The controversy around Governor Godwin Emefiele and the Department of State Services, DSS has been reported to be the most disturbing incident between a sitting governor of the apex bank and the authorities.
However, given the fact that the Emefiele crisis with the DSS is an “internal” crisis with elements within the same government fighting one another, it indeed may pale in comparison to the troubles generated by his predecessor, HRH Sanusi Lamido, the 14th Emir of Kano.
Lamido as CBN governor was reported to have gone out of his way of duties of sustaining the monetary policies of the apex bank to support the opposition to the government. His allegations of missing money among others gave armour to the All Progressives Congress, APC which was the opposition at that time.
The acts of Governor Sanusi Lamido could today be compared with Emefiele coming out openly to not just criticize the Muhammadu Buhari government, but going further to provide facts and fable for the opposition PDP to criticize the government in power.
Sanusi Lamido was able to get away with his actions to some extent because of his royal pedigree. When on February 20, 2014, that President Goodluck Jonathan suspended Lamido as CBN governor while he was on an international assignment in Niamey, Niger Republic, it was no surprise that the private plane that returned him to Nigeria overflew his birth place Kano, and his Abuja base to Lagos, the hotbed of the opposition to Jonathan.
He was immediately sequestered by APC operatives including Lai Mohammed who sought to use the sacking to further lampoon the Jonathan government.
However, more than that is the claim that Prof Soludo was peeved after he was denied the position of running mate to Yar`adua. The claim in some circles in Abuja just before the 2007 General Election was that President Olusegun Obasanjo had picked Soludo as running mate to the 2007 presidential candidate. One rumour that went round among some people in Abuja at that time was that Soludo had even sewn different attires of the major ethnic groups in Nigeria ahead of the 2007 campaign.
However, for whatsoever reason including claims that the Katsina crowd with Yar`adua could not stand him, Soludo was removed from consideration as a possible running mate.
However, Soludo’s predecessor, Mr Joseph Sanusi was an exception as he had no political proclivities, being the only CBN governor since the advent of the Fourth Republic not to have delved into politics.
However, the present issues surrounding Governor Emefiele and the DSS are said to flow from the contest for the APC presidential primaries where he was mentioned among the top contenders.
Supporters of the CBN governor who gave credence to the claim did not hide it when they alleged that the troubles of Emefiele were flowing from a powerful presidential candidate working along with the presiding officer of one of the chambers of the National Assembly. It was very easy to read the script and position Tinubu and his Man Friday, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila as the main suspects.
The claim by Emefile’s supporters is that the new Cash Withdrawal Policy introduced by the CBN would severely impair Tinubu. Against the background of the controversy in 2019 when two bullion vans were spotted moving in and out of the Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi residence of Tinubu, some have rightly or wrongly hinted that Tinubu may have been using money to pave his way in elections.
So, the suggestion that the cash withdrawal policy was framed by Emefiele to hit back at Tinubu who won the APC ticket from him may have sounded plausible in the consideration of some people.
However, that is simplistic. The cash withdrawal policy, even in its original frame before the amendments last Wednesday was about the soundest policy to have come out from the Emefiele bank.
The policy in its strict implementation would not just address banditry but also the corruption in the political system and to a large extent, also help firm up the value of the naira. The present situation where people trade the dollar because of the abundance of naira notes available to them through illicit means would end with the strict implementation of the cash withdrawal policy.
Governor Emefiele has been much flayed in top circles in Abuja for being loose, now that he has decided to be tight, it is unfortunate that the system as dictated by the DSS seems unhappy. That is the fate of Nigeria where people see the good and choose the evil which is indeed the particular trouble for Nigeria and is now Emefiele’s trouble.