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Urhobo Historical Society |
Whither Is Lamido Sanusi Leading Nigeria?
By Peter P. Ekeh
In 2001, I had a nasty public dispute with the late Dr. Bala Usman of
Ahmadu Bello University and his close associate and younger
fellow-aristocrat Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who was then Assistant
General Manager at United Bank for Africa. In two engaging papers �
�The Misrepresentation of Nigeria: the Facts and the
Figures� and �Ignorance, Knowledge, and Democratic Politics in Nigeria� � Bala Usman had assailed claims of autonomy made by ethnic
nationalities of Southern Nigeria. His vexation against the assertion
that the resources of the Niger Delta belonged to its people was
particularly passionate and led him to deride some major ethnic
nationalities of the Niger Delta. Bala Usman urged Northern states of
Nigeria to lay claims to those resources because, in his vexed
contention, mineral petroleum was formed from debris that the River
Niger brought to the Niger Delta from Northern Nigeria.
I thought that Bala Usman�s point of view was dangerous ideology. In
my reply to him in a paper titled �The Mischief of History: Bala Usman�s Unmaking of Nigerian
History,� I pointed to facts and perspectives that invalidated his
positions. Bala Usman was a brilliant man. He was also a wise man. In
his wisdom, he did not contest the facts of my argument against the
controversial propositions in his papers. It was also possible that
another reason why Bala Usman did not reply to me was that his younger
associate Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had taken it upon himself both to
defend Bala Usman and to advance their common interests in the
aristocracy that they shared.
In an agitated paper titled �Usman, Ekeh, and Urhobo �Nation,�� Sanusi not only defended Bala Usman whose views I had attacked;
he assailed me for what he thought was the illogicality of my
position. Sanusi cited my Inaugural Lecture entitled
Colonialism and Social Structure in which I had argued
that there were lasting consequences of colonialism in Africa. Sanusi
hurriedly concluded that my attack on Bala Usman�s denunciation of
Southern claims of ethnic autonomy was incompatible with my earlier
position in the Inaugural Lecture. Now, my Inaugural Lecture was
delivered at the University of Ibadan in 1980 when Lamido Sanusi was
an undergraduate student at Ahmadu Bello University. As I subsequently
explained to him and to other readers of my rejoinder in April 2001
(see
�Organized Campaign in Defence of Bala Usman and the Breakdown in Nigeria�s National Consensus�), Sanusi was mistaken in his assessment of the meanings of my
lecture and of my rejection of Bala Usman�s belligerence towards the
Niger Delta.
Sanusi�s
follow-up response became
less shrill and showed a different side of him. He abandoned his
previous effort to take me to a degradation ceremony by alleging that
I had committed �intellectual suicide.� Uncommonly for his much
advertised aristocratic class, Sanusi allowed that injustice had been
committed in the Niger Delta. It was in the course of that calmer
correspondence that Sanusi sent me a copy of a paper (�Issues in Restructuring of Corporate Nigeria�) for publication in www.waado.org, a Web site that I edit. I see that that paper has assumed
considerable significance in the public estimation of Sanusi�s
persona. Rightly so. It was presented at an Arewa House forum
organized by Northern Nigeria�s elite in 1999 as part of the
preparation for a new civilian order.
That encounter with Lamido Sanusi eight years ago is worth reviewing
because it reveals a good number of things about the personality and
character of the man who now occupies one of the most important
positions in Nigeria�s public affairs. First, it was obvious, at least
to me, that Sanusi was a determined fighter for those causes that
would advance his aristocratic claims to privileged positions in
Nigeria. How else would one explain his defence and implicit advocacy
of Northern claims on the natural wealth of the Niger Delta which his
elder compeer had articulated? Second, Sanusi seems to accept and to
share a common point of view in his elite circles that what is good
for the Fulani aristocracy is good for Northern Nigeria and therefore
Nigeria. Much has been written in recent months, particularly by
Southern scholars and commentators, about Northern monopoly of power
under President Umaru Yar� dua. In fact, however, what we are
witnessing before our own eyes is a growing stranglehold on Nigeria�s
major institutions by one ethnic minority, the Fulani, under the cover
of Northern Nigeria. Lamido Sanusi is in the midst of that power-play
and he seems to be enjoying every bit of it. In his now-famous �Issues in Restructuring of Corporate Nigeria,� Sanusi states an elementary truth about his identity: �I am Fulani. I am Muslim. But I am able to relate to every Nigerian
as a fellow Nigerian and respect his ethnicity and his faith.� It is fair to say that Sanusi�s primary obligations flow from
being a Fulani and a Muslim and that the layer of Nigeria or, indeed,
Northern Nigeria is a convenient secondary cover.
