Secret Behind Sanusi Lamido's Appointment

What most people fail to understand about the appointment of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is that it was deeply mired in the dynamics or intrigues that plagued the Yaradua government. When yaradua came on board he was openly grateful to Obasanjo for the honor of becoming the president of Nigeria. Even his mother Hajiya Dada personally went to Otta farm to thank Obasanjo. If anyone could recall, Yaradua personally intervened when Tony Anenih upstaged Obasanjo in a cooup and dethroned him as the Pdp BOT chairman. It was Yaraduas insistent that restored Obasanjo to the position. But it in a dramatic about turn, prompted by northerners surrounding him that he cant make any impact without being a man of his own, he started breaking his ties with Obasanjo.Wary of Obasanjo's remnant influence in the pdp and the country at large, he started to consolidate his power in many ways. For instance he moved closer to an opposition state like Lagos in the south west where Obasanjo was unporpular. He visited Fashola and strengthened ties with him. He also gave out the contract for the dredging of the River Niger a populist move with strong northern sympathies. But his strongest backers were from the northwest, particularly Kano state. A review of his appointments both political, and military will show that the juiciest went to pple of Kano origin. And one cannot blame him, for Katsina state is a small fry when it comes to power equation in Nigeria (witness how Shema the Katsina governor quickly towed the Jonathan line as soon as the Aso Rock occupants changed. He was even appointed to lead  Jonathan,s campaign in the northwest)  and so he needed such a strong support from Kano in spite of the fact that Kano was governed by an opposition party.  At the  press of a button in Kano a million marauding rioters could be ordered onto the streets  and that would make anybody think twice before tampering with him or his government. Even when Turai was  dishing out her daughters to all manners of politicians to consolidate her husband's rule, the Kano state governor Ibrahim Shekarau would have made the list too if not for the fact he was not an 'original' Hausa man. His parents were Babur, a small tribe in the north east. For being in an opposition party was not enough reason to sideline him as Isa Yuguda the governor of Bauchi state decamped to the Pdp from the Anpp after marrying the presidents daughter. The arrangement was that in the event of the death or total incapacitation of the Yaradua, Turai believed that one of her in-laws and serving governors would assume the mantle of leadership, still keeping the spoils of office within her and her family's reach. With the marriage, her two daughters were quickly made the first ladies of their respective states, pushing aside the senior wives they met. The aim was for them to start training on how to be first ladies of the country when the time comes. So when Soludo's tenure came to an end all his attempts to retain the seat and go for another term was rebuffed by surprisingly the person he thought could save him, Turai. Another contender then was Yuguda. but as a president-in- waiting and also a sitting governor he was ruled out. That was how Sanusi was chosen. He comes from kano where Yaradua derived his biggest support and was the most experienced banker in the state having reached the top echelon at First bank. Already two kano men were in charge of the finance ministry: the minister of finance and the minister of state for finance  which was unprecedented in Nigeria's political history for both to come from the same state. Why not add another kano man to pocket the exchequer. So to be frank the initial appointment was to populate the Yaradua's government with his kano backers. Sanusi's stint in the commercial banking industry was uneventful, nothing to write home about.And even all his write ups never analysed the banking sector nor the economy of Nigeria. When he resigned from the first bank his intention was to go and teach in the university.  So why the sudden change and crusading zeal? Someone compared him to Dora Akunyili which i find very apt. Nigeria's institutions are all corrupted and it easy for any one to become a hero by making a few splashes here and there. but in the case of Sanusi when he was appointed it even became even more urgent. instead of pple questioning why the minister and the minister of state and also the central bank governor coming from the same state, the focus was on the headlines generated by the tsunami sweeping away the bank md's. the rest they say is history.