Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Dr Godwin Emefiele, has been in the bad side of the news recently. There was speculation that the Department of State Security (DSS) has approached the federal high court, Abuja to obtain a warrant to arrest the governor based on allegations bordering on terrorism financing and money laundering. Emefiele who spent his annual leave abroad returned to the country on Monday amidst rumours of his arrest.
However, in what seemed to be a restraining “order from above”, the DSS has denied any attempt to arrest the appex bank’s governor. While the allegations against the governor are grave, the timing seems suspicious. It emanated a fews months after the CBN, under Emefiele’s watch, came up with new monetary policies aimed at saving the nation’s economy from total collapse.
The naira re-design policy which phased out the old notes and replaced them with new ones had met stiff opposition from some powerful forces, including the National Assembly. Interestingly, Emefiele, who enjoys the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari, has weathered the storm from the tumultuous intrigues.
It started with an alarm raised by the CBN governor last year that, trillions of naira were outside the banking sector. The report had scared any right thinking Nigerian. It has shown that some corrupt government officials and their cohorts have stockpiled their houses with stolen monies.
These uncirculated illicit funds are mostly proceeds of corruption. Their absence in the banking vaults has had negative effects on the economy, as commercial banks do not have sufficient or adequate funds to give loans to Nigerians. This has resulted to the stagnation of the economy. Little wonder, the country has in recent times recorded high rate of poverty and unemployment.
Therefore, the decision of the CBN to force these currencies back to the vaults of banks is being viewed as an affront by economy saboteurs. I am not saying the CBN governor is a saint or not guilty of the allegations against him. He should come out and clear his name from the controversial corruption allegations on stamp duties and $53 million judgement debt arising from Paris Club refund.
Beyond that, what i see in Emefiele’s current travails, is corruption fighting back. Those who corruptly enriched themselves and stashed billions of naira are worried that the new policies of the CBN will expose their filthiness. With the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, keeping vigil to arrest suspected corrupt depositors, the dark forces who are afraid to lose their loots will fight back even dangerously.
Besides, the CBN governor, through his cashless policy, is going to step on the toes of many money bags politicians. With few weeks to the general elections and INEC’s commitment to conduct free, fair and credible election, the cashless policy, being currently implemented by the CBN, will make it hard for politicians to engage in vote buying.
Of course, Nigerian democracy is excessively monetised. In many elections conducted in the country, Nigerians have witnessed the incidence of vote buying. Politicians use their agents to bribe electorate and influence the outcome of the elections. While vote buying is a serious electoral offence punishable by law, our desperate politicians are not ready to stop the practice.
With the cashless policy, funds that can be transferred for vote buying will be easily monitored and evidence established. Our politicians will not be comfortable with the CBN governor’s new policy and can go after him, including sponsoring spurious allegations or trump up charges against him.
Unless the CBN governor has a skeleton in his cupboard, President Buhari, whose tenure will soon come to an end, should support his ongoing monetary reform. The administration’s war against corruption, which has failed the integrity test, can be redeemed. The monster of corruption bedeviling the country has defied the jaws of police, court, the ICPC and EFCC. It seems the CBN has finally found the magic wand. Let Nigerians support it.
Ibrahim Mustapha,
Pambegua, Kaduna state
08169056963.
