Short Essay 22
The Trial of Ex-Governors
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Last week, a statement by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Dahiru Mustapha, rekindled hope in Nigerians that the most powerful criminals in the country will soon be brought to Justice. This followed the revelation that the CJN has issued a directive that all pending cases of corruption against former Governors in Federal High Courts in the country must be determined within six months.
I do not share in the optimism that greeted the ultimatum and in the tall ambition that finally Nigerians will witness the ex-governors slammed with a guilt verdicts and punishments commensurate with their offenses. And their offences are grievous in the estimation of Nigerians. They believe that the governors have ruined the economy of their states, propagated corruption in their public service, crippled their local governments through joint accounts, rigged every election in their domain, instituted political violence and stole unbelievably colossal amounts from their treasuries.
Many see them as the most powerful cartel in the history of democracy in this country. It will be sad if they go free, or they are only served with laughable jail terms of just two months or two years when found guilty. They will definitely retain 99% of their loot after the courts might have asked them to return a percent or less to the treasury. This will happen in a country where ordinary people who steal goats spend ten years in prison awaiting trial.
Sadly, neither the law nor our wishes would determine the fate of the governors because the reality is that they have long prepared the ground for the fight to heir own advantage. They knew their day with in the courts would come soon after their tenures expire. And the ground they have prepared will remain undisturbed until the end of the game. That preparation came in a number of carefully planned steps.
The grading of that ground started with the formation of federal high courts in every state of the federation. This offers them the chance to be tried in their areas of domain. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had managed to try some governors away from their domains because of the obvious difficulty of doing so in their home states.
An illustration is necessary. James Ibori was initially charged before a high court in Kaduna. He was among the closest people to the late President Umaru Yar'adua. In what appeared to be a conspiracy during the Yar'adua era by Farida Waziri - the new EFCC chairperson who inherited the case and Andooaka, the Court of Appeal in Kaduna presided bt Justice Augie eagerly granted that the Kaduna High Court, which has kept Ibori in jail for three months then, did not have the jurisdiction to try Ibori, that he could only be tried in his home state of Delta.
As at then there was no federal high court in Asaba, the Delta State capital where Ibori served as a governor. Therefore, with the enthusiastic cooperation of the present Delta State Governor a makeshift court was immediately arranged to specifically attend to Ibori's case. A judge was instantly appointed who gladly freed Ibori after some few months. That judgement went down in our records as shameful. The world did not believe us. Ibori is now in jail in Britain.
But the precedent has already been set by Justice Augie and unless it is reversed, little justice would be done in the trial of the governors. Henry Okar, who was charged with terrorism before the Federal High Court in Jos promptly sited the case of Ibori and got freed as a result. Here too, the world did not believe us. Okar is now in a South African jail.
And though nemesis has caught up with Ibori, Andooaka and Waziri, their conspiracy has left us with the burden of a legal instrument that would continue to be used to block the road to justice.
It is worthwhile to mention the contribution of these governors to the opening of these courts in their states. To varying degrees, it included office and house accommodation, supply of furniture, generators, cars, etc. In addition, one expects a good rapport to exist between the governors and the judges of the high court that would help reduce the economic stress of the newly posted judges. The governors never delayed any request of 'assistance' from the judges. Such requests come frequently in view of how the judiciary is underfunded in the country. What happens when these governors appear before the same judges immediately after their tenure?
Experts say that this has two effects: it either compromises the judges who treat the cases of ex-governors or it makes the courts tools of persecuting the ex-governors by the incumbents.
As an illustration of the first, let us take the most recent case in the legend of looting. Did anyone expect Danjuma Goje to be sent to jail even for a day before his bail was granted by the Federal High Court in Gombe? I was not that reckless with my expectation. His bail was delayed for a day for some technical reasons. Therefore, he needed to remain in custody overnight. But where? Would he remain with the EFCC or would he be sent to prison?
Neither. The judge saved him both the humiliation of spending the night in prison as well as the trouble of remaining in the custody of the EFCC. Instead, he availed him the slight inconvenience of the air-conditioned room of the SSS before he returned to the comfort of his mansion the following day.
For the avoidance of doubt, on the face of the allegations, Goje, who is now a senator, has no hope of being granted sainthood after his death. He is charged for fraud to the tune of N52billion by the EFCC.
The sum includes the fraud of N37 billion Goje obtained from 27 banks, N15 billion security vote expenditure in a state without any security threat, over-invoicing at the State Primary Education Board that included the supply of dictionaries to the tune of N1.7 billion to primary schools whose pupils can hardly write a sentence, etc. From the 2010 budget figures in my possession, the recurrent expenditure of government house alone was 23% (N12.9billion) of the entire budget of the state (N55,612billion), while the combined recurrent expenditures of education, health and agriculture for the entire state was just N4.159billion.
Goje is not alone. We only sited him as an example. When I was consulting for the MDGs in 2008, on our way to Baturiya in Jigawa State I was shown a 10-meter 'bridge' State that was constructed during the era of Saminu Turaki at the cost of N500 million. The N32 billion fraud case of Saminu is yet to be determined in the High Court since 2007. He is also a Senator, walking freely across the world.
And while many Nigerians are languishing in jail for years over the theft of paltry sums, there was Goje walking away free with no hope that the trial will ever be completed. The contempt that many Nigerians have for such people is understandable.
Beyond the location of the courts, the huge sums in the possession of the accused governors would cushion the process of securing them mitigated sentences as we have seen in such high profile cases before. Few judges would remain resolute before the offer of some few hundred millions of naira, a tiny fraction of the sum which the governors are accused of looting. A lacuna in the law will be hunted for overnight and, alas, the law, which has for long been called an ass, will be made to carry the heavy burden of the blame.
So prosecuting ex-governors in states would certainly be a difficult task. Let us grant that they are convicted at the court of first instance. The governors will yet have another soft area to land on: they will definitely appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal whose mere mention brings back the sad memory of the unwarranted exit of Justice Salami, the last President of the Court, significantly compromised the credibility of the court in the minds of Nigerians. Should any Judge hand a harsh sentence to any governor at the High Court, the convicted is assured good prospects of revocation.
The second thing that will do the CJN's directive a k-leg is the various pleas the governors enter to ensure that their cases are delayed indefinitely. Interestingly, the EFCC during Obasanjo had secured a provision in its law that enabled cases to be finished without such interruptions. This was the strategy that enabled the conviction of Tafa Balogun and others. Again, this was overturned under Yar'adua, allowing the accused persons to delay their cases indefinitely.
Many of the accused governors reportedly panicked when the directive was given. Now their mind will be at rest. Just like dispensing of all election petitions before May 29 was once a dream, this too will soon disappear into the archives of unfulfilled promises in this country.
If the CJN is really serious, he should do two things: stop the pleas - if he can - and reverse the precedent of trying the governors in their own states. He has condemned the pleas, but that is not good enough. All he is now interested in is the completion of the trials within six months. Period. Many people believe that this could become a recipe to setting the governors free because the complexity of the trials and their lacunae would not permit their treatment expeditiously.
In conclusion, one can understand the pessimism of those who have concluded that though the Governors may have some uncomfortable days ahead, they do not see themselves befriending justice except mildly and shortly. Thereafter, they will have the chance to live freely and enjoy their colossal loot for the rest of their lives.
Nigeria, we are sorry for you.
Bauchi,
24 November 2011
Showing posts with label Corruption in Nigeria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Corruption in Nigeria. Show all posts
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Monday, November 1, 2010
Discourse 309 Northerners (3)
Discourse 309
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Poor Northerners! (3)
(Continued from last week)
There are also those who have never moderated on the partisan propaganda of the First Republic. Mostly in the Southwest, they perceive their region as still in opposition. A lot of lies were written during that period against northerners, the Balewa regime and whoever was in speaking terms with it even among citizens of the Southwest. This much has been admitted in the contributions to the ongoing debate between supporters of late Samuel Akintola and those of late Obafemi Awolowo on the internet. This propaganda polluted the minds of many Southerners with the hatred that eventually brought about the coup that ousted that Republic. Unfortunately, despite the demise of the Republic these old political viruses have replicated their DNA in the genomes of many youths and the tradition continues unabated. They continue to inject that venom into the minds of their youths, telling them about the peculiarities of their ‘race’ and the evil of their principal enemy, the North. These youths would spend their adult life as lecturers, journalists, politicians and businessmen unable to see themselves as Nigerians.
That was the point made by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi when he was invited to speak at a book launch by one of them a year ago. I doubt if his message that Nigerians of his age should be allowed to be Nigerians rather than northerners or southerners was well received by the audience at that event. Every act and every candidate must be for us or against us. I have been following the debate over the approval of Buhari by Pastor Tunde Bakare among members of the Save Nigeria Group. The most adamant opponent of Bakare’s endorsement in the exchange was Dayo Ogunlana. He wrote Egbon Sowumumi saying, “Don’t forget that Buhari has his own k-leg too. He is too tribalistic. I doubt if he has programs that will be of benefit to us in the southwest. He has no soft spot for us in the S/W.” There you are. The urge to return the Yoruba ‘race’ back to the old politics of ethnicity, away from mainstream politics, is strong among many. They hide behind the corruption of Obasanjo and the PDP and interpret the recent successes of AC as an signal that the Southwest is finally regaining its regional consciousness.
Then there is the partition politics of the so-called Sovereign National Conference (SNC). I will discuss its merits and demerits in a later article. Here, I will confine myself to saying that proponents of the conference have always viewed the North as an impediment to the success of their agenda. That assumption may be wrong. Rather than argue with them, I suggest that they come over and conduct an opinion poll among northerners to find out the level of support they may have here. The poll must give three options: a strong centre, as it is now; a lose federation with a weak centre; and partitioning of the country into smaller independent states. I am ready to support whatever would be the outcome of the poll and work hard towards its achievement. I will even switch to supporting a partition once the result of such a poll prefers that. The result of the poll would be a strong argument that will convince many other unionists. Without it, however, I remain committed to one Nigeria.
I have mentioned the aggravated case of the northern Muslim when religion is conscripted to serve political ends in the country. Then, many of his Christian counterparts, will join in the smear and missile hauling against him. The fact is that under such circumstance, the northern Christian is only used as a tool to support the various agenda we described above. The identity of the so-called Middle Belt was reinvented by Obasanjo to divide the North and serve his interest during his first term. He left office without doing anything better for the Middle Belt than the rest of the North. He cancelled the contract for dredging River Niger and Benue immediately he assumed power in 1999. Even now under Jonathan the dredging has stopped, as indicated by the recent appeal for it's resumption by a Lokoja traditional titleholder to the Senate President. In the end, when the chips are down, such Middlebelters suffer from the same injustice, as do the northern Muslims. When it comes to the Niger Delta, TY Danjuma is bombarded as a northerner for declaring profits worth billions of dollars from ‘his’ oil blocks. But when it comes to the power, he is a Christian who would be instigated to support the “Christian” south, like in the ongoing opportunistic power struggle to win the Presidency in 2011 for Goodluck Jonathan.
The Jonathan campaign is unfortunately taking that turn. Emphasizing his minority identity is unwarranted if his intention were to capture the support of every part of the country. He did not need to be so dishonest to dispute the existence of zoning since it is there in Section 7 of the PDP constitution and currently in practice. Otherwise, why aren’t there PDP aspirants from the Southwest, for example? Its obviously because Obasanjo has just spent eight years. Jonathan has not proved to be clever at all. He could not even outsmart his opponents by conceding that he will return the PDP ticket to the North, anywhere in the North, in 2015. No. He is bulldozing his way with the might of incumbency. His supporters among southern politicians know this. That is why in spite of thousands of southerners who are more competent than Jonathan, they would rather cling to him. Who can claim that the Yoruba ‘race’ and the Igbo ‘nation’ are bereft of a better person than Jonathan? Incumbency is the answer. As the President, he has the resources of state at his disposal. He can dish out money. He will rig elections. And he will allow his people to loot the treasury, a motive encapsulated in the ambiguous language of ‘our interest’. If free and fair elections were entrenched in our political culture, it would be difficult for any incumbent to win such unconditional support.