There is another noteworthy peculiarity that is manifest from Lamido
Sanusi�s utterances and behavior. He is an impulsive man, a trait that
has led him to stir up controversies. He is quick to jump to
conclusions in a flash from ready-made templates. In 2001, I was
struck with how rapidly he could pronounce my intellectual demise
after reading a bare fraction of my writings. Others have complained
about nasty comments on the Yoruba and the Igbo in his voluminous
political writings. Such impulsive tendencies have exposed him to
praise for being a truth-teller but also to charges of inconsistencies
or, worse, insincerity in his claims of fairness. For instance,
following Lamido Sanusi�s dismissive attack on a Kano-based Muslim
scholar and preacher Ja�afar Mahmoud Adam for his brand of Islamic
doctrine, from England came this brutal assessment of Sanusi�s
character by a fellow Muslim scholar. Accusing him of hiding �the
larger portion of his character � under the guise of �Islamic
Scholarship,�� Muhammad Jameel Yusha�u tore into Sanusi thus:
People can now distinguish between true Islamic scholars [like Sheikh
Ja�afar Mahmoud Adam] who adhere to the teachings of Prophet
Muhammad (S.A.W) and tried to abide by it and societal chameleons
[like Sanusi Lamido Sanusi] who could be bankers today, political
analysts tomorrow, economists the day after tomorrow and the next
morning appear as malikis with a dose of shi�a doctrines in their
cupboard (see �Sanusi Lamido Sanusi�s Narcissism and Self-Glorification�).
There is much more truth in that angry
accusation than a scholar�s flourishes. The bigger question is this:
having played so many roles, can Sanusi be called a specialist in any
one of them? For instance, can Lamido Sanusi successfully play the
role of Chief Economist of the Federation, which is the responsibility
of the Governor of the Central Bank?
Is Sanusi Lamido Sanusi Qualified to Be Governor of Nigeria�s
Central Bank?
Modern economies are complex. A careless remark by the Chairman of
the Federal Reserve Bank in the United States or by the Governor of
Bank of England could lead to loss of sizeable wealth in a single day.
Governors of Central Banks in most countries of the world are labeled
chief economists of their nations because of the critical roles they
play in their economic fortunes. For that reason, Governors of Central
Banks are usually accomplished scholars in macroeconomic areas of
knowledge as well as being experienced men or women in the management
of their nations� economic wellbeing. In addition, they are expected
to be extremely diplomatic in their public utterances. That is why
they tend to be conservative in their ways. The position of the
Governor of Central Bank is certainly not one for firebrand radicals.
Because the economies of the world are no longer as autonomous as they
were as recently as a few decades ago, Governors of Central Banks must
also be experienced professionals who generate confidence in their
capabilities beyond their national borders. That is why they are often
compared one to another in our day in which national economies are
inter-related.
The question before the nation now is the following: What are the
qualifications of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi that prepared him for his new
position of Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria? Is he qualified for
it? A related question is this: how does he compare with his
counterparts elsewhere, particularly in comparable African countries?
These are fair and important questions because what Sanusi says and
does as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria will surely affect us all,
probably for the rest of our lives.
Sanusi�s Academic Qualifications for Governor of Central
Bank
No responsible nation will recruit a sociologist or a political
scientist or even an historian for the position of Governor of its
Central Bank. This is because his or her assignment is specialized
within the well configured knowledge area of monetary macroeconomics.
Botswana�s banking chieftain phrased the matter severely but quite
correctly. As Ms Linah Mohohlo,
the award-winning Governor of Botswana�s Central Bank, once told
Euromoney magazine: "African countries are not a
homogeneous group in terms of fiscal management and standards. � The world economic history is littered with casualties of fiscal
mismanagement. Prudent fiscal management is indispensable in today's
modern economies given its potential in underpinning an appropriate
macro-economic balance as a basis for sustainable growth"
(see �Botswana Bank Head Is Regional Governor of the Year�).
In its proper context, the Botswanan is telling us that it takes
much to prepare to fulfill the role of Governor of Central Bank.
Sound and serious academic preparation, beginning with undergraduate
studies, is the starting step in this grounding. Thereafter,
potential candidates for the Governor of Central Bank must engage
their colleagues with publications that will advance the management
of the nation�s fiscal affairs.
