One good thing for which the Nigerian intelligentsia (as reflected in the Nigerian mass media) gains my admiration these days, is its inexhaustible expertise on issues of public controversy. No sooner does an issue become publicly controversial in this experimental democratic set-up than the center stage begins to produce countless number of home-grown experts. Theories begin to fly in all directions as if the dormant proponents of such opinions knew everything far better from the very start. Soludo has unfortunately become the latest culprit of such gracious geniuses in the open field of self-aggrandizement.

Without mincing words and subscribing to further forms of acrobatic verbal pageantry, I would love to call into question, the various forms of public contradictions that are slowly but clearly becoming a clear characteristic of governance imminent in President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s presidential repertoire. Without invoking the debacle of the Attorney General’s politically suicidal attempt (driven by anti-Obasanjo sentiments) at derailing and marginalizing the EFCC and Nuhu Ribadu and the President’s rather amateur performance in mastering and calling the Attorney-General to a limited order, I would rather focus on the current issue centering on the Governor of the Central Bank. That the President on occasions, has cause to rigmarole, backtrack and even play a diplomatic somersault has so far, been appraised as a human trait and sold as admirably contrary to everything his predecessor (General Obasanjo) stood for. There is undeniably, a whole lot of political goodwill at play. In the modern world of consolidated democratic practice however, rigmarole, backtracking, diplomatic somersaults and administrative U-turns may turn out to be slippery political banana skins, incompetence, poor preparation for the complex challenge of the office held and above all, potent boomerang on the perpetrator without much ado from the opposition. Western democracies have a good number of high-profile victims to show.

When a few days back, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria unveiled the bombshell of re-denominating the Naira, the academic finesse behind the exercise that was greeted by a huge wave of controversy, was absolutely new territory for me in spite of my university years on mass communication and various semesters on Micro, Macro and Geo-Economics. I am sure, I am not alone in this terrain. Many who hastened to unleash their comments in favor of or against Soludo’s move definitely share the position I am in. In an initial reaction however, the President’s office reiterated that it would study the situation and in no way, intervene in the actions of the Governor of the Central Bank emphasizing that the law setting up the institution clearly empowers the Governor to take such actions. Riding on the wave of sentiments in the course of time however, it soon became clear that the balance of public debate, had slowly drifted to the direction of characterizing the Governor’s action as unnecessary, wasteful and unproductive.

Then the coincidence. The President’s office suddenly opined in a public statement that the Governor’s action was after all, subject to Presidential approval. An elaborate study of the law by, and counseling received from various experts surrounding the President was said to have done the trick for the double somersault and roundabout turn.

For analysts and political observers, no doubt, the process of political metamorphosis currently underway in Nigeria is spelling a historically defining moment in the future course of consolidating the resultant shape of the final constitutional product. Our highly revered and idealized points of reference have always been the United States of America and Europe – a region that has recently embarked on a cumbersome journey to the destination of a European United States.

With this in mind, I have no doubt that observers will clearly see the ambitious psychological contribution behind the bold and indeed daring watershed unveiled by the Governor of the Central Bank.

A financial gatekeeper and security guard of Nigeria’s monetary policies that the Central Bank Governor undoubtedly is, reminds me personally of the powerful position of the American Chairman of the Federal Reserves and the President of the European Central Bank. Before throwing more light on the immateriality of any perceived personal ambition on the part of Governor Soludo, let me hasten to highlight the importance of a financial gatekeeper for monetary policies in functioning democracies.

It is generally believed in every stable democracy that monetary policy is one sensitive aspect of general economic management that may impact inflationary tendencies independent of the overall performance of the economy as a whole. There is therefore a general preference – for even more scientifically viable reasons that are well known to experts who are more at home with the subject than I am – of keeping monetary policies away from political impacts. In other words, professional politicians and political decision makers are kept far away from anything monetary and a more neutral and capable technocratic instance is vested with the power of independence on policies of this sort outside the control of the Executive and Legislature. The power of the Executive and Legislature is never allowed to exceed the appointment and screening of office-holders as monetary gatekeeper. This is true of the United States and is also true of Europe. In the days of Alan Greesnspan much like the present days of Benrd Bernankee in the United States, a simple sigh or cough by the Chairman of the Federal Reserves Board is said to send chills and jitters down the spine of stock market waves.

