By Stephen Adaze, reporting from Abuja.
Right now, the news is not good for the embattled former Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who until May 29, was still active and even managed to hold a brief meeting with the new president Bola Tinubu of Nigeria. That meeting was seen as an affront by a broad section of Nigerians who thought he ought to have been shown the door on Mr. President’s first day in office. Truly, Mr. Emefiele’s impending dismissal has been on the lips of all Nigerians who were enraged by his appalling monetary policies that obviously subjected them to unmitigated misery. Not only that, his attempt to contest as president of Nigeria, while still holding office as CBN governor, including securing a court injunction to that effect, is widely regarded as crossing the boundary of no return. From then on, Nigerians waited for their pound of flesh.
To be fair, no CBN governor has ever incurred the wrath and hatred of Nigerians like Mr. Emefiele. And so when pictures of his arrest went viral, it was jubilation nationwide. The pictures signpost the transient nature of power and a lesson to others—that is if they would learn. No one feels sorry for him, since he allowed himself to be used as a scapegoat—and now is about to be sacrificed by his erstwhile soulless fellows. For those who care to know, corruption in Nigeria is like cancer; it has eaten deep into the soul of many, even down to the poor market person. Greed and the desire to grab more is insatiable propelled by a long stretch of nauseating behavior. The urge to grab more is always irresistible and Nigerians seemed to have perfected that act—a mockery in the eyes of the world.
The impression now appears to be that all Nigerians have been contaminated by this dirty bug; Our character has been irreparably damaged and are now regarded as charlatans worldwide. Are we, not all supposed to be lamenting at this stage? There are no limits to our wants, a sense of hopelessness overtaking our very existence! Even those shouting they should crucify him will do worse when given the opportunity. Some of them will kill in the process because they are soulless. No one is saying do not steal, but definitely not at the expense of being merciless, denying the people basic necessities such as good roads, hospitals, water supply, electricity, and all that. The pictures of Mr. Godwin Emefiele under arrest is nothing new; we have seen more than that in the past.
Only recently just to refresh your minds, several high-profile criminal cases involving VIPs in government circles came up and fizzled out quietly. Let’s not talk about the police officer who was involved in a drug allegation or the recent Accountant-General who stole a whopping 180 billion naira. Nigeria has been branded with that infamous reputation as the most corrupt country in the world. Bad politicians ensure this is so. Those cases compared to what is in the offing are like peanuts. It is like saying those were “amateurs” compared to the blockbuster professional ones! Based on the catastrophic revelations emerging, Nigeria is well on the road to winning a world laurel in that inhuman practice. And the sad fact is that no one is punished.
That’s why they come back emboldened to complete the rout. Mr. Buhari! How could he have tolerated these evil works of darkness? Why did he look the other way as if a saint? Now, see how he has gotten Emefiele on the chopping block. And if there is anything certain, Emefiele may not want to go down alone. Maybe in anticipation of that Buhari has cried out, stressing that nobody should call him a witness for any of the damaging reports about to be exposed. look at the roll call of the few before the law; three prominent ex-officials in that Buhari administration. And also take a peep into some of the revelations so far: First, from the Agric Ministry, 18.9 billion was said to have been used to clear ordinary grass; in NSTIF, 17.12 billion was said to have been eaten by termites; a snake in JAMB had a few years ago reportedly eaten a paltry 30 million!
Move on to Humanitarian Ministry where Sadiya Umar Farouk allegedly spent 5.9 billion to feed 177 youths! Wonder what kind of food they must have been fed. Breeze over to the Ministry of Finance, where 1.4 billion was reportedly used to purchase vehicles for Niger Republic people because they are poor! Aha! Here come the big boys who operated in the big league—the same Godwin Emefiele! In his own case, he told Nigerians that 58.6 billion was spent to print 2.5 billion naira notes! In the same CBN, a certain Tony Uzoebu was exposed on social media as holding $2 billion (this money runs into trillions when converted, and I mean, let’s not bother ourselves doing that).
Emefiele had spent billions buying campaign vehicles and printing posters in preparation to run for the office of President; so daring this chap! That’s the same CBN where the employment scam has reared its head with children of the rich employed through the backdoor! CBN! What a way to desecrate a revered public institution! This is beyond common logic. No one knows the motive, but in the end, Emefiele is not to blame! The man we all elected as the president and to whom Emefiele was answerable has the key to all of this mess. We have not heard from the NNPC, Nigeria Customs, Ministries of Justice, Aviation, and FIRS; and the country is already reeling from the shock of Emefiele’s bold gambit. There are more crushing revelations on the way capable of submerging the country.
What we hear is unbelievable; why a man of Emefiele’s stature would stoop so low because of money? Can anyone rightly say, he has been used as a pawn? Not really; because the looting is all around—a free for all bash, because of the lacuna of leadership absence! The biggest disappointment, of course, is the man Nigerians saw as disciplined and Spartan. Now, it is obvious, we have all been fooled. Since his departure, Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief and joked about being issued with a certificate of survival. His reign witnessed such a staggering decay in all facets of human life—too galling to be true! And to cap it all, the man secretly removed fuel subsidies on the verge of his departure—something he campaigned against prior to becoming president.
For eight grueling years, this man did not bother to change his ministers whether they performed or not; he failed to address the nation on critical days and even refused to visit disaster scenes. The man unusually approved extension for people whose retirements were due and kept on seat those Nigerians cried against. He behaved as someone who came to ‘fulfill a mission’, not to work; he traveled at will and did whatever he wanted, encouraged obnoxious bills, and thought nothing of the repercussions. He said they called him ‘baba-go-slow’; but what he did not know was that he had lost touch with reality and was living in limbo; perhaps his target was to destroy the nation since he has long past the age; how else can anyone judge him with his ruinous and mindless policies that threw millions of Nigerians into abject poverty and sickness?
Need we talk about his obdurate nepotism foisted on Nigerians? His complete disdain for anything progressive? A country he swore to uphold on oath? Thank God, he completed his 8 years tenure. Now, Nigerians know him better—for what he truly is. He will hear the story of Nigeria’s recovery in due course. It is a pity he preferred this path of infamy. Godwin Emefiele saw the vacuum and capitalized on it. When he tried to contest as president, instead of being sacked immediately, the then president parleyed with him—even gave him more assignments to the chagrin of observers!
This was at a time Nigerians were in the throes of self-inflicted Naira scarcity! Yet, in reality, Emefiele is not to blame; he followed the script of his master; he saw the opportunity and took his chances. Who wouldn’t when you have such a weak and disinterested leader like the ex-army general? If he must be sacrificed, other big cats must be surrendered. In fact, President Tinubu should move faster than he is doing at the moment; the Augean stable must be cleaned –and fast too to avoid tension build-up. People are impatient and are already asking why the Custom man is still on the seat as his counterpart at the NNPC. What is the new president waiting for to kick them out? Afraid? Better not; the impunity displayed by his predecessor should teach him a bitter lesson. After all, one good turn, they say, deserves another! But for Godwin Emefiele, he deserves no sympathy.
