To the friends, admirers, associates, and critics of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, they all converge on a common ground – Asiwaju has a knack for not only spotting talents but giving them a free hand to focus on their assignments in the overall public interest and for the common good.
Political pundits, economic historians, and stakeholders alike recall with nostalgia the star-studded cabinet that Asiwaju put together in 1999 when he was first elected Governor of Lagos State – the nation’s smallest but most strategic because of its cosmopolitan nature and immense wealth inherent in it.
He had the likes of Professor Yemi Osinbajo who became a Professor of Law at the University of Lagos at 33 and had served as an aide to Prince Bola Ajibola while the latter was at the International Criminal Court at the Hague, Olawale Edun with international banking experience and a track record of running an extremely successful non-bank financial institution, Yemi Cardoso with intimidating banking experience, Babatunde Raji Fashola who eventually succeeded him, Ben Akabueze of the defunct NAL Merchant Bank, amongst many stars. So effective was the cabinet that it was nicknamed a cabinet of expatriates.
Olawale Edun was tipped by pundits to be the next Finance Minister. He had been the Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State under Tinubu and his financial wizardry was responsible for the exponential increase in the state’s internally generated revenue which rose from a minuscule 600 million naira monthly to well over ten billion naira a month. He was part of the transition committee and represented the country in the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings shortly before his principal’s inauguration.
To the surprise of many close watchers, he was appointed Special Adviser on Monetary Policy.
Economists and even economic illiterates know that the function of the monetary policy rests in the Central Bank of Nigeria which uses the tool to manage economic fluctuations, achieve price stability, and tame the hydra-headed monster of inflation.
The Central Bank of Nigeria like most countries in the globe is independent of the President and the Governor has a fixed term – in Nigeria’s case a fixed term of five years renewable once.
The critical question to ask is isn’t Edun’s appointment going to make him clash with the next CBN Boss? Is Asiwaju preparing the UK-trained banker for the exalted office of CBN Governor given that a somewhat similar precedent had been set in 2004 when the current Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo was first appointed as the nation’s Chief Economic Adviser in 2003 and later CBN Governor the following year?
Time will surely tell!
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