CBN and Relocation Plans: A lot Ado About Nothing, by Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

CBN and Relocation Plans: A lot Ado About Nothing, by Abdulrahman Abdulraheem

Whereas it’s human nature to typically quarrel, bicker, shout or hit the roof over what one might have been deceived to suppose it’s price it however which in actuality is only a storm in a tea cup, it was Williams Shakespeare’s seventeenth Century comedy, “A lot Ado About Nothing,” that set the literary tone for the phrase which has now been used repeatedly over the centuries.

The play revolves spherical love (or the dearth of it), romance, pranks, deception and confusion among the many love pairings who didn’t know that they had been merely being performed. The important thing characters believed in mere banters, trickery, gossip and rumours, and mistook falsehood for reality within the warmth of feelings. Whereas of us gathered to check their wit, the lovebirds fell for hocus pocus and reacted passionately to nothing, inflicting all of the motion, drama and intrigues that occurred within the attention-grabbing drama.

Whereas Shakespeare’s “A lot Ado About Nothing” is ready in Messina in historic Italy, the present imbroglio a few easy administrative process is ready within the twenty first century Nigeria. Whereas the characters within the former embrace Claudio, Hero, Don John, Benedick, Beatrice and others, the dramatis personae within the latter are President Bola Tinubu, CBN governor, Yemi Cardoso, and one among his predecessors, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, on one hand, and a few lawmakers, northern elders, northern youths and Katsina elders then again.

It began when the Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN) made recognized its plan to relocate some workplaces and departments from Abuja for the aim of decongestion and operational effectivity. Whereas it began like a hearsay, Economic Confidential reached out to credible sources within the apex financial institution who gave a cogent clarification that ought to persuade one and all if solely we’ve got learnt to see one another as one on this nation.

“What is occurring now on the CBN is likened to an organization with over 500 workers and say 200 used to go to work in different states and return to the pinnacle workplace. It isn’t misplaced for the corporate to relocate them totally to that state to work and enhance their security and productiveness,” the supply stated.

5 CBN departments are to be relocated, together with Banking Supervision, Different Monetary Establishments Supervision, Client Safety, Cost System Administration, and Monetary Coverage and Regulation.

”Many of the financial institution’s headquarters are in Lagos. The CBN often sends workers from Abuja to work in Lagos for like one to 2 months and return to the pinnacle workplace.

“Being on the street on a regular basis is just not protected for them and never additionally cost-efficient for the Financial institution. We all know that anyone leaving their consolation zone would really feel the ache, that’s the reason a number of the affected employees are complaining however I can guarantee you that, it’s for his or her good.

“Abuja workplace is designed to hold lower than 3,000 workers however we’re over 4,000 already. The power managers have already warned of the implication; the safety of workers can be at stake with the elevated quantity as a result of it overwhelms the managers,” the official said.

Excerpts from the memo obtained by Economic Confidential learn partially: “That is to inform all workers members on the CBN Head Workplace that we’ve got initiated a decongestion motion plan designed to optimise the operational surroundings of the financial institution.

“This initiative goals to make sure compliance with constructing security requirements and improve the environment friendly utilisation of our workplace area.

“This motion is necessitated by a number of components, together with the necessity to align the Financial institution’s construction with its features and goals, redistribute abilities to make sure a extra even geographical unfold of expertise and adjust to constructing rules, as indicated by repeated warnings from the Facility Supervisor, and the findings and suggestions of the Committee on Decongestion of the CBN Head Workplace.

“The motion plan focuses on optimising the utilisation of different Financial institution’s premises. With this plan, 1,533 workers will probably be moved to different CBN services inside Abuja, Lagos and understaffed branches.

“Our present occupancy degree of 4,233 considerably exceeds the optimum capability of two,700 designed for the Head Workplace constructing. This overcrowding poses a number of important challenges.”

In any sane setting, one would suppose the above detailed clarification can be sufficient to forestall any suspicion and pressure however not in Nigeria the place individuals who carry sensible telephones round are something however sensible. Whereas persons are free to disagree in a democracy, however in a knowledge-driving period, not one of the dissenting voices has even taken the ache to do an investigation or conduct a fact-check to place a deceive any of the information and figures offered by the CBN above. It’s because if the CBN has ulterior motives behind it’s relocation plans, there isn’t any manner it received’t gown its claims with lies and half-truths.

It’s disappointing that as an alternative of disagreeing with information, figures and/or making your factors with persuasion and diplomacy, persons are threatening hearth and brimstone, blackmailing and issuing threats about 2027 when solely God is aware of who will get up tomorrow. Some have even gone forward to make divisive and slanderous statements which are able to threatening the peace and unity of the nation.

To underscore how deeply some persons are sunk into the bottomless pit of unbridled ignorance, they even stated the President and the CBN governor have a southwest agenda to relocate the federal capital to Lagos and/or transfer some essential belongings from Abuja to Lagos as a part of measures to underdevelop the North and develop the South, particularly Southwest.

