Last week, when the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, during a discussion on the importance of addressing infrastructure gaps in developing countries at the World Bank, accused the western powers of being a stumbling block to Nigeria’s plan to improve power output through the use of coal, many took the statement on its face value.
Adeosun had insisted that improving power supply was the cornerstone of the Buhari administration’s goal towards economic development, yet finds it difficult to get support from the western countries.
When a deeper dive into the deconstruction of the weight of the conscious economic underdevelopment of Africa perpetrated by some external forces, with Nigeria fully caught in the web is X-rayed, only more pain would be felt in the game plan of the heart-wrecking masterminds of some international conspirators. The weight of our challenges and the complexity of the consequential stress across sectors today can hardly be resolved by mere UN talk-shops, World Bank meetings and other international economic summits, but through concrete action, including fast release of Nigeria’s stolen funds hidden in foreign banks.
When Walter Rodney in his book, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, insisted that a combination of power politics and economic exploitation of Africa by Europeans led to the poor state of Africa’s political and economic development evident in the late 20th century, this did not go down well with their local agents, who pound their yams with sizeable sacks hanging underneath their robes.
The man, Rodney, had determined that the only path to true human development and liberation for the majority of the people was through the transformation of their own lives in a struggle to replace and reshape the neo-colonialist government that dominated the society and prescribed their existence.
While we recall various predictions of how former President Goodluck Jonathan was said to be the last president of a united Nigeria, and how Nigeria would surely disintegrate in 2015 by some western “prophets” with former American Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. John Campbell, seemingly the most interesting, time has come for those of us actually wearing the shoes to know where the pain points are and when we actually have a headache. Prof. Adebowale Adefuye actually took on the former US envoy and called him, “a prophet of doom”.
Typical of our media ideologues, sensational and alarmist headlines and the hurry to break the scoop, South African-based news outlet, Bloomberg, recently went to the market with a story on the purported under-capitalisation of some banks in Nigeria, with two declared almost insolvent. Only a few discerning Nigerians received that story with caution and a large dose of scepticism. This financial online platform, had given credit to two emplyees of Dubai’s Arqaam Capital Limited, Jaap Meijer and Tarek Sleiman, who were said to have emailed the report.
For some public opinion analysts and indigenous financial experts, this came like an external examiner who did not see a student’s course curriculum, did not get involved in the lectures, did not supervise the examination, but chose to dabble in to challenge the scoring of the exam paper by the qualified teacher, who taught the subject. The Central Bank of Nigeria, the regulator of the Nigerian financial services establishments, got the shock of their life by the Dubai infiltration.
The apex bank quickly rose in defence of the country’s financial independence, speedily cross-checked records, files and the last submitted financial reports of these banks in its possession and had to embark on a series of meetings to dispel the threat and its overwhelming spill over in the sector and among simple-minded Nigerians. The CBN has firmly and unequivocally said that Nigerian banks have very strong capital buffers to weather the country’s economic crisis.
It is worthy of note that the Director of Banking Supervision, CBN, Tokunbo Martins, at a press conference after a meeting with the heads of the country’s banks assured stakeholders in the sector that supply of foreign exchange for manufacturers would be improved.
She emphasised that Nigeria, which is Africa’s biggest economy, is in recession due to a slump in vital oil revenues which has put pressure on the public finances and the currency, driving up the prices of imported goods.
This timely clarification became necessary due to that report by the Dubai-based investment and brokerage firm which indicated that seven Nigerian banks were undercapitalised to the tune of N1tn ($3.2bn) with two other banks approaching insolvency.
While an unconfirmed report still being investigated described the team from Aqaam Capital as financial undertakers that have their left eyes focused on our government’s body language towards the sale of some national assets, it is also being speculated that the firm has pushed a button to grade the roads for its principals who have hidden interest incubated for some Nigerian collaborators.
It is possible that the kite flown against some Nigerian banks is a very suspicious move aimed at blocking some competition, should the Federal Government make up its mind. The events of the last few days are actually bizarre.
While Nigerian banks cannot be insulated from the tension of full implementation of the Treasury Single Account policy, the slump in vital oil revenues which has put pressure on the public finances and the currency, driving up the prices of imported goods, the forex headaches and the global economic slowdown, it must be agreed that the yardstick for the measurement of their liquidity, capital base and the depth of Non-Performing Loans, and the rating of capacity to weather the storm amidst the enlisted realities, is designed and decided by the CBN, which has not suspended any bank’s licence, and has assured us that all our banks are safe.
Our external examiners, descendants of our colonial masters, must be watched really carefully. They cannot be crying more than the bereaved.
Emefu, a financial analyst, wrote in from Dutse, Jigawa State