Emefiele: How To Kill An Orphan

By Steve Osuji

ORPHAN BOY AND FALL GUY: Just yesterday, President Bola Tinubu declared he would not prosecute immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, and his close aides.

This column was never under the illusion for a moment that he would. Pulling in Buhari and his 40 thieves would require much courage. But that’s one vital ingredient that’s absent in this government. Not even dutch courage if you ask me.  Afterall dog does not eat dog. Yes,  they would do what Nigerians call gra-gra and they would find soft targets like Godwin Emefiele and make the most noise about it but this column dares this government to pull in certified public enemies and economic saboteurs like Hadi Sirika, Sadiya Umar Farouq, Abubakar Malami, Adamu Adamu, Zainab Ahmed, to mention but a few. While Baba Buhari is already chilling in his ancestral Niger Republic, most of his close aides,  including Mama Aisha are probably ensconced in the safe nests of Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Nobody dares to call them to account as Nigerians expect this government to do. Never.

They want Nigerians to believe that Emefiele is the sole villain in 8 years of APC brigandage.

EMEFIELE AS SOFT TARGET: Why is Emefiele’s case different even though he was a close aide of Buhari? He was actually the poster boy of the Buhari/APC years. In the absence of a sound finance minister and a notable economic adviser, Emefiele provided the little economic balance Nigeria had. He went beyond monetary measures, providing laudable pathways in agriculture and infrastructure.

But as noted earlier, first reason he’s being trampled upon is because he’s a southerner of Igbo stock. The dispensables.

Second is that he stepped on the toes of Ninja economic saboteurs who are now in power.

Now they are intent on ruffling him up, stripping him down to his pants and possibly eliminating him, if they can.

The first reason of his ethnicity is self-evident to any honest Nigerian adult. But the question of stepping on toes is all about the naira redesign of late last year.

CAUGHT IN APC ROGUE POLITICS: The genesis of the story in a nutshell is that Buhari had lost control of APC and the electoral process. He had become like a cuckold husband. That happened at Eagle Square during the APC Presidential Primary a year ago. President Buhari was made to sit through his own disgrace and degrade. His preferred candidate and VP, Yemi Osinbajo was routed by the camp of Tinubu, Nasir El Rufai and their gang of 13 northern  governors.

While  Tinubu opened large storerooms of dollars for delegates, Nasir played the ethno-religious gambit with APC northern governors. With this vicious combo Buhari sat through his own shellacking and utter redux. Buhari actually stopped being president at the Eagle Square after APC primary. He sunk in his seat through the long night of June 10th, 2022 and only clapped once after his Veepee Osinbajo made his moving speech.

After the lame-ducking of Buhari, it was glaring that he showed no interest  in the Tinubu campaign until he was persuaded to do otherwise in the last days.

BUHARI’S NAIRA DESIGN GAMBIT: Perhaps for the first time in Nigeria’s history, a sitting president had no hand in the selection of his successor. We learned he solemnly begged the Nasir camp but they declined. Party chairman, Adamu Abdullahi tried in the last minute to push senate president  Ahmed Lawan, but no show. Buhari was disgrace at the APC primary. This troubled Buhari much and he devised his last gambit ostensibly to teach his tormentors a lesson.

As the Commander-in-Chief, he was well aware that between Tinubu,  Nasir and the 13 northern governors, their stash of cash would not only compromise any election,  it could indeed overwhelm the entire national security architecture.

As a way of hitting them where it would hurt them the most, he and the rump of his now depleted kitchen cabinet directed the CBN governor,  Emefiele to redesign the naira only a few weeks to the February 25th Presidential Election date. This was to turn Tinubu, Nasir and co warehouses of old naira notes into toilet paper – and of course,  curtail their ability to buy votes.

AND THERE WAS FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN: The new APC kingpins who were sure to suborn all ‘subornables’ to sweep the presidency were virtually on fire. APC was divided down the middle between the Nasir-Tinubu camp and the Presidency-PDP chairman camp. If the redesign of the naira sailed through, the Tinubu campaign would simply go up in flames.

Nasir tried to meet President Buhari but was politely barred from Aso Rock Villa. He headed to court rallying as many governors as he could muster. Perhaps for the first time in Nigeria’s political history, sitting governors took a sitting president of the same party to court – up to the supreme Court which was firmly in the grips of the Tinubu camp.

While the Court politics were  being played,  Tinubu and his friends in the banks made sure that the new notes never circulated. They mopped up every bit of it so that most Nigerians were left stranded and distraught for weeks with neither old nor new notes. A bit of agitation propaganda (agit-prop) was thrown in from the southwest flank. Banks were being attacked in this zone to make-believe there was imminent social upheaval and to force Buhari to rescind the naira redesign policy.

EMEFIELE THE WHIPPING BOY: Of course the CBN governor was caught right in the middle of the APC zero-sum power game. There’s a Yoruba adage that the bully would always double down on the perceived weakling (eni a le mu la n ledimo). During this period, the powerful southwest propaganda machine was deployed fully against Godwin Emefiele. He was abused,  scandalised and demonised. They dare not confront his master Buhari under whose directive he was. This was how Emefiele became the most hated public servant in the land.

WITCH-HUNTING EMEFIELE TODAY: The Nasir-Tinubu camp managed to grab power by hook and crook. Being vindictive minds, their first objective would be to torment Emefiele. This doleful objective has continued since swearing in. He was suspended a few days after inauguration, hauled ignominiously to Abuja and has been incarcerated without the option of fine ever since. Why wouldn’t a former CBN governor get bail on self recognition?

DSS Vs. EMEFIELE: If Emefiele committed any crime, it has to be economic crime whereupon EFCC would be the right agency to handle it. But of course, DSS is apparently under directive from the presidency to drag Emefiele, give him the manacle treatment and rub his nose to the bars until it hurts. They would also seek to extort him as much as possible and if possible, do him in for obvious reasons. Legal luminaries like Femi Falana and Olisa Agbakoba have said so much about the role of the DSS here. It’s most laughable to say the least trying to pin terrorism on Emefiele. Nigerians are aware that hundreds of names of terror finnanciers were handed to Buhari over four years ago by the US and UAE. Buhari never mentioned their names in spite of much public outcry. DSS should pick up that list if it’s sincere about fighting terror that has rendered the Service prostrate for over 20 years.

CHICKEN ON THE LINE SITUATION: But it’s absolutely a chicken on the line situation here. More Yoruba wise words come in handy: the chicken perched on the clothesline is ill at easy, the line is ill at easy (adiye to bale okun, ara o ro okun, ara o ro adiye). Short of diminishing his estate or putting Emefiele down like an expired horse, there’s absolutely nothing they can do to him. He’s part of them (APC) through these eight obnoxious years. He knows them more than they know him. He could not only ruffle feathers, he can indeed pluck feathers where it hurts the most. He can bring down this government with only a few words in the right outlets. He is as much a fox as they are and they would probably just pull his ears and tell him  to go and be a good boy. He’s an establishment wonk, long live the establishment,  long live the old order!

ABUSE OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS: Before we close, we must not fail to touch on the crucial issue of abuse of public institutions. Just as President Buhari shackled the CBN yesterday and never allowed it to act professionally, so has Tinubu suborned the DSS today and put this critical state organ under its armpit. But let’s just close by saying, whatever goes around would always come around…

Osuji, an accomplished Journalist and Columnist was Media Adviser to former Imo State Governor Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha