| credits: Bennett Omeke
No
one doubts that whistle-blowing could be a useful tool in exposing
corruption and the abuse of power, especially in government and
corporate circles where these vices could do a lot of public harm.
Although often vexed by such revelations, many governments and
corporations often change their ways in the public interest after such
exposure. For example, in response to Edward Snowden’s whistle-blowing
on America’s surveillance programme, President Barack Obama of the
United States recently cancelled spying on foreign leaders and scaled
down on the National Security Agency’s telephone surveillance programme.
But whistle-blowing comes at a high cost
to whistle-blowers themselves. They often get harassed, victimised, and
invariably fired. That’s why those among them who want to avoid these
consequences often voluntarily resign from the organisation they have
ousted or plan to oust. Even then, some of them still face prosecution
for their action, depending on the severity of their revelations.
Which brings me to the suspended Governor
of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, whose whistle-blowing
activities irked President Goodluck Jonathan to the point of ordering
his suspension. It will be recalled that Sanusi had ousted the National
Assembly, by exposing its jumbo pay and high overhead costs. He also
once decried the drying up of the nation’s foreign reserves under
Jonathan. And more recently, he ousted the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation over the non-remittance of funds to the Federation Account,
ranging from $12bn to nearly $50bn.
After much back and forth between Sanusi,
on the one hand, and the NNPC and the Ministry of Finance, on the other
hand, Sanusi still insisted on a missing figure of not less than $20bn.
The controversy surrounding the figures may not be as important as the
leakages from the NNPC, which have been blamed variously on theft,
pipeline vandalism, accounting complications, and an unauthorised and
unappropriated kerosene subsidy. The truth of the matter is that the
NNPC is a major source of economic leakages in the country.
The question is: Should the Governor of
the Central Bank be the whistle-blower? The proper answer is NO. But
only in a sane economy where the rule of law prevails and where
corruption is the exception rather than the rule. The US offers a good
example. Readers will recall the reaction of the global market to the
phrase, “irrational exuberance”, used by the then Chairman of the
Federal Reserve Board (the equivalent of our Central Bank), Alan
Greenspan, in a speech given at the American Enterprise Institute during
the Dot-com bubble of the 1990s. The phrase was interpreted as a
warning that the market might be somewhat overvalued. It provoked strong
reactions in financial circles and was followed by immediate slumps in
stock markets worldwide. The lesson is clear: A Central Bank chairperson
should seriously weigh his or her official statements.
Clearly, Sanusi has not lived by such
standards. To be sure, Nigeria’s is a very corrupt economy where the
rule of law and sundry rules and regulations are routinely breached, and
with impunity. To some observers, this is no excuse for the CBN
Governor, especially when it was revealed that he himself has not lived
by the rules. If he knew about these shortcomings way back in June 2013,
when he received the report of the CBN accounts by the Financial
Reporting Council of Nigeria, he either should have cleared himself
immediately or resigned before proceeding to oust the NNPC and, by
implication, the Jonathan administration.
Alternatively, Sanusi should have
accepted Jonathan’s offer of voluntary resignation rather than wait to
fight his suspension in court. Given what we know about the wheel of the
judicial process in Nigeria, the court case over his suspension may
never be resolved until his term expires in June, 2014.
Whatever the outcome may be, Sanusi will
go down in history as Nigeria’s first CBN Governor to be suspended from
office. If he leaves office without clearing his name, that may spell
political doom in a country where the powers-that-be look for the
flimsiest reason to prevent a potential rival or suspected enemy from
vying for political office or any office for that matter.
Be that as it may, neither Sanusi, the
presumed offender, nor Jonathan, the judge and the jury, could stop the
market from tumbling, following the former’s suspension. The grave risk
to which the economy was exposed was immediately signalled by a
significant fall in the aggregate value of the stock market by over
N20bn in one day, while the dollar value of the naira crashed from 162.9
to N170. The market has remained sluggish ever since.
The condemnation of Sanusi’s suspension
by the international community has been no less severe on the economy
than the immediate domestic reaction. Here’s how the Chief Executive
Officer, Lambert Trust and Investment Securities Limited, Mr. David
Adonri, expressed the fear and uncertainty of the international market
due to Sanusi’s suspension: “The perception that most foreign investors,
and people outside this country have is that Sanusi has acted
independently in pursuing monetary policies that have successfully led
to macroeconomic stability in Nigeria, especially price stability. He is
also perceived as an anti-corruption crusader. So, if such a person,
whose contribution has been largely positive and beneficial to the
economy, is now being penalised, the reaction, therefore, will be that
of fear and caution. That is why we are having a negative reaction both
in the foreign exchange market and the equities market.”
The Economist, in turn, focused on
the political undertone of Jonathan’s action, while also highlighting
the economic backlash: “In light of Sanusi’s achievements, the
President’s action has spooked investors. Analysts at investment banks
have been scathing of Jonathan’s decision. Sanusi’s allegations of
malpractice within the NNPC have also sparked concerns among debt
investors about the government squandering more oil revenues in the run
up to an election next year. Fewer foreign reserves may jeopardise the
strength of the naira, a major concern for debt holders”.
This comment brings us to the heart of
the problem: What does Jonathan plan to do about all the allegations
against the NNPC? Why was he so quick in axing Sanusi, while he
continues to treat Diezani Alison-Madueke, the Minister of Petroleum, as
a sacred cow? True, Jonathan recently ordered an investigation into the
NNPC’s operations by the Accountant-General of the Federation, but
whatever happened to the findings of the Ribadu panel, which Jonathan
himself set up earlier, and which revealed monumental corruption within
the corporation? Why not suspend Alison-Madueke, following that report,
just as the FRC’s report was used as the basis for suspending Sanusi?
It is this kind of executive duplicity
that casts doubt in people’s mind on the motive behind Sanusi’s
suspension. This is made worse by the irony in the allegations raised
against Sanusi in Jonathan’s 7-page letter of suspension, particularly
(1) non-compliance with the Public Procurement Act; (2) unauthorised
expenditure on intervention projects across the country; and (3)
financial infractions and acts of financial recklessness. Many observers
chuckle at these allegations because they’ve also been raised at
various times against the presidency, the President’s ministers, and, of
course, the NNPC.
Finally, Jonathan will have a hard time
convincing cynics that Sanusi’s suspension is not one of a series of
actions intended to mop up the political mess on the ground, preparatory
to his re-election in 2015. The actions include the call for a national
conference; the release of N200bn investment fund to public
universities; fence mending within the Peoples Democratic Party; and the
recent sacking of four ministers, including Stella Oduah, who have long
been enmeshed in corruption allegations. The truth is that no one is
prepared as yet to take these actions as a true fight against
corruption.
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