As Nigeria has shifted from a corruption-addled frontier state to one of the world's few emerging market bright spots, it has been assisted enormously by the charisma and gravitas of two of its financial leaders. One is the coordinating minister for the economy and minister of finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, familiar on the multilateral bank meeting circuit for her strong leadership, candidacy for the world Bank presidency – and her colourful headscarves. The other is central bank governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, sharp-suited and sharper-minded. It's never been entirely clear how well the two people, or at least their institutions, get along, but they present to the world a credible, smart, articulate face for a country whose finances have often been murky.
But now Sanusi, who was due to step down in June, has been suspended by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan over allegations of "financial recklessness and misconduct." Few in the west take these words – taken verbatim from a statement issued by the president through his media adviser, Reuben Abati – at face value, and the result has been to erode confidence in one of the few market darlings of frontier-spirited fund managers in recent years.
It's fair to say that Sanusi has, from the outset, taken on the big fights.
The first of them was taking on endemic financial fraud in the aftermath of a collapse in the country's whole banking system in 2009. This was difficult – he sacked eight chief executives of Nigerian banks in his first four months – but considered a success story.
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