The travails of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele appear not to be ending soon, as he has been summoned by a Federal High Court in Abuja for contempt of court.

The summon, which he is expected to honor on Wednesday, stems from a $70 million judgment debt involving the Paris Club refunds.

Lawyers to Joe Agi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, had filed an application against Linas International Ltd, the Minister of Finance and the CBN in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1193/2017. The suit is seeking an order from the court to the Inspector General of Police to arrest the CBN governor and bring him to court.

The presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, in an application for garnishee made on October 20, 2022, ordered Emefiele to appear on January 18 as the hearing date for the matter, following confirmation that the CBN governor is yet to comply with the earlier judgment.

The presiding judge had ruled in favor of the applicants, after considering objections by the CBN’s legal counsel, Damien Dodo. Justice Ekwo ruled: “Godwin Emefiele is hereby ordered to appear in court on the next date of hearing. Case adjourned to January 18, 2023 (Wednesday) for hearing.”

The suit alleged that Emefiele paid only $17 million out of the $70 million he was expected to pay to the complainant, in violation of an earlier court order.

The judgment reads as follows: “That on the 16th October, 2018, this Honourable Court made a Garnishee Order Nisi directing the Central Bank of Nigeria to attach the Sum of $70,000,000.00 (Seventy Million US Dollars) in its custody. That on the 16th October, 2018 the Order was Served on the Central Bank of Nigeria under the leadership of Mr. Godwin Emefiele. Annexed hereto as EXHIBIT A is a copy of the Garnishee Order Nisi with the endorsement as to the date of service.

“That on November 21, 2018, Mr. Godwin Emefiele ignored the Garnishee Order Nisi after becoming aware and paid me $17,000,000.00 (Seventeen Million US Dollars) instead of the $70,000,000.00 (Seventy Million US Dollars). Annexed hereto as EXHIBIT B is the Central Bank of Nigeria internal memorandum signed by Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

“That on July 5, 2019, I obtained a Garnishee Order Absolute in this Court against the Central Bank of Nigeria of which Godwin Emefiele is the Governor and alter ego for the sum of $70,000,000.00 (Seventy Million US Dollars) Which sum is due and payable under the said order but remains partially unsatisfied. The order absolute was served on the 29th July, 2019.

“That I aver that till date Godwin Emefiele, being the Governor of the Garnishee, the Central Bank of Nigeria, is liable as the Head of the Central Bank of Nigeria to pay or authorize payment of the sum payable under the said Order Absolute, and I make this averment on the following grounds:

“(a) That the said Godwin Emefiele, under the Central Bank of Nigeria Act is the overall head and alter ego of the Garnishee, the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“(b) That Section 7 of the CBN Act provides that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria shall be in charge of the day-today management of the Bank.

“(c) That Section 10 of the CBN Bye Law entrusts the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria with management of the Bank and control over all the accounts and assets of the Bank.

“(d) That in the discharge of his statutory duties as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele has a duty to obey all orders of Court against the Central Bank of Nigeria, including the Garnishee Order Absolute of 5th July, 2019.

“(e) That Godwin Emefiele, Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, is aware of the said Garnishee Order Absolute of 5th July 2019.

“(f) That Godwin Emefiele though aware of the Court’s Garnishee Order Nisi of 16th October, 2018 proceeded to contemptuously disburse funds meant for payment to me contrary to the Garnishee Order Nisi.”

The judgment comes on the heels of attempt by the Department of State Services to arrest Emefiele on allegations that he’s financing terrorism. The embattled CBN governor may be committed to three months imprisonment if he is found guilty of contempt.

The experts will tell us to build, project and market our personal brands.  I do not necessarily think that is the crux of the deal – to wake up, with the nexus of finding ways to “sell” an image to the world. As an engineer, I understand the constructs of root cause analysis where the foundations are evidently catalytic for sustained success. 

Personal brand built on marketing fails because while you can get the horse to the water, you may struggle to get it to drink.  In other words, I challenge you to build foundations for authentic relationships to cushion your reputation. Simply, go for authentic personality.

Human relationships which endure are never transactional, unlike product-brands which you can buy, use, and move on. The implication is that those who become authentic thrive over time. The modern virality of personal brand is largely ephemeral because without that authenticity, that reputation cannot be sustained.

What is authenticity? Earning your laurels in absolute objectivity; everyone sees and knows it. Your personality becomes durable, unlike transient brands which sparkle like the acid and base experiment which causes effervescence in chemistry labs in secondary schools.

Work hard to elevate your authenticity, not just to market your personal brand, and if you do so well, many will recommend you in your absence. The greatest among us do not build personal brands; they’re authentic personalities and that is why they’re durable in our minds!

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Comment 1: Never read any wiser post than this.

Whenever I see people try to pick a personality type, wear a red cap or so on to stand out (or be LIKED) I am always turned off. The outside mask we put on will fall off under pressure.

That said, “Human relationships which endure are never transactional, unlike product-brands which you can buy, use, and move on.”

Comment 2: Building authentic personality that transcends time and ages is a life long project, it will be intentionally built on our core values and they must align with our character, attitude and principles that hinges on the above…well said prof

Comment 3: Your perspective on every matter is always worth a read. Even when not conclusive, it provides intentionally molded lego bricks to build upon. Thank you Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe.

The following are some suggestions on how to build a professional online persona. It is establishing your web personality (webinality) to explain that person you are. Yet, that does not mean authentic personality.

Presence: Open at least one social media or blog account.

Specialize:  Define an area of interest and build around it. A five-minute online search should reveal what you represent. You need to differentiate yourself and showcase your core skills and unique capabilities to potential hiring managers.

Accuracy: Always remember that once that post goes online, you may not control who sees it. If you lie on your accomplishments, your classmate or co-worker is just an IP address away from challenging it. Make it accurate – always, otherwise, you will destroy your persona.

Comprehensive: While blog should be short, once in a while, develop comprehensive articles in your field and post them online. It could mean expanding a class project you worked on, adding more contents, and fully proving your expertise. Half-baked contents will not take you too far.

Judgment: What you post or share online defines who you are. Your profile defines you – values, interests and reliability. For employers, they want reliable team leaders and you must not offer less in your web personality.

Vertical Integration: Seek to connect with people ahead of you professionally while building a horizontally network.

Generosity: Share and exchange good ideas. Invite people to your network and be generous to promote good ideas from others. Write professional reviews on books, journals and articles. In no distant time, people will reward you.

Policy Matters: If you are working, ensure you adhere to policies on using the company’s name online. There is a threat that you could be a source of data leakage that can hurt competitiveness. Your profile must not be another portrait of your employer – you must be wise to separate both, where necessary.

Continuity:  Professional online branding is a continuous work-in-progress that requires constant tune-ups of networks, contents and profiles. It must be constantly nurtured.

Build Your Webinality – 9 Ways of Standing Out in the Web