The rumour mills in a country as big and diverse as Nigeria should normally run at full throttle; and, should also be equally churning out the richest of rumours, but a recent one that looked like a news story in THISDAY really rankles.
The story reads: “President Goodluck Jonathan has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to resign immediately on the grounds that the letter Sanusi wrote to him on the unremitted $49.8 billion oil revenue to the Federation Account was leaked to former President Olusegun Obasanjo by the CBN governor.
“But Sanusi who has denied leaking the letter to anyone, has refused to resign and informed the president during the heated telephone exchange that he could only be removed by two-thirds of the Senate as required by law.”
The source of the story got to know that the president, who is Sanusi’s employer, had called and accused him (Sanusi) of leaking the letter to Obasanjo, which enabled the latter to use it as one of many allegations he levelled against Jonathan in his letter titled: “Before it is too late.”
In fact, the source, who probably was there when the president made the call or was listening in on the discussion either in the Villa or at Sanusi’s end, to feel the extent of Jonathan’s emotion to know he was very angry he was not prepared to allow Sanusi to proceed on his terminal leave in March, but asked him to tender his resignation before the close of business last Tuesday.
However, Sanusi, according to this knowledgeable source, “informed the president that it is necessary to deal with the issues and not the letter that had been leaked since it has since been established that it was not $49.8 billion that had not been remitted to the Federation Account, but $10.8 billion, which was still in dispute and by any stretch of imagination was still a large sum.
“Sanusi felt he was being forced out for doing his patriotic duty to his country by drawing attention to the unaccounted funds. He only has two months to go, so this was a ploy to force him out and destroy his career and reputation. He knew this and for this reason, refused to throw in the towel as requested by the president.”
Another source even got to know what Sanusi did after the call, revealing that he briefed his close aides at the CBN and family of what had transpired between himself and the president.
Either the President is the source of this story or Sanusi, or even the spooks that work for the state.
After this revelation, hack analysts went to town seeking to make Sanusi look like the good guy of Nigeria’s financial system just as they did to Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo before Sanusi put a lie to all their analyses, when he took over.
“We suspect the risks that the next CBN Governor will be a closer ally of the current administration – and less independent – have increased,” says Samir Gadio, emerging market strategist, Standard Bank, London.
Another from the same bank, Razia Khan, noted that the suggestion that a CBN Governor – any CBN Governor – may be ‘punished’ for asking for greater transparency sends a very negative signal to investors. This is especially so in an environment of less easy global liquidity, and the potential for heightened risk aversion to accompany QE tapering.
As if these revelations were not enough, the rumour mills again disclosed that the presidency had queried Sanusi over his profligate donations from government coffers totalling a mind-boggling N150 billion.
If this stupendous figure is indeed true and it took the wee hours of Sanusi’s tenure for anybody to raise a query, then all those who ought to have briefed the president should also be reprimanded for allowing the garrulous banker to continue in his criticisms when he was irresponsible with public funds.
According to the THISDAY story source, not only was it bothersome that the CBN helmsman was allegedly undermining the government, “the presidency was worried by the way and manner Sanusi had been donating to communities and institutions in the name of the central bank without adherence to due process and regard for the multi-cultural diversities of the Nigerian nation.”
He “was accused of donating about N150 billion to some institutions and interest groups in states controlled by opposition political parties in what appears to be a clever way of channelling state funds to some politicians who in turn use them to attack the president and his government.”
Political analysts have always wondered why Sanusi was allowed to go this far, acting as if he was more a politician than a banker, even having the temerity to take on his boss, while romancing his opponents.
Recently, the out-going CBN governor gave the impression that he would want to know who takes over from him, even though he pretends like he does not want to know. He has also said he does not want a second term; but who would give it to him? He knows his enemies are waiting for him to step down before a deluge descends on him.
Not long ago when it became known that a particular prominent banker was involved in having a less than noble relationship with the wife of another man; while at the same time bending the rules for the same woman to be employed within the same bank, the media outfit that broke the story came under intense pressure so much so that traditional rulers got involved to stop further revelations.
But more is on the way regarding this banker, whether in or out of office at the bank or the emirate council in Kano. He lived in a glass house and danced naked while the drapes were not pulled; so he should face the consequences of his actions.
Constance Okechukwu sent this piece from Abuja via Constanceokechukwu1999@yahoo.com
