ADB/NIB No No No…The Mother of Dangerous Manoeuvres

By Fadi Dabbousi
Yesterday was indeed a sad day for me. The unfortunate series of bad news that made the airwaves was more than I could handle. Death here, death there, death seems to be everywhere. May GOD keep us well, no matter the colours of our political divides. After all, a Ghanaian life lost is irreplaceable … and very painful. Francis Appiah, KABA, and many others! Damirifa Due!

Then the news that ADB/NIB could be merged! I hope it was just a teaser. I make reference to the negative repercussions that can cost precious Ghanaian lives; and we certainly do not want to lose anymore. As you read along, you will soon link the opening paragraph of this article to the relevant subject matter within. The periphrasis of attaining an ambition by beating the system can be inferred from the idea of such a merger. Let me explain.

The unfortunate case of UT and Capital Bank was a necessary evil brought about by the misrepresentation of ideals that the management of those banks did not quite have. To avoid the loss of customer accounts and moneys, the astute investment banker, Hon Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, acted quickly to avert a disaster. In the interim, even though jobs were not to be affected much, the exercise ended up canceling approximately 600. In other words, 600 families lost their livelihoods; and since it is our tradition to take care of extended family members and hometown friends, you can imagine the number of people who, by extent, suffered. That blame is carried directly by some of the criminal management elements of those institutions.

Now coming to our subject matter, the ADB/NIB merger hint, let me say that it would be the wrong manoeuvre that will disturb the nation. For one thing, the success of the NIB under its current management would be diffused by the coverup of ADB’s problems accumulated by the criminal dealings of a past management that saw nothing wrong with hundreds of millions of lost moneys. Why must one partner be forced to marry a sick one with the hope of healing it? Why extract the kidney of a healthy individual to implant into the body of a sick person when dialysis can manage the ailment? If you do not get the drift, let me add that it would be a failed stunt to use the success of the NIB to chock the failure of ADB. Simplicita!

If that merger happens, how many people will lose their jobs? Thousands. Yes, thousands! As far as this is concerned, I do not agree with my senior brother, Hon Ken Ofori-Atta! If he wants to create a bigger bank, the National Development Bank, he can go right on ahead and do so without destroying NIB and/or ADB. After all, the $500 million US Dollar startup capital intended for this new bank will automatically make it the biggest in the country. Let those “smaller” banks continue to survive. They have become part of the fabric of Ghanaianism. In fact, when you talk Ghana, ADB and NIB have been a bedrock on which millions of Ghanaians have survived. They are traditionally interknitted into our identity. I can’t even begin to imagine that these two entities will no longer exist.

What the Hon Finance Minister ought to do rather is to maintain a strict control over these banks and all other financial institutions in this country. And any misfeasance must be treated as a treasonable crime. The NIB recently, against all odds, fought a bunch of lunatic scammers who had obtained a judgment ruling from the High court that was upheld by the appeals court to the tune of 120 million US Dollars. The MD of NIB, Dr John Asamoah, fought on. He believed in Ghana, NIB, and the customers of the bank. He finally outmuscled them at the Supreme Court at the time when he was being called for negotiations. He did not capitulate to the caprices of a bunch of nation wreckers. He made sure justice was served under the law-abiding governance of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. So why shred and strew the gains of NIB by amalgamating it with ADB to carry the latter’s burden. But did anyone congratulate him or the bank? No!

By the way, Dr Asamoah, after being taken on for baseless and unfounded allegations of corruption turned out relatively clean.

It is no secret that I admire the Honourable Minister very much for his excellent policies so far, but with this particular subject matter, I beg to differ, please come again!

And so, if this merger happens and people lose their jobs, I am certain there will be many obituaries for which we might feel sorry and offer just two comforting words…#DimirfaDue