The above ridiculous claims fly within the face of each logic and customary sense within the textbook. One, no President can ponder relocating the federal capital to Lagos or elsewhere as a result of Abuja’s standing is constitutional which suggests the Structure must be amended first. Why would anybody need to do this? Why would anybody need to repair what is just not damaged? The standing of Abuja as federal capital has not stopped any Yoruba or Ijaw man from changing into the President and aspiring to any political peak on the federal degree. And secondly on the accusation of in search of to confer financial benefit on the Southwest and punish the north, did the relocation of the federal capital from Lagos to Abuja within the early 90s confer any financial benefit on the north and impose financial drawback on the southwest? Was that the intention behind it? All of us imagine that couldn’t have been the intention however allow us to assume with out conceding that it was, has it labored that manner? Is the North now extra economically viable than the South as a result of the federal capital is in Abuja? Shouldn’t we see each Lagos and Abuja as ours and the delight of our pricey nation? Why should we resort to petty North-Versus-South squabbles on the slightest alternative?

Sanusi’s Perspective

Within the midst of the vacancy within the cacophony of dissenting voices, HRH Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s intervention got here as a wanted soothing balm. In his well timed intervention, it was not troublesome to see that the person spoke from the depth of his data of the problems, sincerity and patriotism.

He didn’t solely say it was the appropriate factor to do, he additionally dismissed these towards the relocation as enjoying soiled politics.

The 14th Emir of Kano, in a press release on Thursday, stated the relocation is an “eminently wise transfer.”

Confessing that he had it in thoughts to do the identical factor whereas in workplace however didn’t have adequate time to see it by way of, he stated: “Shifting sure features to the Lagos workplace (which is greater than the Abuja head workplace) is an eminently wise transfer.”

“In my thoughts, what I might have carried out was to maneuver FSS and most of operations to Lagos such that the 2 Deputy Governors can be largely working out of Lagos or, even when they had been extra in Abuja, the majority of their operational workers can be in Lagos.

“Financial Coverage, Company Providers and all of the departments reporting to the Governor instantly corresponding to Technique, Audit, Danger administration, Governors’ workplace and many others would stay in Abuja.

“It makes eminent strategic sense. And I might have carried out this if I had stayed,” the previous CBN helmsman stated.

Describing the opposition to the transfer as “completely pointless,” he continued: “The CBN has workers manning its branches and money workplaces throughout the Federation.”

“Shifting workers to the Lagos workplace to streamline operations and make them simpler and cut back value is a traditional prerogative of administration.

“The issue we’ve got now could be that many workers are kids of politically uncovered individuals and their Abuja life and companies are extra vital to them than the CBN work.

“The CBN is simply an tackle for them and if they’ve to decide on between their spoilt Abuja life and the job, they’d gladly go away the CBN.

“All of the extra motive for the Governor to place his foot down and eliminate these parts they’re harmful for the Financial institution’s future.

On how the relocation of workers needs to be carried out, he urged: “Particular person conditions needs to be thought of. As a lot as attainable we needs to be empathetic. For instance younger moms with youngsters in class who don’t want to maneuver will be prioritised to remain in Abuja or these with medical situations and many others.”

He suggested the CBN to not bend to political strain, saying it should push by way of choices irrespective of how powerful.

In keeping with him: “My recommendation to the Governor is to go forward along with his coverage. As soon as the CBN begins bending to political strain on one factor it can proceed doing so.

“Northern politicians will shout that that is transferring from Abuja to Lagos. Abuja is a federal capital not a northern subject. As long as it is a principled determination, the noise needs to be ignored.

“Ethnic and non secular bigots will at all times shout. The CBN ought to rise above it and simply do what must be carried out. It’s a very unpopular and troublesome job and the Governor must be powerful.”

Final Line

Time has come for us to return out of this We-Versus-Them or North-Versus-South bickering if we should make progress on this nation. If not for idleness or mischief, why ought to anybody be combating as a result of one authorities company desires to shed weight on the headquarters and transfer a few of its personnel and departments to different elements of the nation?

President Tinubu received a nationwide mandate and he’s the one most vital beneficiary of the unity of this nation for the time being. A President Tinubu who misplaced in Lagos and Osun states however received in Borno, Zamfara, Jigawa, Niger and Kogi states is aware of higher than all of the folks making bother on this matter.

However now, election is over and governance has to take centre stage. If the CBN governor says he desires to relocate some departments to Lagos to reform the apex financial institution, the President shouldn’t raise a finger to cease him. He ought to take heed to Sanusi above who stated political interference is the principle motive CBN has underperformed over time.

Abdulrahman Abdulraheem is the creator of “eNaira Revolution: A Peep into Nigeria’s Cashless Future.”