Soludo’s Successor: Yar’adua, Consider Obadiah Mailafia
By Idang Alibi
It is clear that when the tenure of the current Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, expires at the end of next month; it is not likely to be renewed. The current strategizing and politicking for his successor makes that point pretty clear. If there has been any indication that the presidency is interested in renewing Mr. Soludo’s tenure, no one would be angling to replace him.
So far, some names have been mentioned as possible successors. Some have taken it upon themselves to actively sell their candidacy which explains why some clearly sponsored write-ups have appeared in the newspapers in recent days, championing the candidacy of one person or another. This is a fair game because the position of the governor of the apex bank of any country is a very responsible, enviable and also, prestigious one. Any holder of that office has a chance to contribute to the growth and development of the fatherland. He also has an opportunity to earn enormous name recognition within and outside the shores of the nation thereby achieving great self esteem which is one of the needs of every human being. It would have been very surprising therefore if no one was angling for such a high profile job.
While several names have been bandied about, there is however one name that I consider has been conspicuously not mentioned as a fitting replacement for Soludo. That man is Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, a former Deputy Governor of the CBN, among other qualifications.
I guess that three possible reasons account for why Mailafia’s name has not been featuring prominently as one of those suitable for the job. One, ignorance of who Mailafia is. Dispassionate and fair-minded analysts who are not in the pay of any of the other contenders have not been mentioning him because they simply do not know him. A self-effacing and highly cultured gentleman who is nevertheless supremely confident of his abilities, Mailafia will consider it gross to seek to sell himself in any way as if he desires that office so that he can help himself and not his nation. To the likes of Mailafia, a good product does not need much marketing; it sells itself.
Two, not being a politician but a well honed technocrat, Mailafia has not adopted the ways of politicians, sponsoring people to project him as a suitable man to be at the helm of the CBN. Three, there is this belief that President Umaru Musa Yar’adua has already made up his mind as to who he will give the post to so it will be a waste of time to mention other capable persons to him such as Dr. Obadiah Mailafia. Some specifically say that the President is inclined to give it to an Hausa-Fulani Muslim from the North West geo-political zone. And so, according to that thinking, Mailafia, who is a Christian from the minority Ninzam ethnic group in Southern Kaduna, can not simply be in the reckoning on account of his faith and where he comes from!
We live in extraordinarily difficult times. The economies of the world are in turmoil. No country appears immuned against the world-wide difficulties. Times such as these call for extraordinary action on the part of not only the leadership but also of the people. Our leaders need to do be more innovative. We need to do things differently from the ways we have always done them in the past. Factors such as religion and ethnicity have no doubt always played significant roles in who gets what position in our country. But in the light of what is happening in the world today, we need new thinking. Recruiting a person for a position such as that of the CBN governor requires that we jettison religious and geo-political considerations and focus squarely on merit. This is the time we need to call on the brightest and the best among us to bail us out of these terrible times.
If that is the thinking, Dr. Mailafia will not have any rival for the CBN governorship position. He is certainly one of the brightest and best we have around who can help us navigate our way out of our economic depression. Dr. Mailafia’s learning, experience and suitability for the particular position of CBN Governor at this particular point in time are simply intimidating.
Mailafia is one you will call a polyvalent intellectual or a renaissance gentleman- a man who is a jack of many disciplines and an accomplished master of them all. He is an international economist, a sociologist, a political scientist, an excellent writer and commentator on public affairs, a philosopher, a humanist and a much traveled man of the world who is at home in most capitals of the world. He is also a polyglot who is completely at home in both written and spoken English, French, Hausa and his native Nimzam. He has a working knowledge of two other world languages Arabic and Spanish.
Dr. Mailafia took a B,Sc Social Sciences (Honours) in Economics, Sociology and Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria with a Second Class Upper, emerging top of his graduating year. Earlier in his academic career, he had taken a Grade One Distinction in the West African School Certificate Examinations at the Mada Hills Secondary School, Akwanga in Nasarawa State. He later earned the Diplome (M.Phil) in International Economics from the prestigious Ecole national d’administration (ENA-IIAP), Paris. He took his doctorate at another famous university-Oriel College, Oxford University, England, specializing on International Economic Development.
For his work experience, he has lectured at various times at ABU, Oxford and London universities and was sometime a Fellow of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru.
After his stint in the academia, Mailafia took up a job as Chief Economist in the Strategic and Budgeting Department, African Development Bank Group in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and later Tunis, Tunisia. Here, he supervised the execution of several development projects.
For two years, Mailafia also worked as the Deputy Governor (Economic Policy), Central Bank of Nigeria, just a breath away from the governorship of the bank before politics took him away from that institution. He later worked at a cabinet-rank position as Special Adviser to the President on Political Economy to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Mailafia is at present a Member of the National Economic Management Team charged with the responsibility of formulating and suggesting policy for the Federal Government of Nigeria.
For a man who is versed in monetary economics, public finance, central banking, international finance, regional integration, trade and investments, public policy, climate change and sustainable development, youth, poverty and development, planning and budgeting and strategic management, Fate seems to have prepared Mailafia well for the job of CBN Governor. If some one like this is not seen to be competent and suitable enough for the position of CBN Governor, then what type of person can they possibly be looking for? In the next few days or weeks, the government of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua will answer that question.
But for me, if we need any one whose appointment will command the respect of the international financial community, one who will be at home in the G8, G20 or G-anything meetings, Mailafia is it. He has name recognition among members of the international finance community and can feel at home with experts, laymen, kings, queens and prime ministers. His appointment will surely inspire confidence in investors who are interested in investing in our economy. Above all, from my knowledge of him, Mailafia is a patriot who has conquered his greed and will not champion policies and programmes to benefit self, region or religion but to further the best interests of the fatherland. This is the type of man our situation calls for now and for all times.
Having related closely with Dr. Mailafia in the past two years since he joined us as a member of the Daily Trust Editorial Board, I confidently give the above testimony to his natural endowment, his self-improvement or cultivation, his ability and versatility and his character. Let no one say that my praise of him is rather incestuous. I am speaking here as a patriot who wants the best for his country.
