‘Leave CBN alone’ — Moghalu rejects Buhari’s directive on food importation

Kingsley Moghalu, former deputy governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN), has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari over his
directive to the apex bank to halt foreign exchange for food
importation.

The president had told the apex bank not to give a cent to
anybody to import food into the country, saying by so doing, there
would be steady improvement in agricultural production and
attainment of full food security.

But in series of tweets on Tuesday, Moghalu said the directive
is against the independence of the CBN.

He said political interference in economic policies of the apex
bank is the major cause of poverty and weak institutions.

“Is @cenbank now a ministry to be “directed” by President
@MBuhari ? Article 1(3) of the CBN Act 2007 states ‘In order to
facilitate the achievement of its mandate under this Act…the Bank
shall be an independent body in the discharge of its functions,” he
said.

“The issue here isn’t whether or not CBN should allow access to
forex for food imports. It is about whether such an economic policy
of a central bank should be imposed by a political authority. A
major reason for our poverty, instability and weak economy is weak
institutions.

“Our marketplace should be regulated and guided in a rational
manner that creates a level playing field. Our economy will not be
saved by Ad Hoc political decisions like this, handed down by the
very institutions that should be shielded from the whim and caprice
of politicians.

“Nigeria’s entire economy appears to have been sub-contracted to
our central bank, including industrial and trade policy. In the
process the economy has fared poorly and the Bank has lost its
independence. This is sad!

“@NGRPresident should leave @cenbank alone to discharge its
mandate independently within the ambit of the CBN Act, and stop
“directing” it. @cenbank should on its part assertive its
independence (assuming it actually believes it should be
independent, but the Act says so, clearly!”

https://t.co/Of45QJotf4^[1]

Is @cenbank^[2] now a ministry to be
“directed” by President @MBuhari^[3] ? Article 1(3) of the
CBN Act 2007 states “In order to facilitate the achievement of its
mandate under this Act…the Bank shall be an independent body in the
discharge of its functions.”/

— Kingsley Moghalu (@MoghaluKingsley) August
13, 2019^[4]

Nigeria’s entire economy appears to have
been sub-contracted to our central bank, including industrial and
trade policy. In the process the economy has fared poorly and the
Bank has lost its independence. This is sad!

— Kingsley Moghalu (@MoghaluKingsley) August
13, 2019^[5]

Third Estate: Security Experts Advocate Community
Policing
… Warn of Danger of Posting Police to States of Origin

Security experts and community leaders have advocated for the
adoption of Community Policing as a panacea to tackle security
challenges facing the country. They said security issues are joint
responsibilities of the community and security agencies.

They made the call at the 21st annual lecture/dinner organised
by Third Estate, a sociocultural group in Ilorin Emirate of Kwara
State.

Those who spoke were Ambassador Usman Abdulazeez, a former
diplomat, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG)
Adisa Bolanta, Legal Practitioner and specialist in security
matters Abdul Hakeem Mustapha (SAN).

Speaking on the topic, “Proactive response to Security issues in
Ilorin Emirate”, Ambassador Abdulazeez, a former President of
Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), said the
security challenge experienced in the state between 2012 and 2018
was reduced drastically through joint collaboration between the
people of the community and the police.

“Through the joint efforts of the people and the police we were
able to arrest 42 cult members, many hemp smokers and hemp sellers,
ritualists and kidnappers who were operating in Ilorin metropolis
and were able to avert a religious crisis on June 3, 2018.

“That is why we were able to combat the challenge and that is
why we have low crime rate in Ilorin Emirate today,” he said.

Abdulazeez suggested that the police should emphasise on
community policing and reintroduce the 1978 model of recruitment
whereby policemen were posted to their local governments and states
of origin.

In his contribution, AIG Bolanta, said that solving security
problems was a joint collaboration between the community and
security agencies.

He warned that posting policemen to their state of origin was
dangerous because of population explosion and technological
advancement and it should be done with caution.

Also in his contribution, Barrister Mustapha, SAN, said that
adequate punishment should be given to those involved in kidnapping
with their sponsors and arms suppliers identified and punished.

He said the creation of state police would help resolve the
security issues in the country.

The President of Third-Estate, Mallam Bolaji Nagode expressed
deep appreciation to guest lecturers and panel of discussants on
security challenges.

He said the group would submit a position paper from the outcome
of the discourse to guide the government in tackling insecurity in
the various communities.

By PRNigeria^[1]