It is a shame that someone with the credentials of Dr. Temitope Oshikoya would display the kind of turpitude present in his article, ‘Golden Girl and the Icarus Paradox’ published in The Guardian of Monday, September 8, 2014. The article is a commentary on the ongoing recruitment process for the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC).
For the sake of transparency, Oshikoya should have let the world know that he was a candidate for this position, but did not make it. The fact that he neglected to mention this is very instructive and demonstrates that he is nothing but a disappointed bitter person who is not man enough to take responsibility for his own performance.
It is quite disheartening when people like Oshikoya, who are expected to know better, impugn efforts to institutionalise a merit-based approach to recruitment for key positions in the country simply because the results did not favour him. Some of us need to learn to put the collective good ahead of individual selfish interest.
The NMRC is, of course, the government-sponsored but private sector-driven institution central to the Goodluck Jonathan administration’s plan to make mortgage finance accessible to Nigerians. The launch of the first 10,000 mortgages scheme on July 31 underscores the government’s commitment to the realisation of this objective.
The interview for CEO of NMRC, which Oshikoya participated in, was part of a transparent process managed by the globally-respected consulting firm, Deloitte and Touche. The firm shortlisted 10 Nigerians from within and outside the country in a global headhunt which met the standards of international best practice.
The interview panel included Managing Director of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mrs. Sola David Borha; interim CEO of NMRC, Sunny Ayere; CEO, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr. Uche Orji; CEO of Aso Savings and Loans Plc, Hassan Usman; and representatives of the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Department for International Development (DFID).
In the end, Oshikoya did not make the shortlist of the final three candidates who are being proposed to be interviewed by the board of the NMRC.
It is understandable to feel disappointed in this kind of circumstance. What is not understandable – or justifiable – is to write an article full of vicious falsehoods and distortions against the chair of the interview panel who, for reasons best known to Oshikoya, he erroneously blames for his poor performance. The unwarranted attack against the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, by Oshikoya is nothing but a despicable effort by a person who obviously has an inflated opinion of himself to channel personal frustration to a false object of disappointment.
Oshikoya’s long winded article is full of allegations which are as false as they are laughable. For instance, he shamelessly repeats the unfounded story that Okonjo-Iweala appointed Igbo people to head agencies in the financial sector. But this is totally untrue, as it is a verifiable fact that the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) and others were already in office before Okonjo-Iweala returned to government in August 2011. It is also a fact that the CEO of the NSIA emerged through a competitive and transparent process supervised by the reputable international consulting firm KPMG. The respected Fola Adeola headed the nominations committee.
It is indeed sad that Oshikoya would, by implication, impugn the integrity of Managing Partner of KPMG, Kunle Elebute, who supervised the process of hiring the top management team of the NSIA; Head of Philips Consulting, Dotun Philips, who supervised the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) version; and Joseph Olofinsola of Deloitte and Touche who oversaw the NMRC process which inspired his article.
In his haste to tar the Minister, Oshikoya neglected to do even the most basic homework. He obviously does not know that the DG of BPE, Benjamin Dikki, is from Kebbi State; DG Budget Office, Bright Okogu, is Urhobo from Delta State.
It is beneath contempt for Oshikoya to resurrect old lies about Okonjo-Iweala’s alleged role in the failed bid of Bisi Ogunjobi to be elected President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) 10 years ago. The final outcome had little to do with Okonjo-Iweala who campaigned vigorously for him once he was nominated as Nigeria’s candidate.
It is even more despicable for Oshikoya to try and set Okonjo-Iweala up to take the blame, ahead of time, should Nigeria’s candidate for the presidency of AfDB this time around fail to make it. It is clear in his appalling write-up that Oshikoya is an ethnic bigot carrying out an agenda that is designed to target Okonjo-Iweala. I am sure that Nigeria’s candidate for the AfDB presidency, Akin Adesina, given his background and profile, will be keen to dissociate himself from this unscrupulous attempt to sully his reputation and his serious bid for the presidency of AfDB. I know that, unlike Oshikoya, Adesina is perfectly capable of taking responsibility for his performance, good or bad, when the time comes.
Oshikoya’s comments on Okonjo-Iweala’s historic and widely applauded run for the presidency of the World Bank is the final nail in the coffin of an article that trivialises fact and assaults commonsense. Apparently, Oshikoya (Ph.D), was asleep when a respected rival, Jose Antonio Ocampo, stepped down for Okonjo-Iweala during the race and the leading lights and respected voices in the world’s premier institutions and media declared her the better candidate to run the institution.
Rather than pollute public discourse with an opinion piece riddled with lies and bitterness, Oshikoya should accept that he simply did not do well in his recent quest to head a key emerging institution and get on with whatever is left of his life. He should step up his game at his next job interview. We wish him good luck.
• Nwabuikwu is Special Adviser, Media and Communication, to the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance.
