….Controversy personified, a bundle  of courage and an enigma

By Omoh Gabriel
Long after he would have left office as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi will have a lot of explanations to make to Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike on some of his actions and statements in office, especially in the outgone year.

A few will suffice for this prologue:inability of the banks to give out loans to businesses largely on account of fear of Sanusi; the consequential damage to the economy; woes allegedly brought to the five banks which Sanusi claimed to have rescued, by the new managements he appointed for them; his controversial indictment of the National Assembly for appropriating to itself 25% of the nation’s resources annually;and his deafening silence to the counter allegation by the leadership of the legislative that the apex bank’s budget is even in excess of that he claimed the National Assembly spends.

Add to that his recent threat that more former bank MDs would be jailed for corruption when in fact their cases are still being heard.

Sanusi’s critics are legion and so are his admirers. Whatever opinion you may hold about him, it is clear that he, more than any other Nigerian, has influenced the news, for good or ill, this year.

He beats to the second position the immediate past governor of Lagos State,Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,while Wikileaks as personified by Jules Assange comes third.
-Editor

Even without his November  2010 Igbinedion University, Okada convocation lecture that sparked the controversy over the pressure being piled on the nation’s economy by the huge overhead cost of the National Assembly, it would have been difficult to deny Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, governor of the Central Bank, CBN our-man-of-the-year award.

Truly, this aristocrat has restored substantial sanity to the banking sector such that, today, bankers have to think twice in taking lending decisions.

Truly, businessmen/women and customers are wary of taking loans without paying back.

But truly too, businesses are collapsing because they can’t assets loans; and fingers are pointing at some of the executives appointed by him to manage the banks he claimed to have rescued, for corruption possibly worst than the previous executives.

Yet, Sanusi carries on to the applause of some Nigerians and hisses of others almost in equal measure.

To some he is a phenomena, to others he is just a ruthless and vindictive opportunist. The low, the high, the mighty and powerful have all felt his presence. He is the only spike in the Umaru Yar’ Adua now Jonathan administration.

Born on 31st of July 1961 Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was appointed, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria on 3rd of  June 2009. He is a career banker and also a respected Islamic scholar. His father was a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the 1960s and his grandfather an Emir of Kano and Islamic Scholar, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi.

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, SLS as he is popularly called was until his CBN appointment as Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (GMD/CEO), First Bank PLC, the Executive Director, Risk & Management Control. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria in 1981, after attending St. Anne’s Primary School, Kakuri, Kaduna (up to 1972) and King’s College, Lagos (1973-1977) and he performed his national service in the then Gongola State. Between 1991 and 1997 he was at the International University of Africa, Khartoum, Sudan where he first studied Arabic before obtaining a second Bachelor’s degree, this time in Shariah.

Sanusi began his working career in academics, teaching undergraduate Economics at ABU 1983-1985. He then proceeded to a banking career, first with Icon Limited (Merchant Bankers), where in a period of about seven years he gained experience in Issuing House activities, Financial Advisory Services, Privatisation, Debt-Conversion and Credit and Marketing. He rose to become Area Manager, Kano Area Office, before he resigned voluntarily to pursue higher education.

He returned to banking in May, 1997 when he joined the then newly privatised United Bank for Africa Plc as a Principal Manager 2 in the Credit Risk Management Division. He rose to Principal Manager 1 in January, 1998 and Assistant General Manager by December of that year. He subsequently earned promotions to Deputy General Manager (January 2002) and General Manager (March 2005).

Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua nominated him as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria on 1st  June 2009 and his appointment was confirmed by the Senate on 3rd June 2009, in the middle of a global financial crisis.

Sanusi is one Nigerian who refused to be the epitome of what Wole Soyinka described in his book the Man Died. In the book he said the man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny. Sanusi is seen by many as very controversial, outspoken, radical, stubborn, brash to the point of crudity. He seems to derive great pleasure in them and the intrigues they throw up.

He would not keep quiet and refuses to be cowed to submission in any circumstance . He may also have imbibed Tai Solarin’s prayer for Nigerians in his new year article many years back, “May your road be rough”. Tai Solarin believes that it is when the road is rough that you bring out the best from an individual. Sanusi enjoys riding on the rough roads and terrain of human emotions.

In pursuit of his faith in corporate Nigeria and the desire to cut to size the perceived enemies of the Nigeria state, Sanusi at the Senate screening for his plump job as CBN Governor tested the political terrain and its resilience when he gave an insight into his perspective on government’s seven point economic agenda.At the risk of not being confirmed by the Senate he said.“In the seven-point agenda of government, critical infrastructure is the first item. My view is that until we address the infra structural problem in this country, we will not even begin to solve our problems. As a matter of fact, my view is that in the seven- point agenda, if we could just focus on two or three things and finish them up in the next four years, we will be far more effective in contributing to this country than focussing on seven”.

