[size=14pt] Sanusi: I may go on exile if. . .[/size]
Saturday, 13 February 2010 00:00 Nigerian Compass

Apparently expressing fears that Acting President Goodluck Jonathan may not support his reforms, the Governor of the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has declared that he may go on exile.

  Indications are rife that his reforms, considered by many as harsh may have hit the rocks.
Sanusi made the declaration on Thursday night at the Businessday Conference where he was a special guest of honour while speaking on the theme “Banking Reforms in Nigeria: What Next After CBN Intervention”.

Sanusi, the hitherto swash-buckling CBN Governor, seems to have lost his trademark swagger.
Lamido is currently faced with the possibility of a change of tactics by Acting President Goodluck Jonathan who may not sanction the harsh measures  that the CBN under him has meted out to former bank chiefs, an action that received the blessing of ailing President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.

The CBN Governor declared that he is not afraid of embracing the option of self exile because those opposed to his reforms in the banking industry since his tenure as the Governor of the apex bank, last year were powerful and highly connected people.

“I am not afraid of going into exile because the people that I fight against through the various reforms embarked upon under my tenure as CBN Governor, are powerful elements. They are tied to the government,’ Sanusi declared.

He dismissed the claim that his reforms in the banking industry were laced with ethnic agenda, describing it as insinuation being peddled by his detractors to rubbish his good intentions.

The position being expressed by the CBN Governor over his readiness to go on exile may not be unconnected with inflammatory statements in the wake of the intervention in the 13 banks declared distressed, following audit carried out by the joint inspectors from the CBN and Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

It was reliably gathered that the apex bank boss only took directives from President  Yar’adua, without cognizance for any other principal officers in the National Executive  Council.

An indication that  the CBN lack respect for members of National Executive Council apart from the president was displayed during Sanusi’s visit to the stock market last year, when he told the market community that he didn't care about any opposition to his reforms, so long as he President approved of all that he was doing. He disclosed that he was taking directives only from the president and Commander in-Chief of Federal Republic.

In one of his public presentations, on efforts at sanitizing the banking industry, Sanusi declared at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Policy Dialogue in Lagos last year that but for the rule of law, the chief executives of the distressed banks and their debtors should be tied to the stakes and shot. Sanusi also gave the outlines of the second phase of the banking reforms.

By Segun Edwards, Babatunde Oke

http://www.compassnews.net/Ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=41086:sanusi-i-may-go-on-exile-if-&catid=672:top-stories&Itemid=794

I find that statement extremely curious. Isn't exile a bit extreme? But then, maybe there are things we don't know. Could he really have had an "agenda" then?
I don't buy the BS about the CEO's suddenly having govt strings to pull.

and you take the word of compass (gbenga daniels) as truth? why did no one else report this statement? gbenga daniels, like all the other none performing debtors was affected by the reforms. the same way he has an ax to grind with sanusi is the same way that thisday, vanguard and guardian have axes to grind. is it not funny that both businessday and thisday reported the same story (about the FG demands) with different slants?

make una leave matter for mathias.

Beaf:

I find that statement extremely curious. Isn't exile a bit extreme? But then, maybe there are things we don't know. Could he really have had an "agenda" then?
I don't buy the BS about the CEO's suddenly having govt strings to pull.

That guy came with an agenda, no doubt. I'm still struggling to count his achievement since he took over. It is not enough to show us the boogieman, you must also show us how he is our business. The boogieman may be busy minding his business and you scare us into making investments that "protect" us from him. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

If he had no agenda, then he has nothing to worry about. I started getting worried when I saw him playing the role of EFCC boss. He has almost completely forgotten central banking. He wants to replace Ribadu.

prettyG:

and you take the word of compass (gbenga daniels) as truth? why did no one else report this statement? gbenga daniels, like all the other none performing debtors was affected by the reforms. the same way he has an ax to grind with sanusi is the same way that thisday, vanguard and guardian have axes to grind. is it not funny that both businessday and thisday reported the same story (about the FG demands) with different slants?

make una leave matter for mathias.