The information we have on Sanusi�s preparation for his present
position is sparse and unpublicized. We read that he did his
undergraduate degree in Economics at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria,
graduating in 1981. We do not know in what area s of economics he
specialized. It is traditional at that University to write a Research
Essay in the final year. It would be important to know on what topic
Lamido Sanusi wrote his essay. It is also good information to know
what class of degree he earned to enable him to graduate from that
University. The publicity piece on Sanusi on the Web site of Central
Bank of Nigeria tells us that Sanusi took M. Sc. (Economics) courses,
apparently without taking the degree at the end, although he is said
to have obtained a distinction in Monetary Policy. Did he abandon the
M.Sc. project? We are told that Sanusi returned briefly to teach at
Ahmadu Bello University. What subjects did he teach? These are
elementary facts that should be available from a full curriculum vitae
of the Chief Economist of the Federation. They are the sort of
questions that any interviewing body would demand from any young
academic who applies for the position of Lecturer or Senior Lecturer
in any of our universities. In addition, we may demand to know from
Nigeria�s Chief Economist whether he took any professional
examinations in banking while he worked at ICON Limited (Merchant
Bankers) and United Bank for Africa before he became the CEO of First
Bank of Nigeria. Finally, it will be beneficial for our judgment of
the qualifications of our national Chief Economist to gain information
on whether his studies in Islamic Law at the University of Khartoum,
Sudan, in the hiatus between his years at ICON Limited and UBA, were
related to his banking profession. The Central Bank Web site informs
us that Sanusi bagged a First Class degree in his Islamic Studies in
the Sudan. These are not over-bearing or over-probing questions. We
would know about such background of the Governors of the Central Banks
of any other African countries from their curriculum vitae.
Perhaps more important is Sanusi�s publication record. Fortunately,
in modern times several vehicles exist for accessing the records of
anyone who has engaged in academic or professional publishing. For
this exercise I have employed the liberal vehicle of
Harzing�s Publish or Perish. The result for Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi is distressing. He has ten papers listed. They come from
such newspaper-grade media sources as www.gamji.com
and Daily Trust. All of them are about Sharia, Islamic Law and women.
None of them is about economics or banking. The Web site of Central
Bank of Nigeria boasts that Sanusi has publications in learned
journals, but none is listed. They surely do not appear in the public
record.
What is compelling about Sanusi�s public record is that a number of
things stand out when his publications are compared to those of other
Governors of Central Banks in comparable African nations � using the
same vehicle of Harzing�s Publish or Perish. With a
record of forty-two publications listed, almost all of them focused on
economic and monetary matters of Kenya, Professor Njuguna Ndung�u must
be adjudged to be a formidable Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya.
Also revealing is the publication record of the Governor of Ghana�s
Central Bank. Since his doctoral thesis on
A Macroeconometric Analysis of Export Instability in Economic
Growth
for the University of Pennsylvania in 1972, Paul Acquah has engaged in
serious academic and professional discussions of macroeconomic issues
for Ghana and other African nations (e.g., Zaire) as well as for the
whole continent in published media. Ms Gill Marcus of South African
Reserve Bank is formidable from several perspectives, including an
impressive record of publications. Finally, Sudan�s Central Bank�s
Governor, Dr. Sabir Mohamed Hassan, has an impressive record of
published engagement with an analysis of his country�s economy.
Two features separate Lamido Sanusi�s published works from those of
these other Governors of Central Banks of comparable African nations.
First, they are not devoted to politics and religion � subjects to
which Sanusi appears wholly committed, to the apparent exclusion of
economic analysis. Second, Sanusi shows no interest whatsoever in
economic and banking analysis, not even of risk-management, in his
published records. On the other hand, according to their published
public records, Africa�s other Governors of Central Banks are
substantially devoted to the academic and professional analyses of the
economic circumstances of their nations. It should be clear to
Nigerians that President Umaru Yar� dua could not have chosen Lamido
Sanusi as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria on account of his
accomplishments in the understanding of Nigerian and African economic
issues. Nor did the Senate that confirmed him so readily bother to ask
pertinent questions with respect to his relative qualifications in the
context of African economic circumstances.
Lamido Sanusi�s Temperament
Even if potential candidates were well qualified in professional and
macroeconomic matters, those examining them for the enormous office of
Governor of Central Bank are expected to weigh the candidates�
temperament along with how well they will relate to significant
portions of the nation. Lamido Sanusi probably tells the truth, as he
sees it, without fear or favour. In other words, he sees himself as a
gadfly in public discourse. In doing so, he offends significant
constituencies. Should he therefore expect to hold an office that is
owned by the entire country?
