Emefiele: The fall of a banking Czar?

In 2019, when the Nigerian Senate approved a second five-year term for Godwin Emefiele to serve as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), it was a surprise to many, especially stakeholders in the financial sector as many thought the CBN governor did not merit a second term.

Moreover, that reappointment was the first time anyone would serve for a second term since Nigeria’s return to civil rule in 1999, making Emefiele to serve three presidents; Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu (though less than a month).

But while many complained, the Presidency, which submitted his name to the Senate for reappointment, was happy to retain the astute banker for serving their certain interests, particularly of President Buhari, his then principal.

Well, as the saying goes, every thing, whether good or bad, has an end.

Sadly, it was an unceremonious end for the banking Czar on June 9, 2023, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended him to allow ongoing investigations of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy.

The end for Emefiele, who is aptly one of the least-celebrated CBN governors, came exactly one year to the end of his second five-year term in office.

It followed a trend in the apex bank’s history as Lamido Sanusi, former CBN governor, was suspended by Goodluck Jonathan, former president, to pave way for Emefiele’s emergence.

But the suspension seems to excite the Nigerian masses and stakeholders of the financial sector, who think that Emefiele is the architect of his own downfall.

His ‘sins’, according to most people, are many.

Under his watch, Naira experienced the worst decline in history.

The currency, which is among the weakest in Africa, is currently trading at over N750 per US dollar in the parallel market and N469.50 per dollar at the official market as of Friday.

The sustained weakness of the Naira has been blamed on Emefiele’s actions and inactions, and especially failed monetary policies.

The failed policies, according to many, are reasons for his inability to control Nigeria’s inflationary rate, which is currently 2.2 percent.

While his foray into politics as a presidential candidate for the 2023 election under the All Progressives Congress (APC) was alleged to be sponsored by his fans; many criticised the move, asking who would be a fan of the man whose policies have rendered many businesses bankrupt with high interest rates and inability to stem Naira devaluation and control inflation.

If some citizens manage to forgive him for the wrong political move, many cannot easily forgive him for the Naira redesign policy, which he introduced in the last quarter of 2022.

It was one of the widely criticised policies in Nigeria, after the failed third term bid of Olusegun Obasanjo, according to pundits.

Considering the uncertainties, widespread chaos it triggered across Nigeria, loss of billions in exchange to heartless bank officials by Nigerians who were in a rush to meet the deadline, loss of confidence in the banking system and untimely death of many in long queues and from heart attacks on the life savings they have lost, all combined to make Nigerians dislike the suspended CBN governor.

Of course, one of the reasons Nigerians will not forget Emefiele in a hurry is the restriction on cash withdrawals to N20,000 per day and N100,000 per week, which still subsist. It was an anti-business and anti-masses policy, according to pundits, and it rendered many SMEs bankrupt, while allowing (point of sales) PoS operators and their collaborators inside the banks, who should have been in jail for selling Naira in the country, to thrive.

Also, President Tinubu will not forget Emefiele in a hurry because at the heat of the 2023 electioneering campaigns, Tinubu, who was the APC presidential flagbearer, insisted that Emefiele’s Naira redesign and cash restriction policies were deliberate to hinder his chances of winning the presidential election.

Like another saying, ‘what goes around, comes around’; perhaps, nemesis is playing out in Emefiele’s case today.

Those who are privy to the level of heist perpetrated under the watch of Emefiele strongly believe that the suspended Apex Bank’s chief is “worthy of many stripes.”

A lawyer, who has played in the regulatory agencies of the Federal Government, told BDSUNDAY that the man, ideally, should be an inmate of a correctional centre going by the volume of his misdeeds.

He said: “In Emefiele’s case, it would be a matter of res ipsa loquitur…the facts speak (very eloquently) for themselves.

“I believe CBN needs Emefiele in the dock and in jail thereafter, in order to start restoring its credibility and dignity as Nigeria’s oldest and most respected regulatory institution. Nigeria and Nigerians need the same thing for us to start to bring genuine accountability to public sector governance.”
But while today seems judgment day for Emefiele, it is also of note that the Agbor Delta State-born banker has paid his dues and would have exited the scene in glory if not the failed policies and suspension that capped it on June 9, 2023.

The University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) trained bank czar, who finished as one of the top students in his class for Bachelor’s Degree in Banking and Finance in 1984, worked hard to attain the highest position in the financial sector of the country.

Read also: From FFK with love to Godwin Emefiele

His academic excellence saw his taking up lecturing jobs in finance and insurance, earlier in his career at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, and University of Port Harcourt.

While he had a short stint working for Vodafone, he spent 18 years in the banking industry before moving to the CBN.

He served on the management team of Zenith Bank from its inception; growing from executive director in charge of corporate banking, treasury, financial control and strategic planning;

to deputy managing director and eventually, as the chief executive officer and group managing director of Zenith Bank Plc.

Meanwhile, the story of Emefiele cannot be written without the mention of Jim Ovia, founder and former group CEO of Zenith Bank, who gave him opportunity to serve and Muhammadu Buhari, immediate past president of Nigeria, who Emefiele reported to.

“There is no move of Emefiele, whether political, finance policies or even disbursement of loans that was not approved by Muhammadu Buhari, his principal. I think Emefiele is going down as the sacrificial lamb, his total submissiveness to his principal was his undoing,” a pundit, who craved anonymity, said.