The Bank Loans For Elections Integrity Ouestion By Ezeani, Chukwunonso Elvis
“N27 million is a big sum, thankfully I have personal relationship with the manager of my bank in Kaduna and early this morning, I put an early call and I told him that very soon the forms are coming, so, whether I am on red, or green or even black please honor it, otherwise I may lose the nomination.”
Are Nigerians fast becoming a people who are ever willing to demand from others a certain level of moral behavior but are never willing to subject themselves or their associates to same? Are my countrymen fast becoming advocates of a better Nigeria where all but they should be subject to regular scrutiny on a basis of morality?
These questions have persistently occurred to me since a member of the All Progressives’ Congress; 71 years old retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari obtained the nomination forms of his party in view of the forth coming presidential elections. The costs of the said forms were and are still pegged at N27.5million only. After purchasing the said forms, the old retired Major General declared his intentions to contest for the position of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in view of the 2015 elections. Expectedly, his declaration generated reactions from all quarters in Nigeria; as usual, the melting point of these reactions has been the social media and it has been interesting. Before now, Nigerians have remained consistent in their demands for an issue based politics and I never thought they should stop demanding it; in fact, I agree that it’s time we experienced a paradigm shift from any other kind of politics to politics on the basis of ideas, issues and solutions. It is on this basis that I have looked forward to moments as this when persons aspiring to lead Nigeria will be demanded by Nigeria and Nigerians to give account of themselves to the extent of how well they hope to lead Nigeria if given a chance.
As a matter of fact I have no business suggesting how much other political parties should peg the cost of her expression of interests and nomination forms at since the Peoples’ Democratic Party remains the only party wherein I have vested interests. While I consider it necessary to confirm that indeed the cost of these documents matter, I’d rather not allow my confirmation amount to a complaint because I know that the high cost of the documents under reference are deliberate strategies that have been put in place by the leadership of my party to preserve the party and its structure an institutions and further protect our ranks from being infiltrated by persons and groups who are ever willing and seeking to share the proverbial national cake without recourse to the master bakers and are never ready to assume the roles of such master bakers.
Losing three (3) major presidential elections is sufficient to make one indescribably popular. It is on this basis that old retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari can be referred to as the most popular Nigerian politician in existence today. In as much as a fourth defeat is only a few months from now; I’d rather not jump the gun and be accused of being preemptive. No doubt, Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration is within his constitutional rights but I consider it faulty to a large extent. Perhaps his fans and supporters are to be blamed for this. It is not strange news that this candidate is perhaps the poorest of all presidents’ Nigeria ever produced; at least that is the impression he has successfully created for himself as a result of which I can understand his inability to meet some of his needs if not the basic ones but I find it disturbing that while he claims to have a wide appeal amongst virtually every section of the masses a loan agreement had to be contracted between him and ailing Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. before a paltry N27.5M could be raised.
To be modest, I never imagined an issue as trivial as cost of expression of interests and nomination forms could be such a big deal to a “man of integrity” because if his integrity is worth taking to the bank, it should be sufficient for his friends, relatives and well wishers to hold on to and unconditionally raise the said funds for him. As a matter of fact, lately, I have had several reasons to question his integrity going by the confession by an unnamed ally of his on the pages of Thisday Newspapers to the effect that “since he left office, Buhari has basically depended on handouts from his friends and supporters.” Now I ask; to what extent can a man who has depended on handouts from his friends and supporters for over 25 years be said not to be naturally and morally indebted to such persons? To what extent can such a man be referred to as independent minded, objective and incorruptible? May we not have such a man as president of Nigeria; he’d plunder our commonwealth without fear.
As Nigerians, we must learn to ask hard questions as they relate to matters that affect Nigeria. This is the extent to which I think this latest development should be disturbing to every right thinking Nigerian because there’s no better way to describe graft than this. Acquiring a personal loan for the purpose of investing in an election is fraudulent by all ramifications and cannot be justified by any professional school of thought. Perhaps Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. should tell Nigerians the product under which this landmark lending on the basis of personal relationship falls. The procedures and checks that led to final approval of this loan should be made known to Nigerians. The transaction dynamics clearly outlining the loan tenure, credit cycle, sources of repayment and collateral held in case of default must also be known. This is the right way to go.
