I have always suspected and held the belief that our political leaders, all classes of them, appear to be charlatans, novices, greenhorns and pretenders. This is no longer surprising nor should be taken for granted. In our current nascent democracy, I suppose we should expect some kind of experimentation for a while until we finally get it right; however, unfortunately, since this form of governance has a very important impact on the lives of 140 million people, there really is no room for mistakes.
Actually, since we got our independence from Great Britain in 1960, any form of government which we have tried our hands on have always been a mix of trials and errors, more like our roadside mechanics, not versed in the theoretical and educational aspect of their job, but relying mostly on trying out procedures and processes and poking about in your car’s engine until they finally get it right, even if briefly and unsustainable.
People always think politics is a game, but I always beg to differ. It is no longer a game when politicians make political decisions which affect the lives of millions of people for which they are responsible; which determines their standard of living; their daily livelihood, their health and wellbeing, their security and in fact the very essence of their being alive.
Thus, since 1999, we see all our political leaders in the three arms of government thrashing wildly about in ignorance, or maybe deliberate abuse, of our constitution. Ex-President Obasanjo was very notorious for disregarding the Constitution in all aspects, forgetting that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is greater than anybody in Nigeria. The Senate and the House of Representative routinely disregard the Constitution; in fact they abuse it, failing to follow laid-down rules of the House and the Senate, and most times, resort to violence to sort problems out. The same applied, and still applies to the States’ chief executive officers, States Houses of Assembly, comprising mostly thuggish, crooked and unsavoury characters and the local government Chairmen and their mostly ill-educated, half-baked councillors. (Please, I have done my homework very well on the human constitution of our legislative houses, so I am sure of what I am talking about, and not just passing insults).
My fears were somehow confirmed, and I was mildly surprised when I read that the newly judicially-installed Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, as one of his first decision on assuming office, decided to “sack” all the state’s local government chairmen and councillors, in apparent ignorance of the Constitutional provisions for doing so. I was surprised because of many reasons: Dr Mimiko is a highly educated man, and experienced politician, who should know the provisions of the Constitution before acting so hastily; secondly, he rode to office on the back of a lot of goodwill after all he had been through, and I would have expected him to settle down first and face the task of re-building Ondo State before he can even consider “sacking” the local governments. Thirdly, and this is also tied to constitutional provisions, he failed to refer to the State House of Assembly before his peremptory dissolution of the local governments.
I was one of millions of Nigeria who rejoiced on the ousting of the inept and corrupt Dr Olusegun Agagu (my former lecturer at the University of Ibadan) from the Ondo State Government House, and the subsequent judicial victory of Dr Mimiko. I wish him well very much and hope he will do for Ondo State what Agagu, in all his wisdom, refused to do for the people of Ondo State for almost 7 years. A lot of Nigerians have since counselled him that he should focus his attention on good governance, accountability, responsibility and rule of law.
However, Dr Mimiko, with the benefit of hindsight, must realise that his very first move was very wrong. So he has started off on a very wrong footing with this “sacking”. Agreed that the elections, which were hastily conducted, after ignoring a court order not to do so, by his predecessor that brought in the current local government chairmen and councillors was another breach of the law of the land, Dr Mimiko could have sought constitutional and legal advice before proceeding on this disastrous route.
Now, having been advised rightly, Dr Mimiko is now having to eat his hat, and is now belatedly doing what he should have done in the first place – go to the court and determine whether the elections that brought the “sacked” councillors in were conducted validly and lawfully.
I wish him the best in the governance of Ondo State, but he should really go and study the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and adhere to it as fully as he can. This will be part of standards by which he will be judged at the end of his tenure.
Having said all these, the actions of the Nigeria Police, in form of the Inspector General of Police, presumably at the behest of the President, in escorting the “sacked” local government officials to their offices was the cap in the unfolding farce. It again showed either a lack of respect for the Constitution or an ignorance of it, or both. The Governor of a state of the federation id the chief executive officer and chief security officer of his/her state, and as such, the federal police owe him a high degree of accountability. That is why he has a Commissioner of Police reporting to him (as well as to his Inspector General). This fact alone subjugates the police command of each state to the executive officer, the Governor, even though, he is appointed by the Inspector General. The role of the police command is therefore, not only to keep the peace and ensure security in their state, but also to take certain orders from the Governor, in order to carry out their primary objectives mentioned above.
So what are the federal police doing escorting local government officials to their offices? According to the constitution, the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of local governments is the preserve of a state government, therefore, any intervention by the federal police in cogently reinstating the sacked chairmen and councillors is tantamount to undue and unhealthy interference in the affairs of a state, unless in the case of a state of emergency.
According to the IGP, Mike Okiro, answering questions as to why he thought it expedient or proper to use his policemen to undo what the Governor did, "what the police have done was to make sure that nobody was unduly cheated and we did our best to prevent a break-down of law and order..."
This is where we see another breach of constitutional provisions, whether by ignorance or deliberately. It is not the responsibility of the police to correct or deal with an errant governor for his mistakes. I know a certain section of the 1999 Constitution takes care of that.
The above flies in the face of President Yar ‘Adua’s posture of rule of law and due process, much as his government’s arrests of some journalists last year was. Therefore both Mimiko’s “sacking” of chairmen and councillors without consulting his state House of Assembly and federal police interference in “reinstating” them are unconstitutional, undemocratic, unlawful and does not augur well for a growing and healthy democracy. Rather, it undermines democracy.
In the end, both are wrong, and their actions are likely to heat up the political landscape in Ondo State. If you do not know, always ask those who know. Executive powers do not translate to executive abuse and force, and Presidential and police powers must also not be abused under the guise of protectionism.
Friday, 27 March 2009
An Abject Abdication Of Responsibility (2)
I had written some time ago that ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo was guilty of not taking responsibility for anything (An Abject Abdication of Responsibility – www.nigeriavillagesquare.com 23.07.2008) I have been proven right almost a year later, with his now famous self-righteous and indignant response to BBC’s Hard Talk interview where he was visibly angry and exasperated by the questions thrown mercilessly at him to explain himself on allegations of his government’s, and himself being very corrupt.
In a way, I really feel sorry for Obasanjo, because he will go down in history as a leader who refused to take responsibility for his actions or inactions; a man who abdicated his responsibility for 140 million people; a man who, despite any experience, intelligence and education he might possess, refused to acknowledge that as a leader of a people, he MUST assume responsibility for them. If he is shy of being responsible, or does not want that onus imposed on him, he should never have tried to be a leader. Even if it turns out that Obasanjo was not personally corrupt, he is still guilty of not acknowledging that he was, for eight years, responsible for his people, their lives, their sufferings, their hopes, their security, their well-being and their overall governance in all its ramifications.
There goes his quest to be regarded as a Statesman out of the window. Neither will he ever be regarded as a great leader of his people. This is a waste of a lifetime and lost opportunity to redeem himself.
However, we must accept one thing from his utterances, and this is something every one of us will be guilty of: I do not expect anybody, any leader of any country, to go in front of the world press and admit to being corrupt. Unless such person has a gun pointed at him or her. That is a fact.
My issue with Obasanjo then is his abject abdication of responsibility and refusal to take the blame, as a good and great leader should do. If he himself was not corrupt and members of his family, his party, his government and even ordinary Nigerians were corrupt, then, as the leader, he was corrupt. In his interview, he practically admitted that people in his government were corrupt, but tried desperately to absolve himself of any blame. This in itself was corruption, because he knew about their complicity in the corrupt practices and murderous games that they were involved in, and he never took adequate action. This is not simply a matter of passing the buck, but totally refusing to be accountable.
There are different kinds of responsibility, and I will only mention those apropos to this issue.
Collective responsibility is a concept or doctrine, according to which individuals are to be held responsible for other people's actions by tolerating, ignoring, or harboring them, without actively collaborating in these actions.
Moral responsibility can refer to two different but related things. First, a person has 'moral responsibility' for a situation if that person has an obligation to ensure that something happens. Second, a person has moral responsibility for a situation when it would be correct to morally praise or blame that person for the situation. People who have moral responsibility for an action are usually called moral agents. Agents are creatures that are capable of reflecting on their situation, forming intentions about how they will act, and then carrying out that action.
Social responsibility is an ethical or ideological theory that an entity whether it is a government, corporation, organization or individual has a responsibility to society but this responsibility can be "negative." In that it is a responsibility to refrain from acting (resistance stance) or it can be "positive," meaning there is a responsibility to act (proactive stance).
The synonyms of responsibility include accountability, answerability, burden, liability, duty, conscientiousness.
A leader must always take responsibility; otherwise, he’s not a leader. This is the bottom line. I have already written about his culpability (The Trials and Tribulations Of A Leader – several publications, 21 march 2009), so there is no need to mention this again, except to reaffirm Obasanjo’s culpability.
