Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (born
31 July 1961) was appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria on 3 June
2009 and suspended from office by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on
Thursday, 20th February 2014 over allegations of financial recklessness. Technically
his term will end in June 2014. He is a career banker and ranking Fulani
nobleman, and also serves as a respected Islamic scholar. The renowned global
financial intelliegence magazine, The Banker, published by the Financial Times,
has conferred on Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi two awards. He has been recognised
with the global award for Central Bank Governor of the Year, as well as for
Central Bank Governor of the Year for Africa. The TIME magazine also listed
Sanusi in its TIMES 100 list of most influential people of 2011.
Sanusi is recognized in the
banking industry for his contribution towards developing a Risk Management
culture in the Nigerian banking sector. First Bank is Nigeria's oldest bank and
one of the biggest financial institutions in Africa. Sanusi was the first
Northerner to be appointed CEO in First Bank's history of more than a century.
In a wide-ranging interview with
the Financial Times in December 2009, Sanusi defended the extensive reforms
that he had initiated since taking office, dubbed by some as the "Sanusi
tsunami". Some believe that he had a personal vendetta against some of the
bank CEO's while others point to proofs of mismanagement of funds by some of the
CEO's most notably Cecelia Ibru as justification for the steps he implemented.
He noted that there was no choice but to attack the many powerful and
interrelated vested interests who were exploiting the financial system, and
expressed his appreciation of support from the Presidency, the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission, the Finance minister and others.
Contrary to widespread believe
that Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, first ran into trouble with
President Goodluck Jonathan late last year when he wrote a letter accusing the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation of diverting N8 trillion of Nigeria’s
oil revenue, PREMIUM TIMES reports that Mr. Sanusi first incurred the wrath of
the presidency in 2012 when he granted a newspaper interview criticizing the
administration’s handling of the Boko Haram insurgency.
Mr. Sanusi had granted an
interview to the Financial Times of London in 2012 blaming widespread poverty
in the North for Boko Haram’s success in recruiting members. That interview,
this newspaper can report, terribly irked Mr. Jonathan and earned Mr. Sanusi a
query from the presidency.
Investigations made showed that
not long after it published Mr. Sansui’s interview, the Financial Times did an
analysis on Nigeria’s economy and passed a damning verdict on the Federal
Government.
However, in its analysis of Mr.
Sanusi’s interview, the Financial Times on January 27, 2012 wrote: “Nigeria has
made little headway raising taxes for example from agriculture, which accounts
for 42 per cent of GDP. Northern Nigeria’s economy has traditionally depended on
the government more than the south.
“Many of the industries set up as
part of earlier efforts to promote national balance have gone bust or been sold
off during a decade of liberal market reforms, power shortages and
infrastructure collapse.”
The presidency has reiterated
that it suspended the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi, because he was indicted in a probe carried out by the Financial
Reporting Council of Nigeria since May last year.
Presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati,
told State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, while dismissing
speculations that Sanusi was removed because of the alleged billions of dollars
that had not been remitted to the Federation Account by the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
CRITICAL LOOK
AT THE SUSPENSION
It is worth noting that the 1999
constitution does not give the president power to suspend the cbn governor but
only remove after a 2/3 majority of the house of senate upholds it.
Secondly, what a timing. How come
this is happening when the embattled governor is screaming about the high rate
of decadence, corruption and unaccounted revenue in the famous NNPC which
amount to about 20billion dollars.
If the president is really after financial
recklessness and also violation of due process and the mandate of the CBN, what
has been done about the financial recklessness and theft in far greater
magnitude in the NNPC?
Only recently Stella Oduah (former
minister of aviation) was involved in a N255 million car scandal that rocked
the nation. It is worth noting that a lot of persons called for her head on the
stake without any concrete investigation. But we are all aware that the
president was so reluctant to investigate and drop her even after the house of
rep and senate indicted her. The president set up a fresh committee to
investigate her and after which it took a long while before she was dropped. One
of the sources said Jonathan did not
take any action on the matter when the issue was raging last year because it
was not in his character to be seen as being stampeded into taking any decision.
Now 3 questions I have that are
begging for answers:
1. Was
there any committee set up to look into the case of the CBN governor? If yes when and
who were the persons that made up the committee?
2. Is
there any official report to justify the reason of suspension that reveals the
financial recklessness?
3. Since
the outcry of the suspended CBN governor of financial recklessness in NNPC,
what has been done? And why is the GMD and others involved in the financial recklessness
of NNPC not suspended?
I think we all know the truth. President
Goodluck now brings badluck to good people and good ethics. President Goodluck
is now above the law, as he disregarded it to suspend the CBN governor which he
has no legal right to do on his own. Patience they say is a virtue, but the one
that stands beside Goodluck is a curse. But what can we really do other than
sit and watch how the story ends.
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