PointB:

http://www.elombah.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=868:yorubas-are-the-problem-with-nigeria-by-sanusi-lamido-sanusi&catid=57:sanusi-lamido-sanusi

Yorubas are the Problem with Nigeria - By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi       
Written by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi     
Wednesday, 27 May 2009 05:01

By Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, (Special Speech by the CPC 2015 Presidential Candidate)
In sum, the Yoruba political leadership, as mentioned by Balarabe Musa, has shown itself over the years to be incapable of rising above narrow tribal interests and reciprocating goodwill from other sections of the country by treating other groups with respect. Practically every crisis in Nigeria since independence has its roots in this attitude.

i. The Yoruba elite and area-boy politics;
ii. Igbo marginalisation and the responsible limits of retribution; and
iii. The Yoruba Factor and "Area-boy" Politics.

See also The Adulteress' Diary by Lamido Sanusi

My views on the Yoruba political leadership have been thoroughly articulated in some of my writings, prime among which was " Afenifere: Syllabus of Errors" published by This Day (The Sunday Newspaper) on Sept 27, 1998. There was also an earlier publication in the weekly Trust entitled " The Igbo, the Yoruba and History"  (Aug. 21, 1998).

In sum, the Yoruba political leadership, as mentioned by Balarabe Musa, has shown itself over the years to be incapable of rising above narrow tribal interests and reciprocating goodwill from other sections of the country by treating other groups with respect. Practically every crisis in Nigeria since independence has its roots in this attitude.

The Yoruba elite were the first, in 1962, to attempt a violent overthrow of an elected government in this country. In 1966, it was the violence in the West which provided an avenue for the putsch of 15th January. After Chief Awolowo lost to Shagari in 1983 elections, it was the discontent and bad publicity in the South-West which led to the Buhari intervention. When Buhari jailed UPN governors like Ige and Onabanjo, the South-Western press castigated that good government and provided the right mood for IBB to take over power. As soon as IBB cleared UPN governors of charges against them in a politically motivated retrial, he became the darling of the South-West. When IBB annulled the primaries in which Adamu Ciroma and Shehu Yar Adua emerged as presidential candidates in the NRC and SDP, he was hailed by the South-West. When the same man annulled the June 12, 1993 elections in which Abiola was the front-runner, the South-West now became defenders of democracy.

How come the article you supposedly posted seem to be made up of incoherent cut and paste texT?  Why are you associating Musa Balarabe’s quotes with Sanusi, in addition to other distortions you’ve posted?  The laziness you exhibit here is shameful. There is enough material out there if you must criticize the man, but the nut job you did up there is beneath even you.  SMH

SNS can never rule this country. He can rule the north.
I assure you if he comes out for president, he will loose.
he can go and contest for the new Al queada (Osama) chairman. I'm sure the position will be more lucrative and has a wider scope. Besides CAN will not disturb him and he will be dishing out Islamic Bank to Africa

sanusi is the only fearless person in naija. president 2015 = sanusi else fashola else rochas else Nigeria = another for yrs of poverty, insicurity, power shortage and many more

[s]Let me pretend the votes produce Nigerian presidents [/s]

I normally would have liked to have options to choose from, and be in the year 2015 already so as to factor in the situation of the country at that time. But in Sanusi's case, I can make an exception. I would have voted Sanusi ahead of 90% of Nigerians anyway.

He is very civilized, he understands the principles of democracy and federalism and more importantly, very BOLD. I think Nigerians do not deserve him.

Can the person that claims SLS's CBN's recruitment impartially favours Northerners give a proof to that?
The SLS I know will not recruit anyone based on ethnicity or religion. Ask people that worked around him from FBN to CBN.
He goes for who he feels should be able to do the job; after all, he went all the way to Geneva to persuade an Eastern Christian Dr. Moghalu to come and work with him and persuaded YRD to appoint him as CBN Dep governor.

Yes, he has written so many articles on ethnicity but most are reactionary. Only a bastard educated Fulani man that has read so widely on history will not defend his people against the common, unfair stereotype of Fulani/North as the cause of every problem in Nigeria. It is pastime in the South here for every Joe to attribute every problem of Nigeria to the north/northerners, as if the South/Southerners are purists and saints. If I were in Sanusi's shoes, I would have written those articles too, giving it back to the South in their own coin. Pure and simple.