No matter how ex-President Obasanjo tried to absolve himself of corruption, and therefore, responsibility, there are some posers for him:
Where did he get the billions he used to build his University, library and mansion in Otta library and his properties all over the country? And as the president, the universities and indeed the education sector in Nigeria were starved of funding during his tenure, so much so that it is no longer considered a right move by many parents to send their children to Nigerian educational institutions.
Where did the $16 billion power supply fund disappear to? $16 billion and eight years later, where is the light? Obasanjo was going all over the country commissioning several bogus power projects (and other projects in other sectors) estimated in billions of dollars, and yet, Nigerians are suffering from lack of electricity, which is a number one factor holding the development of the country back every day.
What happened to billions spent on road construction and rehabilitations? Even his erstwhile Minister for Roads, the wily Tony Anenih, said recently that being allocated 300 billion naira for roads is one thing, getting the allocation is another matter or something to that effect. What about the billions that now seems to have been carted away by the Chinese for the railway extension and modernisation project?
It was widely reported that when Obasanjo came out of Abacha’s prison, he had just N20, 000 in both cash and assets (His ex-Vice President alleged this). Eight years later, he was owning and selling off everything that Nigeria has, yet he can be bold enough to tell Nigerians and the world that he is not corrupt. Obasanjo Farms is one of the biggest in Nigeria today, with prime farmlands in various states of the federation, yet all the state-owned agricultural farms combined are so unproductive that they cannot feed Nigerians.
Aside from being accused of being corrupt, he has also been accused of being a killer. When he was the president, political assassinations (Bola Ige, Funsho Williams, etc,) prevailed everyday and not a single assassin was ever apprehended during his reign. Since he left office, Nigeria has not recorded any political assassinations. Can we ask Obasanjo why this is so?
Obasanjo’s transfer of power to Yar'Adua is the greatest corruption (political corruption) that he committed on Nigerians and humanity. Apparently, he does not realise that rigging elections is a corrupt practice, and a major corruption category. Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. (And Obasanjo and members of his family, government and party are guilty of this, if he does not realise it). An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption if the act is directly related to their official duties (guilty again). In short, in the political realm, corruption generally undermines democracy and good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes. Corruption in elections and in legislative bodies reduces accountability and distorts representation in policymaking; corruption in the judiciary compromises the rule of law; and corruption in public administration results in the unfair provision of services. More generally, corruption erodes the institutional capacity of government as procedures are disregarded, resources are siphoned off, and public offices are bought and sold. At the same time, corruption undermines the legitimacy of government and such democratic values as trust and tolerance.
I hope Chief Obasanjo now knows that, with all the above, he will be pronounced guilty of corruption, because these are exactly what happened during his tenure in the highest position of the land and therefore he can no longer absolve himself of any responsibility. It is an inconvenient truth for him. For the rest of us, it is a convenient truth that must be told as it is.
As far as most Nigerians are concerned, Obasanjo was the head of a clique of unscrupulously corrupt individuals who have held the country down to its current deplorable affliction. His very poor stint at positively impacting on our lives when he had three rare chances informs our mindset.
Now that he has challenged Nigeria and the Yar'Adua government to directly probe him, we will wait with baited breath to see what President Yar'Adua would do, though I am 100% certain that nothing will ever happen.
The EFCC should also take him up on this challenge – again, perhaps this is another wishful thinking.
The truth? Let it be said always.
Akintokunbo Adejumo lives and works in London, UK. A graduate of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (1979) and University of Manitoba, Canada (1985), he also writes on topical issues and has been published in newspapers and internet media including Nigeriaworld.com, Nigeria Today Online, Nigerians In America, Nigeria Village Square, Champions Newspaper, ChatAfrik.com, African News Switzerland, New Nigerian Politics, Gamji.com, Codewit.com, Nigerian Horizon.com, Nigerian Muse.com, etc.
He is also the Coordinator of CHAMPIONS FOR NIGERIA, (www.championsfornigeria.org) an organisation devoted to celebrating genuine progress, excellence, commitment, selfless and unalloyed service to Nigeria and Nigerians; and the Chief Writer of African Entrepreneur LLC (http://africanceos.ning.com ) a US-based Nigerian-owned company that promotes Nigerian, African and black-owned businesses worldwide.
In a way, I really feel sorry for Obasanjo, because he will go down in history as a leader who refused to take responsibility for his actions or inactions; a man who abdicated his responsibility for 140 million people; a man who, despite any experience, intelligence and education he might possess, refused to acknowledge that as a leader of a people, he MUST assume responsibility for them. If he is shy of being responsible, or does not want that onus imposed on him, he should never have tried to be a leader. Even if it turns out that Obasanjo was not personally corrupt, he is still guilty of not acknowledging that he was, for eight years, responsible for his people, their lives, their sufferings, their hopes, their security, their well-being and their overall governance in all its ramifications.
There goes his quest to be regarded as a Statesman out of the window. Neither will he ever be regarded as a great leader of his people. This is a waste of a lifetime and lost opportunity to redeem himself.
However, we must accept one thing from his utterances, and this is something every one of us will be guilty of: I do not expect anybody, any leader of any country, to go in front of the world press and admit to being corrupt. Unless such person has a gun pointed at him or her. That is a fact.
My issue with Obasanjo then is his abject abdication of responsibility and refusal to take the blame, as a good and great leader should do. If he himself was not corrupt and members of his family, his party, his government and even ordinary Nigerians were corrupt, then, as the leader, he was corrupt. In his interview, he practically admitted that people in his government were corrupt, but tried desperately to absolve himself of any blame. This in itself was corruption, because he knew about their complicity in the corrupt practices and murderous games that they were involved in, and he never took adequate action. This is not simply a matter of passing the buck, but totally refusing to be accountable.
There are different kinds of responsibility, and I will only mention those apropos to this issue.
Collective responsibility is a concept or doctrine, according to which individuals are to be held responsible for other people's actions by tolerating, ignoring, or harboring them, without actively collaborating in these actions.
Moral responsibility can refer to two different but related things. First, a person has 'moral responsibility' for a situation if that person has an obligation to ensure that something happens. Second, a person has moral responsibility for a situation when it would be correct to morally praise or blame that person for the situation. People who have moral responsibility for an action are usually called moral agents. Agents are creatures that are capable of reflecting on their situation, forming intentions about how they will act, and then carrying out that action.
Social responsibility is an ethical or ideological theory that an entity whether it is a government, corporation, organization or individual has a responsibility to society but this responsibility can be "negative." In that it is a responsibility to refrain from acting (resistance stance) or it can be "positive," meaning there is a responsibility to act (proactive stance).
The synonyms of responsibility include accountability, answerability, burden, liability, duty, conscientiousness.
A leader must always take responsibility; otherwise, he’s not a leader. This is the bottom line. I have already written about his culpability (The Trials and Tribulations Of A Leader – several publications, 21 march 2009), so there is no need to mention this again, except to reaffirm Obasanjo’s culpability.
No matter how ex-President Obasanjo tried to absolve himself of corruption, and therefore, responsibility, there are some posers for him:
Where did he get the billions he used to build his University, library and mansion in Otta library and his properties all over the country? And as the president, the universities and indeed the education sector in Nigeria were starved of funding during his tenure, so much so that it is no longer considered a right move by many parents to send their children to Nigerian educational institutions.
Where did the $16 billion power supply fund disappear to? $16 billion and eight years later, where is the light? Obasanjo was going all over the country commissioning several bogus power projects (and other projects in other sectors) estimated in billions of dollars, and yet, Nigerians are suffering from lack of electricity, which is a number one factor holding the development of the country back every day.
What happened to billions spent on road construction and rehabilitations? Even his erstwhile Minister for Roads, the wily Tony Anenih, said recently that being allocated 300 billion naira for roads is one thing, getting the allocation is another matter or something to that effect. What about the billions that now seems to have been carted away by the Chinese for the railway extension and modernisation project?
It was widely reported that when Obasanjo came out of Abacha’s prison, he had just N20, 000 in both cash and assets (His ex-Vice President alleged this). Eight years later, he was owning and selling off everything that Nigeria has, yet he can be bold enough to tell Nigerians and the world that he is not corrupt. Obasanjo Farms is one of the biggest in Nigeria today, with prime farmlands in various states of the federation, yet all the state-owned agricultural farms combined are so unproductive that they cannot feed Nigerians.
Aside from being accused of being corrupt, he has also been accused of being a killer. When he was the president, political assassinations (Bola Ige, Funsho Williams, etc,) prevailed everyday and not a single assassin was ever apprehended during his reign. Since he left office, Nigeria has not recorded any political assassinations. Can we ask Obasanjo why this is so?
Obasanjo’s transfer of power to Yar'Adua is the greatest corruption (political corruption) that he committed on Nigerians and humanity. Apparently, he does not realise that rigging elections is a corrupt practice, and a major corruption category. Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. (And Obasanjo and members of his family, government and party are guilty of this, if he does not realise it). An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption if the act is directly related to their official duties (guilty again). In short, in the political realm, corruption generally undermines democracy and good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes. Corruption in elections and in legislative bodies reduces accountability and distorts representation in policymaking; corruption in the judiciary compromises the rule of law; and corruption in public administration results in the unfair provision of services. More generally, corruption erodes the institutional capacity of government as procedures are disregarded, resources are siphoned off, and public offices are bought and sold. At the same time, corruption undermines the legitimacy of government and such democratic values as trust and tolerance.
I hope Chief Obasanjo now knows that, with all the above, he will be pronounced guilty of corruption, because these are exactly what happened during his tenure in the highest position of the land and therefore he can no longer absolve himself of any responsibility. It is an inconvenient truth for him. For the rest of us, it is a convenient truth that must be told as it is.
As far as most Nigerians are concerned, Obasanjo was the head of a clique of unscrupulously corrupt individuals who have held the country down to its current deplorable affliction. His very poor stint at positively impacting on our lives when he had three rare chances informs our mindset.
Now that he has challenged Nigeria and the Yar'Adua government to directly probe him, we will wait with baited breath to see what President Yar'Adua would do, though I am 100% certain that nothing will ever happen.
The EFCC should also take him up on this challenge – again, perhaps this is another wishful thinking.
The truth? Let it be said always.
Akintokunbo Adejumo lives and works in London, UK. A graduate of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria (1979) and University of Manitoba, Canada (1985), he also writes on topical issues and has been published in newspapers and internet media including Nigeriaworld.com, Nigeria Today Online, Nigerians In America, Nigeria Village Square, Champions Newspaper, ChatAfrik.com, African News Switzerland, New Nigerian Politics, Gamji.com, Codewit.com, Nigerian Horizon.com, Nigerian Muse.com, etc.
He is also the Coordinator of CHAMPIONS FOR NIGERIA, (www.championsfornigeria.org) an organisation devoted to celebrating genuine progress, excellence, commitment, selfless and unalloyed service to Nigeria and Nigerians; and the Chief Writer of African Entrepreneur LLC (http://africanceos.ning.com ) a US-based Nigerian-owned company that promotes Nigerian, African and black-owned businesses worldwide.
Chasing Shadows In The Anti-Corruption War
These are indeed difficult times for Nigerians. Not only is the universal credit crunch and global economic downturn biting much harder on our people, but the profligacy and unconcerned response or non-response of the people at the helm of affairs of the country are making matters worse.
A few days ago, I wrote on my Facebook wall, that (pardon my language) I am pissed off at our political leaders. I was expressing my frustrations. A friend of mine (a real friend) then left me a comment admonishing me that as a public speaker and opinion writer, I should not be saying such things. I was a bit mad at him, but still replied him politely. What does he want me to do? We have talked to these leaders; we have pleaded with them to change, both publicly and sometimes privately; we have appealed to their good side (if they have any at all) and their collective conscience; we have threatened them; we have died for them; we have even accepted that we are serving them instead of them serving us and all we ask in return are little crumbs to make life easier for us. But have they listened? Are they concerned? Are they likely to change? No! Brothers and sisters, not on your life.
Then I read three articles: One is a piece on Pointblanknews reporting that an Indian company, Global Holdings Limited, wants our Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Michael Aondoakaa to refund $6 million bribe money. Global Steel Holdings is asking Aondoakaa to either “deliver or refund the $6 million dollar bribe he received, over the inability of the former ( Michael Aondoakaa) to deliver on a deal to convince President Umaru Yar’Adua to reverse the Federal Government’s cancellation of the concession granted the company on Ajaokuta Steel Company”. This is a very grave allegation.
Then came another article by the same Pointblanknews that the Chairman of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu is also demanding that the Attorney General refund a $400,000 bribe back to him (Rabiu) for reneging on a deal to revoke the sale of Delta Steel company to Global Steel Holdings, and instead sell the company to BUA Group. It was alleged that that notorious political jobber, hatchet man and money launderer for several Governors, the ignoble Terry Waya was the delivery man for the bribe. Another grave allegation that must be investigated.
I am not one to rush into conclusions, and I believe these allegations must be corroborated, but right now, it sounds authentic, knowing what out public officials can get up to. And Ajaokuta Steel Company and Delta Steel Company have been bedrocks of corruption, wastefulness, mismanagement and exercises in futility for many decades since they were launched; many top Nigerians have made their money out of it, the Russians took us for fools, the Germans had us, and now the Indians are also trying to make mugs out of us, and not a single sheet of steel has come out of them since the 70’s. Although there's no smoke without fire, we must not rush into judgement until we have the government’s take on this. So let's wait, listen and watch the Minister respond. How can any country respect Nigeria if a highly placed government functionary as our Minister for Justice is involved in such scandals? And the President himself knows about what is going on? Talk about the good image or the recent “re-branding” of Nigeria.
Lord have mercy! This is the man, who oversees our anti-corruption campaign; who should be ensuring the prosecution of several corrupt ex-governors; in fact, who should ensure justice for all Nigerians. Up till now, our AGF has not spoken out about these allegations, however, when the Indian company takes him to the International Court of Arbitration, maybe the whole scandal will be blown wide open and he will be forced to make a statement, or better still, resign, be arrested and prosecuted. I said maybe, because such powerful people are usually above the law in Nigeria.
The third article was The Guardian editorial of Tuesday 17 March 2009, titled “Bribe Givers and Takers”, where it was reported that our learned Minister for Justice, the same Michael Aondoakaa, was suing the multinational firms of Halliburton, Siemens and Wilbros for damages to the tune of $10 billion dollars, for daring to bribe Nigerians, and for bringing the good name of Nigeria into disrepute. I was aghast at the thinking of this man, and at the same time could not help laughing at the inanity of the man, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Can he be serious?
Why does he not start with prosecuting the Nigerians, over whom he has jurisdiction, who are involved in the bribery, mostly taking of the backhander? He knows them, doesn’t he? I will refresh his memory: Three former Ministers for Communication, a serving Senator and several government officials and civil servants, NNPC and Shell officials and members of the ruling PDP, already identified by name and amount of bribe received.
Nigerian leadership officials do not know their responsibilities in terms of good administration of the country and its resources. The AGF is chasing a phantom enemy while the real enemy is in his living room, eating with him. He does not need to look abroad to tackle the corruption at home. The whole country is swimming in corrupt practices and he stupidly wants to catch culprits abroad. I don't think the Honourable Minister of Justice was actually going out in pursuit of anything serious. Maybe the guy has other businesses to run in the USA or UK, or maybe he has some stolen money to stash in a bank abroad. They say "Charity begins at home." If the man has anything serious to do, why not start off with the people (over whom and) where he has absolute jurisdiction and authority?
A more prudent, logical and productive process will be for the Attorney General to go after Nigerian criminals first, before going after the foreigners. Catch criminals in Nigeria, not abroad. He should let us know how the rule of law being bandied about by his Administration works. If the Nigerians do not ask for or accept the bribe, there will not be any need to go after the foreigners. Why is the AGF treating for ringworm, when he knows the disease is leprosy? He should punish the Nigerians involved first; he has the laws of Nigeria on his side. Names have been mentioned, the proofs are there; he should haul them before the law. He should ask the EFCC to arrest them and carry out the investigations, and prosecute them. Only by doing this shall we believe he is not trying some delaying or diversionary tactics from the real issues at hand.
The AGF should not be concerned about the foreign firms; at least for now; their foreign governments have already taken care of that end, he should get himself concerned about the Nigerian end of things. However, by delaying so long, and now with his ludicrous plan to sue the foreign firms, the Minister has actually jeopardised any investigation or prosecution that could be carried out on the Nigerian component of the bribery scandals. Evidence, if not already destroyed, would now be actively destroyed.
The actions of Mr Aondoakaa have always been mysterious, suspect and controversial ever since his appointment in June 2007. I wrote articles (“Mediocrity Rules in the Ministry of Justice” and “The Attorney-General, The EFCC and the Anti-Corruption War”) then and I am being proved right. According to widely held beliefs in Nigeria, Mr Aondoakaa was the major cause of Nuhu Ribadu being removed as EFCC Chairman, and his eventual dismissal from the Nigeria Police Force. He scuttled CBN Governor, Charles Soludo’s plans or ideas for Naira re-denomination. Then it is widely believed that he installed the current Chairperson of the EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri, for the main purpose of jeopardising or hampering the anti-corruption campaign, the result being that aspersion and doubt have now been cast on whatever good intentions this woman has to fight corruption in Nigeria. That cloud is still hanging over her head, and will be very difficult to get rid of.
In other words, our Minister for Justice and Attorney General has always been a barrier and stumbling block to progress in the anti-corruption fight. I really cannot comprehend how Nigeria came to have such people as Aondoakaa and others of his ilk in government, in the midst of much more talented, committed and sincere Nigerians. I know they rigged themselves into power, but this is ridiculous. It is another reflection of our failure as a united people; we allowed it.
