By Muyiwa Adetiba

The horse is a beautiful animal; sturdy and elegant. And when in full flight, a joy to watch. Little wonder that it is a favourite animal of royalty. Monarchies all over the world have formed a kinship with the horse and have created games and festivities round it.

A good example is the durbar which is popular in the northern part of our country. Nothing is as royal as the durbar in full display with all the colours and the regalia. It is also another occasion to see the synergy between animal and man. To watch a good rider and his horse is to witness a match-up of grace with grace, dexterity with dexterity. I have seen many princes transformed as they mount the horse.

Six years ago, I saw Lamido Sanusi being transformed as he rode into glory when he ascended the throne of his grandfather and thereafter became Muhammadu Sanusi. It was as if he was born with a horse. He was graceful; he was elegant; he was aristocratic; he was so natural. Nothing on that day of his glory reminded you that this man was a technocrat; that he was really the immediate past governor of our apex bank. He was one with—and yet—different from the other horse riders. Nothing on that day gave any indication that his reign would be short.

What we saw was a man who was groomed and who had groomed himself for the throne. What we saw was a man whose mien showed he had attained his life ambition; a man to whom other laudable achievements had paled into insignificance. Six short years later, it had all come crashing down. The brightness of his sun which had been covered by too many early clouds, finally gave up its glow. Sunset had come, given his age, at noon.

Incidentally, sunset was one of the many words he used that caused discomfiture among the conservative leaders of the north. He said quota system and federal character, like everything in life, must have a sunset clause. It might have been an uncomfortable truth but every rising sun must set.

It is a cycle of life that cannot be circumscribed. Even when you have longer days and shorter nights, sunset would still come. Quota system will have its sunset one way or another. That brazen system of injustice and inequality called quota system cannot continue to ravage our national psyche indefinitely.

Sanusi is an enigma. In many ways, he is a poster child of the system he is now accused of condemning at every turn. For all his brilliance—and he is cerebral—it is unlikely that he would have occupied the top banking positions he occupied at the ages he did, had it not been for the privileged and geographical circumstances of his birth.

To start with, he attended Kings College, the flagship of Nigeria’s educational system. But admission into the Kings College of his era had been hijacked by top public servants who wanted their children to benefit from the brand which the school had become. Thus Kings College and Queens College its sister school, had become compromised by many considerations, including the same quota criterion. His father was a top public servant in Lagos at the time.

Sanusi has a history of balking the system everywhere he worked. Each time he did, thanks probably to his lineage and connections, he got rewarded rather than got punished. It happened at UBA, First Bank and the Central Bank. Will it happen again? Will he ride into sunset or into another glory? Or has he ridden his luck this time?

His detractors, and they are many, see him as arrogant. Yes, he is aristocratic in carriage and he has no apologies for that. Nothing about his birth and upbringing is talakawa. They say he is a rabid pro-north advocate. If that means getting your region to be better governed and more economically competitive, then I am on his side. I want the Yoruba region to be better governed too. But I would not skew things in favour of the West to achieve my aim.

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They say he is a religious zealot. Many of us are religious zealots. This is not to forget that he was fingered in having a hand in the gruesome murder of a Christian in the early 90s. Perhaps the worst of the criticisms is that he is a hypocrite who does not walk his talk. They point to his choice cars including a Rolls Royce and his lack of fiscal accountability. They see his teenage wife as a betrayal of his often repeated rhetoric on female education.

His admirers on the other hand point to his courage; his ability to say the truth as he sees it no matter whose ox is gored and the consequences to himself. They see him as a man who dines with kings but still retains the common touch. Or more accurately, a king who has a social conscience and cares about the plight of the poor. They see him as a crusader for good governance; someone who appeals to the conscience of the ruling elite of which he is undoubtedly one.

The truth is probably in between. Yes, he has an uncommon courage. But his ‘truth’ can be more diplomatically told; his advice more filtered to suit the sensibilities of rulers nationally, not just his northern colleagues. Given his lineage and connection, he probably would have achieved more for the down trodden if he chose to work behind the scene rather than talk down on his fellow leaders in public. He won’t work behind the scene because he loves the stage.

He is eloquent and loves to hear himself speak. He also loves the klieg light. He is like a butterfly which dances round a naked light in order to show its many colours. Naked light can illuminate. It can also singe.

He danced too close to the flame once again, and despite warnings from well-wishers, refused to move away. Surely, he must have seen this coming? Still, I find his banishment to another state most distasteful. It is anachronistic and does not reflect the principles of a federal structure. It is also a violation of Sanusi’s rights. Ganduje should not have the power to banish Sanusi to another State. In fact, he should not have the power to banish anybody in this day and age. Period.

Sanusi’s feathers have been singed many times. Each time he has emerged with new, beautiful plumage. Time will tell how he will rise from the current burn.

Vanguard