In the course of German reunification, I remember the then President of the West German Bundesbank (Central Bank) refusing to approve a common Deutschemark currency based on the strength of the West German Deutschemark for the newly absorbed East Germany. At the time, Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who had literally promised the East Germans a land flowing with milk and honey (blühende Landschaften) after reunification, with a common currency, did not know what to do after meeting the resistance of the President of the Bundesbank. In the heat of the confusion, the President of the Bundesbank emerged from several hours of consultation with the Chancellor withdrawing his objection and emphasizing loud and clear for the history books that this was a political decision that he was forced to accept for reasons of political patriotism since he could not shoulder the economic responsibility of a such a misguided monetary policy. In the aftermath thereof, the overall economic indicators slumped drastically and Germany is today, more than 10 years after reunification, struggling to come to terms with the impacts of a one-to-one exchange rate of the East German Mark against the West German Mark.

In the wake of presidential campaign in France that saw the sweeping victory of the present hardline President Sarkouzy, the overriding campaign promise in his camp was to curtail the powers of the President of the European Central Bank that currently holds overall gatekeeping function for the European Euro. The stiff resistance of Mrs. Angela Merkel (Chancellor of Germany) and other powerful heads of government is presently keeping the overzealous drives of the French President in check.

January 01^st 2005 was the date on which Turkey implemented a policy of discarding six zeroes from its currency that hitherto read millions. Turkey was a land of virtually worthless millionaires. Today, the Yeni Türk Lirasi (New Turkish Lira) reads 1.70 to 1.00 against the Euro as opposed to the previous old TL 1,700,000.00 to € 1.00. Today, inflation is under control. There was no single know-it-all voice that echoed a tale of needlessness and wastefulness. With the Italian Lire reading millions and sometimes, also billions, the same policy was preempted in Italy thanks to the introduction of a common European currency in today’s Euro zone. Let me however underscore that this view does not qualify for a tacit acceptance of Soludo’s position on my part since I am not well versed on the specifics of Nigeria’s situation.

The entire picture before the observer in this case however, is one of unmistakable dilemma and confusion on the part of Nigeria’s President and his team of advisers.

Seeing the implicit model of Governor Soludo’s dream is not at all a difficult task for any capable observer or adviser. The dilemma of the President lies in either understanding the usefulness of a powerful financial gatekeeper for monetary policies operating alongside a constitutionally designated Alpha-and-Omega President, or politicizing the issue at stake and trimming the Governor’s wings once and for all like was attempted with Nuhu Ribadu. Funnily though, The President is always obviously swayed in the direction of trimming wings, when it comes to matters of overall public interest. Indeed, consultations with colleagues in the United States of America and several countries of Europe on the economic or financial necessity of maintaining a power Governor of the Central Bank for monetary policies would have done President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua far more good than consultations with his personal and local advisers. Political power struggle as an option would thus, have been waived in favor of the institutionalization of technocracy in the Central Bank. Even if the law in question was found insufficient, the President would even be moving to empower the Governor of the Central Bank. Unfortunately however, the President initially appreciated the actions of the Governor as being within the bounds of the law setting up the institution and finally came out to assert the opposite. This is an open betrayal of the direction in which the President’s advisers have steered the President. Until the President acknowledges the fact that governance will not augur well for him as long he allows himself to be dictated to by the misguided stance of reflecting the opposite of anything Obasanjo stood for and riding on the wave of positive public opinion, he will not require long to spot the political quagmire of a political Bermuda triangle in the horizon that is steadily manned by power-hungry and suicidal Janjaweeds. I hope the Nigerian Presidency will not consolidate a tradition of harboring poor advisers in every aspect of governance as Abubakar Atiku mercilessly exposed in the dying days of President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Professional colleagues of the like of Reuben Abati who pay less attention to substance and unleash venom on one party or the other (like was recently unearthed on Soludo) with an eye on public applause in the fashion of the ancient President of a Palmwine Drinkers Club of the late seventies will sooner or later also detect the disservice they are doing to the Nigerian intelligentsia and the shaping of pubic opinion. Soludo was virtually called upon to either deny the validity of the clause mandating presidential approval in the law establishing the institution or face the wrath of public anger for not knowing better from the very onset. However, given the sound currency-stability-based philosophy underlying the actions of the Governor of the Central Bank, it remains to be seen where a confrontation and chaos-fueling pattern of Reuben Abati’s sense of journalistic commitment will lead the nation. Substance and meaningful contribution to the advancement and solidification of the political promised land of general aspirations do not seem to matter.

