But just like the Bible said, the prosperity of the fool kills him. One day the gravy train left the station. Its content exposed for what it was, air, which had added zero value. Soon an ill wind blue from distant lands and shook the armada that had taken the place of the lone gravy ship off their moorings. One by one they set sail too headed for safer harbours or at worst to the safety of home. Citizens in their thousands were left holding on to air. Banks too had strong rooms loaded with hot air. Petroleum marketers didn’t fair any better. The result is what you call non-performing loans; but the antecedents are poor corporate governance triggered by sudden wealth and crowned by greed. A nation is not great by virtue of her wealth, a nation is great by the wealth of her virtue.
A British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service reporter in Lagos rubbed it in really hard in her report of the arraignment of four former bank chief executives and some directors for sundry criminal offences in Lagos last week. The reporter, Caroline Duffield, I think it was, told the news anchor, and therefore the entire listening world, that the fifth chief executive who had yet to be docked because he was said to be on the run, was a pastor with Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). Of course, you know who she was referring to. It’s none other than Dr Erastus Akingbola, until the Central Bank of Nigeria’s sack was Group Chief Executive of Intercontinental Bank Plc, who as at midweek, was still reportedly abroad and being hunted by the International Police (Interpol), at the instance of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
What the reporter didn’t say was that virtually all those who were arraigned before the court, that fateful Monday afternoon, were Christians, some like Oceanic Bank’s Chief Mrs Cecilia Ibru very publicly so; others at least by name. In fact of the lot only two, Isyaku Umar and Sanni Adams, both non-executive directors of Intercontinental bear names that signify they could be Moslems. Arraigned along with these three were: Mr. Okey Nwosu, FinBank Nigeria Plc; Mr. Sebastian Adigwe, Afribank Nigeria Plc; and Mr. Bartholomew Ebong, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, all former CEOs. Henry Onyemem and Niyi Opeodu, who were in charge of two Union Bank subsidiaries, were also charged. Others were Intercontinental Bank Chairman, Chief Raymond Obieri, and some of his board colleagues, Hyacinth Enuha, Christopher Adebayo Alabi, Samuel Adegbite, and Bayo Dada all said to be in the senior citizen age bracket of 65 years.
Ponder this for a minute, dearest reader. Of the twelve persons currently accused of financial crimes, nine or more Christians, of whatever hue. This is a statistical embarrassment, don’t you think! Readers of this column would remember that we drew attention to a similar situation among political actors of the Obasanjo Years who were charged with grave offences by the then Nuhu Ribadu-led EFCC.
For the avoidance of any doubts, I am mindful of the truth that these brethren are innocent until proven guilty by the courts. It is indeed one’s hope and prayer that they be found not culpable of any of the offences. But, man, this truly rankles! At the onset of the crisis, the possibility that any kind of criminal conduct could be pinned on these top bankers, particularly two of the CEOs whose Pentecostal antecedents I was familiar with, was, in my incredulity, next to nil. This explains why I said on this page two weeks ago and repeated myself last week that “…of the questions that have arisen …I consider the most important as how did these banks get into the mess that the facts and figures suggest they are in?” I went on to posit that central to the answer would be risk management issues which we conceded might have “their roots in a variety of soils” including “inadequate expertise at risk evaluation, lack of depth in their management cadre; support for government policies or, greed for gain leading to the rush to the gravy trains that the capital market and oil and gas were up to 2007”
I also raised such questions as “whether sacking of the executive boards of the banks was the only effective solution (whether) appropriate care (was) taken in determining the extent of bad loans… (whether) an organ of government like CBN (could) have helped with recovery of policy-support loans where government is the ultimate debtor and most germane of all, in relation to this column … the implication of these developments for the place of faith in decision making as corporate helmsmen – for those who profess their faith.
Although in my wonderment at the untoward twist of things I failed to attempt to offer my viewpoint on these issues last week, for which I sincerely apologise, it really doesn’t take a genius to chart our path to this sorry pass. It is indeed a classic case of public and corporate governance driven by the basest of human instincts. Let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time, there was a country with about 100 so-called universal banks in various shapes and sizes. In size they were all relatively small and in no position to do big ticket deals, even as consortia. This relative size was mainly the result of historical currency devaluation. In terms of shape, some had grown as far as they could. Some were prudentially unsound. For an economy transiting from near-total governmental control to a private sector-led one, the banking system had to be overhauled. Entered Mr Fix It! With an eye admirably fixed on history and his place in it, he set out to restructure the banks with a great deal of emphasis on size, and scant attention to shape. In other words, while recapitalisation and consolidation shored up bank sizes, they did not shape up in the area of corporate governance, including, risk management. Many giants emerged but they stood on feet of clay.
In the meantime one gravy train pulled into the business capital of the country. This train's gravy was labelled stocks and shares, but in actual fact its content was inflated balloons. The people went for it, driven into a frenzy created by the banks. Money was made in tonnes and it was made by many. But of course you can’t have too much of a good thing, otherwise known as greed became the credo. In the midst of that a gravy ship landed at the coast. It was oil-laden, petrol, that is. Petronaira smells sweet, ask anyone. Like ants drawn to sugar, everyone, banks, merchants and sundry jobbers went for a piece of the action. The more I get, the more I want was the singsong.
But just like the Bible said, the prosperity of the fool kills him. One day the gravy train left the station. Its content exposed for what it was, air, which had added zero value. Soon an ill wind blue from distant lands and shook the armada that had taken the place of the lone gravy ship off their moorings. One by one they set sail too headed for safer harbours or at worst to the safety of home. Citizens in their thousands were left holding on to air. Banks too had strong rooms loaded with hot air. Petroleum marketers didn’t fair any better. The result is what you call non-performing loans; but the antecedents are poor corporate governance triggered by sudden wealth and crowned by greed. A nation is not great by virtue of her wealth, a nation is great by the wealth of her virtue.
My brothers and sisters, let’s reason together. When Soludo asked the banks to recapitalise astronomically, how much real money came into the economy? When you bought shares and made a kill from the market, did the fact that no real value was added to the economy cross your mind? Whether as policy makers or implementers, players on the money or capital market or bank managers, senior executives or CEOs, how many of our decisions were not about that unholy trinity – me, myself and I? And that includes the Christians among us with access to the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth, of purity, of holiness, and above all of love. Let’s think on these things.
Bank CEOs and directors may have fallen from grace. If they have done anything wrong, some might even go to jail. But do not rejoice at their downfall. Believe me, their case is better; those of them who got it wrong can no longer live in delusion; so they have a chance to repent and make peace with their God. But what about the rest of us? Are we going to learn the appropriate lessons and start living out our faith in every area of our lives, private or public? Are we going to let the Spirit of God be in the driving seat of our lives? Are we going to take on the divine nature, the Zoe life that Jesus purchased for us with his precious blood, such that we would not just be above reproach, we would also be powerful.
You see, I do not believe that the sync between Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Lamido Sanusi’s recent decisions and the Vanguard newspaper report of March 23, 2009 is an accident. But imagine how the malfeasances being unearthed at the banks, if true, have made his job easy.
In closing, did you notice his choice of CEO for Intercontinental Bank, which has been a strong outlet for Christian literature? Will it surprise you if the devotional, The Word for Today soon becomes unavailable there? Is the debate about Islamic Banking which Sanusi recently kicked off and touted as “a credible alternative to the existing order” just an academic exercise? In the fullness of time that which is hidden shall be revealed and in any case only the counsel of God shall stand. (CONCLUDED)
PIXES: CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA GOVERNOR, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (Left) and his predecesor, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo
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