REJOINDER: "The Rise and Fall of a Man by Dele Momodu

It is no more news that five banking executives were sacked by the CBN because of their banks’ exposure to excessively high level of non-performing loans. This exposure according to the CBN Governor was attributable to poor corporate governance practices, lax credit administration processes and the absence or non-adherence to credit risk management practices

The media however has been awash with all sorts of stories and conspiracy theories following the sacking of these five CEOs . Opinion seems divided. Some argue that the CBN Governor Lamido Sanusi, is only acting the scripts of the Northern Oligarchs who lost out during the last bank consolidation exercise. Some say, he is out to make an impression, and the only way he can do that is to rubbish Prof. Chukwuma Soludo’s legacy of banking consolidation. One article that however caught my attention was Chief Dele Momodu's titled “The rise and fall of a man”.

The article seems to focus on the public reaction to the recent sacking. Dele Momodu is of the opinion that we are a nation of envious people, looking for every opportunity launch scathing attacks on successful people within the society. He further noted that we have become so disillusioned, and therefore incapable of objective reasoning. According to him “No one was ready to give them (Banks CEOs) the benefit of the doubt. Nigerians have become too disillusioned. Everyman we see with a measure of success must be a rogue”. Mr Momodu also couldn’t understand how a man who spent his whole life in banking profession, and that was seen shaking hands with the Sultan of Sokoto days before his sack can be subject of savage media attack.

I’m in agreement with Dele Momodu that it is inappropriate for any person to gloat over the misery other individuals, especially if you are ignorant of the facts behind their travails. However, the recent sacking of the banking executives is somewhat different. Most of the stories reported in the media about the allegations of impropriety against the executives were not concocted out of rumours. Let’s get this right. The CBN conducted an investigation. The bank executives were found guilty of sharp banking practices, and the CBN took appropriate action.

So what exactly is the gist of Mr Momodu’s write-up? Is he saying that envy is only peculiar to Nigeria? Does he want us to believe that the ‘Pull Him Down” syndrome only exists in the DNA of the average Nigerian. Or is Dele Momodu agitating for a soft landing for the sacked CEOs?

Envy is not peculiar to Africa, neither is it just a Nigerian problem. In every society, there is the tendency for people to be envious of others that are perceived to be more successful than they are. There is also a strong correlation between poverty and envy. Unfortunately, some of the so-called big men in Nigeria don’t understand this. Some of these rich men are very insensitive to the plight of the common man. They look for every opportunity to flaunt their wealth (whether it is genuine or fraudulent), and even sometimes oppress the poor. As individuals, we need to learn to conduct ourselves in humility, especially in a society with some much poverty and deprivation. For as long as the masses see themselves been oppressed by the rich, then the sort of wanton attacks launched against the bank CEOs will be inevitable.

Truth be told. The fact that a former CEO was seen shaking hands with the Sultan of Sokoto doesn’t mean appropriate action shouldn’t be taken against him. It is not the first time that corporate high-flyers or highly influential individuals have been found guilty of mismanagement and financial irregularities. Dele Momodu noted that one of the CEO spent his whole life in the banking profession. But does Dele Momodu know that Bernard Madoff, who ran the biggest finance scam in history, also spent his whole life in finance/investment banking. And at one time Madoff was non-executive Chairman of NASDAQ stock exchange. Can Dele Momodu remember Kenneth Lay, the former Chairman of Enron? Kenneth Lay oversaw the biggest corporate fraud in the US history? Ken Lay was former President Bush right hand man, who was at one time considered for the position of Treasury Secretary. We may also have to remind Mr Momodu about the former Billionaire Sir Alan Stanford. So, let’s not be deceived, Nigeria is not exception and perhaps worse. At least the Madoff, Lay and Stanford of this world were convicted and jailed. In Nigeria, our Madoffs are the Pro-Chancellors of our universities. They are President of professional institutions. They run our stock exchange. Let’s make not mistake, the Nigeria system breeds corruption. The more influential you are, the higher the propensity for corruption. These high-flyers sleep, drink and eat in the corridor of power. They are the ones celebrated on the pages of the national newspapers. They are the same people bestowed with national honours. They are the biggest donors at corporate and social functions.

So having read Dele Momodu’s article, I struggled to understand where he is coming from. Is he suggesting that people shouldn’t talk? If we can openly criticise the corrupt former governors, most of who - strictly speaking – have not been found guilty of corruption, why can’t we talk about bank CEOs? If it is right to launch scathing attacks on President Yar’Adua because of his incompetence, why is it not right to criticise the sharp practices of the banks CEOs?