As a result, what we have is a bloated and corrupt bureaucracy, kleptomania, mediocrity, greed, selfishness, and all these in turn transmute to abject poverty, hunger, unnecessary deaths, denial of justice, sense of hopelessness, underdevelopment, retrogression and utter despair for our people. Nothing, it seems, works for us. Definitely, these leaders are not working for us, but for themselves. And there are plenty of them in Yar ‘Adua’s cabinet.
We should be worried. Recently, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria lamented Nigeria's chequered political journey to nationhood and warned that the country still has a long way to go to reach stability. "We are yet to build a nation where people dwell in security, but we have a country where life and property are constantly exposed to danger. The Niger Delta crisis in the South, the religious conflicts in the North and ethnic conflicts in different parts of the country are part of the insecurity Nigerians face”, the bishops said. They recalled that “corruption and the theft of public funds, which largely have remained unabated despite their call for prayers, had brought Nigeria to its knees” and regretted "the collapse of infrastructure, the lack of basic amenities ... the increasing number of unemployed in the ever-rising crime wave in the land. The fact is evident that we still have a lot of work to do so that we (Nigerians), our children and our children's children can have our legitimate aspirations fulfilled and our potentials actualized", they said. The bishops also spoke of recent riots in the cities of Jos and Bauchi. "Each time we witness ethnic and religious conflicts, each time we hold elections lacking in credibility, we lose opportunities to build a nation. Each time the people of our richly endowed land are impoverished through acts of violation of fundamental human rights, each time we make or fall victims of injustice, bribery and corruption, we lose opportunities to build a nation.”
However, it is no use moaning and wallowing in self-pity. We are the architects of our own future and that of our generations yet unborn. All is not exactly lost, if only we can seize the opportunities that flash by once in a while. Many governors who rigged themselves in, for example, in 2007 are now being removed and replaced. Those are chances. Foreign governments are doing their bit to expose Nigerian bribe takers; seizing laundered loot and generally aiding in the fight against corruption (The US Government has promised to release names of Nigerian bribe-takers in the Halliburton and several other cases). These are chances to correct the system.
And in 2011, another chance to keep out both existing and prospective looters will present itself, we have to take it and ensure they do not get into power, power of incumbency or not. If they try to rig, we reject the results forcefully; if they insist in occupying the state houses, we storm the State Houses or throw stones at them. The political party does not matter, what matters is the calibre of the contestants. Political leaders must be made to know that they derive their power from the people, and no other way. Public officials must be made to realise that they are there to serve us and not to be served by us.
We, the people, must do the right thing for us, the things that are right for us, and not for them. It must be a case of us versus them. Not a religious or tribal war, but a class war of sorts; but they are not prepared to give in to us, so we must keep the pressure on them at all times.
Akintokunbo Adejumo is the Global Coordinator of CHAMPIONS FOR NIGERIA, (www.championsfornigeria.org ) an organisation devoted to tackling corruption, promoting good governance and celebrating genuine progress, excellence, commitment, selfless and unalloyed service to Nigeria and the people of Nigeria. He is also the Chief Writer and Consultant for African Entrepreneur LLC, a US-based, Nigerian-owned media and marketing firm
A few days ago, I wrote on my Facebook wall, that (pardon my language) I am pissed off at our political leaders. I was expressing my frustrations. A friend of mine (a real friend) then left me a comment admonishing me that as a public speaker and opinion writer, I should not be saying such things. I was a bit mad at him, but still replied him politely. What does he want me to do? We have talked to these leaders; we have pleaded with them to change, both publicly and sometimes privately; we have appealed to their good side (if they have any at all) and their collective conscience; we have threatened them; we have died for them; we have even accepted that we are serving them instead of them serving us and all we ask in return are little crumbs to make life easier for us. But have they listened? Are they concerned? Are they likely to change? No! Brothers and sisters, not on your life.
Then I read three articles: One is a piece on Pointblanknews reporting that an Indian company, Global Holdings Limited, wants our Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Michael Aondoakaa to refund $6 million bribe money. Global Steel Holdings is asking Aondoakaa to either “deliver or refund the $6 million dollar bribe he received, over the inability of the former ( Michael Aondoakaa) to deliver on a deal to convince President Umaru Yar’Adua to reverse the Federal Government’s cancellation of the concession granted the company on Ajaokuta Steel Company”. This is a very grave allegation.
Then came another article by the same Pointblanknews that the Chairman of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu is also demanding that the Attorney General refund a $400,000 bribe back to him (Rabiu) for reneging on a deal to revoke the sale of Delta Steel company to Global Steel Holdings, and instead sell the company to BUA Group. It was alleged that that notorious political jobber, hatchet man and money launderer for several Governors, the ignoble Terry Waya was the delivery man for the bribe. Another grave allegation that must be investigated.
I am not one to rush into conclusions, and I believe these allegations must be corroborated, but right now, it sounds authentic, knowing what out public officials can get up to. And Ajaokuta Steel Company and Delta Steel Company have been bedrocks of corruption, wastefulness, mismanagement and exercises in futility for many decades since they were launched; many top Nigerians have made their money out of it, the Russians took us for fools, the Germans had us, and now the Indians are also trying to make mugs out of us, and not a single sheet of steel has come out of them since the 70’s. Although there's no smoke without fire, we must not rush into judgement until we have the government’s take on this. So let's wait, listen and watch the Minister respond. How can any country respect Nigeria if a highly placed government functionary as our Minister for Justice is involved in such scandals? And the President himself knows about what is going on? Talk about the good image or the recent “re-branding” of Nigeria.
Lord have mercy! This is the man, who oversees our anti-corruption campaign; who should be ensuring the prosecution of several corrupt ex-governors; in fact, who should ensure justice for all Nigerians. Up till now, our AGF has not spoken out about these allegations, however, when the Indian company takes him to the International Court of Arbitration, maybe the whole scandal will be blown wide open and he will be forced to make a statement, or better still, resign, be arrested and prosecuted. I said maybe, because such powerful people are usually above the law in Nigeria.
The third article was The Guardian editorial of Tuesday 17 March 2009, titled “Bribe Givers and Takers”, where it was reported that our learned Minister for Justice, the same Michael Aondoakaa, was suing the multinational firms of Halliburton, Siemens and Wilbros for damages to the tune of $10 billion dollars, for daring to bribe Nigerians, and for bringing the good name of Nigeria into disrepute. I was aghast at the thinking of this man, and at the same time could not help laughing at the inanity of the man, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Can he be serious?
Why does he not start with prosecuting the Nigerians, over whom he has jurisdiction, who are involved in the bribery, mostly taking of the backhander? He knows them, doesn’t he? I will refresh his memory: Three former Ministers for Communication, a serving Senator and several government officials and civil servants, NNPC and Shell officials and members of the ruling PDP, already identified by name and amount of bribe received.
Nigerian leadership officials do not know their responsibilities in terms of good administration of the country and its resources. The AGF is chasing a phantom enemy while the real enemy is in his living room, eating with him. He does not need to look abroad to tackle the corruption at home. The whole country is swimming in corrupt practices and he stupidly wants to catch culprits abroad. I don't think the Honourable Minister of Justice was actually going out in pursuit of anything serious. Maybe the guy has other businesses to run in the USA or UK, or maybe he has some stolen money to stash in a bank abroad. They say "Charity begins at home." If the man has anything serious to do, why not start off with the people (over whom and) where he has absolute jurisdiction and authority?
A more prudent, logical and productive process will be for the Attorney General to go after Nigerian criminals first, before going after the foreigners. Catch criminals in Nigeria, not abroad. He should let us know how the rule of law being bandied about by his Administration works. If the Nigerians do not ask for or accept the bribe, there will not be any need to go after the foreigners. Why is the AGF treating for ringworm, when he knows the disease is leprosy? He should punish the Nigerians involved first; he has the laws of Nigeria on his side. Names have been mentioned, the proofs are there; he should haul them before the law. He should ask the EFCC to arrest them and carry out the investigations, and prosecute them. Only by doing this shall we believe he is not trying some delaying or diversionary tactics from the real issues at hand.
The AGF should not be concerned about the foreign firms; at least for now; their foreign governments have already taken care of that end, he should get himself concerned about the Nigerian end of things. However, by delaying so long, and now with his ludicrous plan to sue the foreign firms, the Minister has actually jeopardised any investigation or prosecution that could be carried out on the Nigerian component of the bribery scandals. Evidence, if not already destroyed, would now be actively destroyed.
The actions of Mr Aondoakaa have always been mysterious, suspect and controversial ever since his appointment in June 2007. I wrote articles (“Mediocrity Rules in the Ministry of Justice” and “The Attorney-General, The EFCC and the Anti-Corruption War”) then and I am being proved right. According to widely held beliefs in Nigeria, Mr Aondoakaa was the major cause of Nuhu Ribadu being removed as EFCC Chairman, and his eventual dismissal from the Nigeria Police Force. He scuttled CBN Governor, Charles Soludo’s plans or ideas for Naira re-denomination. Then it is widely believed that he installed the current Chairperson of the EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri, for the main purpose of jeopardising or hampering the anti-corruption campaign, the result being that aspersion and doubt have now been cast on whatever good intentions this woman has to fight corruption in Nigeria. That cloud is still hanging over her head, and will be very difficult to get rid of.