You might be right about Gbenga Daniels. But I used the story, because there is a very [b]unambiguous [/b]quote attributed to Sanusi. . .

“I am not afraid of going into exile because the people that I fight against through the various reforms embarked upon under my tenure as CBN Governor, are powerful elements. They are tied to the government,’ Sanusi declared.

I have just one question for the Kings College Alumni,what has he achieved since becoming CBN Governor?
I am not Soludo's big fan but Sanusi seemed to be totally dwarfed by Soludo's achievements.
Sanusi created so much panic through which thousands of jobs were lost and he still seem unaunted by his acts.

Its about time, Self exile is not a bad idea.

Edited. . .

He should stop threatening the New Acting President. He should stop bullying him.

If his policies are for the common good, and business friendly as well as supports the economic aspirations of Nigeria.

Then he should be confident in them to attract the support of any administration whatsoever. He will not need any special support to succeed.

Going into exile may not be the appropriate treatment, I would suggest, to use Sanusi's own words"being tied on a stake and shot" for all the unfortunate things he has stupidly done to our banking sector.

Nigerian Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi said on Thursday there would be no slowdown in reforms to the banking sector after Vice President Goodluck Jonathan assumed executive powers this week.
Jonathan formally took over as acting president on Tuesday in the absence of President Umaru Yar'Adua, who had given his full public backing to Sanusi's reforms but has been out of the country receiving medical treatment for more than two months.

"The acting president has always been part of the decisions we have taken. He was always in key meetings, I have always briefed him, we are on the same page," Sanusi said.

"I think there is some wishful thinking on the part of people who say maybe (Jonathan) would step on the brakes , On the contrary, I think we are going to go full steam ahead and there is absolutely no change," he said.

I think Sanusi is a worried man right now.

He is too noisy for a sensitive job like CBN. Whoever says how to run the economy is to demonise everyone, destroy confidence in the system, and lock up all those who you would have been liaising with to build the economy.

Risk Management, Risk Management . . . . . . you have to create an economy first before you Risk manage it. Our economy is at the INFANCY STAGE if all you do is to stoke of fear in the name of risk management, you simply slow down creativity and innovation and the economy will not even grow.

What we need is measured regulation as well as liaising with business leaders to see how we can spur growth and create jobs for the mass of our people.

Donald Duke recently said he does not agree with Sanusi's approach to things because every Nation's economy and Financial System thrives on perception.

Pat Utomi also echoed this sentiments when he protested the treatment Bank PHB got from Sanusi's CBN.

So Sanusi should stop dragging the acting President into his politics and failures. If he knows what he is doing, if he is practicing economics instead of all this noise, there will be no need for special support from the President because he has a 4years mandate.

Unpredictability and Unsustainability is just how not to run an economy.

You think if China were washing their dirty linens in the public, they would have caught up with the rest of the world like they recently did?

I dont believe in the theory of sectional agenda. I just think that Sanusi just does'nt know. He does not get it.

OYB_MEND:

I think Sanusi is a worried man right now.

He is too noisy for a sensitive job like CBN. Whoever says how to run the economy is to demonise everyone, destroy confidence in the system, and lock up all those who you would have been liaising with to build the economy.

Risk Management, Risk Management . . . . . . you have to create an economy first before you Risk manage it. Our economy is at the INFANCY STAGE if all you do is to stoke of fear in the name of risk management, you simply slow down creativity and innovation and the economy will not even grow.

What we need is measured regulation as well as liaising with business leaders to see how we can spur growth and create jobs for the mass of our people.

From the bottom of my heart, I say thank you. I could not have said it better.

Okay. . . I have been reading the reports from the Businessday Conference. . . I think its fair to say that Compass Newspapers is being more than a bit mischievous here. . . anyway, no other Nigerian newspaper is reporting this. . . actually, most Nigerian Newspapers are reporting Babalola's speech at the conference where he says the Ministry of Finance is behind the reforms. . .



