|
Professor Soludo's Rejoinder On The Monetary Policy Is Beginning To Make Some Sense To Me By Dr. Wumi Akintide
I couldn't help but repeatedly shout "Amen" after I finished reading the latest rejoinder by Professor Soludo, the pleni-potentiary Governor of the Nigerian Central Bank. You would think I am Enoch Adejare Adeboye, the powerful General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God who begins and ends all of his sermons, from the pulpit, shouting the word "Amen" This kind of submission and analysis, if they have preceded the sudden announcement by Professor Soludo on his latest Monetary Policy Initiative, would have taken the wind out of the sail of some of us, myself included, Johnny-come-lately, economists who want the Professor guillotined for putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. As one of those early critics of the Soludo stunt as I call it, at the time, I am beginning to have a rethink of my criticism of the learned Prof.. But I still have a few more questions to clear to disabuse my mind completely. Our News Media have their job cut out for them to let him do what he has already begun to do with his strategic agenda for the Naira which I think is must read for all armchair critics in this and other forums around the world. I think the Professor has done a wonderful job putting out his latest submission, and that was part of what I advocated, we could have after our initial criticism of his plan. I think we are getting there little by little. I have just read the preliminary reaction of the World Bank to the Soludo initiative. We all may not buy their position, hook, line, and sinker, but it is a positive pointer. I guess that sooner or later we would be privileged to hear the views of the shakers and movers in the Bretton Woods Oligarchy, the International Monetary Fund and those of the European Union, the G.8 Group of countries, not to talk of ECOWAS and the African Union to mention a few. I am not an economist in the true sense of the word, but I knew enough to once serve as the Secretary to the Joint Economics Commissions of Nigeria with the other nations of the World under Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji and Ogbuefi Gilbert Chikelu as Permanent Secretaries in the Ministry of Economic planning. I am not a theoretical economist, but a practical one like most of the Nigerian commentators who were lambasted by my Akure-born or Akure trained brother Chukwuma Agwunobi who in his usual unrepentant streak on national issues, has rubbished professional economists like Sam Aluko who probably taught at Nsukka, most of the lecturers that taught Professor Soludo who graduated first class from Nsukka in 1984 or thereabout. Mr, Agwunobi in very politely responding to one of my early comments on the Soludo Initiative has called Professor Sam Aluko, Idika Kalu and Oluyemi Falae and some of the names I have listed, as old timers who don't know what they are talking about. He derided Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji as an illiterate Fulani prince who became Permanent Secretary not by merit, but because of his place of birth and state of origin. Chukwuma Agwunobi a top Design Engineer in Michigan is a radical who likes to talk in hyperboles, but on this particular issue, however, I have to say he was wrong to talk of those Nigerians in such a condescending manner without really knowing them that well. The nation certainly deserves to hear their input on a project as fundamentally critical to the economic buoyancy of our country. I have been privileged to work with or serve under two or three of the individuals, at close quarters, in the Federal Public Service, and I know, for a fact, that they are not what Mr. Agwunobi has called them.Far from it. They are distinguished Nigerian economists with so much to offer our nation as Professor Soludo himself would readily acknowledge. I am happy with the first salvo of a submission the Professor has offered to this forum, because it has gone a long way to clear whatever doubts some of us still have on the initiative. Debating the issue thoroughly does not, in my opinion, hurt our country, What can hurt is for people to want to play god in putting out their viewpoint. Some critics have carried the debate into absurdity by suggesting or reading tribalism into what Professor Soludo was trying to do. That was nonsense!. Professor Soludo is an accomplished professional in his field and those who are suggesting he ought to resign for sticking out his neck to do what a good and competent Governor of our Central Bank should be doing, are doing our country a disservice. Surely ,when a technocrat or an administrator is as able and competent as Professor Soludo, the first accusation thrown at them, is that of arrogance and sinister motive just like was insinuated when Obafemi Awolowo as Finance Minister had the effrontery to suggest that the Nigerian currency be changed, as part of his strategic agenda for ending the Biafran War. I can tell you the Awolowo master stroke was what ended the War. He did it with the stroke of the pen, and it was very effective. I see another Awolowo in this young Professor and it is nice to know he is not a career politician like Awo. He has a job to do and I believe he has put his best foot forward. The best we can do is find a way to draw his attention to any of the pitfalls in his plan that may require additional work and preparation because we are all in this together.. There was no way the Nigerian side was ever going to score a military victory in the Biafran War at the time frame we saw, because the Biafrans were a lot more determined to win, and their cause was just on hindsight and given all the facts of that War we know today. The daily carnage would have continued and a lot more lives would have been lost, as some of the War commanders were already profiteering from the War, and they did not want it to end at the time it did. I see Professor Soludo as a man to be praised and not pilloried for daring to suggest a way out of the cul-de-sac Nigeria has found herself. By all means, let the debate continue to flush out whatever imperfections the plan still contains, just like they do in most civilized societies, in the belief that anything made by man, and even things made by God, can be, and has been infinitely improved, if we really think about it. I like what I am seeing in the Soludo preliminary analysis. I think it is the right way to go to make our good better and our better best, if we do not cave in. Knowing what I know now, I am proud of the Central Bank governor, and so should the whole nation, when the whole plan is thoroughly and carefully reviewed and analyzed.. I rest my case Dr. Wumi Akintide
|