In other words, our Minister for Justice and Attorney General has always been a barrier and stumbling block to progress in the anti-corruption fight. I really cannot comprehend how Nigeria came to have such people as Aondoakaa and others of his ilk in government, in the midst of much more talented, committed and sincere Nigerians. I know they rigged themselves into power, but this is ridiculous. It is another reflection of our failure as a united people; we allowed it.
As a result, what we have is a bloated and corrupt bureaucracy, kleptomania, mediocrity, greed, selfishness, and all these in turn transmute to abject poverty, hunger, unnecessary deaths, denial of justice, sense of hopelessness, underdevelopment, retrogression and utter despair for our people. Nothing, it seems, works for us. Definitely, these leaders are not working for us, but for themselves. And there are plenty of them in Yar ‘Adua’s cabinet.
We should be worried. Recently, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria lamented Nigeria's chequered political journey to nationhood and warned that the country still has a long way to go to reach stability. "We are yet to build a nation where people dwell in security, but we have a country where life and property are constantly exposed to danger. The Niger Delta crisis in the South, the religious conflicts in the North and ethnic conflicts in different parts of the country are part of the insecurity Nigerians face”, the bishops said. They recalled that “corruption and the theft of public funds, which largely have remained unabated despite their call for prayers, had brought Nigeria to its knees” and regretted "the collapse of infrastructure, the lack of basic amenities ... the increasing number of unemployed in the ever-rising crime wave in the land. The fact is evident that we still have a lot of work to do so that we (Nigerians), our children and our children's children can have our legitimate aspirations fulfilled and our potentials actualized", they said. The bishops also spoke of recent riots in the cities of Jos and Bauchi. "Each time we witness ethnic and religious conflicts, each time we hold elections lacking in credibility, we lose opportunities to build a nation. Each time the people of our richly endowed land are impoverished through acts of violation of fundamental human rights, each time we make or fall victims of injustice, bribery and corruption, we lose opportunities to build a nation.”
However, it is no use moaning and wallowing in self-pity. We are the architects of our own future and that of our generations yet unborn. All is not exactly lost, if only we can seize the opportunities that flash by once in a while. Many governors who rigged themselves in, for example, in 2007 are now being removed and replaced. Those are chances. Foreign governments are doing their bit to expose Nigerian bribe takers; seizing laundered loot and generally aiding in the fight against corruption (The US Government has promised to release names of Nigerian bribe-takers in the Halliburton and several other cases). These are chances to correct the system.
And in 2011, another chance to keep out both existing and prospective looters will present itself, we have to take it and ensure they do not get into power, power of incumbency or not. If they try to rig, we reject the results forcefully; if they insist in occupying the state houses, we storm the State Houses or throw stones at them. The political party does not matter, what matters is the calibre of the contestants. Political leaders must be made to know that they derive their power from the people, and no other way. Public officials must be made to realise that they are there to serve us and not to be served by us.
We, the people, must do the right thing for us, the things that are right for us, and not for them. It must be a case of us versus them. Not a religious or tribal war, but a class war of sorts; but they are not prepared to give in to us, so we must keep the pressure on them at all times.
Akintokunbo Adejumo is the Global Coordinator of CHAMPIONS FOR NIGERIA, (www.championsfornigeria.org ) an organisation devoted to tackling corruption, promoting good governance and celebrating genuine progress, excellence, commitment, selfless and unalloyed service to Nigeria and the people of Nigeria. He is also the Chief Writer and Consultant for African Entrepreneur LLC, a US-based, Nigerian-owned media and marketing firm
Sunday, 22 March 2009
The Trials and Tribulations Of A Leader
I felt the need to write this article because of what happened in London last week when ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo came visiting to brief the world press on his peace mission in Central Africa. Although I did not attend, I read and learnt that the briefing was marred by protesters, mostly Nigerians, who do not feel Obasanjo is morally right to be accorded such honour as overseeing and bringing about peace to another African country with regards to his own dismal performance as President of Nigeria for eight tortuous, but eventful years. Eggs and rotten tomatoes were allegedly thrown at him and I think he finally got the message that he is not the most popular of Nigerian leaders. I had written some time ago that Obasanjo was always fond of not taking responsibility for anything (An Abject Abdication of Responsibility – www.nigeriavillagesquare.com 23.07.2008) I have been proven right almost a year later.
During a subsequent interview with the BBC, he must have been exasperated by the questions thrown mercilessly at him to explain himself on allegations of his government being very corrupt, that he burst out “I’m Ready For Trial - (Nigerian Tribune, 20.03.2009).
I thus would like to comment on some of the issues thrown up by him, and I have therefore broken them down as he was reported to have answered some questions and tried to draw my own opinions from the ex-President’s answers.
“FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday vehemently declared that he was not corrupt and that he was ready to face trial if found culpable of corruption”.
My views and opinions on this outburst by our former president is that we should take him up on his offer to subject himself to a probe. He has thrown down the gauntlet to the authorities. And in fairness to him and to Nigerians, let Obasanjo prove to the world that he himself, personally, was not corrupt. It is the least he could do or say under the circumstances.
Was it just righteous indignation or was he being sincere? History and posterity surely will be the best judge of him. At the risk of sounding sanctimonious and being accused of being in support of Obasanjo, I have always been of the conviction that on the balance of probability, Obasanjo might not have been personally corrupt in the sense that he was dipping his hands in the treasury, however, there are three issues that made him culpable and which as a leader, he cannot absolve himself of:
One is that as the elected and recognised head of the nation, it was his absolute and moral responsibility to ensure that his government was not corrupt; that the people he had around him either as Ministers, Aides, legislature, and judiciary and even the state and local government executives were not corrupt. The buck should always stop at his desk. He has to be help responsible for anything that goes wrong. A leader is always held responsible for the actions of his followers. Right now, we are seeing the fall-out from his eight-year administration (many ex-governors from his party are known to have looted their states’ treasuries; power probes, scandals upon scandals, etc) that has even led a leader as knowingly corrupt as Babangida to be labelling Obasanjo’s administration as worse than his own in terms of corruption. Even the Abacha clan are saying the same thing.
Secondly, the fact that Obasanjo imposed Umar Yar ‘Adua on the country cannot be denied. This in itself is political corruption. Obasanjo supervised the most unfair elections in the history of Nigeria, both in 2003 and 2007. It is on record and we are also seeing the fallout, with governors, new and existing forced out of office now and again. This is a blot on any good intentions he might have. Also linked with this political corruption was Obasanjo’s attempt to get a Third Term in office, against the rules of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He heated up the polity so much with this ill-thought, ill-advised idea, that it was a wonder the country did not break up.
Third, he had eight long years to turn this country around, despite the fact that previous military regimes had virtually ruined the country. When he was elected, he swore before God and Man to do his best for Nigeria and Nigerians; eight years later, Nigerians discovered they had been had, nothing changed for them, yet Obasanjo’s acolytes and followers had become billionaires. Obasanjo failed to take action against the corrupt excesses of his favourites (or maybe his errand boys and girls) like Peter Odili (Obasanjo almost allowed him to become the President of this country), James Ibori (the consummate thief is now a power behind the ruling party and the Presidency itself), Andy Uba, Lamidi Adedibu, Tony Anenih, Bode George, and many other party officials and executives. He allowed Chief Adedibu to virtually bring Ibadan and Oyo State to their knees. These are all political corruption of the highest order. And OBJ was responsible and culpable.
Culpability descends from the Latin concept of fault (culpa), which is still found today in the phrase mea culpa (literally, "my own fault"). In explanations and predictions of human action and inaction, culpability is a measure of the degree to which an agent, such as a person, can be held morally or legally responsible. Culpability is defined as deserving of blame or censure as being wrong, evil, improper, or injurious.
From a legal perspective, culpability describes the degree of one's blameworthiness in the commission of a crime or offense. Except for strict liability crimes, the type and severity of punishment often follow the degree of culpability.
Legal definitions (Wikipedia) of culpability are:
1. A person acts intentionally with respect to a material element of an offence when:
1. if the element involves the nature of his conduct or a result thereof, it is his conscious object to engage in conduct of that nature or to cause such a result; and
2. if the element involves the attendant circumstances, he is aware of the existence of such circumstances or he believes or hopes that they exist.
2. A person acts knowingly with respect to a material element of an offense when:
1. if the element involves the nature of his conduct or the attendant circumstances, he is aware that his conduct is of that nature or that such circumstances exist; and
2. if the element involves a result of his conduct, he is aware that it is practically certain that his conduct will cause such a result.
3. A person acts recklessly with respect to a material element of an offense when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that, considering the nature and intent of the actor's conduct and the circumstances known to him, its disregard involves a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the actor's situation.
