Chief Imam of the Central Bank of Nigeria By Ayo Turton

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Nigeria is a country in dire need of heroes, we are people that have been battered, abused and continuously raped by our so called leaders. In desperation we have cried out many times, ‘from whence will our help come from?…’ In our desperation for a hero, we have many times mistook, empty braggadocio, savior-cowboy attitude with underbelly of personal and sectional agenda, wanton violations of our human rights, personal liberty and economic interests for genuine love and sincerity of purpose. We always end up disappointed.

With the oil boom occasioning the early seventies, all seems to be rosy for us, our Naira stands at par with the British Pound and a step above the United States dollars, but we were tired of a military rule with no end in sight and no clear agenda for a transition to civilian rule, we desperately yearned for a hero. Then emerged the late Gen. Murtala Mohammed he came riding on a chariot of fire, he got rid of Gen. Yakubu Gowon, he embarked on civil service and institutional reforms, gave a transition to civil rule timeline, he goes about catching late comers in ministries like newly appointed high school prefects, we hailed and cheered him to no end, we quickly forgot the atrocities that were attributed to him during the civil war that ended just few years before.

Six months into his government he was cut down by another group of ambitious and trigger happy military boys.

Saved by the death, the number one gateway to the nation was named after him, the highest denomination of our currency at the time carries his picture, many roads and government building are christened in his name, by the time we know what befell us, the emergency “hero” within those months had single-handedly destroyed our civil service by sacking all the experienced hands in one fell swoop and killed our railway corporation. In his fire brigade exploits threw away the baby with the bath water. Things have never been the same since then. We will give a arm and a leg now to have back the kind of civil service destroyed by Murtala Mohammed where people were very professional, they never had the opportunity to pass it down.

Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo completed Murtala transition plans and handed over to an elected government in 1979. A government that turned out to be a government of prodigal sons. They went a-partying, despite the fact that a barrel of petroleum once sold for between $41- $43 way back in 1980-81 which may translate to about $140.00 per barrel today, we had nothing to show for it but hunger and austerity measures, while the people in power were giving away brand new cars to praise singers during one of their conventions. We began to yearn for a change and a hero again. That was not to be through the ballot system as elections were wantonly rigged, but through the barrel of the gun. Peaceful change gave way to violent change, enter the duo of Gen. Buhari and Gen. Idiagbon.

Shouts of Happy New Year, Happy New Government rented the air when they sacked the inept government of Alhaji Shagari on December 31, 1983.

They started by waging a war against indiscipline which was truly chronic with Nigerians, they were hailed and celebrated, new “heroes” were in town. Shortly after, we began to see a different people. They created decrees that makes truth reporting a crime, people were actually jailed for saying the truth, they created another one that empowers them to lock up people unchallenged, they committed executive murder by primitively back dating laws, they broke into people warehouses with impunity and remove their goods without due process. Common household items like detergent, milk, soaps etc became scarce, they were tagged “essential commodities” People now had to queue up in the street to get these items, you have to know or be a friend to a soldier to have a regular supply of a staple food like rice and our elder statesmen were jailed arbitrarily. Our hearts became broken yet again, and we yearned for yet another hero.

Then enter Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, he thought the forceful approach of Murtala Mohammed and Buhari was no longer in vogue. He came with ever present gap-toothed smile of a evil genius as we later got to know. The War Against Indiscipline program that they used to enforce with military brutality of horse-whips and corporeal punishment he made voluntary, he consulted before taken any action, he drew up a transition program. Our joy knows no bound, here comes our hero we yelled, we affectionately coined the name IBB for him. No sooner as the new emergency “hero” found his feet that his real agenda became unfolded. There were rumors that he took over government because he was about to be retired for criminal dealings. We later got to know that when we were busying debating the issues he has thrown to the public, he was busy perfecting the opposite.

He liberalized access to public treasury, where corruption became buffet-served, all you can steal. When our men of the fourth estate of the realm began to poke their noses into his affairs, a leading one among them got dispatched to the great beyond with a parcel bomb. His transition plan became endless, several billions were sunk into it with no result. Then we began to get uncomfortable with this “hero” as well. The final stroke that broke the camel’s back was when he annulled the elections that was the freest and fairest to that point in his bid to perpetuate himself in power. He was another villain in hero’s clothing. We got heart broken again.