A Reuters report from the conference is the only one that makes mention of this exile statement, so lets put it in the right context:

http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=7747544&subject=economic&action=article




LAGOS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank on Thursday outlined the next step in reforms which could change the landscape of its financial sector by limiting the risks banks are allowed to take with depositors' funds. Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi said his banking reform programme was going "full steam ahead" with the support of acting Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, dismissing concerns that President Umaru Yar'Adua's absence could stall momentum.

Jonathan assumed full presidential powers on Tuesday more than two months after Yar'Adua -- who had offered Sanusi strong public backing -- left for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia.

"The acting president has always been part of the decisions we have taken. He was always in key meetings, I have always briefed him, we are on the same page," Sanusi told reporters on the sidelines of a banking conference in Lagos.

The reforms aim to overhaul a banking sector until now characterised by swollen institutions concerned primarily with outstripping their rivals' asset growth at the expense of creating loans and growing their business.

Sanusi questioned the universal banking model and said an obsession with rapid growth without the right risk management frameworks had been at the heart of problems which led to last year's $4 billion bailout of nine weakly-capitalised banks.

"The CBN outline of the next phase of the banking reform programme could not have come at a more important time," said Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Standard Chartered.

"Given the (political) events of this week, and investor uncertainty about how things might play out, this will act to reinforce the view that reforms will continue," she said.

Sanusi said he wanted to separate banks' core lending business from more speculative capital markets activities -- such as stockbroking, asset management, private equity and venture capital -- to protect depositors' funds.
"They should risk their own funds," he said.

The central bank would introduce different capital requirements for banks depending on the activities they wanted to pursue and could regulate proprietary trading, he said.

"The question we are asking ourselves is must every bank compete in the same space, must every bank be an international bank. Can we not have regional banks, can we not have specialised banks," Sanusi said.


"NARRATIVE OF CORRUPTION"

Last year's bank bailout sent shockwaves through a corporate Nigeria which had been basking in the glory of being among the world's best performing frontier markets just 18 months earlier.

Sanusi acknowledged he had won powerful enemies by sacking bank chiefs responsible for reckless lending and publicly naming bad debtors including politicians and top businessmen. But he urged other regulators of the Nigerian economy to follow suit.

"The true narrative is that this is a narrative of corruption, the story of Nigeria," Sanusi said.

"Corruption fights back. I'm under no illusion as to the power of the people we are fighting ,  but I am ready. We can delay that day I go into exile if more people chip in and fight back," he told the conference, to a round of applause.

Sanusi said regulatory shortfalls, including at the central bank, had allowed liquidity to flow into capital markets at the expense of the real economy in the run-up to last year's crisis.


(For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/ )

^^^ So there you have the full story. . . you can believe Compass Newspapers, or you can believe Reuters. . . choose one!



Despite Babalola's and The Finance Ministry's full-fledged support for the reforms, it is difficult to know what Jonathan is thinking. Last month, he ordered banks to cease all downsizing and layoffs through the Ministry of Labour. This is not joined up with CBN's efforts at getting banks to maintain a treshold 10% Capital Adequacy ratio . . . . . on the other hand, I think Jonathan may be cautioned by foreign investors overwhelming support of the CBN banking reforms.

Ibime

Sanusi is in the wrong job. If he wants to be EFCC or ICPC chairman by all means he should apply. I don't doubt his zeal and passion but the truth is that he is a lightweight as far as running the CBN goes.

He needs to chill. Picking fights is in nobody's interest. We can achieve all these reforms with less noise, good planning, liaisons without jolting the economy like he is doing.

He needs to cool down. Having thousands of people sacked on the eve of christmas should be a record no public servant should be proud of. Yet Sanusi will not treat this issues with the caution they deserve.

He should stop making noise.

BY THE WAY THE REUTERS NEWS CORROBORATES THE CLAIMS BY COMPASS. JUST THAT THE JOURNALISTS MAY HAVE CHOSEN DIFFERENT QUOTES FROM THE SAME SPEECH AND WOULD OBVIOUSLY HAVE DIFFERENT WRITTING STYLES.

