotion and very little logic.
Your scant disregard for Sanusi and his reform cannot mask the rascality of the the bank CEOs who have been caught in the act.
You do not need to like the man or his methods (neither do i) but to ascribe every evil to him while you choose to either ignore the acts of the bank CEOs or his predecessor who wined and dined with the guilty parties while the industry was rotting is gross irresponsibility on your part as an intelligent adult.

naijaking1:

You really don't get it do you?
These peoples' cases as still being investigated, tried, and winding through the courts, and you want me to write an article condemning them
What type of nonsense logic is that?
Even if you're 99.99% certain that they committed crimes, non-islamic modern approach would be to give them the benefit of court trial granted that they may have less 0.01% of being innocent.
You should also be ashamed of your cockeyed view of right and wrong, because many other bank CEOs probably mismanaged their banks more than these personal enemies of Sanusi.

this is the silly argument imbeciles are using in defence of ibori.
"there are bigger thieves in the country, why start with Ibori? It is victimisation because he is not the biggest looter".
I expect better from you, as i consider you an intelligent person.
You probably expect CBN to draw up a list of all bank CEOs' failings, rank them and start from the biggest and start coming down the list?
How do you even rank them?
In which world do you expect those down this utopian list to sit hands on their chin,while he deals with those at the top of this list?
I am tired of this argument.
Deal with bank looters.personal enemies or friends is a secondary matter and one that sane Nigerians are uninterested in.

if i can understand Naijaking1 clearly, Ibori shouldnt be hounded cos no court of law has declared him guilty

by this logic, if i gun down a pedestrian, the Police arrests me, they have no right to lock me up cos the courts havent sentenced me to jail/death by hanging

is this comparison fair or i should look for a saner one?

Naijaking go seriously wound o

I am a fan of Cecilia Ibru but i think she messed up and fault her management style after i read her report. . plus Erastus Akingbola. Sure if they did what they were accused of then they are bunch of disappointment . . I will never try to sugar coat that.

I also think Sanusi is too immature for that job . . attributing the crippled economy to his policies is been fair and polite, his approach brought the economy to its kneels. . If there are speculations (just rumour) of a strong financial institution loosing its ground even though it is just hearsay if that information isn't controlled that institution could actually sink based on the rumour. .  This is where information becomes a problem, there are some sensitive information the public cannot handle- this is where information matters especially information from the apex of authority. Information is everything pronouncement of wars are verbal or written expression so is independent . Control of information is how some coups are won without a bullet. . .

You can do the right thing the wrong way . . It is never what you do but how its done- - as a doctor you can create panic that kills your patient faster than any sickness and you can also make HIV patients live longer and sound as they would never had been - -  It is all approach. Yes Sanusi's approach is why i would advocate for his sack ,  who cares about the reform? not the common man. .  that's his job and it is also his job to bring confidence into the economy -- he knows only part of his duty

I fault him not because of his policies but his approach-- his policies are not the reason for no confidence in our banks, if he knows his job then his clean up duty  should bring confidence, his policies are not the reason why banks are holding back funds but his approach-- his policies are not the reason for job loss-- no it is not his policies, they are designed to make the sector stronger  not weaken  but i tell you this day INFORMATION can weaken any sector faster than anything . .  It is the approach, the path he took . . Why does he have to govern such a sensitive position through the media? why do we have to debate Sanusi's policies like its a political issue . . this guy should be an economic expatriate not a politician. .  He shouldn't be on TV

I do agree, as I have acknowledged in earlier posts, that the reforms could have been better handled, but you can’t exactly blame Sanusi for all the ills arising from the reforms. Reforms are usually painful in some form, even though mild in some cases. There will always be a lull in economic activities following reforms/readjustments as was the case in the west over the past couple of years. The Greeks have had to agree to stringent reform policies to save their economy, and they would have quite a few tough years ahead.

Another important consideration that has been overlooked is that Nigeria is an ‘ANTI-REFORM’ society. This is evident in most of the reforms that have been on the cards for a while now – electoral reform, power reform, land act reform… as reforms tend to change the status quo i.e. rigging, corruption, indiscipline, incompetence, nepotism, mismanagement and so on - the bottom-line being no more unfettered ride on the state and the public wealth.

Also, Nigeria as a nation does not have a good history of successfully planning and implementing/executing reforms, so reforms in a way are ‘foreign’ to Nigeria and so hiccups and stumbling starts are to be expected. This would be a major problem if, in carrying on the reforms we are unable to re-assess and re-evaluate our position and make adjustments as and where necessary, to focus on the positive ends the reforms aim to achieve in the first place, and not to make the means an end in itself – which is now been addressed in this case. Overall I believe Sanusi’s intentions are still honourable (even though he may need secret evening lessons ).