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?