OYB_MEND:

BY THE WAY THE REUTERS NEWS CORROBORATES THE CLAIMS BY COMPASS. JUST THAT THE JOURNALISTS MAY HAVE CHOSEN DIFFERENT QUOTES FROM THE SAME SPEECH AND WOULD OBVIOUSLY HAVE DIFFERENT WRITTING STYLES.

Not at all. . . the Compass phrasing is pernicious and insidious and is deliberately phrased to create a false impression that Sanusi was talking explicitly about Jonathan.

Ibime:

Not at all. . . the Compass phrasing is pernicious and insidious and is deliberately phrased to create a false impression that Sanusi was talking explicitly about Jonathan.

You no dey tire

naijaking1:

You no dey tire

the same question applies to you bro.

I think compass just quoted the almighty governor. They can be sued for libel if the quotation is wrong or something is added to the quoted speech. The fact is that all of up know that it is what sanusi can say. I swear. That is his still of talking. Ki lagbe ki le ju. Jonathan just said that he would support the reform this week. That same the the finance minister also said fg will support him if the reform wont jeopardise the economy. May be that is his fear. Cos there is an agenda to work to achieve which the acting president may not support as he is not in the picture. The question fall is 'what is the net benefit of the sanusi's reform so far. Positive or negative? God shall safe us.

Ribadu and El rufai be expecting another radical northerner like you very soon. Everyone that keenly follow nigeria politics knows sanusi must definitely be compensated like them Ribadu and els. The moving is going toward what we call 'THE END'. Well it may have part two.

Self-exile is not a bad idea for Sanusi Lamido Sanusi,  i mean we have lost uncountable jobs from the sector he watches over in just few months of his appointment, which is an attribute to his acrid policies. now banks are holding back funds, so i think it is safe to say HE is the worst thing that ever happened to our economy in recent times.  Agenda or no agenda Sanusi is a bad manager, he can be intelligent but he is out of touch ); i mean there should be a test of realism in any action.

I still don't think he understands the sensitivity of the position he holds and its bearing on the Nigeria economy at large.

Let him embark on the exile immediately.We have a thousand and one competent individuals to take over.

His exile won't be anything new anyway, Akingbola tried it and came back home to face trial.
I hope Sanusi will face trial too (at the very least, for mismanaging the banking sector).

It is very difficult to find fault with the outlined, four pillars on which the next phase of the current reforms in the banking sector would be based as stated below.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has unveiled four pillars on which the next phase of the current reforms in the banking sector would be based.
CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi listed the four pillars to include enhancing the quality of banks, establishing financial stability, enabling healthy financial sector evolution and ensuring that the financial sector contributes to real economy.

He said this at the Bussinessday International Conference on banking reforms in Lagos, a statement from CBN said.

The first phase of the CBN reform which was done last year led to the injection of about N620 billion into some banks that had liquidity problems, weak corporate governance etc.

He said the banking crisis was caused by regulatory shortfalls within the CBN and other regulators, host of other problems bordering on poor corporate governance within banks and lack of effective risk management practices.

The Governor said the reform is meant to encapsulate a holistic set of strategies and initiatives designed to stabilize the banking sector and promote long sustainable growth of the sector and the economy as a whole.

He said the strategies and initiatives to address the crisis include fixing the problems of the banks, tighter regulation, adoption of risk based supervision, effective consumer protection and reform of the CBN itself.

Source: http://www.weekly.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2483:banking-reforms-cbn-unveils-four-pillars-for-next-phase-&catid=41:news&Itemid=30

I pray God reward him for all his deeds accordingly. Amen

ndu_chucks:

It is very difficult to find fault with the outlined, four pillars on which the next phase of the current reforms in the banking sector would be based as stated below.

Scratch the surface and you will find his 'holistic strategies and initiatives' do not include improved deposit protection for customers - difficult to fault and four pillars indeed.

Goodluck, please put him on special duties.

Why is Unity Bank not part of these so-called 'reforms'?

Sanusi should go on exile ASAP and remain there for a long long time. . .

What nonsense ! ! !