Ironically, belief in incumbency, I must hasten to point out, is not limited to supporters of Jonathan in the South. Northerners in the PDP who are opposed to Jonathan are staunch believers in incumbency too. Adamu Ciroma it was who told Nigerians opposed to the re-election of Obasanjo in 2003 that PDP couldn’t be defeated by virtue of its incumbency. “In 1999, we were not defeated before we came to power, how can we be defeated when we are in power?” he reminded his opponents.
The crisis in PDP is over incumbency. It did not have to be shared by every northerner. Unfortunately, the common northerner has to again be brought in the line of fire before the equation could square up. Point a finger at him and many in the South would be eager to rally around you, by instinct, training or design. And that is when people like me take offence. Poor Northerners. Come rain, come shine, as a group, they must be fired at.
From the foregoing, I think I have made my point clear that the allegations labelled against northerners are really unfounded; if northerners have committed a sin, others have not proved to be saints. In these articles, the ordinary Northerner will find sufficient explanation on the roots of his disparagement. If he is hit by any missile again, as he would surely be, he can now say where it is coming from and why. I hope the victim of these wild accusations and unjust generalizations will continue to ignore them, as he has constantly done. He must not forget that much of these baseless allegations are coming from people who have never visited the North or lived among its people, even though their emails do carry “Sent From My Blackberry MTN” signature.
For those who deliberately do so to vent their anger on a section of the Nigerian population, they must realize that there is a growing number of Nigerians among their kinsmen who are desirous of the unity and progress of this country. To the latter I wish every well-meaning Nigerian would extend his hand of love and support. One day, together we shall leave behind the old Nigeria of religious bigotry and ethnic chauvinism to embrace the new one of love, unity and progress. Then, there will be no North, East or West, but a Nigeria ready to embrace the tenets of civilization, of respect to humanity and transparency in governance. This is the venture in which we must partake with perseverance despite the reluctance of retrogressive forces.
I must confess that this series was difficult to write because of the conscious effort to avoid hurting the feelings of many of my readers. Its length, however, was informed by the desire to forsake brevity for understanding. If you are among progressive Nigerians, you would not find much of its contents hurtful. However, if you are among those who propagate hate, please take delight, as usual, in writing a blistering rejoinder to serve your agenda. I will, however, welcome with equanimity both the praise of the companion and the scold of the rival. The former I receive with caution, the latter with pity.
(Concluded)
Tilde,
20 October 2010
Email: aliyutilde@yahoo.com
Blog: http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com
By Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde
Poor Northerners! (3)
(Continued from last week)
There are also those who have never moderated on the partisan propaganda of the First Republic. Mostly in the Southwest, they perceive their region as still in opposition. A lot of lies were written during that period against northerners, the Balewa regime and whoever was in speaking terms with it even among citizens of the Southwest. This much has been admitted in the contributions to the ongoing debate between supporters of late Samuel Akintola and those of late Obafemi Awolowo on the internet. This propaganda polluted the minds of many Southerners with the hatred that eventually brought about the coup that ousted that Republic. Unfortunately, despite the demise of the Republic these old political viruses have replicated their DNA in the genomes of many youths and the tradition continues unabated. They continue to inject that venom into the minds of their youths, telling them about the peculiarities of their ‘race’ and the evil of their principal enemy, the North. These youths would spend their adult life as lecturers, journalists, politicians and businessmen unable to see themselves as Nigerians.
That was the point made by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi when he was invited to speak at a book launch by one of them a year ago. I doubt if his message that Nigerians of his age should be allowed to be Nigerians rather than northerners or southerners was well received by the audience at that event. Every act and every candidate must be for us or against us. I have been following the debate over the approval of Buhari by Pastor Tunde Bakare among members of the Save Nigeria Group. The most adamant opponent of Bakare’s endorsement in the exchange was Dayo Ogunlana. He wrote Egbon Sowumumi saying, “Don’t forget that Buhari has his own k-leg too. He is too tribalistic. I doubt if he has programs that will be of benefit to us in the southwest. He has no soft spot for us in the S/W.” There you are. The urge to return the Yoruba ‘race’ back to the old politics of ethnicity, away from mainstream politics, is strong among many. They hide behind the corruption of Obasanjo and the PDP and interpret the recent successes of AC as an signal that the Southwest is finally regaining its regional consciousness.
Then there is the partition politics of the so-called Sovereign National Conference (SNC). I will discuss its merits and demerits in a later article. Here, I will confine myself to saying that proponents of the conference have always viewed the North as an impediment to the success of their agenda. That assumption may be wrong. Rather than argue with them, I suggest that they come over and conduct an opinion poll among northerners to find out the level of support they may have here. The poll must give three options: a strong centre, as it is now; a lose federation with a weak centre; and partitioning of the country into smaller independent states. I am ready to support whatever would be the outcome of the poll and work hard towards its achievement. I will even switch to supporting a partition once the result of such a poll prefers that. The result of the poll would be a strong argument that will convince many other unionists. Without it, however, I remain committed to one Nigeria.
I have mentioned the aggravated case of the northern Muslim when religion is conscripted to serve political ends in the country. Then, many of his Christian counterparts, will join in the smear and missile hauling against him. The fact is that under such circumstance, the northern Christian is only used as a tool to support the various agenda we described above. The identity of the so-called Middle Belt was reinvented by Obasanjo to divide the North and serve his interest during his first term. He left office without doing anything better for the Middle Belt than the rest of the North. He cancelled the contract for dredging River Niger and Benue immediately he assumed power in 1999. Even now under Jonathan the dredging has stopped, as indicated by the recent appeal for it's resumption by a Lokoja traditional titleholder to the Senate President. In the end, when the chips are down, such Middlebelters suffer from the same injustice, as do the northern Muslims. When it comes to the Niger Delta, TY Danjuma is bombarded as a northerner for declaring profits worth billions of dollars from ‘his’ oil blocks. But when it comes to the power, he is a Christian who would be instigated to support the “Christian” south, like in the ongoing opportunistic power struggle to win the Presidency in 2011 for Goodluck Jonathan.
The Jonathan campaign is unfortunately taking that turn. Emphasizing his minority identity is unwarranted if his intention were to capture the support of every part of the country. He did not need to be so dishonest to dispute the existence of zoning since it is there in Section 7 of the PDP constitution and currently in practice. Otherwise, why aren’t there PDP aspirants from the Southwest, for example? Its obviously because Obasanjo has just spent eight years. Jonathan has not proved to be clever at all. He could not even outsmart his opponents by conceding that he will return the PDP ticket to the North, anywhere in the North, in 2015. No. He is bulldozing his way with the might of incumbency. His supporters among southern politicians know this. That is why in spite of thousands of southerners who are more competent than Jonathan, they would rather cling to him. Who can claim that the Yoruba ‘race’ and the Igbo ‘nation’ are bereft of a better person than Jonathan? Incumbency is the answer. As the President, he has the resources of state at his disposal. He can dish out money. He will rig elections. And he will allow his people to loot the treasury, a motive encapsulated in the ambiguous language of ‘our interest’. If free and fair elections were entrenched in our political culture, it would be difficult for any incumbent to win such unconditional support.
Ironically, belief in incumbency, I must hasten to point out, is not limited to supporters of Jonathan in the South. Northerners in the PDP who are opposed to Jonathan are staunch believers in incumbency too. Adamu Ciroma it was who told Nigerians opposed to the re-election of Obasanjo in 2003 that PDP couldn’t be defeated by virtue of its incumbency. “In 1999, we were not defeated before we came to power, how can we be defeated when we are in power?” he reminded his opponents.
The crisis in PDP is over incumbency. It did not have to be shared by every northerner. Unfortunately, the common northerner has to again be brought in the line of fire before the equation could square up. Point a finger at him and many in the South would be eager to rally around you, by instinct, training or design. And that is when people like me take offence. Poor Northerners. Come rain, come shine, as a group, they must be fired at.
From the foregoing, I think I have made my point clear that the allegations labelled against northerners are really unfounded; if northerners have committed a sin, others have not proved to be saints. In these articles, the ordinary Northerner will find sufficient explanation on the roots of his disparagement. If he is hit by any missile again, as he would surely be, he can now say where it is coming from and why. I hope the victim of these wild accusations and unjust generalizations will continue to ignore them, as he has constantly done. He must not forget that much of these baseless allegations are coming from people who have never visited the North or lived among its people, even though their emails do carry “Sent From My Blackberry MTN” signature.
For those who deliberately do so to vent their anger on a section of the Nigerian population, they must realize that there is a growing number of Nigerians among their kinsmen who are desirous of the unity and progress of this country. To the latter I wish every well-meaning Nigerian would extend his hand of love and support. One day, together we shall leave behind the old Nigeria of religious bigotry and ethnic chauvinism to embrace the new one of love, unity and progress. Then, there will be no North, East or West, but a Nigeria ready to embrace the tenets of civilization, of respect to humanity and transparency in governance. This is the venture in which we must partake with perseverance despite the reluctance of retrogressive forces.
I must confess that this series was difficult to write because of the conscious effort to avoid hurting the feelings of many of my readers. Its length, however, was informed by the desire to forsake brevity for understanding. If you are among progressive Nigerians, you would not find much of its contents hurtful. However, if you are among those who propagate hate, please take delight, as usual, in writing a blistering rejoinder to serve your agenda. I will, however, welcome with equanimity both the praise of the companion and the scold of the rival. The former I receive with caution, the latter with pity.
(Concluded)
Tilde,
20 October 2010
Email: aliyutilde@yahoo.com
Blog: http://fridaydiscourse.blogspot.com
Friday, May 21, 2010
Discourse 233 Ribadu, the Anti-Corruption Prince
Friday Discourse (233)
Ribadu, the New Anti-Corruption Prince
People who are conversant with the intricacies of government, the complexity of politics and the dictates of law in Nigeria will not find it difficult to discern that the task of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is not an easy one. Since the inception of his commission, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, its Chairman, has distinguished himself as an officer who is not afraid to go after any criminal, regardless of his position in the society, no matter the attendant risk to his life or position, and notwithstanding any foreseeable political furore. For one's peace, Machiavelli once advised his prince, he should avoid tampering with the source of people's wealth and with their women. Ribadu's task is to tamper with the first while he has no business with the second. So his task is naturally a difficult one. It could well be considered as the toughest in the Nigerian Police Force. Yet, he pursues his duty with the commitment of a suicidal instinct. I have never met him, but I, together with millions of Nigerians, admire his courage, commitment and sincerity. We support him.
Government and politics are intertwined, so we will treat them together. In fact, some people will argue that in the context of Nigerian political arena, politics overrides government. We will give two examples of how the two impede our progress towards checking corruption. Two weeks ago the Federal Government came up with a list of politicians it believed are corrupt and are not fit to stand for elections if indicted by an administrative panel as provided by the constitution. The government said the list originated from EFCC. The Commission did not deny that. After all, many times Ribadu has sworn that his Commission will prevent such politicians from running in the next elections. So the Commission, aware of its constitutional limitations, ambushed these politicians after their parties have officially submitted their names as nominees to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). EFCC collected the list and started pencilling down names of people whose dossier are dirty enough for disqualification. Then, aware of the fact that it has no constitutional right to prevent anyone from standing for elections directly, the Commission submitted the names to the President, whom they expected – or advised – to finish the job by constituting an administrative panel of inquiry that will offer the accused politicians the chance to defend themselves.
The politicians affected, as expected, cried foul and accused the government of subverting the chances of its opponents. The opposition described the inclusion of ruling party members on the list as a smokescreen. The real intention, they alleged, was to checkmate political heavyweights like the Vice President. More damaging to the credibility of the list, however, is the fact that, to the disappointment of EFCC, the Presidency has tampered with the list by removing the names of PDP members who are in its good books and, possibly, adding some. Even if Ribadu did not leak this fact, we would have arrived at it from the inconsistency of the list with his previous statements. Ribadu had earlier told Nigerians that majority of their governors are corrupt. He has documents to prove corruption charges against at least thirty out of the thirty-six governors, he continues to claim. And we believed Ribadu for he is in a good position to know and he has never prosecuted any innocent person. He even mentioned names which, surprisingly, by the time his list passed through the political filter of Aso Rock, have mysteriously disappeared. Something is amiss.