4. A person acts negligently with respect to a material element of an offense when he should be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that the actor's failure to perceive it, considering the nature and intent of his conduct and the circumstances known to him, involves a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the actor's situation.
In short:
• A person causes a result purposely/intentionally if the result is his/her goal in doing the action that causes it,
• A person causes a result knowingly if he/she knows that the result is virtually certain to occur from the action he/she undertakes,
• A person causes a result recklessly if he/she is aware of and disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk of the result occurring from the action, and
• A person causes a result negligently if there is a substantial and unjustifiable risk he/she is unaware of but very much should be aware of.
The first two types of culpability are each a subset of the following. Thus if someone acts purposely, they also act knowingly. If someone acts knowingly, they also act recklessly.
With these legal definitions, Obasanjo cannot possibly absolve himself of any corrupt practices committed during his tenure, by his Government, by his Ministers, by his party chiefs and supporters, by his Governors, whether they belong to his party or not, because he knew, or should know, all that was going on within his country. He was the Commander-In-Chief after all, and he must be held responsible for their actions.
“Chief Obasanjo, who was answering questions on the British Broadcasting Corporation interview programme Hard Talk, said he is the only former president in Nigeria that has ever been investigated by the two anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria”.
Here I will agree with the Balogun of Otta. Why should Obasanjo be the only former President of Nigeria being investigated? What about Babangida? What about Abdulsalaam? Even what about the shameless Earnest Shonekan? And if we are going to investigate past presidents, why not all former Governors, both military and civilians? I acknowledge that investigating all these will pose logistical and resource problems e.g. lost and stale evidence, manpower, etc, but if we are going to crucify Obasanjo, then we must also crucify former heads of state like Babangida and Abdulsalaam. Unfortunately, Abacha was disposed of, but at least we knew what he did.
This is my take on this issue. Obasanjo must not be singled out for investigation, prosecution or whatever. Babangida and Abdulsalaam must be brought to justice too. Maybe even as far back as Jack Gowon, Shehu Shagari and Buhari. At least to prove which of them was not corrupt.
We all know impractical these exercises will be and the futility of it, so let us forget it and let God and history be these people’s judge.
Describing BBC Stephen Sackur’s allegation that he was a corrupt leader as an insult, said “when you allege you must have facts.” He stated that it was under his government that three ministers and a senate leader were arrested and prosecuted for corruption: “What else do you want?” Obasanjo queries.
I disagree with Obasanjo on this issue. In eight years of flagrant corruption, which he must not say he was not aware, to bring only three ministers, a senate leader, one police chief, two or three governors arrested and prosecuted can hardly be counted as phenomenal success, can it? Three ministers and a senate leader in eight years, when up to 36 governors, 40-something ministers and hundreds of top civil servants and Board chairpersons, government agencies like Customs, NNPC, PHCN, NDDC were actively salting away billions of our money, not to talk of hundreds of local government Chairpersons and others? And even after prosecution, these thieves got away with very light sentences which were no more than slaps on the wrist. No, OBJ, we want more! “What else do we want”, you asked? Indeed, Sir, that simply was not enough, and even then, those that you mentioned were only the tips of the iceberg. How much did they steal and were recovered compared to what their ilk walking around free today stole?
OBJ, Nigerians want justice, prosecutions, prison sentences, and even probably the death penalty for some of these thieves, who have made the lives of their fellow countrymen a living hell on earth. Nigerians want examples made of them to deter others permanently so that they know government money is not meant for government house. To make them know that they MUST be working for us, and not stealing from our collective, God-given wealth, and condemning us to poverty, disease, hunger, helplessness and death.
On his daughter, Iyabo, who is being investigated for alleged corrupt practices, Chief Obasanjo said she’s not been convicted. Asked if he will take responsibility for Iyabo, Obasanjo said, “I beg your pardon, she is a 42-year-old woman and can take responsibility for herself. You are insulting me, can you say that to a European leader?
Yes, Obasanjo could not legally be held responsible for his wayward daughter’s crimes. Like he rightly said, that woman is a 42-year old woman, who is supposed to be in her husband’s house (if she is) and not be dictated to by her father. However, Obasanjo can always advise her. And this is where his paternal and moral irresponsibility comes in. Today, at almost 53, I am still taking advice from my Mum, and if my father was alive, I would still be deferring to him and taking his advice. Obasanjo could have done the same. Iyabo took very great advantage of being the president’s daughter for eight ignoble years. If her father had not been the president, I doubt if anybody would have heard of her. After all, where was she all these years before she became a Senator? And instead of being humble as a First Daughter, she was throwing her weight about, getting involved in unwholesome corrupt practices and generally giving herself and family a bad name and press. Is that a responsible or good daughter? However, I cannot pronounce judgement on her, because each family to its own.
The problem remains that Iyabo has not been convicted despite admitting to many corrupt practices. When will that ever happen? She is still in the Senate, attending parties all over the place, and even being considered for the gubernatorial race in Ogun State come 2011. (See my article “Iyabo Obasanjo is Not Guilty; We Are” www.nigeriansinamerica.com 06.01.2008 and www.nigeriavillagesquare.com 29.05.2008)
And Sir, you are very wrong on the issue of this kind of question being addressed to a European leader. The freedom of the press and general Human Rights that exist in Europe these days is such that journalists and even individuals can ask their leaders almost anything. That is freedom and transparency for you. The leader now has the prerogative to answer or not, truthfully or not, but we, the people, have a right to ask the leaders what they are doing for us, about us and against us. Asking you if you are responsible for your wayward daughter is quite in order. All you have to do is say No or Yes, or not answer at all.
This is the way I see Obasanjo’s outburst and feeble defence. He still needs to convince us that he was not corrupt – and believe me – that will be very difficult, but not impossible, for him to do.
It really is very simple. For his own sake, I sincerely hope Obasanjo can, otherwise his name will be vilified for centuries to come as the man whom God gave several chances to deliver his people, but failed to take the rare opportunities that God gave him. That is a sin.
During a subsequent interview with the BBC, he must have been exasperated by the questions thrown mercilessly at him to explain himself on allegations of his government being very corrupt, that he burst out “I’m Ready For Trial - (Nigerian Tribune, 20.03.2009).
I thus would like to comment on some of the issues thrown up by him, and I have therefore broken them down as he was reported to have answered some questions and tried to draw my own opinions from the ex-President’s answers.
“FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday vehemently declared that he was not corrupt and that he was ready to face trial if found culpable of corruption”.
My views and opinions on this outburst by our former president is that we should take him up on his offer to subject himself to a probe. He has thrown down the gauntlet to the authorities. And in fairness to him and to Nigerians, let Obasanjo prove to the world that he himself, personally, was not corrupt. It is the least he could do or say under the circumstances.
Was it just righteous indignation or was he being sincere? History and posterity surely will be the best judge of him. At the risk of sounding sanctimonious and being accused of being in support of Obasanjo, I have always been of the conviction that on the balance of probability, Obasanjo might not have been personally corrupt in the sense that he was dipping his hands in the treasury, however, there are three issues that made him culpable and which as a leader, he cannot absolve himself of:
One is that as the elected and recognised head of the nation, it was his absolute and moral responsibility to ensure that his government was not corrupt; that the people he had around him either as Ministers, Aides, legislature, and judiciary and even the state and local government executives were not corrupt. The buck should always stop at his desk. He has to be help responsible for anything that goes wrong. A leader is always held responsible for the actions of his followers. Right now, we are seeing the fall-out from his eight-year administration (many ex-governors from his party are known to have looted their states’ treasuries; power probes, scandals upon scandals, etc) that has even led a leader as knowingly corrupt as Babangida to be labelling Obasanjo’s administration as worse than his own in terms of corruption. Even the Abacha clan are saying the same thing.
Secondly, the fact that Obasanjo imposed Umar Yar ‘Adua on the country cannot be denied. This in itself is political corruption. Obasanjo supervised the most unfair elections in the history of Nigeria, both in 2003 and 2007. It is on record and we are also seeing the fallout, with governors, new and existing forced out of office now and again. This is a blot on any good intentions he might have. Also linked with this political corruption was Obasanjo’s attempt to get a Third Term in office, against the rules of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He heated up the polity so much with this ill-thought, ill-advised idea, that it was a wonder the country did not break up.
Third, he had eight long years to turn this country around, despite the fact that previous military regimes had virtually ruined the country. When he was elected, he swore before God and Man to do his best for Nigeria and Nigerians; eight years later, Nigerians discovered they had been had, nothing changed for them, yet Obasanjo’s acolytes and followers had become billionaires. Obasanjo failed to take action against the corrupt excesses of his favourites (or maybe his errand boys and girls) like Peter Odili (Obasanjo almost allowed him to become the President of this country), James Ibori (the consummate thief is now a power behind the ruling party and the Presidency itself), Andy Uba, Lamidi Adedibu, Tony Anenih, Bode George, and many other party officials and executives. He allowed Chief Adedibu to virtually bring Ibadan and Oyo State to their knees. These are all political corruption of the highest order. And OBJ was responsible and culpable.
