Sanusism: The Grand Debate

Ever since the lanky governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, dropped the bombshell by sacking the Chief Executives of 5 banks, two of whom were referred to as superbankers, the country has witnessed yet another round of economy-wide landslide, the last being when his predecessor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, came with his 13-point banking reforms, chief among which was the oft-mentioned consolidation exercise.

Expectedly, an avalanche of approvals and criticisms has followed Mr. Sanusi's action. While some see it as a step in the right direction, some believe there is more to it than meets the eyes.

The decision, and the attendant issues, has since taken the centrestage in national discourse. It keeps getting more and more entertaining by the hour. The war is being fought on the pages of newspapers, in blogging sites and of course, in the various discussion forums on the internet.

Analysts and commentators have reeled out their opinions on this issue. In fact, every Ade,Ada and Adamu has continued to voice out his/her take on this issue, some informed and scientific, some mere sentiments.

On the pages of newspapers, respected columnists and writers have shared their opinions on the issue.
Thumbing up Sanusi and his actions are analysts like Simon Kolawole(ThisDay on Saturday), Reuben Abati(Guardian on Sunday),Dr. Otto Okiti([/b]Chief Economist,BusinessDay),[b]Simon Ekpe(Punch on Wednesday), Dayo Sobowale(ThisDay)  and several other contributors.
Disagreeing with Sanusi's actions are Dele Momodu(ThisDay on Sunday), Ijeoma Nwogwugwu(ThisDay on Saturday),Adebayo Adeniyi(Guardian contributor), and a host of other bloggers and writers.

As the microcosm of Nigeria, Nairaland has not been spared of the analysis of Sanusism(Def: The political economy of Sanusi's actions).
At the forefront of the Sanusi-is-right camp are Jarus and Wirinet. Other visible travellers in this ship are Jacobs123,naijatoday,bilymuse, and otokx
Mikeansy is by far the Chief critic of the CBN governor's moves. With him on this are Naijaking1,McKren,Papabrowne,na_so and others.

Many other nairalanders have also voiced out their opinions for and against the decisions.

So rather than threads unnecessarily mushrooming on this subject, I have opened this thread to have a coordinated debate among Nairalanders of different opinions on Sanusism.

I invite Seun and Richyblack to moderate. I'm aware they may have their personal opinion on this subject but I can count on them to be unbiased umpires.

This is meant to be an intellectual, fact-based dialogue; therefore insults and name-calling will not be welcomed.
Also, let's try to as much as possible leave Soludo out of this. This is not a Soludo criticising thread. It's purely on Sanusi and his policies.

I hereby formally invite Mikeansy and his team to present their arguments on what is wrong with Sanusi's moves and we pro-Sanusi are ready to take the points one by one.

Let's go,

Can we please refer to Sanusi from now as General Sanusi PFC ERB THI VSSY HJJ? Just to keep things level in the jungle.

Can I first and foremost thank you for admitting that the EFCC has no business arresting non-executive directors.

I hope you will be courageous to also admit that the bullying and arrest of executive directors after their sack without giving them the 30days fair hearing as provided in BOIFA should have no place in a country that wants to progress and catch up with the rest of the world in the 21st century.


Yes we have our challenges but we do not need to remind the world that we are a bannana republic.

this would be interesting i bet.

@ Jarus,

Are you in the office? or u are at home?

If u are in the office, you are committing a crime against your employer?
Do u work for the private sector, or u work for CBN? U cant be working for the public sector cos if u were, u wont be at ur desk at this time.
I guess u work in a company whose owner was listed as a debtor.

I advice u to stop stealing your employer's time.

My take on the issue is this, the "intrusion"so to speak by cbn was inevitable and timely at the same time, yes there are the excesses by publicity seeking agencies such as efcc bt dat does nt change d fact that there was a cataclysmic problem that was nt just lurking bt was reving to swallow the financial sector.

BUT!!!!, i wld have tot dat a cbn wld have done an audit of the entire banks b4 publishing its findings because as is wat is currently happening is dat customers are gradually moving into the so-called "cleared banks" due to there uncertainty of the eventual report when the last 14 banks r published.

ppl are anxious and the last thing u need to do as cbn is to aid the escalation of such anxiety.

that is my main angst with this whole stuff

mikeansy:

Can I first and foremost thank you for admitting that the EFCC has no business arresting non-executive directors.