Dele Momodu and the 'Nigerian Obama'

Following the emergence of Barack Obama as the first US Afro-American President, Nigerians home and abroad are now desperately seeking an Obama who can deliver the much desired change that is needed in our beloved country. The search for the ‘Nigerian Obama’ has also now become a common slogan within the society. Many political commentators and media columnists have also joined the bandwagon in searching for the ‘Nigerian Obama’. But what most of them fail to highlight is the difference in the nature of the system that brought President Barack Obama into stardom, and that of Nigeria.

It was therefore interesting to read Mr Dele Momodu 4-week marathon article in the Pendulum column of Thisday Newspaper titled ‘The Search for Our Own Obama”. Like many people, I followed this article with great interest, trying to understand the perspective Mr Momodu was coming from. For me, the need for a Nigerian Obama is a no brainer, but the question still remains, how this so-called Obama will be able to take over the leadership of a nation with an endemic corrupt system. In arguing the case for the Nigerian Obama, political and social commentators often lose the focus of current discourse.

Mr Momodu’s in his article mentioned several notable names, who he described as a ‘potential’ Obama. He also provided an analysis on the reasons why some of these Obamas may never realise their potentials, even though according to him, they have all it takes to deliver ‘change’ to the Nigerian society. Some of the names mentioned include, Nasir El-Rufai, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Donald Duke, Babatunde Fashola, Fola Adeola, Oby Ezekwesili, Dora Akunyili, Pat Utomi and Buba Marwa.

I agree with Mr Momodu that many of these individuals have been tried and tested in the political scene. Some have also demonstrated good leadership qualities in their chosen profession. However, I believe that the search for the ‘Nigerian Obama’ should not be limited to any individual or group of people. I have no doubt in my mind that in a country of 150 million, whether we have somebody of Barack Obama’s quality is not the issue. I can tell you that for one Dora Akunyili, there are other one million and one other Akunyilis, who will even perform better if given an opportunity.

Rather than been narrow minded and singing the praise of few individuals either because of their success in politics or business, we should be clamouring for a ‘corrupt-free’ system that will encourage the ‘Nigerian Obama’ to come out from the closet. For me to mention the names of few individuals as potential Obama is somewhat patronising. The truth of the matter is most of these people will never venture to contest for political positions because they know quite well that the Nigerian electoral system is as corrupt as it can get. I need not to remind you of how some of these individuals have been hounded out office just because they tried to reform a corrupt system. Can we imagine a political contest that includes all the mentioned names? How interesting will it be to see Raji Fashola, Dora Akunyili, and Pat Utomi all contesting the Presidential elections under different political platforms? I can assure that if the system is fair and transparent, they will be many Obamas seeking political positions across all tiers of government.

We need to remember that Barack Obama was not the first afro-american to seek the post of US President. I’m sure we can all remember Rev. Jesse Jackson’s political adventure. Also, Barack Obama became the fifth black Senator in 2004. If Jesse Jackson was hounded in late 1980’s, which hope will it have given to the likes of Barack Obama. If Barack Obama was rigged out of the Senatorial election in 2004, do you think he would have contested the US Presidential elections? The point I’m making is, western democracies operate a political system that is fair and transparent. An average man on the streets of America or Europe knows that his votes count. He knows that his votes will not be collated at Police Stations. He knows that the election will be conducted by people of integrity, who will not bow to undue pressure from anyone.

Also, Barack Obama did not belong to the group of Washington elites. He did not emerge from the political ruling class, neither was he one of their favourites. He never held political appointment prior contesting for the position of President. However in Nigeria of today, you either have to belong to class of the political elites or have a political godfather in order to win elections. You need have been seen in the corridor of power before seeking leadership positions. You need to align yourself with the ruling party in order to secure political victory, because of the benefit of using the state machinery to rig elections..

For me, it is the system that has failed us in producing our own Obama. For example, how can an Obama emerge within a democratic structure that promotes mediocrity through meaningless principles of federal character? If elections into the White House were based on federal character, I believe Barack Obama will not even smell the streets of Washington. The discussion should be about how the system can be reformed. While I do not have a straight answer for that, I want to believe it will be a huge challenge. It is not surprising that the current political elites are not interested in changing the system. How do you expect someone to change the system from which he has benefitted immensely- albeit in a corrupt manner? This is one of the major fundamental problems with the Yar’Adua government. While President Yar’Adua accepts that the election that brought him into government was fraudulent, it is impossible for him to undertake any sincere electoral reform, as his political party is likely to be biggest casualty of such reforms.

In whatever way this reform is achieved, one is certain. We need a wholesale review of our constitution. The review should not be about meaningless issues such as state creation. We need a constitution that will promote transparency and fairness in our electoral system. We need a constitution that will promote a system of governance that will enhance our democratic values. We need an electoral system that will make every vote count. We need an electoral system that will give confidence to the Nigerian Obama that he will not be rigged out of an electoral contest. Until we realise these facts, we may still be searching for the Obama in 30 years time.