It is indeed unfortunate that other reputable colleagues like one Uche Nworah, whose views I do not always share, but who show a sound sense of professional journalism are not at center stage in shaping public opinion in Nigeria. I will dare opine that the prominence of the likes of Reuben Abati in present-day’s media scene, is not a good sign of things to come in the future of the country’s intellectual growth, no matter how much friendly missiles will be fired my way by like-minded admirers of the zeitgeist.

Robot  Villager

# 1 One good thing for which the Nigerian intelligentsia (as reflected in the Nigerian mass media) ga...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 28.08.2007 04:51

denker  Villager

# 2 Hut ab ihr Herren ein Genie!...this is a well written piece. Posted by denker| 28.08.2007 05:46

ocnus  Villager

# 3 At the risk of offending those praising Professor Soludo, I have been told that the issue at hand was not the constititionality of the decision to change the Naira, nor the merits or demerits of the policy itself. Thes question, as it was framed by those examining the issue, was the unjust personal enrichment arranged by the good Professor in delivering the contracts for the security printing of the notes to the overseas security printing companies; including among them, those who printed the famous delayed ballot papers. Unjust personal enrichment is not only the preserve of the ignorant and the incompetent; even the elevated and accomplished can fall to temptation. Posted by ocnus| 28.08.2007 09:23

ikechiji  Villager

# 4 =ocnus;203086>At the risk of offending those praising Professor Soludo, I have been told that the issue at hand was not the constititionality of the decision to change the Naira, nor the merits or demerits of the policy itself. Thes question, as it was framed by those examining the issue, was the unjust personal enrichment arranged by the good Professor in delivering the contracts for the security printing of the notes to the overseas security printing companies; including among them, those who printed the famous delayed ballot papers. Unjust personal enrichment is not only the preserve of the ignorant and the incompetent; even the elevated and accomplished can fall to temptation. Ocnus, Information about "unjust personal enrichment" by Prof. Soludo in the naira printing contract is still not in the public domain. The "official" reason given for freezing the redenomination exercise is that the CBN Governor did not get the President's written approval before publicly announcing the policy. While most of us have expressed an opinion that there is more to this brouhaha than meets the eye, the corruption angle is a new one. Ikechiji Posted by ikechiji| 28.08.2007 10:37

ikechiji  Villager

# 5 Well written Frisky. Based on tidbits posted in Nigeria newspapers, one can surmise that the President did meet with and discuss the redenomination policy with the CBN Gov. An article posted by Denker here goes even further to state that the President gave oral approval. The President did listen. Maybe the good Prof. bamboozled him and he did not listen carefully enough! However, my take on it is that we have a vacillating leader who does not have the guts to call his subordinates to order and who does not have a clear vision on how to take Nigeria to the promised land. A confidant of the embattled professor of economics who was said to be on a one week break abroad told National Daily that the CBN boss actually held two meetings with Mr. President in which the new Naira policy was discussed and an oral approval given to him. The source said at the first meeting, Soludo painstakingly explained the benefits of the new policy to the President. He showed interest, especially with the explanation that it would aid anti corruption crusade as it would discourage money laundering. Mr. President asked for some time to study the proposal. When he invited Soludo for the second meeting, our source said he specifically asked him to go ahead with the policy. Posted by ikechiji| 28.08.2007 10:53

