Borrowing to rig elections II

By Eze Eluchie

The practice of criminally minded politicians to further pauperize their States and citizenry by borrowing huge sums to rig elections has become a recurring decimal in Nigeria’s pretense at democracy. These kleptocrats, having already squandered their States resources on themselves, their cronies and white-elephant projects, proceed to rub insult into the injuries they have already inflicted on the citizens of their States by mortgaging the future of generations yet unborn via spurious bank loans.

The financial institutions that dish out these suspect loans are in most cases, quite aware of and complicit in the fraud being perpetuated against the peoples who are ruled by these kleptocrats. As pay-back, some of these Banks (and senior management of the Banks) deliberately announce amounts far in excess of the real sums advanced to States as the sums loaned, knowing full well that the difference between real sum loaned and the sum announced will remain in their vaults and probably distributed as perks/bonuses to those who participated in the scam.

This rather unfortunate practice occurs not only in-country but is also widespread amongst international financial institutions dealing with countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Populations which are already suffering the pangs of abject poverty are most unfortunately further saddled with fictitious and imaginary debt portfolios.

As election approach, the haste to secure more loans rises to frenzy.

It is in the light of this that the recent arrest of the Speaker, Principal Officers and Clerk of Nigeria’s Kano State House of Assembly by the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for surreptitiously trying to approve a bogus Supplementary Budget factored on placing Kano State into greater indebtedness via new loan facilities ought to be commended.

One is however worried that our law enforcement agencies (in Nigeria) did not harken to an earlier call I made regarding similar antics by the other States in Nigeria, particularly the Lagos State Government in an earlier post on my Blog (http://ezeluchie.blogspot.com/2013/09/borrowing-to-rig-elections.html  

When one realizes the nexus between the widespread poverty visited on populations in societies where State officials engage in such horrendous larceny/large-scale corruption on the one hand and civil strife, conflicts, organized crime and terrorism, the need for the recognition, investigation, prosecution and punishment of large-scale corruption as a crime against humanity as stipulated in Article 7(k) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court becomes quite clear.

The trans-international border nature of the large-scale corruption crimes as described above makes it pertinent that international law enforcement agencies must congregate efforts towards tackling this behemoth.

Picture: Logo of Nigeria' Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

Sanusi: Central unBanker of the Millennium II

by Eze Eluchie

All over the world, the office of a country’s Central Bank Governor (or Chairman of Federal Reserve Board) is occupied by responsible persons who realize that their utterances, activities and even mere gestures impact positively or adversely on national economies. In other climes the Central Bank Governor is an embodiment of moderation, stability, financial etiquette and decorum. A peep into the candor and conduct of other Heads of Reserve Bank’s elsewhere, such as Ben Bernanke, US Federal Reserve Chairman and Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank will illustrate what is expected of persons holding this high office. 

When a Central Bank Governor takes it upon him/herself to stir ridiculous fiscal controversies, champion divisive ethno-religious policies and causes, and engage the Governments of his country in media squabbles, all geared towards creating a semblance of fiscal instability, it becomes pertinent to question the utility and motives of such fiscal ombudsman.

The politically induced and widely publicized claims by Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Mr. Lamido Sanusi Lamido, aimed at tarnishing the image of the Nigerian State and rubbishing whatsoever was left of Nigeria’s fiscal standing in the international community, that Nigeria’s petroleum conglomerate (Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation - NNPC), defrauded the Nigerian State to the tune of an incredulous sum of U.S.$49 Billion, generated and spread shock waves locally in Nigeria and across the world, ridiculing the essence of the Nigerian State, casting aspersions on the Presidency and the entire managers of the national economy. The news of the monumental ‘revelation’ by Mr. Sanusi were reported in major financial news outlets such as the Bloomberg.com, New York Times and across the globe – all these media maligned the Nigerian economy in their reportage as unworthy of interest by serious investors.

It was thus a shocker of earthshaking proportions for Mr. Sanusi to recant his earlier assertions in the course of his testimony before the Nigerian Senate today. Mr. Sanusi shamelessly reversed himself and now claims he missed his calculations by a scandalous huge margin - admitting no such fraud might have existed.

In societies where honor is revered and esteemed, such as the Japanese, persons in Mr. Sanusi’s shoes would have long committed suicide.

