The young amiable officer of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation has set himself apart from the pack for displaying exemplary services to rescue angry and pathetic Heritage Bank depositors from the throes of despair and hopelessness
Who is Ebet Amiel? Well, sit tight as you read of this new sensation inspiring a revival in behavioral changes within the reticent Nigerian parlance. His emergence may be the tonic needed to inspire that much-desired change in our fast-deteriorating environment. What appears to be another round of bitter taste to be served on hapless banking depositors is about to be eradicated by his simple and humane disposition; unknown, in many ways, to all but the distressed depositors of Heritage Bank, he only came in unannounced. Even when depositors saw him at first, that skepticism wouldn’t allow you to access him properly; Heritage Bank had just been closed by the Central Bank hurricane, and depositors had fallen into grief and despair; it is too well known that under the circumstances, it was going to be “to your tent oh Israel”, with only lip service expected from unserious officials!
The woes of depositors were about to be compounded and no amount of pleading would help the course; a terse statement from the NDIC headquarters would be issued and after that, silence, a loud one would follow. From records “officials” are too delighted to prey on people’s misfortune; there is the memory of the horror that befell depositors of erstwhile Savannah bank not far behind, Who wouldn’t be demoralized at the bad news of sudden bank closure at this difficult time of our existence? this is Nigeria where nothing changes except mindless exploitation of the poor; far fewer Nigerians have received mercy when dealing with policymakers whose major preoccupation is to inflict maximum pain on individuals. which is why the NDIC announcement that “insured” depositors will be paid as soon as possible was greeted with doubt– taken with a pinch of salt! That is so because a leopard hardly changes its color!
The trapped depositors know that in a matter of days, it would be game over! Another big event would happen and theirs would be history; that’s the penchant is Nigeria! No surprise therefore as heritage bank depositors imagined the worst and fearfully prayed for a miracle; oh yes. Because the prospects of destruction loomed large—the rising cost of feeding, school fees, domestic commitments, and now your deposits wiped off by a mere statement from Central Bank; no warning to intending depositors! What a way to run a country. The ravaging effect of corruption has not yielded to the marathon prayers and fasting launched across the thousands of churches available in Nigeria; No better way to know of the failures than from the abysmal performance of banking operators to adhere to strict rules and regulations. So, when a man different in character shows up to distinguish himself, it is bound to make headline news! Officials asked to superintend situations such as persuading customers and the likes usually behave as though they are kings—brash and haughty!
But Ebet Amiel proved himself to be different; He showed empathy with professional competence; he listened with rapt attention and regardless of the hundreds of depositors that besieged his Area 7, Abuja office, where he supervised, in the aftermath of the bank liquidation, he did so with admirable ease, never raising his voice at anyone; He showed up 7 am and often left late in the day; you never arrived his office to be told: “not on seat” or “he has gone to eat”. Ebet Amiel showed he wasn’t deaf to the plight of depositors; he was the mirror through which depositors read the minds of NDIC; the reputation of government officials for playing dumb to the cries of the masses is too well known! Some senior staff of NDIC already exhibited the symptom when accosted at their Utako office; they looked at inquisitive depositors with disdain and sneered at them saying:” Please go and wait outside, your case will be treated!” That’s certain dismissal.
A particular officer who gave his phone number later “blocked” all callers! But, Ebet Amiel is the surprise; he sits calmly attending to grief-stricken depositors. He did not display those bogus plaques heralding his position as “chief supervisor”, or “chief deputy director”; Nigerians like to show off their status: “big desk” and “big position”, but never willing to help! The usual style is to be harsh and rude to victims caught in the web; but Ebet Amiel, fair complexioned, slim, and no doubt very much handsome with only a small note pad stood out, “No need to worry”, he told this writer, assuring that your money will be paid. Wondering, I tried to ask without much hope, how that will be done; NDIC has not called victims –as they do to pensioners—to show up with every “valid” document available, including primary school certificate, mother’s maiden name, fathers name, last electricity bill and what have you! Apart from BVN, and NIM, depositors should have been asked to “produce” their “voters card”, “National ID”, “International Passport”, or just about anything to disqualify them—including your photograph; if eventually, you scale through, the next phase would be to subject you to “fingerprint”, and any other biometric requirement that would help your case!
So, it was out of curiosity that Ebet Amiel was asked repeatedly whether he was sure of what he was saying. “Gentlemen this verification Form you are filling is enough; we have experts who would do the rest”, he would say. “Experts ke? Have we not heard that before? Nevertheless, Ebet Amiel would go on to educate the depositors on how well NDIC is prepared not to allow a repetition of the Savannah Bank fiasco. “You see, everything has changed now; NDIC has lots going on and there would be no disappointment this time”, he would say. Well, in such a situation, the best you can do is to encourage yourself and believe. Ebet Amiel would follow that meeting with text messages and phone calls; he didn’t discriminate between depositors—no Hausa, Yoruba, or Igbo; he treated everyone as though he had known them before. He never asked you to bring “upfront” payment typical of the average Nigerian and many of us wondered if he was indeed a Nigerian.
Two months passed and one day on a bright Sunday morning, suddenly the alerts started streaming in! Surprise, surprise! So, NDIC was not going to embezzle depositors’ funds this time! Oh, very much appreciated. It was a big sigh of relief, that actually things worked; in one pleasant moment, depositors drifted from hopelessness to glory! From despair to gloom! What an extraordinary display of spirit d corps and devotion to duty! A quick check carried out confirmed that Amiel moved from Abuja to Lagos, working assiduously to meet set targets; I wasn’t to see Amiel again but I promised him that for distinguishing himself from the pack and changing my opinion about government officials, he was going to be honored with an award.
That award will be followed with a letter of commendation to his managing director for exceptional services to his fatherland, Amiel made sure depositors never lost hope; he portrayed himself as the new breed Nigerian to spearhead a departure from the traditional stranglehold of corruption; By simply doing his job, he distinguished himself from the archetypal Nigerian who would stop at nothing to pile up pressure on you; Amiel cracked the age-old tradition of snobbishness and broke the yoke of “business as usual” mentality. And surely, as he promised, many of the depositors have begun to receive “alerts” showing a new era has begun. Kudos to Ebet Amiel, an outstanding officer of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation!