Ribadu must be in a dilemma. This is just another case in which his boss, the President, has disappointed him. There have been many other occasions before, some involving the President himself. For example, when the President extorted state governments, federal ministries and parastatals, private companies and individuals for his personal library project, Ribadu approached him and the President had no credible alibi but to say that the library will be put to public use. Ribadu left unconvinced. A bigger scandal was underway. The President was caught fabricating a company called Transcorp to which he auctioned the national telephone company – NITEL, Nicon, and so on. Nigerians screamed at this glaring act of corruption. And all that the President's handlers could come up with is a concept called blind trust, something completely alien to our Company Law. These and many other acts of corruption of the President do constitute enough grounds for Ribadu to charge him and for the National Assembly to impeach him.
These are few examples of how incumbency impedes the progress of this country. If it were in countries where corruption is taken seriously, Obasanjo would have been behind bars by now, if not executed, like Saddam, for crimes against humanity in Odi and Zaki Biam. And Ribadu is not the only one in that shoe. Many people who have answered the call to serve in various capacities at various levels of government are faced with the dilemma of how to handle the influence of politics on government. Not only regarding high profile crimes, even on ordinary administrative matters political considerations often compel governments in this country to knowingly take disastrous decisions. Progress thus becomes very difficult.
Ribadu's position is not helped by the law, especially how it operates in Nigeria . A clear example is that of the immunity which it grants to Governors and their Deputies, and to the President and the Vice-President. These officials have exploited the immunity clause to loot public treasury. Ribadu cannot prosecute them, until they vacate their offices. In some cases, like Bayelsa, Plateau, and Adamawa States , he had to resort to their assemblies, but the assemblies were not forthcoming until their members were also shown their dossiers. Then only after being threatened with their prosecution did some of them yielded. Consider that their new governors will also enjoy the immunity accorded to their predecessors. It leaves us with the possibility that looting will continue and the fight between the EFCC and incumbents will assume a cyclic form.
Now, ordinary minds in the position of Ribadu, particularly those with a populist bent, will choose to quit. They will look at their credibility, as it obtains in advanced countries and abandon the office, accusing the President of corruption and not living by the dictates of the law. Nigeria is not Kenya . I consider this as playing to the gallery. The fight against corruption will be a long one especially in a democracy where the law is paramount. We will have occasions to smile though; and once we remain tenacious the future will be bright. Take the case of our present corrupt governors in EFCC books. Though we could not remove them in office to stop corruption immediately and Obasanjo is retaining them to enable him rig the coming elections, they will nevertheless be prosecuted. Their prosecution after office will never be late.
My strong conviction for the prosecution of those criminals who parade themselves today as governors arises from the fact that neither the next President nor EFCC can shy away from that responsibility. On the one hand, only a fool as President will allow such governors who have amassed so much wealth to walk freely on the streets and constitute a clog to his administration. This was the reason why Obasanjo entirely obliterated the groups and individuals that brought him to power. Their political weight became a burden for his administration, a sin, if you like, for which they must be sent to hell. Machiavelli rightly spelt this as the first responsibility of a prince. In the same way, as the present governors make the mistake of attempting to exercise their political muscle in the Senate and retaining their clout back in their states, the new President is left with no option but to give Ribadu a nod to go ahead with his job. That will be the greatest day for Ribadu. That day, we will rejoice as we never did before, possibly holding parties across the nation. The new governors too will join us because the pebbles in their shoes have been done away with.
Ribadu, on the other hand, cannot turndown the benefit of prosecuting them. He is offered the chance to laugh last. Sending them to jail will, apart from being a punishment they never contemplated, send a strong signal to their successors that for whatever wrong they commit, the long arm of the law will ultimately reach them. The new governors would circumspect, or even recapitulate, on behaving like their predecessors. Corruption will thus decline. More spectacular is the case of Obasanjo who, most likely, will be behind bars by the time the next President spends two years in power for the same reason as would the old governors.
So, I will appeal to Ribadu to continue on his noble path. Let him not be worried about the incumbency which breeds the impunity that tampers with his duties, or the immunity that hinders the prosecution of some corrupt officials, or even the distressing public condemnation from agents of such thieves. He is assured that the day they will be within his reach is close. On our part, the majority of the Nigerian public that are behind him, we do appreciate the limitations of his office under the present dispensation. And because we understand the risk involved in his work, we will continue to pray for his divine protection. The fall of Murtala, Buhari and Idiagbon, the pioneers of the fight against corruption in this country, has left us in sadness for decades now. Today, we celebrate the arrival of their offshoot. In my heart, and surely in the hearts of many Nigerians, Ribadu is our new anti-corruption prince. Allah suure!
Tilde,
21 Feb 2007
Ribadu, the New Anti-Corruption Prince
People who are conversant with the intricacies of government, the complexity of politics and the dictates of law in Nigeria will not find it difficult to discern that the task of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is not an easy one. Since the inception of his commission, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, its Chairman, has distinguished himself as an officer who is not afraid to go after any criminal, regardless of his position in the society, no matter the attendant risk to his life or position, and notwithstanding any foreseeable political furore. For one's peace, Machiavelli once advised his prince, he should avoid tampering with the source of people's wealth and with their women. Ribadu's task is to tamper with the first while he has no business with the second. So his task is naturally a difficult one. It could well be considered as the toughest in the Nigerian Police Force. Yet, he pursues his duty with the commitment of a suicidal instinct. I have never met him, but I, together with millions of Nigerians, admire his courage, commitment and sincerity. We support him.
Government and politics are intertwined, so we will treat them together. In fact, some people will argue that in the context of Nigerian political arena, politics overrides government. We will give two examples of how the two impede our progress towards checking corruption. Two weeks ago the Federal Government came up with a list of politicians it believed are corrupt and are not fit to stand for elections if indicted by an administrative panel as provided by the constitution. The government said the list originated from EFCC. The Commission did not deny that. After all, many times Ribadu has sworn that his Commission will prevent such politicians from running in the next elections. So the Commission, aware of its constitutional limitations, ambushed these politicians after their parties have officially submitted their names as nominees to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). EFCC collected the list and started pencilling down names of people whose dossier are dirty enough for disqualification. Then, aware of the fact that it has no constitutional right to prevent anyone from standing for elections directly, the Commission submitted the names to the President, whom they expected – or advised – to finish the job by constituting an administrative panel of inquiry that will offer the accused politicians the chance to defend themselves.
The politicians affected, as expected, cried foul and accused the government of subverting the chances of its opponents. The opposition described the inclusion of ruling party members on the list as a smokescreen. The real intention, they alleged, was to checkmate political heavyweights like the Vice President. More damaging to the credibility of the list, however, is the fact that, to the disappointment of EFCC, the Presidency has tampered with the list by removing the names of PDP members who are in its good books and, possibly, adding some. Even if Ribadu did not leak this fact, we would have arrived at it from the inconsistency of the list with his previous statements. Ribadu had earlier told Nigerians that majority of their governors are corrupt. He has documents to prove corruption charges against at least thirty out of the thirty-six governors, he continues to claim. And we believed Ribadu for he is in a good position to know and he has never prosecuted any innocent person. He even mentioned names which, surprisingly, by the time his list passed through the political filter of Aso Rock, have mysteriously disappeared. Something is amiss.
Ribadu must be in a dilemma. This is just another case in which his boss, the President, has disappointed him. There have been many other occasions before, some involving the President himself. For example, when the President extorted state governments, federal ministries and parastatals, private companies and individuals for his personal library project, Ribadu approached him and the President had no credible alibi but to say that the library will be put to public use. Ribadu left unconvinced. A bigger scandal was underway. The President was caught fabricating a company called Transcorp to which he auctioned the national telephone company – NITEL, Nicon, and so on. Nigerians screamed at this glaring act of corruption. And all that the President's handlers could come up with is a concept called blind trust, something completely alien to our Company Law. These and many other acts of corruption of the President do constitute enough grounds for Ribadu to charge him and for the National Assembly to impeach him.
These are few examples of how incumbency impedes the progress of this country. If it were in countries where corruption is taken seriously, Obasanjo would have been behind bars by now, if not executed, like Saddam, for crimes against humanity in Odi and Zaki Biam. And Ribadu is not the only one in that shoe. Many people who have answered the call to serve in various capacities at various levels of government are faced with the dilemma of how to handle the influence of politics on government. Not only regarding high profile crimes, even on ordinary administrative matters political considerations often compel governments in this country to knowingly take disastrous decisions. Progress thus becomes very difficult.
Ribadu's position is not helped by the law, especially how it operates in Nigeria . A clear example is that of the immunity which it grants to Governors and their Deputies, and to the President and the Vice-President. These officials have exploited the immunity clause to loot public treasury. Ribadu cannot prosecute them, until they vacate their offices. In some cases, like Bayelsa, Plateau, and Adamawa States , he had to resort to their assemblies, but the assemblies were not forthcoming until their members were also shown their dossiers. Then only after being threatened with their prosecution did some of them yielded. Consider that their new governors will also enjoy the immunity accorded to their predecessors. It leaves us with the possibility that looting will continue and the fight between the EFCC and incumbents will assume a cyclic form.
Now, ordinary minds in the position of Ribadu, particularly those with a populist bent, will choose to quit. They will look at their credibility, as it obtains in advanced countries and abandon the office, accusing the President of corruption and not living by the dictates of the law. Nigeria is not Kenya . I consider this as playing to the gallery. The fight against corruption will be a long one especially in a democracy where the law is paramount. We will have occasions to smile though; and once we remain tenacious the future will be bright. Take the case of our present corrupt governors in EFCC books. Though we could not remove them in office to stop corruption immediately and Obasanjo is retaining them to enable him rig the coming elections, they will nevertheless be prosecuted. Their prosecution after office will never be late.
My strong conviction for the prosecution of those criminals who parade themselves today as governors arises from the fact that neither the next President nor EFCC can shy away from that responsibility. On the one hand, only a fool as President will allow such governors who have amassed so much wealth to walk freely on the streets and constitute a clog to his administration. This was the reason why Obasanjo entirely obliterated the groups and individuals that brought him to power. Their political weight became a burden for his administration, a sin, if you like, for which they must be sent to hell. Machiavelli rightly spelt this as the first responsibility of a prince. In the same way, as the present governors make the mistake of attempting to exercise their political muscle in the Senate and retaining their clout back in their states, the new President is left with no option but to give Ribadu a nod to go ahead with his job. That will be the greatest day for Ribadu. That day, we will rejoice as we never did before, possibly holding parties across the nation. The new governors too will join us because the pebbles in their shoes have been done away with.
Ribadu, on the other hand, cannot turndown the benefit of prosecuting them. He is offered the chance to laugh last. Sending them to jail will, apart from being a punishment they never contemplated, send a strong signal to their successors that for whatever wrong they commit, the long arm of the law will ultimately reach them. The new governors would circumspect, or even recapitulate, on behaving like their predecessors. Corruption will thus decline. More spectacular is the case of Obasanjo who, most likely, will be behind bars by the time the next President spends two years in power for the same reason as would the old governors.
So, I will appeal to Ribadu to continue on his noble path. Let him not be worried about the incumbency which breeds the impunity that tampers with his duties, or the immunity that hinders the prosecution of some corrupt officials, or even the distressing public condemnation from agents of such thieves. He is assured that the day they will be within his reach is close. On our part, the majority of the Nigerian public that are behind him, we do appreciate the limitations of his office under the present dispensation. And because we understand the risk involved in his work, we will continue to pray for his divine protection. The fall of Murtala, Buhari and Idiagbon, the pioneers of the fight against corruption in this country, has left us in sadness for decades now. Today, we celebrate the arrival of their offshoot. In my heart, and surely in the hearts of many Nigerians, Ribadu is our new anti-corruption prince. Allah suure!