Respected southern columnist, Dr. Edwin Madunagu wrote a negative article on Fulani, Sanusi replied. Nobody cared about Madunagu or called him a tribalist, but Sanusi that gave it back to him is a bigot.


Bola Ige was also refering to Hausa/Fulani people in derogatory terms, he became an Attorney General, nobody cared about his past statements on other tribes; Sanusi replied Yoruba politicians, his article is being bandied around as an ethnic warlord.

The venerable Awolowo referred to Shagari in condescending terms, was de facto VP, Finance minister etc, nobody cared about that; a Fulani man that once made a negative, even if factual, statement about other ethnic groups is being placed on slaughter slab.

Truth is SLS wrote all those things as a reactionary voice among the Fulani race that has been subject of literary attacks on daily basis by Souther commentariat.

If because he defended his people, he cannot be CBN boss or president, then none of you here is also qualified as I can dig out your negative statements on other ethnic groups/regions/religions here that call to question your fairness to other regions/religions/ethnic groups, the same suspicion you're nursing against Sanusi.

Isn't Islamic banking practiced in America and many other countries? Isn't Islamic banking protect more the consumers as there is no interests to be paid on loans. Some people here just barking without seeing the facts.

Sanusi for President?
Let his brothers bring him up to face Fashola and let us see who will win.

Sanusi has no business at the CBN let alone to rule Nigeria. As a graduate of Sharia, he should be teaching the Almajeris.

Can the person that claims SLS's CBN's recruitment impartially favours Northerners give a proof to that?The SLS I know will not recruit anyone based on ethnicity or religion. Ask people that worked around him from FBN to CBN.

Oh like you want me to bring the CBN employment list and show you the names or what? C'mon Jarus, though I don't post much I read a lot of stuff that goes on on this forum and I know you are quite intelligent. I'm not fetching my stuff from the air. I KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING. It's for you to actually know someone other than what you read on the pages of the paper. Get someone that knows what's going on within CBN or that works there and they'll get the wool off your eyes. And don't ask people that work with him, what do you expect them to say? Ask a neutral person that works in the CBN. And you need to go ask the FBN staff how happy they were when he left them. Jarus, please get your facts and stop arguing on sentiments, emotions or what you think.As they say not all that glitters is gold and as Wycleff said some peeps wear Cubic Zirconian and claim it's diamond.

When you say the "SLS you know", how well do you know him? based on what?  As bad as Hitler was, there were a lot of Germans who believed he was "God". So my dear friend, take a step back and really get to know him.

About getting Moghalu to be DG. there's nothing about persuading. There are not that many people that will say no to being invited to come and chop. As I said in my last post, unlike the corporate governance being advertised to the banks, the most powerful person on the Board of the CBN is SLS so what he says goes and who he wants goes. What was there to persuade Yaradull about?

My knowledge of Sanusi has gone beyond what I read in newspapers. I know him personally and we relate on private level now.
I restate that the Sanusi I know will not recruit based on tribe or religion. I don't like to go to extreme in debates, but I can vouch for him by swearing to God that SLS will not cheat someone because of his tribe and religion. I know what I'm talking about. Even me, close as I have become to him, he once got annoyed with me for suggesting to him that he should reply Oritsejafor for the lies he tols against him on re-introduction of arabic in currency. His word: 'Do you want me to call CAN president liar? Impossible" it's not proper to reveal private talks in open forum, but sometimes one breaks that rule when people refuse to get simple things right. Imagine, somebody lied against him, but he did not want to reply it in public imply because he wanted to avoid controversy of being accused of calling a religious leader, when he actually lied.

I have more than enough reasons to believe Sanusi is a honest, genuine leader that will not favour any group, much less in employment.

@Jarus

You are a dramatist! Go ahead with your theatrical defending of Sanusi. You can't deceive me even if you could deceive others here on the forum!

@Jarus, I do not need to post the complete article, I was only interested in sections where he was was pointing fingers at other ethnic groups(Yorubas and Igbos to be precise)

Sanusi should not be judged on sharia banking, there is nothing wrong with encouraging a business venture that can only be  good for the country. It will create employment and give borrowers options they never had before. I think the idea is a win, win situation for the country. We should not condemn it just because we hear "Islam". No one is being forced to do business or borrow from an Islamic bank. Live and let live.

