The subject matter in a recent chat he had with BBC Hausa Service was quoted to have lamented the inability of Nigerian troops to contain insurgency due largely to inadequate arms and ammunition and other requisite military hardware. The BBC report had alluded that Monguno referenced misappropriated funds by former Service Chiefs.
Browsing: Jackson Ugbechie
Yet, it’s robust enough as to allow two people anywhere in the world to exchange value across the internet at the tap of buttons. And herein is the danger. Because of its shadowy and virtual nature coupled with its unobtrusiveness, being able to cut off third party control and regulation, it has become a handy tool in the hands of terrorists, their promoters and those merchandising from the deadly and capital-intensive terror ring.
There are obvious headwinds stirring turbulence in the economic horizon, but the good news is that Emefiele is not short of courage. He has managed the nation’s reserve bank at the most critical moments occasioned largely by global factors beyond the control of national cum regional economies.
Remember Kehinde Wiley? He’s a portrait painter of Black people who masterfully painted his way to the White House. He was commissioned in 2017 to paint a portrait of former President Barack Obama for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery which showcases portraits of all the US presidents. Wiley is the first black artist to paint official portraits of any US president for the National Portrait Gallery.
The naira has taken a hit in the last three months largely on account of dwindling crude oil revenue, the global CCOVID-19 pandemic and the illicit activities of some Nigerians and their foreign collaborators. These are the people who oil and eulogise the parallel market, making it look attractive even with the booby-trap it presents to the economy.
The likes of Emefiele and other highly placed Nigerians, including President Muhammadu Buhari, hailed the youths for exercising their fundamental rights to engage in peaceful protest. But the same Nigerians, including the law-abiding youths, also rose to condemn acts of violence and brigandage introduced in the protest by a few highly vicious persons. The introduction of violence, whether by omission or commission, took so much virtue from the protest and tarred it with a veneer of destruction.
One noble attribute of the average African is that he or she seeks opportunity to do good. The African man is his brother’s keeper. This finds strong expression in an Igbo adage: “Let no one leave his kindred behind.” Access Bank and its Group Managing Director, Herbert Wigwe, just did that as Nigeria and indeed the rest of the world buckle under the COVID-19 pandemic.