Dr. Frederick Fasehun�s recent statement on
the appointment of Lamido Sanusi reveals major flaws that would in
ordinary circumstances disqualify other Nigerians from holding this
high office. It is enough to cite Fasehun�s reactions to Sanusi�s
derisive characterization of various sections of the country. Fasehun
writes:
Sanusi
has remained unapologetic and unrepentant of his ethnic chauvinism. In
the past, he has said of the Igbos in a
paper, "Issues in Restructuring of Corporate Nigeria," that: "The
Igbos themselves must acknowledge that
they have a large part of the blame for shattering the unity of this
country."
Having said that this nation must
realise that
Igbos have more than paid for their
foolishness, he said in the same piece: "The
Yorubas: the greatest obstacles to
nation-building, are the Yoruba Bourgeoisie, I say this also to
underscore my point that until they change in this attitude, no
conference can solve the problems of Nigeria. The country cannot move
forward if the leadership of one of the largest ethnic groups
continues to operate, not like statesmen, but like common area
boys."
And on Afenifere he declared: "A Syllabus
of Errors � the problems of this country have a lot to do with
the shift in power away from the Fulani to individuals like
Babangida and
Abacha, products of lower cultures. The
Fulani of the North, proud of the history of the establishment in
Nigeria - Ahmadu Bello,
Murtala Mohammed,
Aminu Kano,
Shehu
Yar'Adua,
Shehu Shagari,
Jibril Aminu.
They are sad that other Nigerians do not know the difference in ethnic
background between, say, Murtala Mohammed
[Fulani] and Ibrahim
Babangida [Gwari]."
Sanusi has made many other fetid pronouncements about various ethnic
groups other than those catalogued by Dr. Fasehun above. In a dominant
group like the Fulani, one is likely to encounter talkative and
boastful members of a self-proclaimed aristocracy. But one would not
expect one of those loquacious boast-masters to be the Governor of the
Central Bank of Nigeria.
The same reservoir of ill-temperament that supplies such an abundance
of insults on other people has empowered the impulsive behavior of our
new Governor in his short service as the Chief Economist of the
Federation. Central Bank Governors in most other nations -- at least
those who are professionally competent -- would take at least six to
twelve months to study the complex tasks in their new
responsibilities. But, presuming that he understood all the compound
economic problems in the nation�s banking system, Sanusi rushed into
his new job with ready-made solutions. The result is the mess in which
we now find ourselves.
Matters of Credibility: Some Questions for Lamido Sanusi
More than most professions, bankers rely on their credibility and the
trust that they earn from others in order to thrive in their onerous
duties of taking care of others� financial resources. In modern
banking such trust is virtually transnational. With Governors of
Central Banks, trust at home and abroad is their gold standard. Any
Governor of a Central Bank who has no credibility threatens the
economic and financial welfare of the nation that he or she is deemed
to be serving. Sadly, Lamido Sanusi has begun his tenure as Governor
of Nigeria�s Central Bank with a heavy baggage of mistrust. This is a
problem that he cannot brush off with a mere waive of assumed
aristocratic arrogance.
Was Lamido Sanusi Aware of a
Conspiracy to Destabilize Nigeria�s Banking System?
On March 23, 2009, Vanguard (Nigeria)
Newspapers published an article that
revealed an alleged plot that looked improbable at time of its
publication. The background was the Banking Consolidation exercise
that Sanusi�s predecessor at the Central Bank, Charles Soludo, had
undertaken in order to strengthen Nigeria�s banking institutions. It
led to the reduction of the number of Nigeria�s banks from 89 to 25.
