The ousting of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the erstwhile active CBN Governor, didn’t come to many Nigerians as a surprise, even though it was mildly referred to as ‘suspension’, but it is quite glaring that the real intention of the president is to terminate the CBN Governor’s tenure. In response, Sanusi has declared that he will file a suit against the President or rather, the Federal Government but this is not America; this is Nigeria so if he does not eventually lose his case, the best he could get is an over-delayed justice, which in my opinion, is no Justice at all. The first question I asked was: Did Sanusi deserve the suspension he was given?

The ousting of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the erstwhile active CBN Governor, didn’t come to many Nigerians as a surprise, even though it was mildly referred to as ‘suspension’, but it is quite glaring that the real intention of the president is to terminate the CBN Governor’s tenure. In response, Sanusi has declared that he will file a suit against the President or rather, the Federal Government but this is not America; this is Nigeria so if he does not eventually lose his case, the best he could get is an over-delayed justice, which in my opinion, is no Justice at all. The first question I asked was: Did Sanusi deserve the suspension he was given?

Going back through history lane, I can vividly recall that Sanusi lamido Sanusi was appointed by Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and since his appointment, it has been a spree of whistleblowing leading to more prudent and transparent banking reforms. Sanusi also had his fair share of redundant and ludicrous policies but on the whole, I would say Sanusi’s good outweighs his bad, but why is he being witch-hunted? I guess it is because the few courageous men in Nigeria hardly stay in the limelight for long, very soon he would be joining his replicas, El-Rufai and Ribadu, having attracted the fury of Nigeria’s top echelons and megalomaniacs.

Most Nigerians would agree with me that the cashless policy which Sanusi introduced and attempted to implement In lagos, Kano, Abuja and a few other states went as far as an inch considering its broadly targeted spectrum; clearly, we are still not ready for it until our economy grows beyond paper and our poverty decreases marginally. More than 40% of Nigeria’s adults are still not acquainted with electronic banking so monetary cashlessness is as vague as fuel subsidy. Another incredible attempt was to introduce the 5,000 Naira note (Money laundering made easy), which would have been a disaster, more like a plague to our economy. Thankfully, the citizens resisted it with more vigour even when her Excellency Dame Patience sent a proposal for the picture of a woman to be included on the Naira note. Introduction of Islamic Banking too caused commotion among the majority of the religiously sentimental Nigerians, thus it was interpreted differently and somehow, clandestinely, Islamic Banks were established in some key States of Northern Nigeria. The good news about Islamic Banking is that it is actually less harmful than we thought it was going to be. Come to think of it; are individual Muslims really patronizing the Bank as they ought? If they are, then why is the bulk their money resting in the vaults of other conventional banks? The last time I checked, a Governor of a Northern State was forcefully investing 4billion Naira into the Islamic Bank. I hope he gets profit for his investment. Meanwhile, I would like to open an account in that bank so that I can atleast access a zero-interest loan. In 2012, SLS was widely criticized for donating 100million Naira to the victims of Kano’s multiple bomb-blasts. He later claimed it was the prerogative of the Central Bank to aid victims as part of its ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ however, the bank’s CSR didn’t stretch to victims of the Jos crises or the victims of the incessant Borno massacre. Why? On a more lighter note, the sex scandal published by the TRIBUNE newspaper/tabloid in early 2013 also contributed in disqualifying him as a man of moral integrity.

Having said a little about his odds, let us look the good for which, I think, Nigerians should remain grateful to sanusi for; one of the very first whistle sounds SLS blew was the covert shoddy transactions some banks employed which gave them a very beauteous image on the outside. Thanks to Sanusi, the artificial glories of PHB, OCEANIC and INTERCONTINENTAL banks were stripped off them for the world to see their morbid skeletons. Was the First-Class Soludo ignorant of these shoddy details? Secondly, Nigerians banks were fraudulently in the habit of deducting 100 Naira for every cash withdrawal on ATM points alien to customers’ banks. Sanusi stood his grounds on zero deductions for all withdrawals from all ATM points regardless of the Banks, much to the chagrin of the Banks CEOs. Prior to his stance, most Nigerians were unaware of the fact that deductions for ATM withdrawals were illegal. Our legistlators had been feasting on a mammoth share of the annual national budget. Thanks again to SLS who openly blew the whistle in early 2011 that over 25% of Nigeria’s annual budget is expended on the legislators. Ofcourse they berated him, but in the typical Nigerian fashion, the matter was swept under the carpet. Atleast we now know that each senator rakes a minimum of 29million (all allowances inclusive) monthly, that is more than fives times the Salary of the US president. Finally, he blew the whistle of unremitted funds from NNPC, Nigeria biggest cake, and this became the whistle that ended the match being the last straw that broke the carmel’s back.

Thanks again to his whistle blowing, Nigerians know that more than 10billion (no matter how it is streamlined) US Dollars was not remitted to the CBN coffers. What if he had not started with the purported 49billion Dollars earlier, would we have known that a gross sum was missing? While his critics believe he is playing an APC script, and some religious bigots are celebrating his removal, I still believe that the poor man deserves to be applauded for measuring above an ‘average’ CBN Governor. I guess now he has more time to strategize and patiently wait for the demise of his uncle so that he can earn his most coveted desire – Emir of Kano.

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Sanusi Lamido Sanusi: The price for whistle-blowing by Bizum Yadok