But I think his articles paints him in a negative light and shows him to be a Fulani/Hausa crusader and Islamist, based on his strong defense of sharia and attack of other ethnic groups. It would have been great if the man wrote about the plight of the poor almajiris who are not being educated but instead force fed religious dogma that leaves them with no practical skill to contribute to modern society. He wants them to have sharia and the Quran but no eduction to make their lives better in the 21s century He writes articles similar to what a KKK member or a Nazi would write about other ethnic groups. He blames Yoruba people and Igbo people for the ills of Nigeria and for its lack of unity, while conveniently leaving out the genocide committed by the Hausa/Fulani North against the Igbos, which led to the civil war. The most important episode in Nigerian History and the main reason we are not united. If Sanusi was a modern muslim like the great Ataturk of Turkey, he would have been suitable to rule a multi ethnic and multi religious country like Nigeria.

Based on his views backed up by his articles, the man is only fit to rule a muslim country like the Sudan where he studied Islamic law. Islama bad.

okunoba:

@Jarus, I do not need to post the complete article, I was only interested in sections where he was was pointing fingers at other ethnic groups(Yorubas and Igbos to be precise)

Sanusi should not be judged on sharia banking, there is nothing wrong with encouraging a business venture that can only be  good for the country. It will create employment and give borrowers options they never had before. I think the idea is a win, win situation for the country. We should not condemn it just because we hear "Islam". No one is being forced to do business or borrow from an Islamic bank. Live and let live.

But I think his articles paints him in a negative light and shows him to be a Fulani/Hausa crusader and Islamist, based on his strong defense of sharia and attack of other ethnic groups. It would have been great if the man wrote about the plight of the poor almajiris who are not being educated but instead force fed religious dogma that leaves them with no practical skill to contribute to modern society. He wants them to have sharia and the Quran but no eduction to make their lives better in the 21s century He writes articles similar to what a KKK member or a Nazi would write about other ethnic groups. He blames Yoruba people and Igbo people for the ills of Nigeria and for its lack of unity, while conveniently leaving out the genocide committed by the Hausa/Fulani North against the Igbos, which led to the civil war. The most important episode in Nigerian History and the main reason we are not united. If Sanusi was a modern muslim like the great Ataturk of Turkey, he would have been suitable to rule a multi ethnic and multi religious country like Nigeria.

Based on his views backed up by his articles, the man is only fit to rule a muslim country like the Sudan where he studied Islamic law. Islama bad.

+500

Jarus,

I think you need to stop defending Sanusi here. The man doesn't need it that much.

He is not a politician yet. If eventually he decides to join, and vie for presidency on the right platform, he will win. It is not their votes that make Nigerian presidents, it is elites agreement that produce Nigerian presidents.

Let me start from the ethnicity thing. If you check his articles, they are reactionary, either a specific rejoinder or a response to the dominant line of argument at that time. I have maintained here many times that our tendency to attribute every problem of Nigeria to the North/Hausa-Fulani is very wrong. For every IBB, there is an OBJ; BH is holding Nigeria to ransom at the moment, Niger Delta militants did so for many years. My own submission has always been that we must look beyond ethnicity to solve Nigeria's problem. But if some people think calling the Hausa/Fulani people all sorts of names including 'cattles' and 'goats' and attributing every single problem to the North is their stock-in-trade, then only a bastard Fulani man will take that. I trust Sanusi not to be a bastard and he cannot close his eyes to watch some people disparage his race and keep quiet. He will give it back to you, and identify your own faults too, hence those articles.

I have mentioned up there, which you ignored, that statements like these are very common among many Yoruba leaders, especially Bola Ige, yet they rose to national power, like Bola Ige becoming Attorney General and nobody raised an eyebrow. Why then do you people want to crucify Sanusi because he once made a negative, even if factual, statement about other tribes, when people of other tribes have made many disparaging comments about Fulani, yet later holding national position.
What I challenge you to do is to bring out a single situation in which Sanusi favoured somebody because the person  Hausa/Fulani or he denied someone his right because he is not Hausa/Fulani. Renaissance Professionals spent millions to nail him on this, they were not able to, so start from where they stopped, go check his records from UBA to FBN to CBN. If he denies other people their rights or favours someone simply because of his tribe, then that is when I will agree he is an ethnic warrior not fit to rule Nigeria, but inasmuch as your premise is that he defended his people and identified faults of othertribes who point accusing fingers on his tribe, then that argument holds no water.