I have always tried to be as objective as possible in my analysis. My take on the EFCC arresting the NEDs is that it is completing unnecessary and injustice. I do not know how NEDs will be liable for the offence of a running ED.

mikeansy:

I hope you will be courageous to also admit that the bullying and arrest of executive directors after their sack without giving them the 30days fair hearing as provided in BOIFA should have no place in a country that wants to progress and catch up with the rest of the world in the 21st century.
Yes we have our challenges but we do not need to remind the world that we are a bannana republic.

I'm totally against virtually all EFCC's actions on this issue. EFCC's treatment to these people appears unfair to me. In fact, even before court ordered the release of the detained bank chiefs, I did not approve of it.

But we should learn to differentiate Sanusi's actions from EFCC's. Sanusi's actions are what I find right, not EFCC's.
It appears the hitherto sleeping agencies,EFCC in particular, are now queueing behind Sanusi to share in Sanusi's rising popularity and be seen working. I hate it when some people try to share in another person's glory. Where was EFCC before?

All these said, I still believe in Sanusi and his decisions so far, save not taking his time to correct the inaccuracies in that debtor's list.

ThinkRait:

@ Jarus,

Are you in the office? or u are at home?

If u are in the office, you are committing a crime against your employer?
Do u work for the private sector, or u work for CBN? U cant be working for the public sector cos if u were, u wont be at your desk at this time.
I guess u work in a company whose owner was listed as a debtor.

I advice u to stop stealing your employer's time.

This is both funny and well thought-out. 
U be witch. . .how u no say my employer dey among the debtors?
In any case, what is important is that I deliver in my responsiblity. And I'm doing just that.
Finally,let me be a typical Nigerian and use question to answer question:Where are you too?

Jarus:

I have always tried to be as objective as possible in my analysis. My take on the EFCC arresting the NEDs is that it is completing unnecessary and injustice. I do not know how NEDs will be liable for the offence of a running ED.
I'm totally against virtually all EFCC's actions on this issue. EFCC's treatment to these people appears unfair to me. In fact, even before court ordered the release of the detained bank chiefs, I did not approve of it.

But we should learn to differentiate Sanusi's actions from EFCC's. Sanusi's actions are what I find right, not EFCC's.
It appears the hitherto sleeping agencies,EFCC in particular, are now queueing behind Sanusi to share in Sanusi's rising popularity and be seen working. I hate it when some people try to share in another person's glory. Where was EFCC before?

All these said, I still believe in Sanusi and his decisions so far, save not taking his time to correct the inaccuracies in that debtor's list.

This is my own problem with the whole thing. I believe what Sanusi did was right. The EFCC has come in to hijack the whole thing and is making a mess out of it. The bank, CBN , and debtor should handle the debt collection thing. If they refuse to pay, the CBN and bank should go to court and ask for the asset or liquidation of asset.

this current efcc and its leadership fight there own corruption by grandstanding and posturing in front of media ppl without any realistic concrete achievement since they where imposed on the agency.

naijatoday:

This is my own problem with the whole thing. I believe what Sanusi did was right. The EFCC has come in to hijack the whole thing and is making a mess out of it. The bank, CBN , and debtor should handle the debt collection thing. If they refuse to pay, the CBN and bank should go to court and ask for the asset or liquidation of asset.

I was always of the opinion that the CBN brought in the EFCC to put frighteners and teeth on their whirlwind of smoke, inaccurate figures and illegalities.

In my opinion,"if u dont give people a story,they'll never have one".it is quite obvious dt d said CEO's commited crimes in many faulty processes, Sanusi did d right thing,if a lil hasty (or premeditated,as u wish)in passing judgements,but EFCC's action, ?i wont b suprised if this Madam(Waziri)'s own twisted version of the REBRANDING Campaign.

^Until someone is proven guilty by a law court, they are innocent. Pronouncing guilt on the bankers amounts to witch hunting. Lets abandon this jungle behaviour and do things properly.

@Jarus

Thanks for your previous post

I will present a detailed argument of my grouse with Sanusi very much later when I have time but can I please quickly state two points.

1. I supported the appointment of Sanusi and still do not regret that support, I wished him well and still hope he becomes a successful CBN Governor better than all his predecessors. I am not particularly interested in his removal or replacement at this time but I reject his erratic decisions which for the sake of our country I hope that even he Sanusi comes to the realisation that this is not the way to go.