Tilde,
21 Feb 2007
Obasanjo's Pregnancy (By Olusegun Obasanjo)
Obasanjo’s Pregnancy By Olusegun Obasanjo
The foundation of Nigerian problems is political and the solutions to Nigerian problems must start from the foundation. Whether we go back to 1914, 1952 or 1960, we have to go back in the process of soul searching and identification of how, when and where we have wronged ourselves. I strongly believe that we need a Reconciliation Conference to clear the ground. It should be composed of the genuine representatives of Nigerian peoples and should include all the living participants in the pre-independence politics. The objective should be to openly discuss allegations and accusations founded or unfounded of one group’s mistreatment, abuse, disappointment, injustice against another across the board concluding in explanations, apologies, forgiveness and total clearing of the air. There are myths and realities of what happened in the past which we pass down from generation to generation. Let the myths be exploded and the realities be understood and accepted with explanations where necessary, apologies where desired but without recriminations and with complete reconciliation. Nothing should be swept under the carpet. All matters tabled should be discussed and nothing should be hidden, covered or disregarded once it is genuinely and seriously raised by identifiable group. I will consider 1952 or thereabout as the ideal starting date. But on no account should we go back to 1914 because no Nigerian could in part, directly or indirectly be held responsible for events from 1914 to 1952. The Reconciliation Conference should end with the adoption of a reconciliation document, listing all the points raised and how cleared. With the muck of the past cleared, we should have a new clean foundation for our political framework and constitution.
My brief experience with the Nigeria Unity Organisation proved to me how very useful such a conference held in good faith and without bitterness, but aimed at clearing the muck could be. There had always been allegations, stories and accusations of what Yoruba leaders and people have done against Ibo leaders and people and vice versa and these have been handed down. The most serious allegation was dated about 1952 when Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe and the NCNC claimed to have been robbed of victory in the West. Chief Sam Mbakwe was honest and courageous enough to raise these allegations in Ibadan in 1995. When Chief M. A. Akinloye, one of the principal actors explained in detail what transpired, Chief Sam Mbakwe said, “We now understand what happened and if I were you, I would have done exactly what you did.” There is no better way of understanding and clearing the air of myths and realities of our past political relationship and interaction…
There are allegations or accusations founded or unfounded levelled by the Yorubas against the majorities and vice versa. The free discussion and explanation of these issues are bound to make for healthy future political activities. The free discussion and explanation of these issues are bound to make for healthy future political activities…
As a complement to the Reconciliation Conference, must be a Truth Commission to ferret out and establish the truth in all areas of our past political, economic and social lives that may be requested for or raised by Nigerians or by the Commission itself and considered by the Commission to be germane and inextricably relevant to its work, its mission and the expansion of our knowledge of truth about the past and the present as a preparation of the future….
I see 1966 as a watershed date and a possible, suitable and convenient starting date for the Truth Commission but on no account should it go beyond 1960. The Reconciliation Conference should, to my mind, substantially take care of most of the issues before 1966. The Commission may be established and be seating concurrently with the Reconciliation Conference but it will require months if not years to do a thorough job. Its essential findings must be published and made available to Nigerians and to those who want to learn from it. The Reconciliation Conference and the Truth Commission in the Nigerian way may be one of Nigeria’s useful contributions to lasting solution to political problems in multi-national societies in Africa and elsewhere.
The third leg of our stool for solid and firm political foundation for our sustained take off is a possible amendment to our Constitution to take account of some of the clearly articulated concerns. This cannot be established until the Reconciliation Conference has completed its task. But it does not necessarily have to wait for the completion of the Truth Commission. The Assembly should be made up of freely elected representatives of the people with ten percent being reserved for professional and trade associations and bodies and groups like traditional rulers who cannot participate in free general elections. Another ten percent should come from the Reconciliation Conference elected from among its members. The Assembly should be free to elect or select its own chairman and work out its own working and operating procedure. It may break the issues to be deliberated upon into two minor issues requiring only a majority vote for a decision and major issues requiring a two-third majority vote of those present who form a quorum for a decision. Approving the operating procedure of the assembly will be regarded as a minor issue requiring only a simple majority. But the issues of revenue allocation, constituents making up the federation – thirty-six states or six zones are major and must require near consensus to take decisions on them since once the decision is taken by a sovereign Assembly, it becomes part of the constitution. For devolution of power, balance and stability, I prefer six zones to be the basis of our federating units.
I will suggest five items, which may be regarded as novelty, which I believe that our recent experiences and experiences from other lands dictate. One, I will like to se a clause for self-determination and self-determination process included in the constitution. I had always thought that a self-determination clause in a federal constitution would be disintegrative and disuniting. But when I listened to the Ethiopian experience and model, I was persuaded and enchanted by it. It makes the federation a true federation and strong both at the constituent level and at the centre because all have a stake and to be out is to be a loser. If a component unit passes and which also involve the rest of the federation, then it has a case worth considering for self-determination. A self determination clause will always make the operators of the constitution conscious of the need to preserve the spirit and the letters of the constitution…
Two, a clause for integration and integration process is to make room for the conditions and the basis on which other states or components of other states may have to satisfy to join and be integrated with a thriving Nigerian federation. I see it as a necessary corollary to the self-determination clause. And no country or state should feel agitated or threatened about such a clause in our constitution if we can insert self-determination clause, we should be able to include integration clause…
The third clause is to deal with the issues of coup d’etat. Once a genie of coup is released out of the bottle it becomes virtually endemic until the tradition, culture and convention of non-military intervention can be recreated and developed within the military and the society as a whole – it will take generations rather than years. Coups cannot be dealt with by legislation alone but it can be fought against in the heart and mind of the people. It is unfortunate that what is normal in the experience of Nigerians who will be about forty years old at the end of the century is military administration….
The fourth clause, I will strongly recommend for inclusion in our next constitution is a compulsory nine-year free education for all Nigerian children. One of the greatest dis-service that almost all administrations have done to Nigeria since 1979 is to progressively uneducated the Nigerian children to the extent that we had more illiterates in 1998 than we had in 1960…
The fifth clause is the elimination of capital punishment. Death sentence must be constitutionally abolished. I know that there are strong feelings for preservation of death sentence including quranical and biblical support. What we know of cruel torture is the so-called investigation by law enforcement agents, official killings nicknamed operation damisa, judicial murder, bloodthirsty leadership and injustice, oppression and corruption at the highest level of the executive, at all levels of judiciary and by all law enforcement agents make it absolutely unsafe and suicidal to entrust the power of death of a Nigerian into the hands of any of these, now and in future. I prefer that we should err on the part of saving lives rather than on the side of destroying innocent lives.
Let me illustrate the level of miscarriage of justice with the case of Sani and Umaru in Yola prison serving life sentence for the murder of an Adamawa State politician carried out by hired assassins. The leader of the group of hired assassins who perpetrated the crime happened to be in Yola prison for another offence while I was there. He confessed to me that he led the assassins because they were hired by a political opponent and that Sani and Umaru knew nothing let alone participating in the crime. Yet they were both sentenced to death by a fire arms tribunal and their lives were spared at the eleventh hour by a special appeal to the governor of the state and they were serving life sentences by the time I left Yola for offence they had not committed.
Our economic system cannot be anything other than a market economy. But in our situation, we must not saddle the market with the function it cannot perform. Some essential factors of the market for effective regulatory and distributory functions are absent with our level of development. So, to abandon the economy to non-available and non-functioning market forces is to destroy the economy… We need massive foreign investment of about five billion dollars annually to get the economy up again. I believe that with the right policy in place under a democratic umbrella with dynamic leadership, trusted and supported national and internationally with corruption put under check, this objective is achievable.
Nigeria was taken captive by conspiracy of deception, oppression, corruption and injustice all for greed and selfishness and it needs liberation.
I remain hopeful that with enough crop of patriotic, well meaning and Godly men and women striving relentlessly and selflessly for the good over darkness in our country and through divine intervention, deliverance and guidance, the great potentials of Nigeria will be actualised.”
COMMENT
The above was written by Obasanjo in his book The Animal Called Man which was published in the year before he became President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I printed these excerpts to prove, in fairness to him, that he was pregnant with the major programs he is presently undertaking right before he became President: the Reconciliation Conference and Truth Commission are expressed in the Oputa Panel; the Sovereign Assembly of what he called “true representatives of the people” is manifested in the ongoing Political Reform Conference; compulsory 9 year education for children is the Universal Basic Education Program. All the five clauses he discussed above have found their way into the fake constitution recently circulated at the conference by the Executive. Privatisation, with a human face then, was also clearly in his mind.
The big question is: what change would have Obasanjo achieved by 2007, after being granted an opportunity to change the situation for eight years? Obasanjo’s pregnancy did not give birth to a child, but a donkey. Did he even care, if we must ask, to release Sani and Umaru from Yola Prison? How many people have been killed by Operation Fire for Fire of Tafa Balogun and how many Nigerians lost their lives in order for the PDP to win over the Southwest and rig the 2003 elections? How many Sanis and Umarus are still in detention as a result of abuses during the election? Is that the meaning of being on the side of life? Are members of his cabinet the “patriotic, well-meaning and Godly men and women he suggested? Is his team “striving relentlessly and selflessly for the good against darkness in our country?
The implementation of these ideas points to a completely different direction. Privatisation has ended up in scandals, one after another, involving the presidency. El-Rufa’I is saying that whatever he did was with the knowledge of the President and his Vice. The government has not published the report of the Oputa Panel. The UBE is a sham, as the government itself has refused to provide the funds required for its implementation. We are yet to see any light, all that looms above us is darkness. No divine intervention, deliverance and guidance, yet.
Talking about corruption, the President needs to be informed that soliciting for funds from government agencies (like the NNPC), governors and the likes of Dangote to build a personal information centre at Abeokuta worth over N7billion is corruption by extortion, which is worse form of corruption. We blame the police for extorting N20.00 at roadblocks. Who will blame the President for extorting N7billion? The BBC told us last week that already over N4billion has been realised. How much did these people contribute to the President’s family when he was in Yola prison?
Excuse me Mr. President.
----------------------------------------
Editor: Please quote the last paragraph in bold at the centre of article: Talking about corruption, the President needs to be informed that soliciting for funds from government agencies like the NNPC, governors and the likes of Dangote to build a personal information centre at Abeokuta worth over N7billion is worse than the corruption perpetrated by Tafa Balogun because it is a corruption not by theft but by extortion. The BBC told us last week that already over N4billion has been realised. How much did these people contributed to the President’s family when he was in Yola prison? Excuse me, Mr. President.”
The foundation of Nigerian problems is political and the solutions to Nigerian problems must start from the foundation. Whether we go back to 1914, 1952 or 1960, we have to go back in the process of soul searching and identification of how, when and where we have wronged ourselves. I strongly believe that we need a Reconciliation Conference to clear the ground. It should be composed of the genuine representatives of Nigerian peoples and should include all the living participants in the pre-independence politics. The objective should be to openly discuss allegations and accusations founded or unfounded of one group’s mistreatment, abuse, disappointment, injustice against another across the board concluding in explanations, apologies, forgiveness and total clearing of the air. There are myths and realities of what happened in the past which we pass down from generation to generation. Let the myths be exploded and the realities be understood and accepted with explanations where necessary, apologies where desired but without recriminations and with complete reconciliation. Nothing should be swept under the carpet. All matters tabled should be discussed and nothing should be hidden, covered or disregarded once it is genuinely and seriously raised by identifiable group. I will consider 1952 or thereabout as the ideal starting date. But on no account should we go back to 1914 because no Nigerian could in part, directly or indirectly be held responsible for events from 1914 to 1952. The Reconciliation Conference should end with the adoption of a reconciliation document, listing all the points raised and how cleared. With the muck of the past cleared, we should have a new clean foundation for our political framework and constitution.
My brief experience with the Nigeria Unity Organisation proved to me how very useful such a conference held in good faith and without bitterness, but aimed at clearing the muck could be. There had always been allegations, stories and accusations of what Yoruba leaders and people have done against Ibo leaders and people and vice versa and these have been handed down. The most serious allegation was dated about 1952 when Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe and the NCNC claimed to have been robbed of victory in the West. Chief Sam Mbakwe was honest and courageous enough to raise these allegations in Ibadan in 1995. When Chief M. A. Akinloye, one of the principal actors explained in detail what transpired, Chief Sam Mbakwe said, “We now understand what happened and if I were you, I would have done exactly what you did.” There is no better way of understanding and clearing the air of myths and realities of our past political relationship and interaction…
There are allegations or accusations founded or unfounded levelled by the Yorubas against the majorities and vice versa. The free discussion and explanation of these issues are bound to make for healthy future political activities. The free discussion and explanation of these issues are bound to make for healthy future political activities…
As a complement to the Reconciliation Conference, must be a Truth Commission to ferret out and establish the truth in all areas of our past political, economic and social lives that may be requested for or raised by Nigerians or by the Commission itself and considered by the Commission to be germane and inextricably relevant to its work, its mission and the expansion of our knowledge of truth about the past and the present as a preparation of the future….
