ON Tuesday, November 15, 2016, several Nigerian news media carried the news of the Presidency raising alarm over imminent famine in Nigeria by January 2017 – which is a mere five weeks away. In fact, the word used was “Nigerians should brace themselves”.

When the currenyear ends on December 31, 2016, several previously sterling reputations would have been diminished because they were deaf to advice which did not emanate from official circles. Despite all the nonsense about having all hands on deck, they preferred to err their own way instead of being corrected by others. In order of protocol, the reputations steadily declining are those of President Buhari, Vice President Osinbajo, SAN, the Minister of Budget and Planning, the Minister of Finance and Mrs Uwais, wife of the former Chief Justice of the Federation who is the Director of the N500 billion Social Welfare Programme, SWP.

The president had announced the Social Protection Programme, SPP, with the sort of hyperbole expected of people still having a hangover from the promises made during elections. According to Buhari, “I am happy to formally launch, by far, the most ambitious Social Protection Programme in our history.

MY first major article on banks was in 1992; when one Mr Jimi Lawal, was the Managing Director of Alpha Merchant Bank. From the quarterly, semi-annual and annual reports of the bank, anyone could be forgiven for thinking that Mr Lawal, who was also a flashy dresser and certainly not conservative, as traditional bankers were, had his own mint for printing the funds his bank was allegedly making. He was not alone.

In the report titled ‘Banks bad loans rise above CBN limit’, the report which was attributed to Bloomberg, the global rating agency, also quoted Mr Emefiele’s statement in which he tried to re-assure Nigerians and the international community that all is well. According to the CBN Governor: “The Nigerian financial system remains stable and resilient in spite of prevailing macroeconomic challenges.”