The Banking Quake...

What seem like an earthquake just struck the Nigerian Banking Industry and the follow up to that has been panic withdrawal, Monday morning of August 17, 2009. But it will be worst by the time many will begin to lose the confidence they've all bestowed on the banks in Nigeria. Everyone that wishes the Nigerian economy well will definitely pray it doesn't get to that level.

It sounds like an interesting news to opponents, but many can attest to the fact that it doesn't speak well of the integrity the Nigerians banks have built over the years. Interestingly big names like Union Bank Plc, Afribank Plc, Intercontinental Bank Plc, Oceanic Bank Plc and Finbank Plc are involved. This ugly development compelled the apex bank – the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Boss Sanusi Lamido to fire the affected banks board last Friday.

To many, the ideal thing to do right might be to apportion blames or prove innocence. But I think what matters now is that we do a thorough investigation of what went wrong, who are those involved; how do we set a deterrent?

If we must move forward, then we must put a complete stop to the clog many have succeeded in putting on the wheels that were supposed to take us across economic meltdown and the almighty path of corruption that seem invincible in the face of the bragging and self-praise of the anti corruption agents. It’s even painful if those billions naira we hear has gone into the drains are not in any production venture. What can be more annoying than the fact that the same people who are supposed to grow the economy are the very ones helping to wreck it?

How do we explain the stringent conditions we put across to the small lender that makes it also impossible for them to access common soft-loans and the very mess to lending only to our "Big Friends" without any request for collateral? I pray that we learn a lesson from this one, and then put for preventive and punitive measure to arrest this crazy for greedy wealth and awesome corruption that reigns with reckless abandon.