I see 1966 as a watershed date and a possible, suitable and convenient starting date for the Truth Commission but on no account should it go beyond 1960. The Reconciliation Conference should, to my mind, substantially take care of most of the issues before 1966. The Commission may be established and be seating concurrently with the Reconciliation Conference but it will require months if not years to do a thorough job. Its essential findings must be published and made available to Nigerians and to those who want to learn from it. The Reconciliation Conference and the Truth Commission in the Nigerian way may be one of Nigeria’s useful contributions to lasting solution to political problems in multi-national societies in Africa and elsewhere.
The third leg of our stool for solid and firm political foundation for our sustained take off is a possible amendment to our Constitution to take account of some of the clearly articulated concerns. This cannot be established until the Reconciliation Conference has completed its task. But it does not necessarily have to wait for the completion of the Truth Commission. The Assembly should be made up of freely elected representatives of the people with ten percent being reserved for professional and trade associations and bodies and groups like traditional rulers who cannot participate in free general elections. Another ten percent should come from the Reconciliation Conference elected from among its members. The Assembly should be free to elect or select its own chairman and work out its own working and operating procedure. It may break the issues to be deliberated upon into two minor issues requiring only a majority vote for a decision and major issues requiring a two-third majority vote of those present who form a quorum for a decision. Approving the operating procedure of the assembly will be regarded as a minor issue requiring only a simple majority. But the issues of revenue allocation, constituents making up the federation – thirty-six states or six zones are major and must require near consensus to take decisions on them since once the decision is taken by a sovereign Assembly, it becomes part of the constitution. For devolution of power, balance and stability, I prefer six zones to be the basis of our federating units.
I will suggest five items, which may be regarded as novelty, which I believe that our recent experiences and experiences from other lands dictate. One, I will like to se a clause for self-determination and self-determination process included in the constitution. I had always thought that a self-determination clause in a federal constitution would be disintegrative and disuniting. But when I listened to the Ethiopian experience and model, I was persuaded and enchanted by it. It makes the federation a true federation and strong both at the constituent level and at the centre because all have a stake and to be out is to be a loser. If a component unit passes and which also involve the rest of the federation, then it has a case worth considering for self-determination. A self determination clause will always make the operators of the constitution conscious of the need to preserve the spirit and the letters of the constitution…
Two, a clause for integration and integration process is to make room for the conditions and the basis on which other states or components of other states may have to satisfy to join and be integrated with a thriving Nigerian federation. I see it as a necessary corollary to the self-determination clause. And no country or state should feel agitated or threatened about such a clause in our constitution if we can insert self-determination clause, we should be able to include integration clause…
The third clause is to deal with the issues of coup d’etat. Once a genie of coup is released out of the bottle it becomes virtually endemic until the tradition, culture and convention of non-military intervention can be recreated and developed within the military and the society as a whole – it will take generations rather than years. Coups cannot be dealt with by legislation alone but it can be fought against in the heart and mind of the people. It is unfortunate that what is normal in the experience of Nigerians who will be about forty years old at the end of the century is military administration….
The fourth clause, I will strongly recommend for inclusion in our next constitution is a compulsory nine-year free education for all Nigerian children. One of the greatest dis-service that almost all administrations have done to Nigeria since 1979 is to progressively uneducated the Nigerian children to the extent that we had more illiterates in 1998 than we had in 1960…
The fifth clause is the elimination of capital punishment. Death sentence must be constitutionally abolished. I know that there are strong feelings for preservation of death sentence including quranical and biblical support. What we know of cruel torture is the so-called investigation by law enforcement agents, official killings nicknamed operation damisa, judicial murder, bloodthirsty leadership and injustice, oppression and corruption at the highest level of the executive, at all levels of judiciary and by all law enforcement agents make it absolutely unsafe and suicidal to entrust the power of death of a Nigerian into the hands of any of these, now and in future. I prefer that we should err on the part of saving lives rather than on the side of destroying innocent lives.
Let me illustrate the level of miscarriage of justice with the case of Sani and Umaru in Yola prison serving life sentence for the murder of an Adamawa State politician carried out by hired assassins. The leader of the group of hired assassins who perpetrated the crime happened to be in Yola prison for another offence while I was there. He confessed to me that he led the assassins because they were hired by a political opponent and that Sani and Umaru knew nothing let alone participating in the crime. Yet they were both sentenced to death by a fire arms tribunal and their lives were spared at the eleventh hour by a special appeal to the governor of the state and they were serving life sentences by the time I left Yola for offence they had not committed.
Our economic system cannot be anything other than a market economy. But in our situation, we must not saddle the market with the function it cannot perform. Some essential factors of the market for effective regulatory and distributory functions are absent with our level of development. So, to abandon the economy to non-available and non-functioning market forces is to destroy the economy… We need massive foreign investment of about five billion dollars annually to get the economy up again. I believe that with the right policy in place under a democratic umbrella with dynamic leadership, trusted and supported national and internationally with corruption put under check, this objective is achievable.
Nigeria was taken captive by conspiracy of deception, oppression, corruption and injustice all for greed and selfishness and it needs liberation.
I remain hopeful that with enough crop of patriotic, well meaning and Godly men and women striving relentlessly and selflessly for the good over darkness in our country and through divine intervention, deliverance and guidance, the great potentials of Nigeria will be actualised.”
COMMENT
The above was written by Obasanjo in his book The Animal Called Man which was published in the year before he became President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I printed these excerpts to prove, in fairness to him, that he was pregnant with the major programs he is presently undertaking right before he became President: the Reconciliation Conference and Truth Commission are expressed in the Oputa Panel; the Sovereign Assembly of what he called “true representatives of the people” is manifested in the ongoing Political Reform Conference; compulsory 9 year education for children is the Universal Basic Education Program. All the five clauses he discussed above have found their way into the fake constitution recently circulated at the conference by the Executive. Privatisation, with a human face then, was also clearly in his mind.
The big question is: what change would have Obasanjo achieved by 2007, after being granted an opportunity to change the situation for eight years? Obasanjo’s pregnancy did not give birth to a child, but a donkey. Did he even care, if we must ask, to release Sani and Umaru from Yola Prison? How many people have been killed by Operation Fire for Fire of Tafa Balogun and how many Nigerians lost their lives in order for the PDP to win over the Southwest and rig the 2003 elections? How many Sanis and Umarus are still in detention as a result of abuses during the election? Is that the meaning of being on the side of life? Are members of his cabinet the “patriotic, well-meaning and Godly men and women he suggested? Is his team “striving relentlessly and selflessly for the good against darkness in our country?
The implementation of these ideas points to a completely different direction. Privatisation has ended up in scandals, one after another, involving the presidency. El-Rufa’I is saying that whatever he did was with the knowledge of the President and his Vice. The government has not published the report of the Oputa Panel. The UBE is a sham, as the government itself has refused to provide the funds required for its implementation. We are yet to see any light, all that looms above us is darkness. No divine intervention, deliverance and guidance, yet.
Talking about corruption, the President needs to be informed that soliciting for funds from government agencies (like the NNPC), governors and the likes of Dangote to build a personal information centre at Abeokuta worth over N7billion is corruption by extortion, which is worse form of corruption. We blame the police for extorting N20.00 at roadblocks. Who will blame the President for extorting N7billion? The BBC told us last week that already over N4billion has been realised. How much did these people contribute to the President’s family when he was in Yola prison?
Excuse me Mr. President.
----------------------------------------
Editor: Please quote the last paragraph in bold at the centre of article: Talking about corruption, the President needs to be informed that soliciting for funds from government agencies like the NNPC, governors and the likes of Dangote to build a personal information centre at Abeokuta worth over N7billion is worse than the corruption perpetrated by Tafa Balogun because it is a corruption not by theft but by extortion. The BBC told us last week that already over N4billion has been realised. How much did these people contributed to the President’s family when he was in Yola prison? Excuse me, Mr. President.”
Obasanjo, Ask IBB and Abacha Forgiveness
Obasanjo: Ask IBB and Abacha Forgiveness
aliyutilde@yahoo.com
Fulanis say four things must never be trusted. I will mention only one today: Laamu, or Power. And in Obasanjo I see the import of their maxim more than in any Nigerian ruler before him.
It was disgusting to learn what I never wanted to believe. Though I have muted its possibility many times, I never believed that Obasanjo would be so foolish to tread the path of his humiliated predecessors. I thought, from his display of mammy-market brand of scholarship and his newly acquired born-again status, Obasanjo will be eager to the reach 2007 mark, when, as a born-again, he will throw away the yolk of leadership and retire to God, seeking His Forgiveness for whatever crimes and sins he has been committing throughout his life. Alas, he has fallen into the cheap trap of wanting to delay his departure and, to hold the nation to the indefinite spell of his caprice.
It was barely a two ago when he told a world gathering that he was under pressure to remain in power beyond 2007, something which, according to him, he has been resisting. Much earlier, he has assured the world that he will not stay in power beyond his present tenure. I believed him, at least on this matter, all along, because even the most docile cow, except the one with coconut head, if it exists, would hesitate to borrow from the imprudence of a chain of predecessors.
Obasanjo was caught in the shameful act of circulating a draft constitution at the ongoing political reform conference in which he seeks, among other things, to extend his tenure, along with that of the governors, by two years, implicitly. The manner in which the document was published and circulated was very disgraceful. The Presidency did not have the courage to attribute its name to it, and if it were not for the fear that the identity of the authors was about to be discovered, it would have remained anonymous forever. But Agabi, a former minister of justice and now an adviser to the President, bulged and said it is indeed the orchestration of “the executive.” The conference snubbed the President and said, “It is too late.” What a shame!
Until now, two reasons, I thought could have prevented Obasanjo from falling into the self-succession ensnare. One of them was that he was not leaving power for the first time. He has experienced the inner bitterness of losing it and tasted the fruits of fulfilling the promise to hand it over to someone, willingly and amicably. He was for two decades remembered as the only military ruler who handed over power to civilians. Logically, therefore, the desire to repeat that glory would have superseded whatever incentive is there to betray it.
The second reason is criticism of the self-succession bid of his predecessors who attempted to hold on to their seats as babies cling to their mothers. Gowon was the first, though today the waning memory of man and the profoundly corrupt atmosphere in the country has turned him into a saint of a sort. He ruled for nine years and more than once postponed the day he intended to handover power to civilians. He was eventually toppled by Obasanjo and his comrades in 1975. The next person who was very reluctant to transfer power to civilians was Babangida; he finally caved in to pressure at a time when the whole nation was tired of his fickleness. The third was Abacha, and in him too, like in the case of Obasanjo, I never believed that he would entertain the desire to stay put. I was thus shocked when his wife, in a BBC Hausa interview, confirmed the suspicion.
When Obasanjo’s failure to consult reason and his reluctance to abide by the historical event that earned him a celebrity status are added to his shameful rigging of 2003 elections, we are left with a bare rock personality that is characterised by recklessness and greed. This has forced us to reconsider the acclaimed merits of his tenure as military head of state. His handing over in 1978, it must be clear by now, was not a child of his thought but one prompted by the undertaking of his immediate predecessor, Murtala, to which other military officers were committed.
Since the desire to extend his tenure is now established beyond doubt, I find it more rewarding to turn our attention to examining the reasons behind what has become an undesirable syndrome in the history of contemporary Nigeria. If it were something that happened once with Gowon in the early seventies, we would have regarded it as accidental, or treated it as an exception, to the norm of our political development. But a blunder in history which successively repeated itself three times legitimately earns itself the notorious label of a syndrome which we are forced to properly study and for which a remedy is necessary. I have therefore, for the rest of this article, decided to turn away from flogging Obasanjo, for that is a punishment that will be meted on him by several other writers in the near future. Rather, I will concentrate on studying, albeit briefly, the roots of the tazarce syndrome to which I believe we must find an everlasting solution.
