Less than one year, the tenure of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the incumbent governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will be expired. But since making it known that he would kiss the job goodbye in 2014, by which time he would have served his full five-year term, the media has been awash with many names thrown up as possible successors of a man many love to hate, and who may clinch the trophy, were there ever one, of the most controversial occupant of a position held by seemingly reserved people long before now. While they agree that it is no sin for anyone to aspire to a position, no matter how high, stakeholders however stressed the need to ensure that the health of the economy and its banking industry is not compromised. If nothing else, the nation’s economy and the banks have been adjudged sound at a time when many developed economies are experiencing a recession, a consideration many believe should be uppermost at this time. There was also an agreement among respondents on the need to couch a job description, before looking at the profile of names now being thrown up in the media or flying about as kites, with or without the express permission of owners of such. Nonetheless, such names that have shown up in the radar in recent months include insiders within the CBN and chief executives of banks from outside. There seemed an agreement also about a need to ensure that the choice candidate for the very critical position of the CBN Governor must be a developmental economist, besides being someone who commands respect, with impeccable track record in both education and job antecedents. For Dr. Boniface Chizea, a financial and management consultant, and Principal Consultant of BIC Consulting, the choice candidate must “command the respect of all stakeholders, and must not be someone who would pander to some preferred political exigencies. “My preference for the educational background of the Governor is a well grounded economist who has hands on experience in the broad area of monetary policy, as he is expected to take firm control of monetary policy”. Continuing, he said the President’s appointee may not necessarily “be a banker, though if there is a banker who can also double as a good economist, that will be an advantage. Preferably for this position you need someone who is an intellectual, or at least someone who has a good reading culture, which is not likely to be found with someone without at least a good second degree! “It is good if he has a good presence; an imposing personality that confers some charisma. He must be of conservative mien who would speak less but who when he speaks, people listen to his pronouncements on the state of the economy because of the credibility he enjoys having the effect of a self fulfilling prophesy. He must be someone of proven integrity with good diction who will be able to communicate seamlessly with international audience without his listeners straining to understand him.” It does not matter, he said in an emailed response, if the best candidate for the job is available within the CBN, as such would serve to motivate the workforce. Also, Olufemi Awoyemi, a chartered accountant and chief executive of Proshare Nigeria, an online financial and economy portal agrees it is a legitimate aspiration for anyone to show interest in the job. He noted the need for those making the choice to reflect the global trend, and note the changing dynamics around the world, driven by a shift towards developmental economics, particularly the dual mandate of interest and exchange rates stability, and job creation. This factor, he said, played out recently, when the Bank of England appointed a Canadian as chief executive, a move, he stressed was significant and novel. Efforts at this time, Awoyemi added should be geared towards consolidating on the gains recorded in the ongoing Sanusi years, particularly stability in the interest and exchange rates, by first couching the job description and thereafter juxtaposing the various candidates being thrown up against it to pick the best. “Nigeria has never had it so good… where the interest and exchange rates have remained very stable over a very long time. You may not agree with all (Sanusi) has done, but he kept us from the problems other more matured economies are grappling with today. Our banks are healthier and now more profitable as to add meaningful value to the economy, a situation which would become even better following the decision of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) announced last weekend to put cash back into the books of Nigerian banks by refinancing its N5.6 trillion debt this year and 2014.” Those believed to be top contenders for the job include insiders like Dr. Sarah Omotunde Alade and Babatunde Lemo, deputy governors in-charge of Economic Policy and Operations respectively at the CBN; bank chiefs- Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, outgoing chief executive of Access Bank; and Segun Agbaje, CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank; even as some believe, more may still join the fray. With Alade as the only female in the mix, there are those who believe the idea of Nigeria’s first female CBN Governor will not all-together be a bad one in the spirit of gender sensitivity. On this Chizea responded: “It will be knock out if we find a lady to occupy this position. Ladies usually have better values, and such an appointment will show off a country as progressive. But it must be someone really qualified and not a sinecure or someone who is appointed to comply with the requirements of affirmative action. Appointing someone just because the President would wish to be seen as gender sensitive and friendly will not do for such a strategic appointment.” Alade joined the CBN in 1993 as an Assistant Director in the Research Department working as Head, State Government Finance Office until 1996, when she became Head, Federal Government Finance Office till 2000, and then Head, Fiscal Analysis Division, a position she held until 2004 when she became Director, Banking Operations Department. She became Deputy Governor in March 2007. But before these, she began her careers in the Kwara State Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in 1977, after a degree in Economics a year earlier, from the University of Ife. From the Ministry, she joined the University of Ilorin as a Lecturer in the Department of Accounting and Finance. She also obtained a 1983 M.Comm from the University of Melbourne, Australia, followed by a PhD in Management Science (Operations Research) from the University of Ilorin in 1991. Lemo, another inside, was appointed deputy governor of the CBN in January 2004 from Wema Bank, where he served as chief executive. Awoyemi said that anyone that would emerge from among the operators should be someone who turned around their institution, in which case, he believes, Aig-Imoukhuede is eminently qualified, after turning a very small-sized Access Bank which he took over in 2002 along with his team, into a force to reckon with in the industry today. From within also, he added, Kingsley Moghalu, a PhD holder from the London School of Economics, who is deputy governor, Financial System Stability, cannot be wished away. Moghalu who joined the apex bank September 2009, he stressed, has performed creditably well in the past four years. Like Awoyemi observed, the battle for job of the CBN Governor was in 2008/2009 between three contenders, as it became clearer that the then Yar Adu’a administration had no plan to renew the tenure of Prof Chukwuma Soludo. The names included Dr. Tanimu Yakubu, the President’s Chief Economic Adviser, a position from which Soludo was appointed to the CBN; Alhaji Isa Yuguda, then Bauchi State Governor, who was a former CEO of Inland Bank (which later became part of First Inland Bank Plc, now FCMB); as well as Mallam Lamido Sanusi, who only resumed as CEO of First Bank a few months earlier. Awoyemi believes also that another factor that may play out in the entire equation is the election year that 2014/15 is. He warns however that the choice be not determined through political posturing for the overall good of the economy, the nation, and its people.
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