The demise of Nigeria’s influential statesman, former minister, industrialist and close friend of President Muhammadu Buhari, Ismaila Isa Funtua has once again exposed the long distances to which the sympathy of Nigerians can travel.
Funtua was a man that greatly valued his privacy while alive, and so it’s all very curious that there are calls to immortalise his name with national ink and pen. It’s even more curious that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele is the principal subject of this call.
In the many days of his power, the late Ismaila Isa Funtua was a figure of law and order. In other words, he single-handedly instituted laws of commerce and financial conduct, and ordered relevant authorities to check them out.
Consequently, Funtua enjoyed the friendship and association of countless individuals and organisations, and never failed to do his part. Godwin Emefiele, current CBN Governor, is one of those who enjoyed Funtua’s guiding/guarding presence, which is why he is one of those most affected by Funtua’s demise.
Reports claim that Emefiele has always referred to Funtua as ‘Baba Funtua’, an appellation of respect and regard. The relationship between them was not publicly known to be personal until he (Funtua) allegedly rescued him (Emefiele) from the den of possible interrogation, unemployment and jail time. Funtua had reportedly shielded Emefiele from the sweeping waves of inquisition at one time, and negotiated a prolonged tenure for him at the apex financial institution.
How was Funtua able to accomplish this? Simple: he was a raptor of a negotiator. His unshakeable insights in accommodation and compromise allegedly enabled him to supervise the forex policies of CBN, as well as propose currency rates using only intuition and intention.
It also helped that Funtua was a close friend and associate of the President. Thus, he was never far from the heart of power, and could always inspire resources to flow one direction or another.
The Funtua-Emefiele relationship was also never one-sided, of course. There’s a piece of unsubstantiated gist that Funtua was able to acquire Keystone Bank and 9Mobile, needing (and using) only Emefiele’s signet and the approval of Ahmed Kuru, the CEO/MD of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
In short, the presence of Ismaila Isa Funtua was an extra life for Emefiele’s life span as CBN Governor, and possibly the launching pad for other ambitions.
Funtua will be missed by many, but only a handful would shed more tears than Emefiele.
Monday Gbeyega , Analyst
From Abuja.