Good People, join me to commend this gentleman: Folashodun Shonubi, acting governor of Nigeria’s central bank. He impressed me today. Yes, since 2016 when they froze the publication of the Central Bank of Nigeria financial statements, I have written and challenged the government to obey the CBN Act: publish those documents for We The People. Today, the documents have been published, and Shonubi is bringing Nigeria to the old order, at least in one area.
Read this: “The Group entered into a securities lending agreement with Goldman Sachs and J. P. Morgan and as part of the agreement, the Group pledged its holdings on foreign securities in return for cash. The cash received from Goldman Sachs is N0.23tn ($500m), 2021: N0.22tn ($500m), and JP Morgan N3.23tn ($7bn), 2021: N3.05tn ($7bn) is recognised in other foreign securities.”
So, when they told you that we had no money to pay doctors, nurses, lecturers, etc, even as they raked $billions in debts from American banks, it was all vapour lies. Without going political: Buhari took Nigeria backward by miles. He just held the “President” as a title!
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That a general would allow that kind of rascality was simply unfortunate. In my village of Ovim, we have many military generals, and we respect these men because even in their Isi-agu native dresses, you know they’re men of steel. What did they do with this money is the question we need to ask Buhari and his government because nothing was largely achieved?
And you know the unfortunate? More revelations are coming… Shonubi, go ahead and publish more. Of course, we also need the books to be audited.
Comment on Feed
Comment from user: I do appreciate your various posts and regular contributions. On the last one regarding the CBN’s books and loans, aren’t we missing part of the equation? You’re saying that the debt the CBN took was “rascality”. Wouldn’t it depend on whether the loans were taken for valid reasons? Were the funds used to grant loans for capex projects (in which case they’re not necessarily bad IF these projects are executed) OR were they squandered for subsidy and landed in the pocket of the few (which would be mayhem like you suggest). I think it’d be fair to add this point to your argument to drive the reasoning even further !
My Response: They were not disclosed until now. That is the rascality. It was hidden from Nigerians. This is not the sovereign debt.
Comment 1R: Ah OK. The fact they weren’t disclosed. Agreed. CBN were cowboys for sure. I really wonder how we’re going to get out of the mess we’re in. Subsidies destroy value as we’re totally incapable of managing properly. Lack therefore is the naira going into a tailspin.
My Response: I agree with you. But note that the subsidy is not really that bad. What is bad is the corruption in subsidy.
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And the reason for not publishing for many years was what? Who and who are getting prosecuted for the malfeasance? We do not need to start thanking and commending people for doing what the law stipulated, rather we are meant to go heavily on those who violated the law. Praises and eulogies are reserved for uncommon feats and undertakings, that is the only way to entrench culture and system that are durable.
We encourage bad behaviour a lot in this country, which helps to breed entitlement mentality when people do the barest minimum. Civil servants now want you to ‘appreciate’ them for doing their job, else they punish or frustrate you. That is how far we have fallen as a people.
Politicians will mismanage public funds and then do some projects, we then start thanking and praising them, for doing what they were overpaid to do, without ever making any tangible sacrifice.
We can do much better as a people, for now we remain very pathetic. After thanking who did what the law mandated, we let those who broke the law to go free. Strange people.
Can’t be better expressed.