Mr jarus can i add u on facebook, ma email is ade_akin1@hotmail.co.uk

On the religion thing, Sanusi is an Islamic scholar(equivalent of pastor or Ifa priest) for God's sake, what exactly is wrong in being one? Aren't there many public officers that are Pastors?

Does that diminish his knowledge of banking/economics that he needs to do his CBN job?
The number of pastors that have risen to high, secular positions of authority are too numerous to mention, including Sanusi's deputy, Tunde Lemo.

Opeyemi Agbaje, a former Bank ED and a well respected economic affairs commentator, is so respected in banking and economy matters that he is qualified to be CBN boss. This same man has a blog where he does pastoral work and writes on Christian faith and beliefs etc. Will that diminish his economic scholarship?

Of what use is his Islamic knowledge if he doesn't contribute to Islamic debates?
And have you also observed that he doesn't criticize other religions in his writings on Islam; in other words he doesn't see it and 'we and them' affair. He only offers his contribution to Islamic debates based on his knowledge.
On what he writes, you are not the one to tell him what to write on his religion or be the one to shape his religious opinions, it is private to him, inasmuch he doesn't force it on anybody or denies people of other faiths their rights and freedom, you can't tell him what to say when he's discussing his religion among peoples of his religion.

Prof Wande Abimbola, ex OAU VC, was an Ifa authority that has written so much on Ifa, he later became a Federal minister, and he can become President wthout any hoopla.

Akanbi_edu:

Jarus,

I think you need to stop defending Sanusi here. The man doesn't need it that much.

He is not a politician yet. If eventually he decides to join, and vie for presidency on the right platform, he will win. It is not their votes that make Nigerian presidents, it is elites agreement that produce Nigerian presidents.

Thanks bros.
The debate here, to me, is actually not about presidency or not. Sanusi will surely not contest for the simple reason that as Nigeria is now, you need to compromise on many personal principles including integrity, before you can get to presidency, which I'm sure he will not want to do.

It's about trying to unlock their sealed hearts and making them see beyind their noses, and more importantly, countering the many lies and misrepresentations that these people make up to nail him.

ednut1:

Mr jarus can i add u on facebook, ma email is ade_akin1@hotmail.co.uk

I try to avoid having Nairalanders as FB friends for private reasons, I only accept for very few Nairalanders I trust, but I will PM you my email add now. we can exchange email.
Thanks

okunoba:

Sanusi should not be judged on sharia banking, there is nothing wrong with encouraging a business venture that can only be good for the country. It will create employment and give borrowers options they never had before. I think the idea is a win, win situation for the country. We should not condemn it just because we hear "Islam". No one is being forced to do business or borrow from an Islamic bank. Live and let live.

Actually this is the major reason he is being judged and will be judged. He is a public figure and all his actions are open to speculations. Just shortly after the post election crisis SLS introduces Islamic banking in a country where tension btwn christians and muslims were already high he goes ahead to say there is no going back on sharia banking despite protest from other groups. There is a time for everything especially when you are a public figure you watch what you say and not act like i don't give a damn about anybody i'll just do as i like which is how SLS comes across to majority of Nigerians besides i still cannot see any spectacular thing he did as CBN governor i just keep reading about how intelligent he is yet cannot see his "intelligent" works as cbn governor. He writes and talks well but seems to make poor policies. Actions speaks louder than words. We all should know that.

andromida:

Actually this is the major reason he is being judged and will be judged. He is a public figure and all his actions are open to speculations. Just shortly after the post election crisis SLS introduces Islamic banking in a country where tension btwn christians and muslims were already high he goes ahead to say there is no going back on sharia banking despite protest from other groups. There is a time for everything especially when you are a public figure you watch what you say and not act like i don't give a damn about anybody i'll just do as i like which is how SLS comes across to majority of Nigerians besides i still cannot see any spectacular thing he did as CBN governor i just keep reading about how intelligent he is yet cannot see his "intelligent" works as cbn governor. He writes and talks well but seems to make poor policies. Actions speaks louder than words. We all should know that.