As I write, I’m overwhelmed with concern for my countrymen many of whom have really shown that our case is still more or less a long walk to freedom. From Bashorun Dele Momodu to amiable Simon Kolawole, I see a huge incidence of hypocrisy. To even think that my own Egbon Femi Adeoya joined the league of news publishers who have overlooked this wrong move by this aspirant is worrisome as sources close to him have said that he’d rely on APC controlled states for funding should he emerge the presidential candidate of his party. These men who have consistently made a case for innovation and fresh ideas in politics must explain why they are not on the side of Sam Nda-Isaiah whom I consider the only sellable presidential material the All Progressives’ Congress parades. Why are they not lending him their media structures? Why is Kakaaki Nupe’s image not occupying the home pages of their various online magazines? Why are they still caught in this old web of an equally old serial looser? Is it because Sam is a competitor in their line of business?
If Buhari’s plot manifests and he wins the primaries to emerge candidate of the All Progressives’ Congress, what impact will his campaign have on unfortunate citizens of APC controlled states whose monies will be stolen and utilized to fund his campaign? Granted, a loan has been taken to purchase just forms. From where will funds emerge with which he hopes to mobilize his supporters through the length and width of Nigeria should he emerge flag bearer of his party? Oh! I forgot, the APC controlled states including poverty ravaged/war torn Yobe and Borno states. I think it’s time Nigerians who are supporting the bid of retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari told one another the bitter truth they will rather not want to hear or tell – He is a religious bigot that long lost every moral right to aspire to lead a united Nigeria. As a Nigerian who was instrumental to the truncation of democracy at a point in our history, he bears on him a huge burden of trust and acceptability in a secular society like ours where he has been clearly carved a niche for himself and is being seen as an aristocratic master that bases most of his actions on religious dictates. Such a man is potentially more harmful to Nigeria than Boko Haram if voted to power.
Surprisingly, a few Nigerians appear to have been hoodwinked by his old integrity anthem. Pray, tell me which upright fellow would leverage on a “personal relationship” to induce a bank manager to advance him a loan facility under 24 hours in a Nigerian banking system the federal government have consistently taken steps to secure from global financial shocks over time? Perhaps, we should truthfully admit at this stage that the biggest incidences of economic sabotage against our banks have been revealed and as responsible citizens, we must speak out against this wrong against helpless market men and women who constitute depositors of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. who may have been denied a chance to borrow money from their bank because of their status.
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. is an entity that carries on business with depositors funds. A critical appraisal of this loan agreement is necessary because with a foundation in banking and finance, I know as a matter of fact that before a loan is granted, the request for it must be evaluated to confirm that the investment for which it is required must be one that has capacity to repay itself not necessarily because the borrower has pledged a collateral which when realized will pay off the loan with accumulated interests. This is a core principle of lending; it is not rocket science and is devoid of any form of ambiguity. If this basic lending principle is still valid, the management credit committee of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. (if they have got one) must be held responsible, quizzed by relevant regulatory authorities and made to answer questions on why they’d rather expose their investors and other shareholders to a high risk customer as by my estimation it also constitutes an act of fraud to purposely lure an individual or corporate organization into investing in any unprofitable venture which in this case includes the presidential ambition of a largely un-ideal and unacceptable personality as Muhammadu Buhari.
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc must also query the nature of the (unwholesome) “personal relationship” between its staff and retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari and make its findings public in the interest of its corporate image because one may never know the roles such “personal relationships” played in the several incidences of bad loans that led to the total collapse of Oceanic International Bank Plc., FinBank Plc., Intercontinental Bank Plc., and Bank PHB. On a personal basis, I bear no animosity towards the retired soldier because there’s nothing to base such emotions on but our society must never be allowed to degenerate to one where laws are bended or outrightly broken to accommodate interests that suit an insignificant fraction of members of society. A dangerous pace would have been set if this repulsive loan for election scandal is not challenged as there may be no guaranty that other banks will not tap into the idea and trigger the beginning of an era wherein depositors’ funds would be thrown at politicians for the purpose of conducting elections.
Ezeani, Chukwunonso Elvis is the South West Zonal Director of Communications, Research & Strategy of the Peoples’ Democratic Party National Youth Frontier. He can be reached via @NonsoEzeani1.
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