Culpability descends from the Latin concept of fault (culpa), which is still found today in the phrase mea culpa (literally, "my own fault"). In explanations and predictions of human action and inaction, culpability is a measure of the degree to which an agent, such as a person, can be held morally or legally responsible. Culpability is defined as deserving of blame or censure as being wrong, evil, improper, or injurious.
From a legal perspective, culpability describes the degree of one's blameworthiness in the commission of a crime or offense. Except for strict liability crimes, the type and severity of punishment often follow the degree of culpability.
Legal definitions (Wikipedia) of culpability are:
1. A person acts intentionally with respect to a material element of an offence when:
1. if the element involves the nature of his conduct or a result thereof, it is his conscious object to engage in conduct of that nature or to cause such a result; and
2. if the element involves the attendant circumstances, he is aware of the existence of such circumstances or he believes or hopes that they exist.
2. A person acts knowingly with respect to a material element of an offense when:
1. if the element involves the nature of his conduct or the attendant circumstances, he is aware that his conduct is of that nature or that such circumstances exist; and
2. if the element involves a result of his conduct, he is aware that it is practically certain that his conduct will cause such a result.
3. A person acts recklessly with respect to a material element of an offense when he consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that, considering the nature and intent of the actor's conduct and the circumstances known to him, its disregard involves a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the actor's situation.
4. A person acts negligently with respect to a material element of an offense when he should be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the material element exists or will result from his conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that the actor's failure to perceive it, considering the nature and intent of his conduct and the circumstances known to him, involves a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the actor's situation.
In short:
• A person causes a result purposely/intentionally if the result is his/her goal in doing the action that causes it,
• A person causes a result knowingly if he/she knows that the result is virtually certain to occur from the action he/she undertakes,
• A person causes a result recklessly if he/she is aware of and disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk of the result occurring from the action, and
• A person causes a result negligently if there is a substantial and unjustifiable risk he/she is unaware of but very much should be aware of.
The first two types of culpability are each a subset of the following. Thus if someone acts purposely, they also act knowingly. If someone acts knowingly, they also act recklessly.
With these legal definitions, Obasanjo cannot possibly absolve himself of any corrupt practices committed during his tenure, by his Government, by his Ministers, by his party chiefs and supporters, by his Governors, whether they belong to his party or not, because he knew, or should know, all that was going on within his country. He was the Commander-In-Chief after all, and he must be held responsible for their actions.
“Chief Obasanjo, who was answering questions on the British Broadcasting Corporation interview programme Hard Talk, said he is the only former president in Nigeria that has ever been investigated by the two anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria”.
Here I will agree with the Balogun of Otta. Why should Obasanjo be the only former President of Nigeria being investigated? What about Babangida? What about Abdulsalaam? Even what about the shameless Earnest Shonekan? And if we are going to investigate past presidents, why not all former Governors, both military and civilians? I acknowledge that investigating all these will pose logistical and resource problems e.g. lost and stale evidence, manpower, etc, but if we are going to crucify Obasanjo, then we must also crucify former heads of state like Babangida and Abdulsalaam. Unfortunately, Abacha was disposed of, but at least we knew what he did.
This is my take on this issue. Obasanjo must not be singled out for investigation, prosecution or whatever. Babangida and Abdulsalaam must be brought to justice too. Maybe even as far back as Jack Gowon, Shehu Shagari and Buhari. At least to prove which of them was not corrupt.
We all know impractical these exercises will be and the futility of it, so let us forget it and let God and history be these people’s judge.
Describing BBC Stephen Sackur’s allegation that he was a corrupt leader as an insult, said “when you allege you must have facts.” He stated that it was under his government that three ministers and a senate leader were arrested and prosecuted for corruption: “What else do you want?” Obasanjo queries.
I disagree with Obasanjo on this issue. In eight years of flagrant corruption, which he must not say he was not aware, to bring only three ministers, a senate leader, one police chief, two or three governors arrested and prosecuted can hardly be counted as phenomenal success, can it? Three ministers and a senate leader in eight years, when up to 36 governors, 40-something ministers and hundreds of top civil servants and Board chairpersons, government agencies like Customs, NNPC, PHCN, NDDC were actively salting away billions of our money, not to talk of hundreds of local government Chairpersons and others? And even after prosecution, these thieves got away with very light sentences which were no more than slaps on the wrist. No, OBJ, we want more! “What else do we want”, you asked? Indeed, Sir, that simply was not enough, and even then, those that you mentioned were only the tips of the iceberg. How much did they steal and were recovered compared to what their ilk walking around free today stole?
OBJ, Nigerians want justice, prosecutions, prison sentences, and even probably the death penalty for some of these thieves, who have made the lives of their fellow countrymen a living hell on earth. Nigerians want examples made of them to deter others permanently so that they know government money is not meant for government house. To make them know that they MUST be working for us, and not stealing from our collective, God-given wealth, and condemning us to poverty, disease, hunger, helplessness and death.
On his daughter, Iyabo, who is being investigated for alleged corrupt practices, Chief Obasanjo said she’s not been convicted. Asked if he will take responsibility for Iyabo, Obasanjo said, “I beg your pardon, she is a 42-year-old woman and can take responsibility for herself. You are insulting me, can you say that to a European leader?
Yes, Obasanjo could not legally be held responsible for his wayward daughter’s crimes. Like he rightly said, that woman is a 42-year old woman, who is supposed to be in her husband’s house (if she is) and not be dictated to by her father. However, Obasanjo can always advise her. And this is where his paternal and moral irresponsibility comes in. Today, at almost 53, I am still taking advice from my Mum, and if my father was alive, I would still be deferring to him and taking his advice. Obasanjo could have done the same. Iyabo took very great advantage of being the president’s daughter for eight ignoble years. If her father had not been the president, I doubt if anybody would have heard of her. After all, where was she all these years before she became a Senator? And instead of being humble as a First Daughter, she was throwing her weight about, getting involved in unwholesome corrupt practices and generally giving herself and family a bad name and press. Is that a responsible or good daughter? However, I cannot pronounce judgement on her, because each family to its own.
The problem remains that Iyabo has not been convicted despite admitting to many corrupt practices. When will that ever happen? She is still in the Senate, attending parties all over the place, and even being considered for the gubernatorial race in Ogun State come 2011. (See my article “Iyabo Obasanjo is Not Guilty; We Are” www.nigeriansinamerica.com 06.01.2008 and www.nigeriavillagesquare.com 29.05.2008)
And Sir, you are very wrong on the issue of this kind of question being addressed to a European leader. The freedom of the press and general Human Rights that exist in Europe these days is such that journalists and even individuals can ask their leaders almost anything. That is freedom and transparency for you. The leader now has the prerogative to answer or not, truthfully or not, but we, the people, have a right to ask the leaders what they are doing for us, about us and against us. Asking you if you are responsible for your wayward daughter is quite in order. All you have to do is say No or Yes, or not answer at all.
This is the way I see Obasanjo’s outburst and feeble defence. He still needs to convince us that he was not corrupt – and believe me – that will be very difficult, but not impossible, for him to do.
It really is very simple. For his own sake, I sincerely hope Obasanjo can, otherwise his name will be vilified for centuries to come as the man whom God gave several chances to deliver his people, but failed to take the rare opportunities that God gave him. That is a sin.
High Cost of Governance, Bad Governance: The Relationship
“What I will say very briefly without appearing to criticise anybody is that our cost of government is too high. Our cost of running the ministries, and the National Assembly, all of which are current, and the benefits of which deliberately relate to certain persons and do not indeed really benefit the generality of Nigerians is too high. And because of that very high cost, there is little left for capital projects. Again of course, we know that the level of efficiency in even utilising that capital sum over the years has been questionable. We only hope that better things will be done”. – Chief Joseph Sanusi, Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
In reality, nobody should be surprised by the statement above. Even if not documented, it is there for all to see, feel, live and experience in the daily lives of the majority of Nigerians. However, I was further alarmed when I read the Nigerian Compass Lead Opinion of 3rd March 2009 when it counselled the Federal Government of Nigeria to shrink the incredible cost of governance in the country.
We should all be alarmed and fearful. What is going on in all the three tiers of government are tantamount to, if not worse than, bold-faced, daylight armed robbery of the people of Nigeria. It is calculated that our rulers consume over 80% of the total revenue that accrues to it in the name of governance (Holy Molly). If this is not daylight, brazen robbery, please tell me what it is. This issue again highlights that our various Nigerian governments, and others before them are highly irresponsible and insensitive, and hence the reasons why we find ourselves in the mess we are in today, and to which escape seems very impossible, unless really very drastic measures and actions are taken.
