2023: Groups Make Case for Emefiele

By the day, more groups are uniting by common reverence for the inspirational leadership of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, and feeling that none of the other contenders can tie his shoelace in a free and fair contest, Lanre Alfred writes

There is no gainsaying the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele embodies fiscal genius and commands prodigious idolatry in the same breath. He manifests, for instance, as the restorative – albeit punitive – manus of economic governance. More generous reviews of his service adjudge him as the proverbial force powering the windmill of Nigerian commerce and industry.

In his role as CBN governor, Emefiele emerges as the unflappable fixer. He fixes both social and political economies. He belongs to the class of men that are regarded as the salt of the earth; with him at the helm of affairs, the CBN has evolved into something more than a burnt cauldron. It is no longer the stagnant pool of toxic and regressive banking culture.

On his watch, commercial banking has evolved to perform more progressive roles; banks have learnt to abide by the rules and compete without venom, and erstwhile subverting forex operators have been cut to size. Not only has he introduced progressive reforms and innovations into the banking industry, but he also serves the role of a guardian and model leader.

Bolstered by his resolve to excel and sanitise the nation’s banking sector, his unyielding spirit has paid off.  It has seen Nigeria through the teething and oft tumultuous stages of pandemic-induced distress to a more promising clime.

There are but very few administrators like Emefiele. To this end, concerned patriots believe he could commit his brilliance and vibrant magnetism to transcend banking and economics, and fix Nigeria.

He is that super candidate whose outward and innate appeal transcends tribe, age, gender, and cultic cabals; ultimately, he embodies sterling genius and administrative depth, thus furnishing a dynamic lens through which to view progressive economics and professional excellence.

Any political party worth its salt is always on the lookout for converts. But no one in the political space today brings the level of missionary zeal to the task that Godwin Emefiele does. From the south-west, south-east, south-south, northwest to northeast, groups of patriots have been cheerfully and passionately clearing a path for Emefiele’s candidacy in the 2023 presidential elections, in the likeliest and unlikeliest precincts.

Though he has not publicly declared an interest in the 2023 presidential election, the prospective candidacy of Emefiele, Governor of CBN, continues to excite and attract new converts.

The CBN chief’s candidacy has been garnering traction and support from different demographics across the country and beyond.

No doubt, heroes and comets have been reverenced for the same reason Emefiele is enjoying political idolatry. At the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s national convention in Abuja, the clouds parted as the heavens heaved to vet Emefiele’s candidacy for the party’s presidential ticket, en route to the 2023 elections.

For incontestable reasons, the incumbent Governor, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stands the best chance of giving the APC victory in the forthcoming elections, if he is given the party’s presidential ticket.

This much was discernible in the massive support and campaign for an Emefiele presidential ticket at the recently concluded APC national convention at the Eagle Square, in Abuja.

At the event, lovers of the CBN governor from all walks of life and ethnicity campaigned openly, demanding that APC gives him the mandate to represent the party in the 2023 presidential elections.

The venue of the event was flooded with campaign posters of Emefiele while Arewa, Yoruba, Igbo, Tiv, Nupe, Urhobo, Itsekiri groups, to mention a few, passionately campaign for the CBN governor, tenacious in their belief that he is the next best thing to happen to Nigeria’s economic and political space in a long while.

Most emphatic and inspiring were their sustained chants thus dominating the APC convention, and making it an epic vote of confidence in the abilities of Emefiele to lead Nigeria.

Many of Emefiele’s key qualities are encapsulated in that key moment: his matchless genius, sterling service, soft voice, melodic accent, fierce determination, outstanding intuition, intimate knowledge of banking and economics, and calling a spade a spade without putting any of his cards on the table.

Emefiele hasn’t won APC’s presidential ticket yet, but he has won many battles. He is among the most astute of technocrats, the best among Nigeria’s public office leaders.

By many quantitative metrics, Emefiele may pass as the most unconventional Nigerian politician who would assume the presidential office. He epitomises a rare phenomenon seizing the political arena, less by his devices and more by the initiative of individuals and groups eager to put Nigeria’s leadership in the hands of the best man for the job.

The pro-Emefiele force is currently running the most unconventional of campaigns, blowing like a whirlwind to seize rallies, on the strength of the grit, brilliance, and patriotism displayed by Emefiele in the performance of his duty as Nigeria’s chief banker and economist. He is the man entrusted with the financial well-being of Nigeria and the protection of her living standards.

And Emefiele has certainly shown that he is the best man for the job; the message was clear at the APC convention at the Eagle Square, in Abuja: No longer would mediocrity pervade Nigeria’s presidential office.

On Emefiele’s watch, Nigeria would prosper and attain monumental glories.

Interestingly, however, soon after the Emefiele Support Group (ESG), announced through its Director of Communication, Benigha Ejimba, last Wednesday that it had raised N67 million of its N100 million target, to buy the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2023 presidential nomination form for the CBN governor, a new group under the aegis of Nigerian Professionals in the Diaspora for Emefiele 2023 issued a statement urging the CBN governor to declare his intention to vie for the nation’s highest office, assuring him of their support. Members of the group vowed that they would pull all the stops to actualise Emefiele’s presidential dream, even if it entailed jetting back to Nigeria to get their PVCs to be eligible to vote.

The statement, signed by Dr Adeyemi Johnson, a Detroit, Michigan-based Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, declared: “We, as professionals, cutting across different professions in the United States and Canada, came together to unanimously lend our voices and names to the groundswell of clamour for Mr Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, to contest for the presidential seat and continue with the good works of President Muhammadu Buhari.”

Nigeria needs a healthy, visionary, broad-minded, detribalised, and proactive person with a global outlook on the reforms needed to catalyse the Nigerian economy, averred the group, adding that Emefiele is the best candidate for the job.

“With his dexterous handling of the CBN, and by extension, the Nigerian economy, even during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recession,  Emefiele has proven to be competent and well-acquitted to steer the affairs of Nigeria. Those saying that he has no political experience are those profiting from the rot in the Nigerian political firmament. Nigeria does not necessarily need a conventional politician with the attendant heavy baggage to get it right and stake a claim for her rightful position in Africa and the world,” according to the group.

Another professional group, the Nigerian Patriotic Quest (NPQ), has also declared its support for the CBN governor, urging him to contest Nigeria’s presidency in the 2023 general elections.

Indeed, Emefiele is that proverbial icon who emerges to captivate us thus providing a realistic snapshot of who we are and where we are, and the changing times in which we live.