SLS did not introduce Islamic banking into Nigeria. He only continued, it's been around since 2008.
Soludo sent his then deputy, Tunde Lemo, to Malaysia in 2008 to learn more on Islamic banking.
As per the timing, Sanusi did not first mention it after elections, he had mentioned it far back 2009, and processes, whcih ahev started pre-Sanusi, had continued since 2009. People are just blowing it out of proportion post-election to score cheap point and incite one people against another.

^^The average Nigerian does not have time to start digging who started it, when Sanusi first mentined it e.t.c all we know is we first heard it when we were still angry at the violence of post election crisis. Which is why i said the timing of implementation was wrong and thats why its being shouted down and no people are not blowing it out of proportion this is where leadership is important and he seems to lack it the people he wants to give Islamic banking were the most affected during the crisis the middle class? if they exist in Nigeria and the poor they were the most affected in the crisis and many of them were christians. Then the Jos issue is still on ground muslim/christians at each other now and then.

Timing can be everything. To be a successful leader goes beyond writing well and speaking english and being bold enough to go against the norm. In a country like Nigeria you should be able to feel the pulse of issues on ground. Religion being the major issue here. I dont think that guy will be a good president simply because to me he has not demonstrated that he will. I am sure on a good day he is impressive, radical but he shouldnt be president of Nigeria .His ego is too big.

andromida:

^^The average Nigerian does not have time to start digging who started it, when Sanusi first mentined it e.t.c all we know is we first heard it when we were still angry at the violence of post election crisis. Which is why i said the timing of implementation was wrong and thats why its being shouted down and no people are not blowing it out of proportion this is where leadership is important and he seems to lack it the people he wants to give Islamic banking were the most affected during the crisis the middle class? if they exist in Nigeria and the poor they were the most affected in the crisis and many of them were christians. Then the Jos issue is still on ground muslim/christians at each other now and then.

Timing can be everything. To be a successful leader goes beyond writing well and speaking english and being bold enough to go against the norm. In a country like Nigeria you should be able to feel the pulse of issues on ground. Religion being the major issue here. I dont think that guy will be a good president simply because to me he has not demonstrated that he will. I am sure on a good day he is impressive, radical but he shouldnt be president of Nigeria .His ego is too big.

Islamic banking is more economic than religious. This is why it is on operation even in non-Muslim countries.
So why would Jos crisis or election violence be the determinant of what is an economic policy?
SLS must have overrated Nigerians.

^^ yes islamic banking is more economic than religious we all know that but when some muslims in the name of election killed some christaians just because they are on the other side how do you sell Islamic banking to such people? again a failure to understand basic psychology of the people who you claim you want to help with better policies. except islamic banking is only for muslims in Nigeria?? The timing was/is wrong. Just because you may know better does not mean you shove your better knowledge down other peoples throat you end up with resistance.

andromida:

^^ yes islamic banking is more economic than religious we all know that but when some muslims in the name of election killed some christaians just because they are on the other side how do you sell Islamic banking to such people? again a failure to understand basic psychology of the people who you claim you want to help with better policies. except islamic banking is only for muslims in Nigeria?? The timing was/is wrong. Just because you may know better does not mean you shove your better knowledge down other peoples throat you end up with resistance.

and you think Nigerians, in their peculiar, rabid sentimental nature, will not shout against Islamic Banking, even if there was no Boko Haram crisis?

To think Nigerians are against Islamic Banking because of Boko Haram/post-election uprising is to demonstrate ignorance of ethno-religious politics and mentality of Nigerians.
By the way, there is hardly any point in time in which there is no ethno-religious unease in Nigeria, so SLS should have held on forever then?

@Jarus
pls stop this Sanusi preaching,the more you preach the more I get angry with the man. He is a bad market whose campaign is dead on arrival. A smart guy will know that the timing of the Islamic banking is wrong.Doing the right thing at the wrong time and in a wrong way can produce negative result. A man who does not know this simple principle is not fit to be a councilor. Leadership is not his calling, he is good as a pastor or Imam as you claim

Get angry if you like, a policy that has been in different stages since 2008 with progress on daily basis cannot be abruptly halted that way. Get that into your head.

In any case, SLS is not telling you he wanted to contest presidency and will not do, and I have not and will not encouraged him to do, even theoretically. I'm just dispelling the half-truths being bandied here.

