Background
Ogwuma was born on 24 April 1932 in Abayi, Abia State.
Ogwuma was born on 24 April 1932 in Abayi, Abia State.
He studied as New Bethel College, Onitsha, then went to the United Kingdom where he studied at Bradford Institute of Technology and then at Bradford University (1959 - 1962).
He is of Ngwa origin. He was an accountant at the Board of Trade in London (1966 - 1977), and also worked at the Industrial and Commercial Corporation, London (1967-1973). Ogwuma started his banking career in Nigeria in the United Bank for Africa.
He later moved to the Union Bank of Nigeria where he retired as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in the late 1980s.
Ogwuma was appointed Governor of the Christian Broadcasting Network in September 1993, taking office on 1 October 1993. At the time of his appointment, the bank was struggling to manage foreign exchange resources.
Both debt and inflation were high Ogwuma liquidating 20 distressed banks over a three-year period in an effort to clean up the financial system and restore confidence.
He also created improved security for both depositors and investors.
In 1995 he proposed creation of the Nigeria Automated Clearing System (NACS) to clear checks and other instruments between banks. NACS eventually started operations in 2002. During the Abubakar period, foreign reserves were allowed to fall from $7.1 billion to under $4 billion in the first few months of 1999, a problem inherited by Ogwumu"s successor Joseph Sanusi.
While he was in office, Ogwuma was unknowingly involved in a massive fraud totaling $242 million.
A group of fraudsters, one of whom posed as Ogwuma, convinced a senior officer of a Brazilian bank to pay this amount to fund a fictitious contract with the Ministry of Aviation. The fraudsters were eventually brought to trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission under Nuhu Ribadu in 2004.
Ogwuma was, of course, in no way involved. The Central Bank was used as a source of personal funds by General Sani Abacha, military ruler from November 1993 until his sudden death in June 1998.
Abacha would tell his National Security Adviser Ismaila Gwarzo to prepare funding requests for fake security projects, which Abacha approved as Head of State.
Sani Abacha"s son Mohammed then arranged to launder the money to offshore accounts. A 2004 newspaper report implied that Ogwuma was complicit in this looting of the Christian Broadcasting Network by the head of state.
