Atedo Peterside, chairman of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, says
he will not attend a forum organised by the Central Bank of Nigeria because he
is displeased with the dethronement of Muhammadu Sanusi II.
Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of Kano state, announced the
dethronement of the monarch on Monday and announced Aminu Ado Bayero as his
successor.
In a letter sent to Godwin Emefiele,
Peterside said he cannot hide his displeasure at Sanusi’s deposition and
eventual banishment from Kano.
“I received an invitation, at short notice, to be a
panellist at a CBN consultative roundtable session taking place in Abuja
tomorrow. Whilst thanking you for the invitation, I believe the correct thing
for me to do is to respectfully decline to participate,” he wrote.
“My refusal to join you has more to do with the monumental
events that took place yesterday viz the removal of the emir of Kano from
office and the release of information that purportedly seeks to exile him and
restrict his movements or confine them to a little known enclave in Nassarawa
state.”
Peterside said he attended the commonwealth service that
held in Westminster Abbey on Monday where he was reminded of “what can go right
when we embrace the forces of modernity whilst recognising and upholding our
proud cultural heritage”.
“At the exact same time, I was distracted by disturbing news
from Kano yesterday which confirmed what can go wrong, when those in authority
pay lip service to the Nigerian constitution and then proceed to violate the
fundamental freedoms that it guarantees each individual because they prefer to
cling to practices like exile which they learnt from colonial masters and the
military. These practices have no place in a democratic dispensation.”
Commenting on the roundtable, which is themed ‘Going for
Growth’, Peterside said growth is a concept where investor confidence is
boosted through actions like respecting individual freedom and the rule of law.
“Sadly, yesterday’s events have turned back the clock at a
time when our economy is at a precipice and when we need to tell ourselves some
home truths and speak truth to power in a constructive manner,” the
“By coincidence, the ex-emir of Kano is your predecessor in
the office at CBN. Ordinarily, he qualifies to be invited for tomorrow’s event.
Did you invite him?
“I have decided to stay away from your consultative
roundtable and to instead use the opportunity of this letter to draw the
attention of a wider audience to my displeasure with the events of yesterday.
Please forgive me because I am in no mood to immediately pretend as if all is
well by proceeding with business as usual.”
Peterside also said the stability of Nigeria’s macroeconomy
is threatened by an unsustainable policy mix like CBN’s resolve to “pursue a
low domestic interest rate regime which clearly cannot coexist with high
inflation and naira exchange rate stability in the face of collapsed/collapsing
oil prices and an insatiable and uncontrolled appetite for foreign currency
loans”.
He said this policy mix has spooked investors (local and
foreign) and is making it “increasingly likely that the Nigerian economy slides
back into a recession” corrections are made.
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Thank you Sir. Thank you for your stance on the so called CBN consultative round table session. Once the rule of law is trampled upon, and violation of due process is ignored, no serious minded investor can trust the environment sufficiently enough to invest a dime in it. Weep for Nigeria, cry for our once beloved country. We have drifted into darkness in our noon.
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