Columnists
Mockery of Religion: Emeifele In Many Of Us -By Richard Odusanya
The Nigeria Nation is indeed at crossroads and never before have we had it so colourful. Every Nigerian at home and abroad feels it so bad one way or another. But for most of us, it does seem that there is very little we can do to improve things. This is because the path to the much-needed transformation is riddled with immense difficulties with near impossibilities some will say.
No country is immune to corruption. The abuse of public office for private gain erodes people’s trust in government and institutions, makes public policies less effective and fair, and siphons taxpayers’ money away from schools, roads, and hospitals. Godwin Emefiele, suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), arrived at the federal high court in Ikoyi, Lagos, around 9:18 am on Tuesday, clutching the Bible. The King James Version (KJV) of the holy book was tucked inside a red paperback. Accompanied by the bible! The big question is; is religion a scam?
Religion is not a scam in itself but there are so many scammers using religion to scam people. They have discovered that the easiest way to scam people and still not be seen as a criminal is by telling them God said this or that. Who will go and ask God if he said it or not? And Israel has been a secular state for decades. Their decisions have nothing to do with religion. Corruption of church officials may concern property or the manipulation of religious teachings to fit national or political aspirations. Nonetheless, the challenge of our society is the level of Emeifele in many of us.
Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele CFR is a Nigerian politician, economist, and banker who served as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 4 June 2014 until his suspension by President Bola Tinubu, on 9 June 2023. ‘Emperor Meffy’ Godwin Emefiele was the second-longest-serving governor of Nigeria’s central bank and oversaw its biggest economic downturn. His biggest undoing turned out to be a widely criticized currency redesign. Meffy got to unravel the key that unlocks the hearts of the Nigerian men of power. Its acronym is GGG – Graft, grits, and genuflection. Immediately after Jonathan exited as president, he effortlessly meandered into the hearts of the next holders of the reins of power. ‘Emperor Meffy’ in the eyes of the storm.
For Hon. Kazaure, a former member of the Federal House of Representatives (MHR), Meffy is the emperor in a corrupt empire where he singly decides who to turn into a billionaire overnight. What Kazaure is saying is not new. Meffy’s predecessor publicly made allusions to the trend long ago. It also formed talking points in bars and gardens around Abuja. Many people allege that Meffy’s encouragement of the parallel forex market was a window to create instant billionaires among members of his cycle within his political party.
Furthermore, Kazaure, said you could be in your bed and they send you $10m at the official CBN rate through your bank. The bank would call to inform you that you have been given $10m from the CBN at the official rate. The same bank would open an account in your name and tell you how much they will buy the dollars from you. Once you accept, your account will be credited with the difference between the CBN rate and what the bank bought from you. According to Kazaure, that is how easy it is for Meffy to create billionaires.
Enter the ‘Meffy’ syndrome’ which is synonymous with average Nigerian public office holders and their mindsets. I believe that a major root cause of our problem as a nation is our unprogressive mindset as Individuals, as a society, and as a nation. A mindset is a set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determines one’s behavior, outlook, and mental attitude. As we all know, mindsets influence the way we think, the way we do things, and ultimately, our behaviour. Our wrong mindsets have brought about wrong orientations, eroded value system, and a thwarted worldview of ourselves and issues.
Interestingly, the ‘Meffy’ syndrome’ represents the way of thinking and mindsets of many of our citizens particularly the political elites and public office holders as exemplified by the likes of Abubakar Malami, Ned Nwoko, Abdulrasheed Maina, Diezani Alison-Madueke and many others. The Nigeria Nation is indeed at crossroads and never before have we had it so colourful. Every Nigerian at home and abroad feels it so bad one way or another. But for most of us, it does seem that there is very little we can do to improve things. This is because the path to the much-needed transformation is riddled with immense difficulties with near impossibilities some will say.
In conclusion, I daresay, that, the ‘Meffy’ syndrome’ is the root cause of the problems associated with poverty, and Nigerians from across the country are lamenting the hardships in the land, crying out for urgent measures by the government at all levels to mitigate their suffering which they said was becoming intolerable. Hence the need to reactivate the moribund NATIONAL ORIENTATION AGENCY (NOA) for efficiency and national re-birth reorientation, ethics, and cohesion – Mind Restructuring Advocacy on my mind.
Richard Odusanya is a Mind Restructuring Enthusiast.