For some of us who are students of history and for those of us who have followed carefully the history of emergency “heroes” in Nigeria- they tend to enter the scene firing from all cylinders like Clint Eastwood, get deadly and romantic at the same time like James Bond and sometimes have the irresistible charm of John Wayne. This time around we clearly saw through the emergence of another emergency “hero” in Lamido Sanusi on his appointment as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.

The tell tales sign were already there when he started his circus show of banking industry reforms, his penchant for playing to the gallery, and arrogation of power of life and death over the industry to himself. Of course we embraced him wholeheartedly because of our usual desperation for a hero and the general hatred for the players in the industry among the people.

First of all I have my reservations about the appointment of a seriously controversial and strongly opinionated person like Lamido Sanusi to head a conservative institution like the Central Bank. Those who are appointed to such position are hardly heard except on strictly professional matters. Their textual works and lectures that you read are more in the areas of their professional callings. This was not the case with Lamido Sanusi who has written more articles on Sharia and socio-political issues fifty times more than you will ever find on his works on economics or monetary policy.

Even his rise in the banking industry sounds incredible, he first joined banking industry according to his resume in 1985, he was only there till 1991 before he went for graduate studies in Sharia and Islamic Studies in a Sudanese University. When he came back in May 1997, he joined UBA, between that time and December 1998, he has moved from Principal Manager II to Principal Manager I to Assistant General Manager, all in less than two years. Well, by 2005 he has rose past Deputy General Manager to General Manager, hellooo.

He crossed over to First Bank that year as Executive Director and by January 2009 he had a brief stint as the Managing Director of First Bank before finally been appointed the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria six months after. Meaning within a relatively short years of completing his postgraduate studies in Sharia and Islamic Studies he has become the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

We may say that the time frame does not matter but intellectual materials that can be attributed to him, but then what do we find, articles like “Shariacracy in Nigeria: The Intellectual Roots of Islamist Discourses, Shariah and the Woman Question,” Institutional Framework of Zakat: Dimension and Implications,” On the Islamisation of Politics & the Politicisation of Islam” Between the Shariah and ‘Barbarism ” The Shariah Debate: A Muslim Intervention” And several others of that genre.

Other materials you will find that are a little bit in variation to his Islamic works will be found in the paper he delivered in 1999 at the Arewa House titled “Issues in Restructuring Corporate Nigeria” where he identified Yoruba people as the problem of Nigeria with their “Area Boys” politics, where he also alluded that the Igbo were merely paying for their foolishness in their role against the unity of Nigeria but they have paid enough price.

Why are we surprised when this man started acting like he is a Chief Imam of the Central Bank of Nigeria as he champions the impunitive introduction of Islamic Banking in a constitutionally secular state like Nigeria?

Isn’t it funny how we yelled to have Etteh removed for over-inflated contracts of N680 million only to get Bankole who took N10 billion for allowances?

Like one of the regular commentators on NigeriaVillageSquare.com known as Soul Sista once wrote “ May our desperation for a hero not make us eat shit”

Ayo Turton is a USA based legal practitioner.

http://pointblanknews.com/Articles/artopn3861.html

Is this me, or is this a terribly written article?

Of what relevance is the Gowon, Murtala Mohammed stuff to the title or the end of the piece?

Anyways, hopefully the Shah of Kano will be undercut by GEJ.

I guess this is a lesson to us all, don't appoint religious zealots to sensitive and important positions like CBN. Otherwise you will regret it.

Also:

Even his rise in the banking industry sounds incredible, he first joined banking industry according to his resume in 1985, he was only there till 1991 before he went for graduate studies in Sharia and Islamic Studies in a Sudanese University. When he came back in May 1997, he joined UBA, between that time and December 1998, he has moved from Principal Manager II to Principal Manager I to Assistant General Manager, all in less than two years. Well, by 2005 he has rose past Deputy General Manager to General Manager, hellooo.

Is he just a banking genius? Or is this the northern factor again giving him an undeserved advantage?

I just hope GEJ 'll do something. He should bring SLS to order now before thing get out of hand.

Sanusi has overstayed his usefullness to this country. Sanusi should know that those muting the idea to him will be the ones to benefit from the bank, not the masses as they are painting it. We have seen how Sharia is used in Zamfara State against the poor. Sanusi should be shown the way out fast!