Jarus:

and you think Nigerians, in their peculiar, rabid sentimental nature, will not shout against Islamic Banking, even if there was no Boko Haram crisis?

To think Nigerians are against Islamic Banking because of Boko Haram/post-election uprising is to demonstrate ignorance of ethno-religious politics and mentality of Nigerians.
By the way, there is hardly any point in time in which there is no ethno-religious unease in Nigeria, so SLS should have held on forever then?

Yes he should have put it on hold as at then.The ignorance here is on sanusi's part to think people will simply overlook the title islamic banking just after those crisis is a gross lack of understanding of Nigerians he is serving, His manner didnt help things either instead of Islamic banking has come to stay what happened to explaining in a manner that shows that you are more concerned about the economic aspect of the policy instead of the religious aspect. The cbn is not his personal fiefdom and what happened to Non-interest banking a winner name anyday since he even quoted some parts of the bible that is against usury to support his cause.

Anyway i dont expect much from most Nigerians in positions of power and authority they tend to listen only to themselves and sycophants and hardly look into constructive criticisms but become antagonistic to anybody who dares to challenge them.

WHATEVER! We know that Sanusi doesn't have the whole population at heart before pronouncing this Islamic bank into the system. There has always been this ethnic disagreement in the country and it eating deep into every part of the country. Not until he is intelligent enough to see that he's still not as intelligent to me as people seemed to portray him here.

He has never been a man I admire in any way at all. This aura of pomposity is annoying to say the least. If he was willing to serve the country he must listen to the voice of the people - a good leader must always do that. There is nothing he has done that is a milestone of nature in the Nigerian economy. He might be eloquent and well read (as  claimed by people) is not an excuse to accept anything that is against the people demands. He should stop acting as if the country belong to him alone and start to listen to the voices of the people. We know what the problems are and one of them is that our leaders never listened to the voices of the people. Sanusi failed to see that!

The fact is, SLS as a human is not without blame.  In the course of his professional and religious quest he may have made some mistakes, and I am sure Sanusi himself will not deny that. So, we should try not to decorate him with a saintly gown and present him as someone unblemish.

On the employment issue, obviously many southerners were not offered employment in the last ''secret'' recruitment exercise done by the CBN. I know a Snr manager in the CBN and few other staffs, so my facts are straight. Also, if you check CBN website you will notice clearly the movements of staff number in the last few months. First, there was a recent retirement and promotion exercise followed by the recruitment. All these things are there on the CBN website. However, Sanusi's thinking in favouring the North in this recent recruitment is that, according him, the north is not well represented at the CBN in line with the federal character principle. I am yet to ascertain the authenticity of his claim. But if that is the case i wonder if Sanusi is the appropriate person to handle such. Also, according to the CBN policy on recruitment all vacancies are supposed to be published in the dailies, unless on highly technical positions like the CBN governor and the likes. However, the last recruitment where about 400 people were employed was done secretly and on ''i know you'' basis under the watchful and saintly eyes of Sanusi. Is sanusi not aware of CBN recruitment policy, especially such mass employment exercise?

On the issue of ethnicity and religion, almost all Nigerians are guilty of that. Sanusi is therefore not an exemption and any attempt to exonerate him of religious and ethnic bigotry is an exercise in futility. However, just as i identified earlier, there are people who can't be Nigerian president, irrespective of their religious and ethnic dispositions. People like Odimegwu Ojukwu, Orji Uzor Kalu etc and Sanusi happens to fall under this group. These are men with extreme ethnic and religious mentality. They are more or less fundamentalists. So, they are out of the equation.

So many lies have been told about the introduction of the Islamic banking. So many lies, both by sanusi and the rest. Soludo never introduced Islamic banking. I challenge Sanusi to produce official documents/memo crediting that to soludo. Soludo only initiated the idea of non interest banking/finance which islamic banking is only but one of them. Saying that soludo introduced islamic banking amounts to pure malapropism. There are various forms of non interest finance in Nigerian and the whole idea was to develop this untapped segment of our economy.

