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Sanusi Lamido Sanusi And Continuum Of Pandemonic Collaborators (1) By Jibo Nura Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria Chief Olu Falae’s August 29, 2009 Saturday Sun interview on CBN and its governor’s economic management, policy action and sack of five CEOs of distressed banks made an interesting reading. Falae alluded and articulated his points very well as astute retired bank manager of national repute. He eventually confessed that he was impressed with Sanusi Lamido’s performance at the National Assembly committee’s interview that qualified him as Nigeria’s governor of the apex bank. Indeed, Falae it was who schematically asserted elsewhere in that interview that he was not keen on the decision by Lamido, which exited out the five CEOs and clampdown on Union, Intercontinental, Oceanic, Afri and Fin banks. He cautioned Lamido to tread softly and refrain from enthusiastically and happily saying that the CBN will deal decisively with those people that collected loans from the bank, but refused to pay within the stipulated time. The former presidential contestant further highlighted that taking loan from a bank is a contract between customer and the bank, which needs not to be treated harshly or ceremoniously by Sanusi as Falae wants to have us believe. However, Falae goofed in his understanding of loan as a contract. He exhibited sheer ignorance at a point in law. He also failed to see reasons as to why a bank must take punitive measures to retrieve its loans from anybody that defaults. If for example, Falae can expressly agree that taking loan from banks is a contract between the bank and its customer(s), he should also know that contract has to be based agreement per se, which is distinct from an agreement by the way. And as enshrined in contract laws, it lapses over certain period of time where the borrower and borrowee must follow due diligence in discharging their obligations based on executory consideration of offer and acceptance. Any attempt at breach and/or default of the contractual terms by any of the parties involved, one can sue or be sued. Therefore, Lamido’s CBN case is a simple one. The bank has lent its money to customers who irresponsibly refused to honour agreements they entered with the bank inter lia by developing a thick skin! In fact, the onus of proof of negligence by the loan undertakers has been careless falls upon the defaulters to pay back the CBN, which is clearly proved by Sanusi on the preponderancy or availability of probability and as such in actions for negligence. This case was supposed to be of great interest and importance under litigation, because of its complexity. But Sanusi did them favour by simply handling the defaulters case to the EFCC- a body meant for sanitizing financial improprieties. Perhaps, Sanusi did submit their names to EFCC because at times this onus of proof of negligence will be difficult and almost impossible for the CBN governor to recover the loans in the court of law as noisily harangued by southern media and their writers, because they either deliberately or ignorantly do not know the technical and legal procedures that mostly appear cumbersome and slow in passing judgments. Because of this, Sanusi Lamido cannot afford to try to recover the CBN loans from those criminal bank CEOs and other people in any court of law other than the EFCC establishment. For he will only rely on the mere fact that something happened as affording him prima facie evidence of want of care on the part of CBN, and it is only under res ipsa loquitor maxim that he can be helped to recover that lump sum of money commonly described as bad loan. After all, it is a well known legal precedent that mere economic or pecuniary loss as a result of careless act is mostly not recoverable in negligence in the court of law. See the case of Weller and co. Vs. Foot and Mouth Disease Research Institute (1996) 1 QB. Indeed, the questions that many Sanusi’s detractors ask, including southern Newspapers such as Vanguard, Sun and co. are quite unwholesome, because they are baseless, unfounded and tribalistic. Sanusi should continue with his bank’s sanitization agenda even if it will eventually be labeled as “kanonized agenda”, because there’s nothing he can do to satisfy the personal ego of his detractors without being condemned by southern media. The fact that there’s no single northerner on his appointment list of the new CEOs of the distressed banks, he will still be criticized by southern innuendos. Alas, the much taciturnity on his “northernisation” agenda of banks by Falae and his cohorts are quite unfortunate, because of their lack of understanding of recoverable action for damages against the bank in negligence. They should kindly refer to the case of United Nigeria Insurance Vs. Mushin Bank West Africa limited (1972) SC where due largely to bank’s negligent omission to take decisive action led to the bank’s colossal loss, and the Supreme Court overruled that the bank was negligent and hence shall suffer the loss. It is therefore within the jurisdiction of our hounourable CBN governor to act swiftly and effectively recover our apex bank’s money in principle and substance, but not just based on sentiment as already there is continuum of pandemonic collaborators who are ever ready to deter the right man on the job. To be continued.
Jibo Nura, a Quantity Surveyor resides at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria. E-mail: jibonura@yahoo.com |