In a dramatic crossfire of messages, former Central Bank Governor Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Senator Olusola Adeyeye debated the place of banking reforms implemented while Sanusi was at the apex bank, including the fate of former Intercontinental Bank Managing Director Erastus Akingbola.
Sanusi had posted a WhatsApp message justifying some of the reforms he implemented while at the CBN especially as the controversial treatment meted out against Akingbola came back to the fore in the aftermath of Herbert Wigwe’s tragic death last month.
It should be recalled that on January 31, 2012, Wigwe-led Access Bank acquired Akingbola-owned Intercontinental Bank after the latter was removed by previous CBN Governor Sanusi.
Following Sanusi’s emotional outburst during Wigwe’s funeral, many, including Senator Adeyeye, have questioned the intentions behind the decision to choose Wigwe to oversee Akingbola’s Intercontinental Bank.
Senator Adeyeye wrote, “Let the bankers tell us where and what SLS did wrong. It should not be difficult for them to disclose whatever malfeasance and iniquities occurred under his watch. For example, how many of his friends and cohorts operated bureau de change? To what extent did he look the other way when Government was committing monetary and fiscal atrocities that weakened the country’s economy?”
To this, Sanusi replied, “In almost all the banks that we took over, we discovered that these so-called owner managers set up SPVs, lent money to these SPVs, turned round and purchased their own bank shares with these funds -and that was how they acquired control.”
He further revealed damning details, stating, “One of Akingbola’s executive directors joined the bank as an officer and was his PA. Akingbola was MD of his bank for 22 years or so. All his so-called EXCO were his ‘boys’.”
Sanusi, undeterred, reiterated his stance, asserting, “Banks are not a business… Banking is a profession.” He announced plans to publish his CBN memoirs next year, titled “Confronting vested interests: Central banking in a rentier economy,” to shed light on his tenure.
In response, Senator Adeyeye remained skeptical, warning of potential backlash for Sanusi: “Let SLS come up with his book… knowledgeable in all he did to mess up our banking sector might open him up for ridicule – his appropriate comeuppance.”
The Senator queried further, “Why, for instance, did SLS forget that eleven billion naira was written off Saraki’s loan at Intercontinental Bank? Is he able to recall how Aig secured N50B loan from a bank where his mother-in-law was CEO? How time can change perceptions!”
Former Kwara state governor Bukola Saraki and notable banker Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede were accused of having large loans written off at Intercontinental Bank under the new administration after Akingbola. Saraki was a major shareholder at the largely distressed bank, Societe Generale which later entered into a merger with Intercontinental Bank. In Akingbola’s petition to the Attorney-General of the Federation in 2010, he wrote “Dr. Saraki has now used his political power to take over IB Plc after his failed peaceful merger attempts.”
In the midst of the resurfaced allegations between Akingbola and Sanusi, Adeyeye wrote, “Let each person answer on the basis of his verifiable record. Let us stay off non sequiturs”.
Several commentators on the issue also questioned Sanusi’s qualifications and competence to lead the nation’s apex bank.
This newspaper notes that the former CBN chief, who is a spiritual leader in Nigeria’s Tijanniyah Sufi order, has a degree in Islamic studies from the International University of Africa in Khartoum, despite having previously obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Economics from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria in 1981 and 1983, respectively.
To this, Adeyeye urged accountability based on verifiable records and cautioned against irrelevant remarks. He defended Sanusi’s qualifications, stating it was disingenuous for some persons to fault the former monarch’s academic credentials. He said, “it is disingenuous to sneer that SLS got to be CBN Governor after studying Islamic studies. Did he not have a first degree and a Master’s degree in economics? How many of those who rose to the position of CBN had better education than SLS?
The intense debate demonstrates Nigeria’s deep differences and unresolved worries over banking reforms, with both sides vehemently defending their positions. As Sanusi prepares to publish his memoirs, the news is sure to reignite debate and criticism about his tenure at the top bank.