Islamic banking on its own is not a bad idea. The only problem with Islamic banking in Nigeria is in its promoters. They made it to appear as if there was something more to it, and before you say Jack the entire system became tensed. proper timing and implementation is an important aspect of every policy thrust. Both the timing and implementation framework of the islamic banking was done wrongly. Firstly, Sanusi overestimated Nigerians and failed to offer proper enlightenment programmes. There was little or no enlightenment, knowing fully well that Nigeria is a multi religious country. secondly, he became both the regulator and the promoter.Haba! If this thing will favour all Nigerians why would sanusi have special interest? And thirdly, became boastful about it, asking opposing parties to go to court. Is this the right way to handle something that is supposed to benefit all Nigerians?

Islamic banking is operational in many islamic and non islamic states. In the case of non  islmamic states you will hardly notice the governor of the central bank giving undue attention/promotion to the islamic banks. They have only allowed the operation of islamic finance and regulates them according. No personal interest. In the case of Nigeria, which is also a non Islamic country(unless sanusi thinks otherwise) the CBN governor was the sole promoter. Sanusi made so many baseless arguments just to paint the islamic banking white. He once said that the Anambra state govt was the first to access the islmamic banking credit line. Swiftly the govt of the state refuted that and demanded an apology. Sanusi also claimed that many heads of the haiz bank are from the Igbo extraction why in reality all those things are drama. In fact, must they be Igbo or does he think the Igbos are his problem? Why can't they be Christains from the north or west?

Sanusi sounded as if the islamic banking is the panacea to our economic woes. I happen to live in a country where islamic banking is fully operational and i can tell you that what is powering the economy of the country is not islamic bank, rather oil and western banks. Those who claim that the islamic banks are the best form of banking should provide us with empirical evidence of an economy transformed by the islamic banks. Please don't quote me the assets and size of the islamic banks.

The fact is, SLS as a human is not without blame. In the course of his professional and religious quest he may have made some mistakes, and I am sure Sanusi himself will not deny that. So, we should try not to decorate him with a saintly gown and present him as someone unblemish.

I have never presented SLS as immune to errors, and this I have said openly, even on the pages of newspapers. I picked fault openly in some of his steps I felt he didn't handle well, like saying Bank Chiefs should be shot and publishing hastily debtors list with errors.

But then there is a difference between error and deliberate, motive-driven action. The accusation of the latter is where I have problem with people, attributing every steps he takes to some mythical motive. I believe he can make and has indeed made a few errors, but I refuse to believe the agenda/motive thing and I will never believe this because I am too sure Sanusi is not driven by any personal or sectional motive.

reactionary tendencies.

I hope you know what it implies calling Sanusi`s ethnic bashing articles as reactionary. A word defined as extreme conservatism or rightism in politics; opposing political or social change. I agree no other word describes the man better, he`s a throw back to the thinking and politics of the Usman Danfodio/ Alimi days. An era he is so proud of since he comes from that link of Fulani Aristocratic, jihadist.

You are also right in saying all the problem facing Nigeria today can`t all be blamed on the Hausa-Fulani/North. I believe we are all responsible, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba and all the other ethnic groups. One just needs to look at the achievement of State Governors and Ministers over the years to realize that we are all to blame.

If Yoruba leaders of yesteryear's belittled and painted other ethnic groups in a derogatory manner is that a good reason for him to do the same, especially from a man that claims to speak in the language of a new generation, different from the leaders of the past. By repeating the same mistakes of these people, his shown himself to be a retrogressive leader of a gone by time, when our leaders where nothing more than ethnic champions. I do not subscribe to that law of an eye for an eye, for that leaves all of us blind. He is no different from the ethnic champions we have here on Nairaland that are quick to belittle and insult other ethnic groups because they feel their ethnicity is being insulted. A National leader should be above that, in our time.

I have already mentioned where he  favoured one group over another. Go back to my post and you will see it. Calling Igbos and Yorubas trouble makers while leaving out the Hausa/ Fulanis is a good example. Yorubas planned the first coup, Igbos staged the first coup, what about the first ethnic cleansing/genocide committed by his people against Ndigbo that led to the temporary break up of the country. This fact of history was side stepped. I personally think his actions regarding the dismissal of bank executives was motivated by ethnic bias, after all Banks in the West did similar if not worst things and non of the executives were locked up or had their assets taken from them. These business people spent time, money and energy to build and create employment for Nigerians, only to have it taken away from them just like that. What business as he established in the country besides using his privileged background to secure top govt jobs.? The man his not even fit to rule a modern Muslim country.