2. Secondly I will like to debunk the notion that EFCC 'jumped' and are trying to steal a lil bit of Sanusi's glory. I believe that the EFCC is misguided in its action on this issue but for the records they were invited into the process by his excellency CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
What that tells me is that the CBN Governor does not understand that the EFCC has no role in this issue yet and even refused to seek wise counsel on the issue before acting. If that does not worry you Jarus, it does worry me a lot.


and by the way why does the poll keep changing lol? I hope someone is not cooking up the polls to reflect their premediated aim just like the CBN did with debtors list? lol

Beaf:

^Until someone is proven guilty by a law court, they are innocent. Pronouncing guilt on the bankers amounts to witch hunting. Lets abandon this jungle behaviour and do things properly.

Beaf, they have been found guilty by the outcome of the Audit , hence their sacking by cbn, the show EFCC is running is a different matter,

mikeansy:

@Jarus

2. Secondly I will like to debunk the notion that EFCC are trying to steal a lil bit of Sanusi's glory. I believe that the EFCC is misguided in its action on this issue but for the records they were invited into the process by his excellency CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
What that tells me is that the CBN Governor does not understand that the EFCC has no role in this issue yet and even refused to seek wise counsel on the issue before acting. If that does not worry you Jarus, it does worry me a lot.

Prove Please
Sanusi , did not invite the EFCC, the Presidency did, week before the Sanusi bombshell lawyers to some banks wrote to the presidency for help in collecting debt owed them by influential people, This is a Fact

Moves:

Beaf, they have been found guilty by the outcome of the Audit , hence their sacking by cbn, the show EFCC is running is a different matter,

Guilty of what please?

a little detail will help.

SANUSI can't be held liable for the actions of EFCC, he has done his own bit my publishing a list as at 31 May 2009. He has also released a correction which included two entries. His actions have definitely helped restore confidence in that sector of the economy.

I am absolutely in support of Lamido Sanusi's action regarding the sacking of the affected bank CEO's but one has to distinguish his measured approach from the questionable and somewhat irrational ways the EFCC under Waziri had responded in their quest to show they are attempting to prosecute those who may have acted illegally or fraudulently against these banks.

Sanusi is acting in the best interest of the country and from what i've read and learnt about him, he appears a principled man who has no ulterior motives or any ethnic agenda. The fact that he is from the north is not enough to criticize his actions as anti-south.

He should be given a chance to continue with and accomplish his goal of bringing sanity, transparency and respect to our banking system,  this may be the start of something good however tangible actually coming out of the Nigerian system of government.

Let me start with this hilarious part:

mikeansy:

@Jarus
and by the way why does the poll keep changing lol? I hope someone is not cooking up the polls to reflect their premediated aim just like the CBN did with debtors list? lol

After boko haram comes 'cooking' as the latest slang in town. Everybody is cooking now. Sanusi accused the CEOs of cooking their books, you accused Sanusi of cooking debtors' list, and now cooking polls on NL.   Everybody is cooking now, but some people are expert cooks. . . .you know them  

Now to the serious part:

mikeansy:

@Jarus
1. I supported the appointment of Sanusi and still do not regret that support, I wished him well and still hope he becomes a successful CBN Governor better than all his predecessors. I am not particularly interested in his removal or replacement at this time but I reject his erratic decisions which for the sake of our country I hope that even he Sanusi comes to the realisation that this is not the way to go.

I hope you're saying this with sincerity. Were you there when we were debating Sanusi's appointment a couple of months ago? And did you say this?

mikeansy:

@Jarus
2. Secondly I will like to debunk the notion that EFCC 'jumped' and are trying to steal a lil bit of Sanusi's glory. I believe that the EFCC is misguided in its action on this issue but for the records they were invited into the process by his excellency CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
What that tells me is that the CBN Governor does not understand that the EFCC has no role in this issue yet and even refused to seek wise counsel on the issue before acting. If that does not worry you Jarus, it does worry me a lot.

I'm yet to come across where Sanusi was reported to have invited EFCC. What he has said repeatedly is that they will prosecute the offenders and if found guilty, justice done.

otokx:

SANUSI can't be held liable for the actions of EFCC, he has done his own bit my publishing a list as at 31 May 2009. He has also released a correction which included two entries. His actions have definitely helped restore confidence in that sector of the economy.

restored confidence

did u make that up?

