Call it desperation of a whistle blower determined to save his country from trouble, or that of a drowning man eager to pull others with him- it takes a bold personality to continue to speak out even when all odds appear strongly against one.
Ousted Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, may have been shut out of the apex bank, but he has obviously not shut up.
And except a mediation comes quickly between him and the powers that be, and/or issues around the course for which he stuck out his neck (alleged $20 billion) missing oil money, is sorted, there are strong reasons to believe that Sanusi could ‘spill more bean’, sooner than latter.
Sanusi was suspended by President Goodluck Jonathan on February 20, after the apex bank governor repeatedly reported that billions of dollars in oil revenue that were supposed to come into the treasury was missing.
Sanusi’s dismissal was seen, especially by the international community, as further evidence of the government’s weakening resolve in tackling corruption, especially in the oil industry.
But the government has persistently insisted that Sanusi’s removal had no link with the missing oil money, but was due to financial recklessness and misappropriation of funds at the apex bank.
Financial markets were jolted on Sanusi’s removal, particularly locally.
Nigeria’s stock market fell sharply, bond trading was halted and the value of the naira plunged to a record low against the dollar before the apex bank intervened with more FOREX injections.
In a recent interview with New York Times, Sanusi narrated how he was swiftly suspended, when it became obvious he was going to conduct a special examination on the banks to trace the missing money.
The governor said he was going to ask the bankers to open their books, a decision he announced at the last bankers’ committee meeting before his ouster.
He told the foreign media outfit that his plan was to see where the $20 billion money from oil sales was going, while the nation’s external reserves dwindled, raising fears of possible collapse of the Naira.
He said his warning to the bankers had been reported straight back to the Aso Rock and a decision taken to swiftly move him out of seat to avoid more apparent damage. “It was too much,” he told the New York Times.
BDSUNDAY investigations reveal that the Kano-born central banker has remained the defiant character he is on issues bordering on corruption but have chosen to stay calm following the lawsuit he filed shortly after his suspension from office.
“Sanusi is definitely resting and reflecting,” says one top banker who spoke with BDSUNDAY. Like any other top official who fights corruption in the country, he would be asking himself some soul searching questions,” he adds.
He said Sanusi would be pondering over and thinking through the entire incidents that brought him to this point. Could he have made grave mistakes? Were there stones left unturned that the government could use to rope him the more? Could it have been better for him to neglect an advice from some highly placed powers and possibly move faster to conduct a search of the books of banks and possibly announce some sanctions, quickly, without first of all informing the bank executives of his intentions to conduct a special audit?
BDSUNDAY also gathered that he was currently consulting widely but not stationary, possibly from his Lagos home (and sparingly his home town, Kano) – since Abuja may seem not a safe abode at the moment.
He is talking to his lawyers, confidants, counselors, kinsmen and the international community (who seem apparently behind his whistle blowing) and other concerned entities.
“Knowing his kind of person, one would imagine that the controversial governor would be wishing he’s let loose to bring out more information on the $20 billion missing oil money,” a close source told BDSUNDAY.
It is also understood that some banking officials are still jittery that he is still eager to not only narrate but also confirm his suspicion that two Nigerian big banks were used to launder part of the missing money like he suggested in the interview with the New York Times.
“With the amount of information Sanusi has in his custody- having monitored and managed government’s inflows and outflows for close to five years, it would be interesting to share some of the wrought he saw while he managed government resources but it is equally important that he takes necessary evasive steps to ensure he stays alive,” another financial analyst told BDSUNDAY.
He definitely could trace how some of the oil proceeds disappeared from source and found their way in the suspected Nigerian banks- and there are suggestion that an arm of one of the reputable global institutions in Washington could have helped the governor trace the missing oil money down to the nation’s own local banks.
But his ‘counselors’ would not let him open up, a source said. He had even thought through writing the President an open letter to state his own side of the story before it gets too late.
“They would prefer he lies low for now and not play into the hands of his enemies,” said another close source.
On the flip side, Sanusi would be worried right now. His worry may not necessarily be borne out of possible prosecution if present ongoing investigations at the apex bank find him culpable.
His worries, observers suggest, could be the fear that his long-time earned reputation could be rubbished if the audit at the CBN finds grave things against him
He would also be worried that the independence and autonomy of the CBN, which he had fought quite hard, to retain is fast slipping off.
All of the sources BDSUNDAY spoke to chose not to be named as we investigated Sanusi’s current engagement.
