The curious case of Gwarzo, the Director General of SEC

By Joseph Edgar….

I am want to lean towards the conspiracy theorist at times, if for nothing else but to marvel and luxuriate in their warped logic and the almost comedic turn in their arguments and postulations. But once in a while a case comes up that makes you want to listen a little bit more carefully at the conspiracy theorists.

So the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo, has just been put on suspension by the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, to allow a panel she has set up to properly investigate matters of alleged financial impropriatory levelled against him and two others. The timing of this suspension has thrown the conspiracy theorists into overdrive. Theories of corruption fighting back has now gained a life on their own.

The issue of Oando has taken a pride of place in these discussions with that of BGL, the huge investment banking behemoth coming in also to take its own position. Oando has been in the news for some time now, with shareholder restiveness demanding a resignation of the Wale Tinubu led management. All sort of allegations have been levelled against Tinubu and his team leading to SEC placing its share price on technical suspension. They have even been reported to have set up an auditor enquiry of their books. Of course, the management of Oando has not been sleeping. They have carried out a major PR initiative stating their case and running to the courts seeking for some kind of level platform to be heard.

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Now, the timing of this suspension has led to a lot of observers trying to trace some dots. Let us also not forget that this article is coming out less than 12 hours after the announcement of his suspension hence we may not have the luxury of getting better details as they unfold on the matter. But be that as it may, what is staring us in the face is that of a fine gentleman not coming to equity with clean hands for these allegations to even be muted in the first place.

The allegations must have been weighty enough and the initial investigation would have warranted this suspension which we all know is not such a light decision considering the personality involved and the effect it would have on the markets and international investor confidence. I am very sure that the Honourable minister would have weighed these consequences carefully, consulted widely and discreetly before coming to this conclusion.

So is this a case of ‘’corruption fighting back’’? Does this have anything to do with the Oando matter, the BGL matter or any other matter for that matter? I think not. Mr. Gwarzo in my mind’s eye remains a strict professional, a man I personally admire and a man I have spent the formative parts of my career with and as such would be able even without seeing the details of the allegations vouch for his forthrightness and professionalism. Despite this, the point still has to be made, that to embark on the kind of deep rooted and comprehensive reforms, Mounir was carrying out then he must come to the table with very clean hands because a speck would be amplified in a bid to blunt the sharpness of the reforms.

This must be a lesson to our public office holders, especially those with reforms in mind. Skeletons in the cupboard must be swept out or declared before embarking on any type of reforms. We all must be strong enough to refuse public office if in our past we had at some point embarked on some below the table dealings. Otherwise, one would be exposing themselves to blackmail or at best becoming a stooge afraid for his shadows.

For me, this comes with a lot of positives as the signal to the market would be such that laws are being adhered to, if the DG can be placed on suspension. The effect would cascade through the markets, regulators while also keep everybody on edge. For Mounir, it will give him the opportunity to defend himself which I am very sure he can and will. He has my support because a successful defense will earn him a stronger moral equity to carry on much far reaching reforms when he comes back. And, for the Oandos’ of this world, they can be sure of fair hearing because the system has shown that it will and would run by the books.

But as I conclude on this article, one sneaky thought is creeping into my mind. What if it is actually corruption fighting back? I fear to contemplate its consequence on our markets and our lives. Corruption cannot win and as seen on a poster at the EFCC during my last visit,‘’…….if we do not defeat corruption, it will kill us’’

 

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