It was an exercise that, among other things, wiped out all the banks
that were owned by Northern Nigerians, causing much offence in that
large and politically influential region of the country. Vanguard�s
story of March 23, 2009, was about how to redress this loss. It
reported on how a group of influential Northerners, mostly former bank
owners, planned to deny Charles Soludo a second term as the Governor
of the Central Bank, install a new Governor of Northern origin, and
cause panic in the banking industry in ways that would enable the
Federal Government to inject public money into five targeted
commercial banks, leading to their takeover by Government and their
eventual re-sale to the plotters. In Vanguard�s report, one of the
leading candidates, who were being canvassed for by the plotters to
replace Soludo as Governor of Central Bank, was Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
The Vanguard reporters� words deserve to be recalled here: �The group is using this means to make depositors panic and undertake
massive withdrawal of funds from the targeted banks in an attempt to
cause liquidity problem in the banks. In that state they hope to cause
a take-over by the government which may buy a stake in the banks and
later sell to members of the privileged group who may be appointed in
the interim into the boards of the banks.�
Five months after Vanguard�s remarkable publication, much of what it
reported in that alleged conspiracy was carried out, to the letter of
the alleged plot. This is how Vanguard (August 26, 2009) itself
celebrated its remarkable reporting: �Vanguard, your best-read newspaper, 23 March 2009, did a world
exclusive on alleged plot by a group of individuals to take over
five banks in the country. � Two weeks ago, the new Central Bank of
Nigeria Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, sacked the chief
executives and boards of five banks, therefore confirming our scoop
of March 23.�
Our simple questions are as follows.
(i) Before his appointment and before he assumed his new office, was the
Governor of Nigeria�s Central bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, aware of
this conspiracy? One hopes that he was not party to such a horrendous
conspiracy against the Nigerian people. Nigeria deserves to know the
truth.
(ii) Was Sanusi�s targeting of the five banks, which Vanguard reporters
foresaw as part of the conspiracy months before he was appointed to
his new office, unrelated to the alleged plot to take over Nigeria�s
five top banks? Was this a mere coincidence?
If we had a well-functioning National Assembly, these questions would
come from elected representatives of the people. Sadly, the National
Assembly is not in a position to raise such questions on behalf of the
Nigerian people. But it may well be that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi will be
willing to answer such simple questions by providing straightforward
answers to the Nigerian people. What is also clear is that Sanusi�s
professional colleagues, in Nigeria and in the international banking
community, will be watching very closely and very carefully to see how
Sanusi responds to these questions which bear on his credibility and
hence on the fate of the Nigerian economy.
Is Jailing One�s Competitors the Banker�s Way of Doing
Business?
There is another question on Sanusi�s conduct in which everyone else
should be interested. Before President Umaru Yar� dua appointed Sanusi
as the Governor of the Central Bank, he was the Chief Executive
Officer of Nigeria�s First Bank. Before then he was an Assistant
General Manager of United Bank for Africa. He was in these positions
in the years in which the banking industry was transformed by fierce
competition that enabled new banks to rise to the top and to compete
effectively with the older banks. In these years, the five bank
executives, whom Sanusi summarily sacked less than two months after
becoming the Governor of the Central Bank, were his fierce
competitors. Many of these banks and their chief executives were
acclaimed by national and international banking organizations as
professionally competent bankers. They were rewarded with
commendations and prizes. None of these honours went to Sanusi or the
banks or divisions of banks that he managed.
Is it not strange that Sanusi has hurried to use his new powers of
Governor of the Central Bank to jail his former competitors, accusing
them of taking risks? Is there any room left for shame in Nigeria�s
public affairs? This is a story that might be expected from a banana
republic. Is that not what Sanusi and his compeers are now turning
Nigeria into?
Some Concluding Thoughts: Witnessing the Dismantling of Nigeria
In the early 1960s, shortly after Independence, Nigeria was in
turmoil. The House of Representatives was about to declare a state of
emergency in Western Nigeria. Anthony Enahoro, a Member of the House,
warned that the nation was about to unleash a chain of events whose
unknown consequences we might not be able to control. We are probably
in greater peril in 2009 than we were in the early 1960s when Chief
Enahoro uttered that warning. The difference is that, this time we
know what is coming to us. We know it because we have seen it several
times before. Sanusi is going to take Nigeria�s banking institutions
to the same type of failures that we have witnessed with Nigerian
Airways, Shipping Lines, Railways, etc., etc. Is it not a shame that
Kenya, Ethiopia, and Ghana can run and manage these institutions that
we once had in abundance? In 1963 Nigeria Police Force was selected by
the United Nations to train Congo�s troubled Police Force. Now, see
the mess into which we have turned what was once a world-class Police
Force.
Post by post, pillar by pillar, Nigeria is being dismantled by a
self-professed aristocracy whose sole competence is in plotting to
take over what others have built. By the time Sanusi finishes with his
various unpredictable schemes, Nigeria�s banking system will be in
shreds � in the same way our other institutions have been ruined.
Thereafter, he will present himself as a candidate for the office of
the President of Nigeria and he will expect to win because of his
ethnic origin. Sadly, that is now the Nigerian story.
Peter P. Ekeh
Professor
State University of New York at Buffalo
September 15, 2009