If there is any Nigerian whose name is virtually on everyone’s lip at the moment, and whom not a few people wish to be crucified by the newly sworn-in federal government under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he is unarguably Godwin Emefiele, who until June 9, 2023, was the governor the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). He was born on August 4, 1961, in Lagos State, and he is an Indigene of Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State. Emefiele had his Primary school education at Government Primary School, Victoria Island, a school that was formerly known as, and called Ansar-U-Deen Primary School, Igbosere, Lagos.
He completed his primary education in June 1973. He had his secondary education at Maryland Comprehensive Secondary School, Mayland, Lagos, where he obtained his West African School Certificate (WASC) in June 1978.
Godwin Emefiele studied Banking and Finance at the University of Nigeria Nsukka and obtained a Bachelor’s Degree (B.Sc.) (2nd Class Upper Division) in June 1984, and in October 1986, he obtained Masters Degree (MBA) in Finance, winning the Best Graduating Student Award.
In 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Emefiele, who was then the managing director of Zenith Bank, as the new governor of the CBN after he announced the suspension of Sanusi Lamido as the CBN governor.
As God would have it, Emefiele’s appointment was ratified as the substantive governor in place of Mr. Sanusi whose tenure elapsed in June 2014 while the president also nominated Adelabu Adebayo as the deputy governor of the bank. Mr. Adebayo was an executive director at First Bank.
With the benefit of hindsight, it can contextually be opined that Emefiele has since been undergoing trial in the Court of Public Opinion as he more than his predecessors faced several indictments throughout his capacity as the apex bank’s governor for worsening Nigeria’s Forex crisis, which compelled companies such as Emirates Airlines to leave the country. His critics argue that he compromised the CBN’s autonomy for political reasons, resulting in scarce Forex and a widening gap between the official and black market exchange rates among other allegations leveled against him since he became the governor of the bank.
Without resorting to sentiment in this context, Emefiele’s trial in the Court of Public Opinion came to a head early this year when allegations of terrorism financing, diversion of revenue, agricultural loans, and fraudulent practices in Forex transactions were leveled against him.
As if the foregoing allegations were not damaging enough, not a few supporters of the now-President Tinubu ahead of the presidential election peddled the rumour that he tried to derail the aspiration of Tinubu since he (Emefiele) failed to achieve his alleged presidential aspiration.
Against the foregoing backdrop, it will be recalled that President Tinubu, as a presidential aspirant then cried out that the fuel scarcity experienced nationwide and the redesigning of the Naira introduced by the CBN were targeted against his presidential quest.
He, however, said those obstacles will not stop his march to victory or scuttle the forthcoming 2023 elections.
It will be recalled that he spoke in Abeokuta during his campaign rally held at the popular M.K.O. Abiola International Stadium, Kuto, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
He lamented at the campaign venue thus, “Let them increase the price of fuel, only them know where they have hoarded fuel. They hoarded money, they hoarded Naira; we will go and vote and we will win. Even if they change the ink on the Naira notes, whatever their plans, it will come to naught. We are going to win. Those in the PDP will lose.
“I am homeboy, I have come here, you will not be put to shame, we will take over the government from them, the traitors who wanted to contest with us. They have no experience.
“This is a revolution. This election is a revolution. They are plotting, but they will fail. They said fuel price will increase and reach N200 per litre. Go and relax. They don’t want this election to hold, they want to scuttle it.”
Even after Tinubu won the highly contested presidential election, the sustained rumour against Emefiele still kept flying so much that the leadership of the CBN has to debunk it as published thus in the Guardian on 14 March 2023. It partly reads, “CBN debunks report of Emefiele plotting against Tinubu, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has debunked allegations that its governor, Godwin Emefiele, was plotting against the president-elect, Bola Tinubu. According to a report (not in The Guardian), Emefiele resolved to work against Tinubu, because he failed to get the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential ticket and mobilized N500 million to the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, for his campaign.
“The report also alleged that the money given to Rhodes-Vivour was Emefiele’s contribution for another party to wrest Lagos from Tinubu’s stranglehold. But CBN spokesperson, Isa Abdulmumin, described the allegation as false and malicious, noting that Emefiele had neither met nor spoken with Rhodes-Vivour in person or through proxy.
“Noting that the CBN governor does not take part in politics, Abdulmumin called on anyone with contrary information to prove the governor wrong to provide facts. He added that the CBN governor and his team should be allowed to focus on their assigned tasks”.
In fact, given the extent of Emefiele’s trial in the Court of Public Opinion, particularly as the media, both traditional and social media, have been used to influence public condemnation against him, the African proverb that readily came to mind when I heard the news last night that President Tinubu has suspended him as CBN Governor was the one that says “The Owl cried last night, and the baby died the next morning”.
Given the foregoing scenarios that surround his personality since he became the CBN’s governor in 2014 until yesterday, it is expedient to ask, “Is A Fair Treatment Possible For Emefiele Amidst His Ongoing Trial In The Court Of Public Opinion?