tonsoyo  Villager

# 6 Soludo is simply paying the price of Yar'Adua's cluelessness and his own political naivety. Somebody has to be blamed if the cabal that surrounded Yar'Adua does not want something he has given a tacit approval for. I miss Obasanjo here, he could not have been "bamboozled" by any CBN Governor, and if he gives his tacit approval whether oral or documented, nobody, I say nobody could have made him change his mind and put the other party to ridicule. I am sure Soludo is missing him too. Posted by tonsoyo| 28.08.2007 11:05

osaeloka  Villager

# 7 =tonsoyo;203113>Soludo is simply paying the price of Yar'Adua's cluelessness and his own political naivety. Somebody has to be blamed if the cabal that surrounded Yar'Adua does not want something he has given a tacit approval for. I miss Obasanjo here, he could not have been "bamboozled" by any CBN Governor, and if he gives his tacit approval whether oral or documented, nobody, I say nobody could have made him change his mind and put the other party to ridicule. I am sure Soludo is missing him too. Doubt if I would go as far as saying I miss Obasnajo, but surely this president needs to learn to be decisive - assuming that trait is learnable .... What I still do not understand is why they thought it necessary to be so savage and messy in ditching Soludo's plan - would have been a lot neater to use the Usman review committee kill the idea. Posted by osaeloka| 28.08.2007 11:51

DanGom  JJC

# 8 Another Shagari in the making. This type of vacillation and indecision-trait by the president will surely damage the nation in the not too distant future. Soludo is today a victim of this trait; tomorrow may be the turn of someone else. All the sycophants around the president may sooner or later get the full dose of this trait and they'll see how it feels to be disgraced in the full blaze of the sun. We watch and see. Posted by DanGom| 28.08.2007 12:26

Wale Adeniyi  Villager

# 9 Umar Musa Yar'adua really has to wake up to the reality of his exalted position as the leader of 140 million strong nation. A situation where the president always sits on the fence, to be swayed by his numerous political advisers and or the public opinion, when it comes to crucial national issues belittles the presidency. The President does not require a power-hungry Attorney-General to dictate his rights under the law of the federation. The A-G has a job to do in the department of justice and that he should do rather than dabbling into the economic policy of the country, which should be an exclusive preserve of the technocrats, devoid of unnecessary political intervention. Once again, the nation is being made to throw away the baby with the bathwater, courtesy of our one and only minister-general Aondoaaka. Posted by Wale Adeniyi| 28.08.2007 14:20

Femi  Villager

# 10 Tonsoyo, You just spoke my mind. Obasanjo might be everything bad to those who can't stand his guts BUT he would never have ridiculed one of the very few great, selfless Nigerian public office holders such as Soludo! For example, when the same Soludo came up with the bank reforms, many querried if the President was aware of it while others stated that he was going agaist some constitutional stuffs. They did everything to get his policies (concerning reforms) frustrated and reversed. But from newspaper reports, Obasanjo simply asked him to come brief the presidency about it...and that's all! The reforms were allowed by Obasanjo (typical of his stubborness---for good) and we are all benefitting from the policies now...or at least those of us who still have economic stakes in Nigeria. Great individuals like Soludo just have to realize that they can only function under leaders who have the will and even the stubborness to allow their ideas to mature to fruition and move our nation forward in spite of the evil machinations of the rich, powerful few among us. My humble advice to Soludo is to please take it all in his strides. This should not be allowed to deter him from continuing to make his great contributions to the growth of our nation. If anything, posterity is there to accord him the honor he richly deserve. Femi Olawole. Posted by Femi| 28.08.2007 14:33

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