Between Obasanjo and Emefiele: Will the Harvard Economist Rated Technocrat Fill OBJ’s Shoes in Presidency?

HighLife

More and more Nigerians are being sold the dream of an individual rising from the ashes of the current administration’s disappointment and bringing the nation to a place of wine and honey. The current Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been drawn into the picture as well. At the time this article was written, Emefiele had been presented to Nigerians as a possible successor to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Despite the facelessness of some of the earliest groups that are behind Emefiele, a lot of people have begun taking the CBN man seriously. One such person is an economist from Harvard, Oliver McPherson-Smith, who is convinced that Emefiele is very likely to emerge as the winner of the much-coveted presidential seat. McPherson-Smith claimed that Emefiele might turn out to be the next Obasanjo in Nigeria.

There is no doubt that Emefiele has the cojones needed to be the Grand Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (GCFR). However, to say that he might turn out to be a leader on the same level as Obasanjo is overestimating his abilities. This is the argument of some of Emefiele’s dissidents after McPherson-Smith’s report.

In truth, due to Emefiele nursing his presidential ambition under the auspices of the All Progressives Congress (APC), there are a lot of arguments about whether or not he can win. Moreover, all this time, he has been known as Nigeria’s number one banker, so it will be difficult to switch personas in a way that would benefit him. Then again, maybe this is where the comparison with Obasanjo would flourish.

In any case, Emefiele is being taken seriously by many groups across the country. Although the contest for Buhari’s seat is only at a nursery level at the moment, one must admit that Emefiele has begun pulling the crowds to himself. And if he wins, then the comparison made between Emefiele and Obasanjo would not have been made in vain.