Why do our leaders, as did many African and Arab leaders, endeavour to remain in power by all means? There could be many reasons but five are easily discernible to any dispassionate analyst. The first is natural rule of self-preservation which expresses itself here in the desire of an incumbent to perpetuate his power. As a leader of a country like Nigeria where the bulk of power is deposited at the centre; with the prevalent corruption and the absence of rule of law and due process in distribution of resources and execution of projects; with virtually the entire political elite becoming subjects to necessity of wealth or slaves of its vanity; it is difficult for any executive at the centre or the periphery to maintain his moral decency and live by his words when it comes to parting away with power. Under such conditions, the chances that the leader will succumb to the natural rule of self preservation are very high. Moral obligations, like conducting free and fair elections and sticking to constitutional provisions regarding tenure, become a cumbersome consignment that could be dispensed with at the instance of natural desire. The animal in man, or the animal called man, therefore, relocates quickly from the lofty position of moral rectitude that makes him unique among other animals to the low position of moral barrenness that is common to other members of the kingdom.
Obasanjo has returned at a unique time in our history, when coups are outdated, when the nation itself is under privatization, when there few who are ready to swim against the tide of corruption in a post ideological era, and, more importantly, when the country is at the crossroads, politically. The urge to benefit from the resources at his disposal in such a free atmosphere as well as the opportunity to shape the future of Nigeria along his dream becomes irresistible.
The second reason is the group pressure which I alluded to in my previous essays. This is the angle from which the President speaks when he complains of “intense pressure from people to extend my tenure.” Those who surround the President, which include people from his party, tribe and religion, have been enjoying the colossal power in the Presidency for six years now. They have enjoyed the power to do and undo, to hire and fire. 2003, and now 2007 appeared ages away at the beginning of his tenures. Suddenly, now, with 2007 only two years away, these people are confronted with the hard fact of retiring into where they were before, into our status of ordinary citizens who contend daily with problems of insecurity, poverty, unemployment and abuse. Let Obasanjo look around and see how many AGIPs are on his team, the same people misdirected IBB into the idea of self-succession.
In fact, members of this group include the governors who, with very few exceptions, are enjoying the mismanagement of state and local governments’ funds. Twenty-five of them we learnt recently are under the dreaded lens of EFCC. They have reduced states to the status of personal estates which they can plunder at will. It is easy to read the motive of these governors, ministers, presidential advisers and assistants when they attempt to preserve their positions by pushing Obasanjo to the brink, as did the lieutenants of Babangida and Abacha before.
The third is what I call the web of evil effect. In the past six years, this country has suffered form the ruling elites’ pervasive invasion of its treasury and reckless disregard to the rule of law. They have committed so many crimes, did so many wrongs, stepped on so many toes, all in the bid to accumulate wealth and retain power. And according to the maxim of Brutus, the evil of these men do will be alive after 2007 when they will be stripped of their immunity and the scams will, as usual, be copiously reported in magazines for the world to see.
The evil of greed, apart from that of fear, is equally persuasive. The recent scam over the sale of federal houses is enough a pointer to the avariciousness of today’s ruling elite. We are overwhelmed by the manner serving and retired military officers and political office holders were able to produce the average of eighty million naira each at the turn of this single instance. Privatization of large public corporations like NEPA and NNPC, NITEL, NPA, etc, which are yet to be concluded, and unfettered prospect to squander our treasuries offers them what seems to be limitless more opportunities, if we are to judge from how Ajakouta was sold out. Why should such prospects end simply because a constitution demands so, when the constitution could be changed by an easy chorus of the ruling party?
So, either from the angle of fear or from the perspective of greed, the persuasion of group pressure is expected to be strong. Members of Obasanjo’s group are begging to postpone the day of reckoning. Let us assure them, as Nigerians, that that day, no matter how long it is delayed, will certainly come. Guided by the maxim of Machiavelli, they should know that whoever postpones an inevitable war to a later date does so to his disadvantage.
The fourth factor is the self-delusion that these leaders may be suffering from. I have heard some people saying that Obasanjo is the best thing that has ever happened to Nigeria. I hope he is not using this as a basis for extending his tenure because what they mean with Nigeria is simply their pockets. Even if he is given ten more years, he will, by the style of his incompetent leadership, leave Nigeria engrossed in more problems than he met it in 1999. He does not have the capacity to solve the problems of NEPA or the refineries, for example. Over N300billion has been pumped into NEPA but it generates today less than half the power it used to generate under Abacha. Obasanjo must not think that Nigeria is impotent of producing a better president than him even within the mediocre herd of the ruling PDP. If he drops dead today, would that be the end of Nigeria?
The fifth and last reason is mathematical. The possibility that the present ruling elite can play with the intelligence of Nigerians by pulling some strings, especially those that divide us, is always high. We are a docile nation. Imagine what happened during the April 19 election. That is the worst assault that could be inflicted on the conscience of any nation, the worst abuse that could be meted on its people. Yet, when the main opposition candidate threatened mass action, he was rebuffed almost unanimously by te elite. Go to the courts, he was told, knowing well what the courts are in this country; finish the democratic process, he was instructed, I remember by the labour leader among many, tacitly approving the continuity of the incumbent’s treachery. What locus does the labour now have in fighting against Obasanjo when it turned down the chance to cooperate in removing him? The possibility that Nigerians will remain docile when Obasanjo extends his tenure would strengthen their political recklessness. I doubt if the leader of the Transition Monitoring Group can make true his threat that Nigerians will fight against it with their blood. Why didn’t they do that in 2003?
Are we not living in the same world with Eastern Europe, Ukraine, Georgia, Tajikistan, Ecuador and Togo, or recent? The difference is the hypocritical stand of our elite and the gullibility of our people. The latter think newspapers alone can fight their battles. Unless we are propelled by ethnicity, or other primordial reasons – like the June 12 saga, or on the instigation of the political elite, we have never risen against a dictator. If it were our culture to do so, we would not have sunk this deep into the abyss of corruption and poverty amidst our plenty in number and in wealth.
Other reasons could be proffered. Whether Obasanjo will succeed in his attempt to extend his tenure or not is left to the future. I have twice addressed this issue before. I have pointed out in previous discussions how cheaply the self-succession bid could be achieved. He will certainly buy the national assembly in his bid to amend the constitution to accommodate his whim; he will certainly be supported by the majority of governors who have equally fallen victims to the vanity of accumulation and profound influence of power; majority of the houses of assembly will support the amendment once paid some peanuts and their re-election assured or threatened. This is a post ideological era and money appears to be the end for many. So far, only one governor, Bafarawa of Sokoto State, has kicked against the idea of self-succession. “Nigerians,” he said, “have tolerated us so long. It is six years now, and we are even lucky to talk of eight years. No set of governors ever got this opportunity in this country. We must leave by 2007.” The others, it appears, are anxiously waiting for its success.
The question, therefore, is not whether Obasanjo will succeed or not. The question is whether Obasanjo will consult his conscience and abide by the oath of office he took to protect the constitution and live by its provisions. He vowed to stay for a single, additional and last term of four years as the constitution demanded. His conscience, if upright, will certainly ask him to stick to his words.
He may wish to also consult history. Our recent history will tell him that all leaders that sought to stay in power longer than the dates they promised ended up humiliated. They cannot run against time. They have to leave one day, stripped of every respect and honour. Though his regime shares the history of their corruption and deception, he can spare himself the humiliation that greeted their departure. The Africa in which he claims to be a statesman is replete with his kind: Numeri, Siad Barre, Mengistu, Sadat, Mubarak, Mobutu, Gaddafi, etc. History too, will thus advise him to leave on 29 May 2007.
Finally, Obasanjo should confess and seek forgiveness from Gowon, Maryam Abacha, and IBB. With his hands clasped and straightened to his stooped forehead, he should kneel down before each of them and say, “Forgive me, for I have sinned. I promise never to trust power again.”
aliyutilde@yahoo.com
Fulanis say four things must never be trusted. I will mention only one today: Laamu, or Power. And in Obasanjo I see the import of their maxim more than in any Nigerian ruler before him.
It was disgusting to learn what I never wanted to believe. Though I have muted its possibility many times, I never believed that Obasanjo would be so foolish to tread the path of his humiliated predecessors. I thought, from his display of mammy-market brand of scholarship and his newly acquired born-again status, Obasanjo will be eager to the reach 2007 mark, when, as a born-again, he will throw away the yolk of leadership and retire to God, seeking His Forgiveness for whatever crimes and sins he has been committing throughout his life. Alas, he has fallen into the cheap trap of wanting to delay his departure and, to hold the nation to the indefinite spell of his caprice.
It was barely a two ago when he told a world gathering that he was under pressure to remain in power beyond 2007, something which, according to him, he has been resisting. Much earlier, he has assured the world that he will not stay in power beyond his present tenure. I believed him, at least on this matter, all along, because even the most docile cow, except the one with coconut head, if it exists, would hesitate to borrow from the imprudence of a chain of predecessors.
Obasanjo was caught in the shameful act of circulating a draft constitution at the ongoing political reform conference in which he seeks, among other things, to extend his tenure, along with that of the governors, by two years, implicitly. The manner in which the document was published and circulated was very disgraceful. The Presidency did not have the courage to attribute its name to it, and if it were not for the fear that the identity of the authors was about to be discovered, it would have remained anonymous forever. But Agabi, a former minister of justice and now an adviser to the President, bulged and said it is indeed the orchestration of “the executive.” The conference snubbed the President and said, “It is too late.” What a shame!
Until now, two reasons, I thought could have prevented Obasanjo from falling into the self-succession ensnare. One of them was that he was not leaving power for the first time. He has experienced the inner bitterness of losing it and tasted the fruits of fulfilling the promise to hand it over to someone, willingly and amicably. He was for two decades remembered as the only military ruler who handed over power to civilians. Logically, therefore, the desire to repeat that glory would have superseded whatever incentive is there to betray it.
The second reason is criticism of the self-succession bid of his predecessors who attempted to hold on to their seats as babies cling to their mothers. Gowon was the first, though today the waning memory of man and the profoundly corrupt atmosphere in the country has turned him into a saint of a sort. He ruled for nine years and more than once postponed the day he intended to handover power to civilians. He was eventually toppled by Obasanjo and his comrades in 1975. The next person who was very reluctant to transfer power to civilians was Babangida; he finally caved in to pressure at a time when the whole nation was tired of his fickleness. The third was Abacha, and in him too, like in the case of Obasanjo, I never believed that he would entertain the desire to stay put. I was thus shocked when his wife, in a BBC Hausa interview, confirmed the suspicion.
When Obasanjo’s failure to consult reason and his reluctance to abide by the historical event that earned him a celebrity status are added to his shameful rigging of 2003 elections, we are left with a bare rock personality that is characterised by recklessness and greed. This has forced us to reconsider the acclaimed merits of his tenure as military head of state. His handing over in 1978, it must be clear by now, was not a child of his thought but one prompted by the undertaking of his immediate predecessor, Murtala, to which other military officers were committed.
Since the desire to extend his tenure is now established beyond doubt, I find it more rewarding to turn our attention to examining the reasons behind what has become an undesirable syndrome in the history of contemporary Nigeria. If it were something that happened once with Gowon in the early seventies, we would have regarded it as accidental, or treated it as an exception, to the norm of our political development. But a blunder in history which successively repeated itself three times legitimately earns itself the notorious label of a syndrome which we are forced to properly study and for which a remedy is necessary. I have therefore, for the rest of this article, decided to turn away from flogging Obasanjo, for that is a punishment that will be meted on him by several other writers in the near future. Rather, I will concentrate on studying, albeit briefly, the roots of the tazarce syndrome to which I believe we must find an everlasting solution.
