He has vast and intimidating credentials. He has traversed the banking landscape and he is the man of this troubled moment whom the cap fits, and who can also wear the big shoes. Like the Israelites of old, Nigerians look forward to this Messiah-banker, Godwin Emefiele, who is coming to steer the ship of the Central Bank of Nigeria with his rich profile.
When President Goodluck Jonathan reached for the 52 year old banker who has successfully shepherded Zenith Bank Plc, since 2010, he was convinced that he has reached for one of the best who for now is primus inter pares in the banking industry.
For Emefiele, this is a call to duty, to salvage the CBN, which has lately been enmeshed in political murky waters and as a man whose conservatism is unapologetically banking bent, he is summoned to do a yeoman’s job. For certain, his performance at Zenith Bank speaks a clear language that he has the capability and as they always say, time will only tell to prove this.
Godwin Emefiele joined Zenith Bank Plc in 1990 as Manager Corporate Banking and he had a meteoric rise becoming Executive Director nine years later.
He succeeded Jim Ovia as managing director and chief executive in 2010 and a peep into his stewardship shows he grew the bank to become the most profitable and largest financial institution. As at 2012, the shareholders fund reached N470 billion just as the total assets took a leap from N1.9 trillion in 2010 to N2.6 trillion in 2012 while the market capitalization rose to N715 billion. Zenith Bank was rated best commercial bank in Nigeria and in the whole Africa in 2013 and was also listed as one of the elite banks in the world.
These special feats earned him the title of the best CEO of the year 2013.
What Emefiele has going for him is his ability to make forecasts which come out excellently and the propensity to take risks which end as great opportunities. It is certainly not over-emphasis and adulation to describe Emefiele as a quintessential banker, erudite manger, a man who understands the peculiarity of the Nigerian economy and under whose watch Zenith Bank is listed on the London Stock Exchange with $850 million worth of shares.
Emefiele’s impressive performance index is following him to the CBN and he is on the positive side of history and while Zenith Bank will miss this tall achiever, the Central Bank and indeed, Nigerians will celebrate this banking colossus.
– Victory Oghenechoja
