Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu
At the senate confirmation hearing for Yemi Cardoso, successor to Godwin Emefiele as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and his deputies, the President of the Senate, Obong Godswil Obot Akpabio, took time to ask a question which many Nigerian consider very pertinent to the stability and independence of the bank. He asked Mr. Cardoso if he would give assurance that he would not, at any time in the future, fall into the lair of politicians and seek to present himself for nomination to contest for the presidency of Nigeria under any political platform while still being CBN governor. I did not expect Mr. Cardoso to say anything otherwise. However, I felt the question was unnecessary because the Senate is empowered to make laws for the good governance of Nigeria. I had thought that rather than ask the question, the Senate ought to have caused a review of existing laws governing the office of the governor of the Central Bank and what the governor ought to do and what he must not do.
Akpabio’s question must have emanated from the realization that Cardoso’s predecessor abused his office when he indicated interest in contesting for the presidency of Nigeria. It is immaterial that he may have been lured into the race for which he also approached the court to determine his fate. The issue here is not necessarily about the past CBN governor’s ambition or about his being amenable to the manipulative tendencies of politicians. The issue is that there was a lacuna in the law establishing the bank and the political exposure of its governor. I guess that lacuna was what Emefiele, and perhaps, those who lured him into the race, exploited and in the process helped him to run into trouble. Because of that lacuna, Emefiele was led into decisions that did not serve the interest of the Nigerian economy. As a moral being, he was in a position to resist temptation. But he did not because this is Nigeria where impunity is the national norm and where anything is possible because there are never consequences for abuse of powers.
However, the incumbent Senate seems to have looked through that episode and realised that mere assurances are not enough to stop an ambitious, and, or, desperate professional banker, from the manipulative tendencies of equally desperate and ambitious politicians. I recall that Cardoso’s name featured prominently in the race to select a deputy for Bola Tinubu as governor of Lagos state after his debacle with Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele. At the time, Cardoso distanced himself from politics and preferred to remain his professional self thus paving the way for Femi Pedro to step in. But that was then. Time, that space between two events, changes things and as they change, humans change with them. This is why I think the Senate has moved rightly in seeking to amend the CBN Act to introduce a section that bars a central bank governor from partisan politics. This is alongside a new law outlawing the use of foreign currency in local transactions.
Specifically, Senator Steve Karimi is challenging his colleagues to rise to the occasion and ensure that the bill “Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) (Amendment) Bill 2023”, which was read for the first time penultimate Tuesday, sees the light of day. According to Sen. Karimi, the bill aims at “amending the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2007 to allow for greater accountability and transparency in the running of the Central Bank and to prohibit the use of foreign currency in local transactions in Nigeria.” Part of the transparency and accountability sought is the amendment of Section 9(2) of the CBN Act to now read: “Notwithstanding the Provisions of this Act or any written law in existence, the Governor and the Deputy Governor of the Bank shall not participate directly or indirectly in partisan politics, nor contest any election, during their tenure in office.”
No doubt, this bill will get the support of most Nigerians because of the experiences of the Emefiele era. Insulating the CBN governor and his deputies from partisan politics is a positive action towards redeeming the image of the bank and making it serve the purpose for which it was created. However, I think that the penalty for this ought to be strong enough to deter and make the CBN governor sit at his desk and not attend nocturnal political caucus meetings.
The other leg of the amendments sought to the CBN Act is about using foreign currency in local transactions. The proposed amendment to Section 20 reads: “(1) No person or body corporate shall use any foreign currency as a means of exchange for goods, services and other transactions in markets supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, airports and other places of business in Nigeria except by a Bank, licensed Bureau De Change and other financial institutions duly authorized by the Central Bank of Nigeria to trade, deal and use such currency and no individual or business entity in Nigeria shall advertise, denominate or price its goods or services in any currency other than the Nigerian Naira and Kobo.”
Put together, these proposed amendments suggest that there are still senators who know the exact reason they are in the Senate. Exhuming moribund laws, which had been exploited to stagnate the development and growth of Nigeria, is a statement in insight, vision, and capacity. This is what Karimi has done. This is also what other senators should be doing. A thorough examination of the laws of Nigeria will exhume moribund legislation which ought to have been amended long ago for the good of the country. However, they are overlooked and later exploited, for personal gains. For instance, the endless call for streamlining government and reducing the cost of governance could be easily achieved through acts of the parliament if Senators engage more in research to review agencies established by acts of parliament or military decrees, which though are still religiously funded from the budget, add no value to national growth and development. A thorough research will exhume such agencies. And, this is a patriotic national service too aimed at saving Nigeria from the malfeasance that had dominated its political development.
What Karimi has done is majorly what it takes to be a Senator. This is what Nigerians expect Senators to busy themselves with. After all, isn’t that the job they were elected to do? But, while we are at it, it is a very important and strategic national assignment for the Senate to amend the CBN Act and fix the governor and his deputies on the jobs they have agreed to do for Nigeria’s good.
