Imagine the kind of feeling a drunk gets when tossed onto a high-speed carousel in an amusement park on a windy day. Well, Uncle Joe (alias the Executive President of Nigeria) is now feeling an acute sense of dizziness and disorientation such that he's flapping aimlessly and scratching the bottom of the barrel for ideas on who else to blame for his atrocious stewardship of the nation's affairs.
I've had the privilege of reading peoples' takes on the Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (SLS) sorry affair, and it is no surprise that they were varied and diverse. To expect unanimity would be foolish, to say the least. However, if one were to be truly and totally dispassionate, and not view this from a prism of any sort, this is simply a case of 'six of one and half-a-dozen of the other'. It is vexatious, and downright patronizing, to keep reminding Nigerians how inane, immoral and corrupt this government of Jonathan's really is. It is trite to say that impudence and impunity are endlessly jostling for prominence in this most unwholesome of political dispensations.
Without boring the reader with the gory details of SLS's suspension from the governorship of the Central Bank, the question on most Nigerians' lips is 'Why now?' A litany of allegations of impropriety bordering on flagrant fraud has been placed at SLS's feet, and his suspension from office might actually be a justifiable action. For a start, it is quite normal practice the sane world over that if a public official is under a cloud of suspicion, that official is made to step aside while the process of investigation takes place. No one can argue with that. The problem I have with what happened last week is that this situation is not as clear-cut as Jonathan tried to make it appear, as the erstwhile Aviation Minister, the 'stellar' Stella Oduah, was not dealt a similar fate. There are many question marks against this suspension.
I've never been an apologist for SLS and regular readers of this blog would readily recall that I once frowned at his profligacy. I said on that occasion that it wasn't his place, as Governor of the Central Bank, to give donations to people, communities or organisations, no matter how noble the cause was. He could have done whatever he wanted with his own money, but I object to his playing Russian Roulette with mine! Philanthropy is not one of his mandates, and Jonathan should have reined in his propensity for such at a much earlier stage. It is bewildering to note that 'philanthropy' was not cited in the litany of allegations against him.
Another question is why suspend a man when his current mandate expires in June 2014, less than 4 months from the date of suspension? It isn't difficult to infer malicious intent and what could have brought that about. How could Jonathan have expected Nigerians and the watching world to disconnect this suspension from the NNPC scandals that SLS so bravely exposed, no matter how maladroitly? You see, one matter arose and many matters are suddenly arising. The timing of SLS's suspension was patently malicious, and the haste with which he was suspended was manifestly invidious.
Would Nigeria be where it is today if all cases of suspected improprieties were dealt with as swiftly as this? Say what you like about SLS, he brought sanity to our banking system by exposing the rot in the system, and dealing decisively with it. For that, Nigerians will forever be grateful. SLS was widely respected and feted for the right reasons because, unlike the vast majority of people in positions of authority, he actually delivered. That is a novelty in contemporary Nigeria. His cleansing of the banking system inspired investor confidence no end. His credible macroeconomic policies have been lauded by most watchers, Fitch Ratings amongst them.
In the meantime, we eagerly await the outcome of the investigation into his alleged malpractices, and if that could be as swift as his suspension, that would be another novelty. At the same time, the issue of whatever billions of dollars hoovered up by the NNPC will not go away, no matter how thick the smokescreen is.
By the way, has anyone been punished for the sordid affairs of the two bulletproof BMWs and the Pensions scam yet? Just a thought.
I've had the privilege of reading peoples' takes on the Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (SLS) sorry affair, and it is no surprise that they were varied and diverse. To expect unanimity would be foolish, to say the least. However, if one were to be truly and totally dispassionate, and not view this from a prism of any sort, this is simply a case of 'six of one and half-a-dozen of the other'. It is vexatious, and downright patronizing, to keep reminding Nigerians how inane, immoral and corrupt this government of Jonathan's really is. It is trite to say that impudence and impunity are endlessly jostling for prominence in this most unwholesome of political dispensations.
Without boring the reader with the gory details of SLS's suspension from the governorship of the Central Bank, the question on most Nigerians' lips is 'Why now?' A litany of allegations of impropriety bordering on flagrant fraud has been placed at SLS's feet, and his suspension from office might actually be a justifiable action. For a start, it is quite normal practice the sane world over that if a public official is under a cloud of suspicion, that official is made to step aside while the process of investigation takes place. No one can argue with that. The problem I have with what happened last week is that this situation is not as clear-cut as Jonathan tried to make it appear, as the erstwhile Aviation Minister, the 'stellar' Stella Oduah, was not dealt a similar fate. There are many question marks against this suspension.
I've never been an apologist for SLS and regular readers of this blog would readily recall that I once frowned at his profligacy. I said on that occasion that it wasn't his place, as Governor of the Central Bank, to give donations to people, communities or organisations, no matter how noble the cause was. He could have done whatever he wanted with his own money, but I object to his playing Russian Roulette with mine! Philanthropy is not one of his mandates, and Jonathan should have reined in his propensity for such at a much earlier stage. It is bewildering to note that 'philanthropy' was not cited in the litany of allegations against him.
Another question is why suspend a man when his current mandate expires in June 2014, less than 4 months from the date of suspension? It isn't difficult to infer malicious intent and what could have brought that about. How could Jonathan have expected Nigerians and the watching world to disconnect this suspension from the NNPC scandals that SLS so bravely exposed, no matter how maladroitly? You see, one matter arose and many matters are suddenly arising. The timing of SLS's suspension was patently malicious, and the haste with which he was suspended was manifestly invidious.
Would Nigeria be where it is today if all cases of suspected improprieties were dealt with as swiftly as this? Say what you like about SLS, he brought sanity to our banking system by exposing the rot in the system, and dealing decisively with it. For that, Nigerians will forever be grateful. SLS was widely respected and feted for the right reasons because, unlike the vast majority of people in positions of authority, he actually delivered. That is a novelty in contemporary Nigeria. His cleansing of the banking system inspired investor confidence no end. His credible macroeconomic policies have been lauded by most watchers, Fitch Ratings amongst them.
In the meantime, we eagerly await the outcome of the investigation into his alleged malpractices, and if that could be as swift as his suspension, that would be another novelty. At the same time, the issue of whatever billions of dollars hoovered up by the NNPC will not go away, no matter how thick the smokescreen is.
By the way, has anyone been punished for the sordid affairs of the two bulletproof BMWs and the Pensions scam yet? Just a thought.
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