Only if he knows what is doing.

otokx:

SANUSI can't be held liable for the actions of EFCC, he has done his own bit my publishing a list as at 31 May 2009. He has also released a correction which included two entries. His actions have definitely helped restore confidence in that sector of the economy.

Is that a joke?

It's a tricky one. Both camps are right to support and oppose Sanusi at the same time.
Why? The idea is right, but the execution is all wrong. And these are my own reasons:

[list]
[li]Number one is the disclosure process. Obviously it was a typical Nigerian Fire-Brigade arrangement. You looked into a bank's books, found holes in the balance sheet. Then you lumped them all together, fired their boards, and appointed new guys. This is fine if there is definite proof of wrong-doing, in which case even the debtors should be arrested, not even asked to pay up. If they collected loans under false pretences, with the connivance of the bankers, then all should be indicted.
Up till now we are not clear exactly how much CBN is injecting into the banks to shore them up. [/li]

[li] Number two is this whole EFCC bit. What exactly is EFCC's role in this? Can't they first investigate before indictment? That's how it is done in civilized countries, rather than bursting in gung-ho into every place, arresting and declaring wanted, left-right-and-center.[/li]
[/list]

The idea of bringing people to book is wrong, but this whole thing smacks of some typical Nigerian publicity circus, rather than a truly definte sanitization exercise. Which was what the sainted Ribadu was doing back in the day.

I'll bet in the next 6 months things are back to 'normal' in these banks. As usual in Nigeria, we prefer to take the shallow path and play to the gallery.

AM IN SUPPORT OF SUNUSI ACTIONS
)HE IS BOLD TO HAVE TAKEN SUCH ACTION

mikeansy:

Guilty of what please?

a little detail will help.

Guilty of lending to themselves so to speak.

AjanleKoko:

It's a tricky one. Both camps are right to support and oppose Sanusi at the same time.
Why? The idea is right, but the execution is all wrong. And these are my own reasons:

[list]
[li]Number one is the disclosure process. Obviously it was a typical Nigerian Fire-Brigade arrangement. You looked into a bank's books, found holes in the balance sheet. Then you lumped them all together, fired their boards, and appointed new guys. This is fine if there is definite proof of wrong-doing, in which case even the debtors should be arrested, not even asked to pay up. If they collected loans under false pretences, with the connivance of the bankers, then all should be indicted.
Up till now we are not clear exactly how much CBN is injecting into the banks to shore them up. [/li]

[li] Number two is this whole EFCC bit. What exactly is EFCC's role in this? Can't they first investigate before indictment? That's how it is done in civilized countries, rather than bursting in gung-ho into every place, arresting and declaring wanted, left-right-and-center.[/li]
[/list]

The idea of bringing people to book is wrong, but this whole thing smacks of some typical Nigerian publicity circus, rather than a truly definte sanitization exercise. Which was what the sainted Ribadu was doing back in the day.

I'll bet in the next 6 months things are back to 'normal' in these banks. As usual in Nigeria, we prefer to take the shallow path and play to the gallery.

I suggest you take time out to read the initial CBN publication to the press explaining their reasons for sacking the M.Ds

we probably did not see the same list as I can't remember seeing erastus akingbola or cecielia ibru on the debtors list

oga u wouldn't cos they didnt borrow in their own names

AjanleKoko:


[li] Number two is this whole EFCC bit. What exactly is EFCC's role in this? Can't they first investigate before indictment? That's how it is done in civilized countries, rather than bursting in gung-ho into every place, arresting and declaring wanted, left-right-and-center.[/li]
[/list]

Lol. I have to agree with you my guy. I am not saying that what EFCC is doing is wrong, but we know our people. It is one of two things

1) If these high and mighty people get wind of it that they are being investigated, they will dissapear or

2) They will use all power available to them to squash that investigation, making it come to nothing. This gives reason to think that EFCC's method of Arrest - Investigate instead of Investigate - Arrest is the best.

This naming and shaming and arresting seems to be the best for some people

Is it even legal to publish debtor lists? We need to be clear on that. Does Nigeria have any confidentiality laws and have they been broken?