If any iota of integrity, dignity and self-respect still resides in Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the only option open to him would be to resign from office as Governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank and issue and ensure equal domestic and global publicity for an explicit and unambiguous apology to Nigeria, Nigerians and friends of Nigeria for the harm caused.

A restructured and renegotiated Nigeria will ensure the elimination of this level of ineptitude and rascality in high offices.

This unfortunately is the second time I am having cause to post on this character: http://ezeluchie.blogspot.com/2012/12/central-unbanker-of-millennium.html

Picture: Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

The Charming Prince from Persia

by Eze Eluchie

The sophistry and finesse required to maintain an edge over ones adversaries without resort to violence has always been a revered art form cultivated by civilizations across the ages. From the individual, to the community to the State level, those who have mastered this art have always been able to come out of seemingly impossible situations with all the benefits available and leaving their opponents wondering what truly happened.

At the level of interaction of States, whilst efforts continue to be made to document and codify approaches and steps of International Diplomacy, real success in this field is not usually attained via formal education but come about, like all art forms, from innate origins. And like all art forms, an individual or State acquires a definite edge if the art of diplomacy is ingrained and rooted in traditional ethos, values and daily life.

With recorded civilization and mastery of their environment dating back thousands of years and having attained globally renowned expertise in architecture, mathematics and the sciences, textile/rug manufacture and public administration and human management, the Persians, precursors to modern day Iran, are one people whose genealogy and history is steeped in diplomacy and can thus be appreciated as having mastered the art of international diplomacy.

Faced with the need to bolster national pride and present themselves as an alternative to a western hegemony that threatened to derail the prevailing sway held by theocrats in the Middle East, it was convenient for the leadership in Iran to present Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a boisterous brash-talking infant terrible who derived enormous pleasure in keeping the west on edge with his every comment and conveniently whipped up patriotic fervor amongst ordinary Iranians to extreme heights.

The leadership in Iran had however not contemplated the response in the form of excruciating sanctions that were beginning to bite hard and serve to stoke the embers of domestic discord and popular disenchantment.

What to do?  Replace the ‘infant terrible’ with a Prince that will charm the pants off the waist of the international community and try to turn back the hands of the clock without giving the international community anything of substance in return.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei and his inner council quickly drafted one of their ‘Crown Princes’, an acknowledged leader in the art of ‘diplomacy’ (using diplomacy here in its real context and not the dictionary definition), Hasan Rowhani, who had in a previous assignment as Chief Negotiator for Iran in its nuclear proliferation talks, openly boasted in his published memoirs, about his success at hoodwinking and bogging down entities adverse to Iran’s development of nuclear capabilities whilst surreptitiously ensuring that the Persian enclave recorded all the successes it desired towards attaining its quest.

 And like magic, the cosmetic change of titular leadership worked. In the course of the first international outing of the Charming Prince from Persia to the 68th General Assembly of the United Nations, everybody seemed to be falling over everybody to have a glimpse and probably shake the hands of the Prince from Persia. Red carpets were rolled out, phone calls were exchanged and even black-bow-tie Evening Balls and high profile interviews were conducted – and in all these events, the Charming Prince did not fail to continually flash that handsome grin which swooned those unfamiliar with, or who choose to blind themselves to, the reality that nothing had changed in Iran since the departure from office of Ahmadinejad.

The immediate neighbors and age old acquaintances of the Iranians, who share common history and antecedents steeped in ‘international diplomacy’ were quick to see through the charade and have been screaming at the top of their voices to the world to be extremely skeptical of the amiable mien being displayed. The new found camaraderie and previously unfathomable coalition between the State of Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which has called for more circumspect evaluation of Iran under Hasan Rowhani deserves greater consideration and attention. The call for caution in dealing with the new-Iran seems however to be falling on deaf ears of a world overwhelmed by tension and violence-fatigue in the Middle-East and reluctance to engage in more conflicts in a region already stretched by strife.

The West appears to be, once more, pandering and dealing with 'international diplomacy' at a level and scope which it has quite little appreciation and understanding of.

There appears to be need, in this instance, to follow the hunch of Iran’s neighbors, lest we have a new, and perhaps more sinister repeat of the North Korea nuclear proliferation debacle.

Picture: President Hasan Rowhani of Iran