Recently, campaign videos, photos and posters showing support for the presidential run of Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central bank of Nigeria, surfaced on and off social media platforms. Many Nigerians have expressed their concern, wondering why Godwin Emefiele should count himself eligible for such a position.
Many Nigerians have also expressed their belief that Godwin Emefiele, who has held the position as the CBN governor since 2014, has no credible achievements to show for his eight years in office. In addition, they have pointed out that the naira exchange rates have skyrocketed every year since he assumed office.
On the 5th of February 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a ruling instructing all financial institutions to stop the facilitation of all transactions involving cryptocurrencies, threatening the source of livelihood of many Nigerian youths. In a country where the minimum wage is less than the cost of a bag of rice, one would expect that the country’s laws would favour youths seeking to explore better sources of income to improve their finances and, ultimately, the country’s economy.
But unfortunately, this has become an extremely harrowing process with all the bans and restrictions legislated by the central bank under Godwin Emefiele’s watch.
Many Nigerians have speculated that Godwin Emefiele’s boldness results from Nigerias’ track record of rewarding failure with more power. Some believe that the governor’s presidential aspiration is part of his ploy to evade justice for his less than reputable actions.
Some Nigerians have speculated that Godwin Emefiele is running to give the current president of the federal republic of Nigeria, Mohammed Buhari, an indirect third term. In contrast, the rest have decided to take the issue as a joke, unable to believe that Godwin Emefiele would even consider such a feat.
Whatever the case may be, it is by now evident to every Nigerian that we are yet to see all the surprises that will arise from the next election cycle. Nevertheless, the Nigerian Patriotic Quest (NPQ) has endorsed Godwin Emefiele’s eligibility to contest, stating that the governor is qualified to run for the presidency and that all attempts to intimidate him out of the race would be futile.
The co-ordinator of NPQ, Ahmed Ja’Usman Tijani, in a statement, said, “Under Godwin Emefiele, despite the diverse unforeseen economic shocks that bedevilled the economy: ranging from the drastic drop in the price of crude oil for years, the Covid 19 pandemic and consequent economic lockdown; the CBN deftly managed the nation’s balance of payments, boosted forex inflows and exponentially increased the forex reserves overtime with various incentives to encourage diaspora and export proceed remittances.