Why do our leaders, as did many African and Arab leaders, endeavour to remain in power by all means? There could be many reasons but five are easily discernible to any dispassionate analyst. The first is natural rule of self-preservation which expresses itself here in the desire of an incumbent to perpetuate his power. As a leader of a country like Nigeria where the bulk of power is deposited at the centre; with the prevalent corruption and the absence of rule of law and due process in distribution of resources and execution of projects; with virtually the entire political elite becoming subjects to necessity of wealth or slaves of its vanity; it is difficult for any executive at the centre or the periphery to maintain his moral decency and live by his words when it comes to parting away with power. Under such conditions, the chances that the leader will succumb to the natural rule of self preservation are very high. Moral obligations, like conducting free and fair elections and sticking to constitutional provisions regarding tenure, become a cumbersome consignment that could be dispensed with at the instance of natural desire. The animal in man, or the animal called man, therefore, relocates quickly from the lofty position of moral rectitude that makes him unique among other animals to the low position of moral barrenness that is common to other members of the kingdom.
Obasanjo has returned at a unique time in our history, when coups are outdated, when the nation itself is under privatization, when there few who are ready to swim against the tide of corruption in a post ideological era, and, more importantly, when the country is at the crossroads, politically. The urge to benefit from the resources at his disposal in such a free atmosphere as well as the opportunity to shape the future of Nigeria along his dream becomes irresistible.
The second reason is the group pressure which I alluded to in my previous essays. This is the angle from which the President speaks when he complains of “intense pressure from people to extend my tenure.” Those who surround the President, which include people from his party, tribe and religion, have been enjoying the colossal power in the Presidency for six years now. They have enjoyed the power to do and undo, to hire and fire. 2003, and now 2007 appeared ages away at the beginning of his tenures. Suddenly, now, with 2007 only two years away, these people are confronted with the hard fact of retiring into where they were before, into our status of ordinary citizens who contend daily with problems of insecurity, poverty, unemployment and abuse. Let Obasanjo look around and see how many AGIPs are on his team, the same people misdirected IBB into the idea of self-succession.
In fact, members of this group include the governors who, with very few exceptions, are enjoying the mismanagement of state and local governments’ funds. Twenty-five of them we learnt recently are under the dreaded lens of EFCC. They have reduced states to the status of personal estates which they can plunder at will. It is easy to read the motive of these governors, ministers, presidential advisers and assistants when they attempt to preserve their positions by pushing Obasanjo to the brink, as did the lieutenants of Babangida and Abacha before.
The third is what I call the web of evil effect. In the past six years, this country has suffered form the ruling elites’ pervasive invasion of its treasury and reckless disregard to the rule of law. They have committed so many crimes, did so many wrongs, stepped on so many toes, all in the bid to accumulate wealth and retain power. And according to the maxim of Brutus, the evil of these men do will be alive after 2007 when they will be stripped of their immunity and the scams will, as usual, be copiously reported in magazines for the world to see.
The evil of greed, apart from that of fear, is equally persuasive. The recent scam over the sale of federal houses is enough a pointer to the avariciousness of today’s ruling elite. We are overwhelmed by the manner serving and retired military officers and political office holders were able to produce the average of eighty million naira each at the turn of this single instance. Privatization of large public corporations like NEPA and NNPC, NITEL, NPA, etc, which are yet to be concluded, and unfettered prospect to squander our treasuries offers them what seems to be limitless more opportunities, if we are to judge from how Ajakouta was sold out. Why should such prospects end simply because a constitution demands so, when the constitution could be changed by an easy chorus of the ruling party?
So, either from the angle of fear or from the perspective of greed, the persuasion of group pressure is expected to be strong. Members of Obasanjo’s group are begging to postpone the day of reckoning. Let us assure them, as Nigerians, that that day, no matter how long it is delayed, will certainly come. Guided by the maxim of Machiavelli, they should know that whoever postpones an inevitable war to a later date does so to his disadvantage.
The fourth factor is the self-delusion that these leaders may be suffering from. I have heard some people saying that Obasanjo is the best thing that has ever happened to Nigeria. I hope he is not using this as a basis for extending his tenure because what they mean with Nigeria is simply their pockets. Even if he is given ten more years, he will, by the style of his incompetent leadership, leave Nigeria engrossed in more problems than he met it in 1999. He does not have the capacity to solve the problems of NEPA or the refineries, for example. Over N300billion has been pumped into NEPA but it generates today less than half the power it used to generate under Abacha. Obasanjo must not think that Nigeria is impotent of producing a better president than him even within the mediocre herd of the ruling PDP. If he drops dead today, would that be the end of Nigeria?
The fifth and last reason is mathematical. The possibility that the present ruling elite can play with the intelligence of Nigerians by pulling some strings, especially those that divide us, is always high. We are a docile nation. Imagine what happened during the April 19 election. That is the worst assault that could be inflicted on the conscience of any nation, the worst abuse that could be meted on its people. Yet, when the main opposition candidate threatened mass action, he was rebuffed almost unanimously by te elite. Go to the courts, he was told, knowing well what the courts are in this country; finish the democratic process, he was instructed, I remember by the labour leader among many, tacitly approving the continuity of the incumbent’s treachery. What locus does the labour now have in fighting against Obasanjo when it turned down the chance to cooperate in removing him? The possibility that Nigerians will remain docile when Obasanjo extends his tenure would strengthen their political recklessness. I doubt if the leader of the Transition Monitoring Group can make true his threat that Nigerians will fight against it with their blood. Why didn’t they do that in 2003?
Are we not living in the same world with Eastern Europe, Ukraine, Georgia, Tajikistan, Ecuador and Togo, or recent? The difference is the hypocritical stand of our elite and the gullibility of our people. The latter think newspapers alone can fight their battles. Unless we are propelled by ethnicity, or other primordial reasons – like the June 12 saga, or on the instigation of the political elite, we have never risen against a dictator. If it were our culture to do so, we would not have sunk this deep into the abyss of corruption and poverty amidst our plenty in number and in wealth.
Other reasons could be proffered. Whether Obasanjo will succeed in his attempt to extend his tenure or not is left to the future. I have twice addressed this issue before. I have pointed out in previous discussions how cheaply the self-succession bid could be achieved. He will certainly buy the national assembly in his bid to amend the constitution to accommodate his whim; he will certainly be supported by the majority of governors who have equally fallen victims to the vanity of accumulation and profound influence of power; majority of the houses of assembly will support the amendment once paid some peanuts and their re-election assured or threatened. This is a post ideological era and money appears to be the end for many. So far, only one governor, Bafarawa of Sokoto State, has kicked against the idea of self-succession. “Nigerians,” he said, “have tolerated us so long. It is six years now, and we are even lucky to talk of eight years. No set of governors ever got this opportunity in this country. We must leave by 2007.” The others, it appears, are anxiously waiting for its success.
The question, therefore, is not whether Obasanjo will succeed or not. The question is whether Obasanjo will consult his conscience and abide by the oath of office he took to protect the constitution and live by its provisions. He vowed to stay for a single, additional and last term of four years as the constitution demanded. His conscience, if upright, will certainly ask him to stick to his words.
He may wish to also consult history. Our recent history will tell him that all leaders that sought to stay in power longer than the dates they promised ended up humiliated. They cannot run against time. They have to leave one day, stripped of every respect and honour. Though his regime shares the history of their corruption and deception, he can spare himself the humiliation that greeted their departure. The Africa in which he claims to be a statesman is replete with his kind: Numeri, Siad Barre, Mengistu, Sadat, Mubarak, Mobutu, Gaddafi, etc. History too, will thus advise him to leave on 29 May 2007.
Finally, Obasanjo should confess and seek forgiveness from Gowon, Maryam Abacha, and IBB. With his hands clasped and straightened to his stooped forehead, he should kneel down before each of them and say, “Forgive me, for I have sinned. I promise never to trust power again.”
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Discourse 190 Our Most Corrupt Government
Monday Discourse 190
Our Most Corrupt Government
Let me start this article from the bottom, by putting its conclusion first: That when the history of this country will be written at any date after 2007, I do not entertain any doubt that objective historians will find no difficulty at all in labelling the present regime the worst government in the history of Nigeria.
I think with barely two years to the end of the administration and with impossibility of the messiah to perform miracles, hardly would anyone accuse people holding an opinion similar to mine of rush judgement. To build a premise that will justify it is the easiest job that could be assigned any bricklayer of logic. Governance has many aspects; in building our premise we are limiting ourselves to corruption and incompetence. Rule of law does not exist. I heard Bola Ige, Okadigbo, Marshall Harry and many others say so from their graves.
I am writing this article before 2007 because some people, many of whom I hold at high regard, are beginning to be fooled by Obasanjo’s recent camouflage as a crusader against corruption. The most corrupt police boss, Tafa Balogun, is brought to court in handcuffs and tears; a minister of education is sacked over the TV screen, and arraigned in court along with him former Senate President, some senators and members of the House of Representatives; another minister is fired, this time without the salad of TV broadcast, over auctioning at dismal rates properties of the government to highly placed individuals in government such as the Vice President and Minister of Finance (I wonder what happened to her World Bank gospel, perhaps she forgot it in New York); also to come in some few weeks are some ministers, the culpability of whom was tipped by the President. With all this, who will deny this regime the credit of orchestrating the best theatrical display since 1984?
We enjoy watching the show, no doubt, and we are always excited if the thieves at the helm of our affairs throw one of their own into the ocean for the sharks to swallow. However, we fail to be gullible and be carried away by something that is coming too late, too abrupt, and too baseless to qualify for our support or to serve as the fountain that will quench our thirst for good governance. A donkey cannot race as a horse could do.
No regime in our history has squandered opportunities and resources as did this government. There is none whatsoever. Looking back at previous governments, did any of them come to power when the country was so hungry of good leadership, so much so that the country decided to abandon its traditional balance of power for the sake of progress and stability, so much so that it brought a convict directly out of prison and handed to him the saddle of leadership? Who, other than Obasanjo, ever got the leadership of his country, twice in his life without working for it, or putting it more precisely, who harvested twice a crop he has not planted? In the 1976 he came to power after the assassination of his superior who nearly sacked him if it were not for the timely intervention of Awoniyi; and in 1999 he again came to power after the assassination of another Head of State?
It is interesting to note how he characteristically handled both opportunities, especially as it regards corruption. In 1976 not long after assuming office as Head of State he reversed the anti-corruption campaign of Murtala and laid the foundation for building the greediest and the most corrupt crop of military officers. At the end of the regime, not less than three generals have amassed colossal amounts of wealth that will become to target of their immediate and distant juniors and set the looting of public treasury an enviable style of governance. The three are Obasanjo himself, Danjuma his Chief of Army Staff and Shehu Yaradua, the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters. For the first time, we had a group of leaders who will die stinking rich. They retired from the army with business estates that could only be matched by only one or two civilian surrogates, people like Abiola. The above are people who tutored the likes of Babangida and Abacha in the art of “don’t cry for Nigeria.”
This is the true history of Nigeria. These are the multi-billionaire generals. Sometimes, I wonder what this country would have become if these names had used their talents to promote Nigeria, rather than their pockets. But it will never be. They have firmly gripped the throat of this country, suffocating it for thirty years. And it appears that they are not ready to let it free until it drops dead or death overtakes them.
Even at their death, as men, the evil they do will live after them. They have, in the course of those three decades, admitted into the academy of corruption thousands of younger Nigerians who will perpetuate their legacy. Such disciples have been filling their bellies of greed with whatever stuff will cross their way while in office. Think of the thousands of military officers and civilians who served as governors and ministers from 1976 to date, the majority of whom served to steal. They are still active and influential. Then think of the future, is there any basis of hope in it? The source of this predicament will easily be traced to the derailment of Obasanjo in 1976.
In 1999 when he became President, we thought, in our usual naivety, he will constitute a government of redemption, since he has confessed to be a born again. He failed us right from the start by constituting his team from the old rotten vanguard. Some people then suggested that they brought him to power, so he needed some time and reason to flush them out. Unfortunately, most of them remained with him throughout his first tenure. Some, like the Minister of Works, Tony Anenih, who spent over N400 billion on invisible roads, are very much around him.
Thus he promised to fight corruption but failed to take a single step throughout his first tenure to actualise it. That tenure ended with no parallel in our history in areas of incompetence, corruption and degeneration. Transparency International then rated Nigeria as the second most corrupt country in the World and said 56% of the corruption was taking place in the Presidency, i.e. on the desk of Obasanjo and his subordinates!