His comment became a national issue and debate to the point of embarrassment that the Presidency had to issue a statement that the seven point agenda would stay. A pointer to what was to come was his first interview on assumption of office with the Financial Times of London. The interview in itself was controversial as many saw it as a slight on the local media for the CBN Governor to address Nigerians through a foreign medium. Just as the interview was controversial the content gave banks and executives sleepless nights and anxiety. “I will remove some bank chiefs if the need for it arises” he had said.

It did not take long for Sanusi to act on his promise.  On August 14, he sacked  the Managing Director/Chief Executives and Executive Directors of five banks and later three more with a fanfare without considering its over impact on the economy.

Sanusi said then that the bank officials were removed on the strength of high level of non performing loans in the five banks which he attributed to poor corporate governance practices, lax credit administration processes and the absence or non-adherence to the banks’ credit risk management practices. But he was countered by critics that his action was premeditated, vicious and vindictive most especially his plan to convert the N620 billion injected into the banks as capital. In the heat of the controversy he reversed himself saying it was a term loan.

While the controversy over the removal of chief executives of banks raged he went a step further by opening a can of worms revealing the names of persons owing the banks huge sums of money. That again created its own controversy and engaged the media and the Nigeria public on the right and wrong of his actions. It was strange to Nigerians for a contract entered into between a bank and individuals to become a state matter as EFCC were drafted in to pursue bank loan defaulters. Some were arrested and detained.

But Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is not the first CBN governor to slam banks with penalty or  remove key officers from the banks. Joseph Sanusi who was Governor had removed Otunba Subomi Balogun as CEO and Chairman of FCMB and Banigo from All States Trust Bank. He had, at the time withdrawn the foreign exchange dealership licence from 21 banks. It was like asking the 21 banks to go into self liquidation as foreign exchange transaction was the main stay of the banks then . The controversy that trailed y Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s reform did not follow the Joseph Sanusi action because due process was followed. But Sanusi Lamido Sanusi would say that if he had asked the boards of banks to sack their Managing Directors many would have gone to court to stall the process hence the element of surprise was adopted.

While Nigerians were crying over their losses at the Nigerian Stock Exchange as a result of the crash in stock mark prices, Sanusi said “Basically, you had a stock market that was an accident waiting to happen. The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has equities and no depth. Seventy per cent of the valuation of the stock exchange is banking stock. Now, anybody can tell you upfront that this is an unsustainable structure.

Banks raise a lot of capital, they didn’t have what to do with the money, they lent money to people who bought bank shares, the prices of the shares went up, other banks lent to other people who bought shares and we created a bubble. The price-earning ratio was too high, price to book was too high. We had a bubble that was bound to burst, it was just waiting for something to happen and when we had the crunch and money started going out, the market crashed.”

Sanusi further irritated shareholders the more by telling them that they had lost their investment in the banks and that he was going to sell the banks to foreign investors. That again set the blood pressure of the business community higher and pitched investors against him.

Sanusi was quick to deny that CBN officials’ trip to the United Kingdom was to explain the new banking reforms in the country to the international community and not designed to advertise the banks, whose managements were sacked, for sale to international investors.

All of these have taken a toll on the economy. Many have lost their jobs, others have had pay cut, banks have cut lending and many firms are on the verge of closing shops as they can not access credit.

Sanusi Lamido, appears not to have been done. Two weeks ago he stirred another national discourse. This time he  raised alarm over the high cost of maintaining the National Assembly which he put at 25 per cent of the nation’s over head cost saying if the trend was not checked, it would continue to stall the growth and development of the nation’s economy. But he did not include the over head of the executive arm of government.

Sanusi who spoke at the eighth convocation of the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, expressed fear that the economy would not improve to meet the  nation’s target of being one of the 20 largest economies in the world if 25 per cent of the nation’s expenditure continued to be expended on the overhead cost of the National Assembly, insisting that there must be a drastic reduction in the cost of running the National Assembly.

He argued that the nation must focus on policies that would bring development through increased capital expenditure, stressing that if this was not done, the economy would continue to remain in comatose. This has engaged the nation in the last three weeks. He refused to be intimidated by members of the National Assembly saying he would not apologise to them for what he knew was right.

However his critics say he has not thought through his reforms which prompted the former minister of state Mr Remi Babalola to tag the reforms as spirit led. This has resulted in the slow down of the economy. Others feel he talks too much and by virtue of his position he ought to know that as CBN governor  what ever he says is taken seriously.

By openly condemning the Nigeria banks in local and foreign fora, he has unwillingly passed a vote of no confidence in the banking system. Sanusi while receiving an award in Washington DC at an IMF/World Bank meeting told the audience that the CBN has got its first major victory with the conviction by court of a  former bank managing Director and that others standing trial would equally go to jail. Many feel that his actions are eroding confidence in the economy which may take years to restore.

But what his critics can not deny him is his rare courage, determination in the face of stiff opposition, resolve to do what he believes in. It was no surprise that when the votes for the man of the year by Vanguard board of Editors were cast he won for he has impacted the Nigeria state both negatively and positively depending with what eye you are seeing him.