One can hardly compare Obasanjo’s government with that of Shehu Shagari, its immediate kin in comparative politics. Looking at the projects which Shagari’s government executed in every state of the federation, one wonders why in most states not a single substantial project of the federal government could be cited. Yet, never did Nigeria earn higher than what it earned in the last six years when actual earnings have always exceeded budgetary projections. It is clear, from the absence of projects, that the money end up swindled.
Someone may contend that Babangida and Abacha regimes were corrupt. Yes. No one doubts that. In fact an element of corruption could be found in every kingdom except that of God. The issue here is comparative, it is that of degree. Babangida in the first place has never fired a word against corruption. Here I found him to be the most honest leader. He made no pretence, unlike Obasanjo. Did Babangida promote it? Many would say yes, and I agree with them. The same thing with Abacha, whom we are told has stolen nothing less than $9billion. Yet, if we scan the records we will find out that those governments have earned far less than what this government is earning and, more importantly, they have numerous projects which their lieutenants will be quick to point at. After all, Obasanjo, like Abacha, needs to leave the scene first before we know the degree of wealth he and his family have stolen. It is then that Nigerians will subject him to a litmus test. The Americans are not playing the game the Nigerian way. Let them leave Obasanjo’s son alone. The time for investigation and revelations is coming.
The performance of Obasanjo should better not be mentioned. In fact Obasanjo and performance are standing at the two most distant poles in the universe. Take for instance the only dual carriageway in North, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway. While Babangida built it in almost a twinkle of an eye, Obasanjo could not repair it even in six years. When his government made up its mind to undertake the repairs, as it did for many other roads, it threw away due process and gave the contracts to contractors, majority of whom have only three tools: digger, shovels and wheel barrow, having absolutely no experience in road construction. The roads, by so doing, are further dilapidated and wobbled. Where is Obasanjo’s equivalent of DFFRI or PTF, if I may ask, which though not without their pitfalls, nevertheless left behind motorable roads and facilities that Nigerians continue to enjoy nationwide?
And how many hundreds of billions has the government been sinking into NEPA without any success in sight? Is it not a shame that in spite of this, the output has dwindled to levels never experienced in the history of this government? Obasanjo’s incompetence syndrome is simply endless.
Moreover, who among our past leaders was ever caught bribing the National Assembly, or forging electoral law, or appointing one of the biggest thieves in the country as Inspector General of Police? In whose government have we heard of bunkering ships disappearing? Who among them entered a nolle proseque to free his uncle standing trial for theft of over N400 million? Whose son was put under surveillance by American authorities? Who arranged and supervised the most corrupt election in our history, in desperation to remain in power for additional four years? Who among them declared to the world that he is making N30million profit out of an agricultural outfit that was in shamble when he assumed power? And who asked him to make the declaration public? And what else is he making from other outfits? Or was the declaration made in preparation for the present campaign against corruption, now that the regime is coming to an end? Well, it is not time yet for revelations. We are not in a hurry.
In line with what many writers have advised before, that Obasanjo has never kept a promise, I strongly doubt his commitment to carry his anti-corruption campaign beyond vendetta and political expedience. I am increasingly coming to believe that what we have seen recently is a light shower, as al-Hariri would say in the epilogue to his Assemblies, which precedes a heavy downpour. The downpour will be Atiku and, likely, Babangida, with more certainty placed on the former. The two must prepare for an eminent consumption by the monster they created: Babangida sold him to the Nigerian ruling elite in 1999, while Atiku and Anenih masterminded the rigging of April 2003 elections. If they are rewarded by emasculation, it will be to the delight of Nigerians who were deprived the voice of their votes.
In conclusion, I pray that this period become the peak of our corruption after which a sharp decline will be witnessed. That though the storm has been heavy in the last six years, we will be most grateful if God stops it instantly in 2007. May there be no government in future that will compete with the present one in being our worst government.
Our Most Corrupt Government
Let me start this article from the bottom, by putting its conclusion first: That when the history of this country will be written at any date after 2007, I do not entertain any doubt that objective historians will find no difficulty at all in labelling the present regime the worst government in the history of Nigeria.
I think with barely two years to the end of the administration and with impossibility of the messiah to perform miracles, hardly would anyone accuse people holding an opinion similar to mine of rush judgement. To build a premise that will justify it is the easiest job that could be assigned any bricklayer of logic. Governance has many aspects; in building our premise we are limiting ourselves to corruption and incompetence. Rule of law does not exist. I heard Bola Ige, Okadigbo, Marshall Harry and many others say so from their graves.
I am writing this article before 2007 because some people, many of whom I hold at high regard, are beginning to be fooled by Obasanjo’s recent camouflage as a crusader against corruption. The most corrupt police boss, Tafa Balogun, is brought to court in handcuffs and tears; a minister of education is sacked over the TV screen, and arraigned in court along with him former Senate President, some senators and members of the House of Representatives; another minister is fired, this time without the salad of TV broadcast, over auctioning at dismal rates properties of the government to highly placed individuals in government such as the Vice President and Minister of Finance (I wonder what happened to her World Bank gospel, perhaps she forgot it in New York); also to come in some few weeks are some ministers, the culpability of whom was tipped by the President. With all this, who will deny this regime the credit of orchestrating the best theatrical display since 1984?
We enjoy watching the show, no doubt, and we are always excited if the thieves at the helm of our affairs throw one of their own into the ocean for the sharks to swallow. However, we fail to be gullible and be carried away by something that is coming too late, too abrupt, and too baseless to qualify for our support or to serve as the fountain that will quench our thirst for good governance. A donkey cannot race as a horse could do.
No regime in our history has squandered opportunities and resources as did this government. There is none whatsoever. Looking back at previous governments, did any of them come to power when the country was so hungry of good leadership, so much so that the country decided to abandon its traditional balance of power for the sake of progress and stability, so much so that it brought a convict directly out of prison and handed to him the saddle of leadership? Who, other than Obasanjo, ever got the leadership of his country, twice in his life without working for it, or putting it more precisely, who harvested twice a crop he has not planted? In the 1976 he came to power after the assassination of his superior who nearly sacked him if it were not for the timely intervention of Awoniyi; and in 1999 he again came to power after the assassination of another Head of State?
It is interesting to note how he characteristically handled both opportunities, especially as it regards corruption. In 1976 not long after assuming office as Head of State he reversed the anti-corruption campaign of Murtala and laid the foundation for building the greediest and the most corrupt crop of military officers. At the end of the regime, not less than three generals have amassed colossal amounts of wealth that will become to target of their immediate and distant juniors and set the looting of public treasury an enviable style of governance. The three are Obasanjo himself, Danjuma his Chief of Army Staff and Shehu Yaradua, the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters. For the first time, we had a group of leaders who will die stinking rich. They retired from the army with business estates that could only be matched by only one or two civilian surrogates, people like Abiola. The above are people who tutored the likes of Babangida and Abacha in the art of “don’t cry for Nigeria.”
This is the true history of Nigeria. These are the multi-billionaire generals. Sometimes, I wonder what this country would have become if these names had used their talents to promote Nigeria, rather than their pockets. But it will never be. They have firmly gripped the throat of this country, suffocating it for thirty years. And it appears that they are not ready to let it free until it drops dead or death overtakes them.
Even at their death, as men, the evil they do will live after them. They have, in the course of those three decades, admitted into the academy of corruption thousands of younger Nigerians who will perpetuate their legacy. Such disciples have been filling their bellies of greed with whatever stuff will cross their way while in office. Think of the thousands of military officers and civilians who served as governors and ministers from 1976 to date, the majority of whom served to steal. They are still active and influential. Then think of the future, is there any basis of hope in it? The source of this predicament will easily be traced to the derailment of Obasanjo in 1976.
In 1999 when he became President, we thought, in our usual naivety, he will constitute a government of redemption, since he has confessed to be a born again. He failed us right from the start by constituting his team from the old rotten vanguard. Some people then suggested that they brought him to power, so he needed some time and reason to flush them out. Unfortunately, most of them remained with him throughout his first tenure. Some, like the Minister of Works, Tony Anenih, who spent over N400 billion on invisible roads, are very much around him.
Thus he promised to fight corruption but failed to take a single step throughout his first tenure to actualise it. That tenure ended with no parallel in our history in areas of incompetence, corruption and degeneration. Transparency International then rated Nigeria as the second most corrupt country in the World and said 56% of the corruption was taking place in the Presidency, i.e. on the desk of Obasanjo and his subordinates!
One can hardly compare Obasanjo’s government with that of Shehu Shagari, its immediate kin in comparative politics. Looking at the projects which Shagari’s government executed in every state of the federation, one wonders why in most states not a single substantial project of the federal government could be cited. Yet, never did Nigeria earn higher than what it earned in the last six years when actual earnings have always exceeded budgetary projections. It is clear, from the absence of projects, that the money end up swindled.
Someone may contend that Babangida and Abacha regimes were corrupt. Yes. No one doubts that. In fact an element of corruption could be found in every kingdom except that of God. The issue here is comparative, it is that of degree. Babangida in the first place has never fired a word against corruption. Here I found him to be the most honest leader. He made no pretence, unlike Obasanjo. Did Babangida promote it? Many would say yes, and I agree with them. The same thing with Abacha, whom we are told has stolen nothing less than $9billion. Yet, if we scan the records we will find out that those governments have earned far less than what this government is earning and, more importantly, they have numerous projects which their lieutenants will be quick to point at. After all, Obasanjo, like Abacha, needs to leave the scene first before we know the degree of wealth he and his family have stolen. It is then that Nigerians will subject him to a litmus test. The Americans are not playing the game the Nigerian way. Let them leave Obasanjo’s son alone. The time for investigation and revelations is coming.
The performance of Obasanjo should better not be mentioned. In fact Obasanjo and performance are standing at the two most distant poles in the universe. Take for instance the only dual carriageway in North, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway. While Babangida built it in almost a twinkle of an eye, Obasanjo could not repair it even in six years. When his government made up its mind to undertake the repairs, as it did for many other roads, it threw away due process and gave the contracts to contractors, majority of whom have only three tools: digger, shovels and wheel barrow, having absolutely no experience in road construction. The roads, by so doing, are further dilapidated and wobbled. Where is Obasanjo’s equivalent of DFFRI or PTF, if I may ask, which though not without their pitfalls, nevertheless left behind motorable roads and facilities that Nigerians continue to enjoy nationwide?
And how many hundreds of billions has the government been sinking into NEPA without any success in sight? Is it not a shame that in spite of this, the output has dwindled to levels never experienced in the history of this government? Obasanjo’s incompetence syndrome is simply endless.
Moreover, who among our past leaders was ever caught bribing the National Assembly, or forging electoral law, or appointing one of the biggest thieves in the country as Inspector General of Police? In whose government have we heard of bunkering ships disappearing? Who among them entered a nolle proseque to free his uncle standing trial for theft of over N400 million? Whose son was put under surveillance by American authorities? Who arranged and supervised the most corrupt election in our history, in desperation to remain in power for additional four years? Who among them declared to the world that he is making N30million profit out of an agricultural outfit that was in shamble when he assumed power? And who asked him to make the declaration public? And what else is he making from other outfits? Or was the declaration made in preparation for the present campaign against corruption, now that the regime is coming to an end? Well, it is not time yet for revelations. We are not in a hurry.
In line with what many writers have advised before, that Obasanjo has never kept a promise, I strongly doubt his commitment to carry his anti-corruption campaign beyond vendetta and political expedience. I am increasingly coming to believe that what we have seen recently is a light shower, as al-Hariri would say in the epilogue to his Assemblies, which precedes a heavy downpour. The downpour will be Atiku and, likely, Babangida, with more certainty placed on the former. The two must prepare for an eminent consumption by the monster they created: Babangida sold him to the Nigerian ruling elite in 1999, while Atiku and Anenih masterminded the rigging of April 2003 elections. If they are rewarded by emasculation, it will be to the delight of Nigerians who were deprived the voice of their votes.
In conclusion, I pray that this period become the peak of our corruption after which a sharp decline will be witnessed. That though the storm has been heavy in the last six years, we will be most grateful if God stops it instantly in 2007. May there be no government in future that will compete with the present one in being our worst government.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)