I do not think there is a need to reproduce the Nigerian Compass Editorial here because of space, but one of the crux or factors that are gulping our income is the emoluments of public office holders. According to Nigerian Compass, the emoluments (salaries, allowances, perks, etc) of 17,474 public office holders and the judiciary at all tiers of government amounts to about 1.2 trillion Naira per year, gulping about 60 to 70 % of our national budget in a country of 140 million people. And if we add N46, 000 per day allocation to each senator for biscuits and tea (in a hot country), the choice of cars in the convoy of these political appointees, the cost of governance becomes monumental. Surely this cannot be right and is unsustainable. It also shows that our political office holders are not serving us, but serving their own pockets, and we are serving them too. It is a master-slave relationship. But remember, our current President called himself a Servant Leader. Indeed. In effect, Nigerian politics is self-serving instead of a call to service. Public office holders live far above the citizens they are expected to serve, thus becoming disconnected from the sufferings and yearnings of the people.
With all these waste and profligacy, corruption, mismanagement, it is no wonder that governments, all three tiers of them, hardly have any money left to carry out infrastructural development or maintenance, hence the poor and moribund states of our roads, railway, waterways, healthcare system, schools, electricity generation and distribution, agriculture and even public buildings. The government simply do not have enough money to do anything about provision of basic amenities to their people, because the money has gone into individual pockets.
In writing this article, I came across a speech by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, made on June 25, 2003 while inauguration of the Technical Committee on the Review of the Structure of Local Government Councils. He advocated “improving the effectiveness of local government as a vehicle for promoting and sustaining grassroots development” and that “unless the existing local government system is reviewed and restructured to promote greater accountability, optimal performance and drastic reduction of the current astronomical cost of operating the system, the yearnings of our people will be unwarranted”. That was in 2003. Six years later, what has really changed? Was Obasanjo’s proposals ever implemented? In fact, things seem to have gone from bad to worse. This is why I do not take the words or speeches of our leaders serious. They like going to commission or launch projects, accompanied by the best speeches and rhetoric in the world, and full of promises, but as soon as they leave, that is the end of it. I am not sure if the Committee that Obasanjo inaugurated on that day ever came up with anything, or if they did, implemented their recommendations. So is the case for many of these so-called reviews, white papers, green papers, etc. Nothing even comes out of them to better the lives of Nigerians.
Government, at any given level and over a defined territory can be treated as a typical example of a natural monopoly (Adewole and Osabuohien, 2007) and like any other unchecked private monopoly, government and by extension governance, can produce sub-optimal units of public good in which it has comparative advantage. Thus, we see the substandard public service that various governments have been rendering to Nigerians over the decades, without care. Nothing is done right because they have no competition, and most instructively, because they are never held accountable by the public. In fact, we seem to urge them to perform worse each time.
Furthermore, this irresponsible, corrupt mode of governance is put even more under pressure as the scale of the global financial crisis becomes clearer, and its repercussions are felt in every corner of the world, and the extent to which entire societies will suffer will depend partly on the quality of their governance systems. Those countries with governments that enjoy the respect and confidence of their citizens are likely to weather the stresses more easily than countries where politicians are viewed with disdain, Nigeria being one of the latter.
I suspect that Nigeria will be hard hit by the crisis, for several reasons. The main one is that during the past 35 years since the oil boom of the early 1970s, Nigeria has not risen to the challenge of responsible governance by developing economies based on productive industries and other economic sectors. Its economy and politics has been largely based on a platform of monumental and unchecked official corruption and inefficient bureaucracy and other resultant vices that accompany such.
Responsible energy producers have enjoyed using their vast income to develop their countries in a speedy and impressive manner, but without shifting dependence away from oil and gas exports or imported labor. Conversely, Nigeria, a major world oil producer neglected to exploit the oil-fueled international boom and the several hundred billion dollars income they received, and thus did not move towards economies based on productive human resources, creativity, and efficiency.
The net result has been that Nigeria today comprises a sharply polarized population, with about ten percent super-wealthy people (whose main source of wealth are very questionable) and the rest living in abject poverty at worst.
The price of oil has dropped sharply in the recent months, by nearly 60 percent, from almost $150 to under $50 a barrel. Combined with the retreat of global stock markets where so much money is invested, this means that both current income and investment income are dropping fast. And we find our governments clueless and running around like headless chicken.
The problem reflects the cumulative consequences of decades of bad economic management that was camouflaged by oil income and the thrill of globalization. Nigeria’s economy is headed to a crash currently, and we find ourselves particularly weak and vulnerable, given our lack of economic and financial sovereignty. This is not a problem we can blame on anyone else, other than ourselves. It is an economic management problem at one level, but deep down it is a failure of political governance. Not surprisingly, the major movements of our time in Nigeria – Christians, Moslems, tribalists, democrats, lobbyists, ageing nationalists and others -- do not have answers to this problem, either.
This is a moment of potentially historic change for courageous and honest leaders who will stand up and tell other political leaders and Nigerians the truth about their failures, and suggest a more rational path to national revival, security and well-being. The current global crisis will hurt, but what will hurt more is to respond to it with the same combination of technical incompetence and political irresponsibility that have guided Nigerian national development for many decades now.
But our clueless and inept leaders do not care or seem to understand that they are steering the country towards anarchy and mayhem. In fact, they are not steering at all, because they a busy squabbling over the looting of the treasury, thereby leaving the ship rudderless. This is how best I can view it. Just take a look at what happens everyday at the National Assembly. Our “elected” representatives wake up in the morning, some of them do not even bother to attend their sessions, and those who do go to the Assembly, sit down, hurl abuses, chairs and blows at each other, then collect ridiculous sums of money at the end of the day, through inflated salaries, bribes and other gratifications. That is their business done for the day. That explains why in Nigeria, politics is a “do or die” business. Those who are there, mainly as a result of rigging never want to leave while those who are still out and want to get there will do anything to get there.
But where do all these leave the ordinary Nigeria who is simply asking for basic facilities to enable him/her to survive in the world? It is really grim prospects for them. There seems to be no hope. And this is why I said that the high cost of governance in Nigeria, mainly because of corruption and inept management practices, is not only costing us an arm and a leg, but is costing us our lives as well.
So where is the solution? My suggestions are not new. They are common sense and everybody knows this is what should be done. In fact, our leaders are aware of what should be done; only they do not want to do it, because it may not be worth their while, or it may simply be that they do not know how to do it.
Frugality and better governance are good places top start. However, with our unabated and unchecked corruption, we do have a hope in hell. We do not need to be told that working and living in the Nigerian bureaucracy long enough and one realise the level of waste, ineffective spending, corruption, lack of transparency and impracticality of the modus operandi. There is no doubt that our bureaucracy is made up of talented, well-meaning and visionary leaders who need to tone down on their ceremonies, rhetoric, luxurious study and other official trips and foreign jamborees, excessive publicity and propaganda campaigns and focus on tapping best practices and ingraining their departments with a way of planning and thinking to optimize each dollar of state revenue, and start thinking less of their own pockets, but of the people they are supposed to serve.
According to the Nigerian Compass opinion, with the future of oil earnings unpredictable, there is the urgent need for a comprehensive governance reform to cut down the bloated cost of governance, which has starved essential welfare projects of funds. I am of the opinion that the most important thing is that Government must be made unattractive to people who think getting into government is a means of making money. When people know that being in government, either as a politician or as a civil servant is not a lucrative way to make easy money, then we will be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. We will then know that those who are in government really do want to serve. It used to be like this a long time ago. Secondly, the salaries and allowances of public office holders must be drastically slashed (Nigerian Compass, 03 March 2009). Third, the bloated civil service must be reduced and the number of political jobbers called aides, special advisers, special assistants, etc, must be pruned to the minimum possible.
Board appointments is a major way of compensating political supporters and hence very self-serving, and these people are there mostly to “chop”. Their purpose is usually not reflected in their effectiveness or efficiency. Some agencies and Parastatal are created simply to serve these people and are just money-gulping, corruption-riddled quangos.
I do not see why official cars should be bought for Senators and House of Representative members every year. The same goes for the States’ Houses of Assembly. This is apart from getting transport allowances. Official cars, accommodation and other perks should be reduced.
All these may sound Utopian and overly optimistic, given prevailing state of the country, but all we need is A Few Good Men - and Women - to start it. Governor Fashola of Lagos State is showing that it is not impossible to turn things around even in the seemingly almost hopeless situation that we have found ourselves. Others can take the cue and follow. And if this does not work now, 2011 is around the corner to help us push the un-progressives out and put in new blood that will do what we want.
One thing for sure, Nigeria cannot afford to spend up to 80% of its income oiling the wheels of corruption in the form of useless, unproductive, greedy public office holders. It is outrageous and unsustainable. It is robbery. It is a waste of resources. It is now patently obvious that Nigerians have to take the initiatives themselves, in any way, to correct this system of wasteful and retrogressive governance, because the ones at the helm of affairs are unconcerned as long as the oil is flowing and the proceeds end up in their pockets, and only in their pockets. How do we go about doing that? That is the BIG question.
Let the truth be said always.
References:
Adewole, A M and Osabuohien, E S C. 2007 “Analysis Of The Cost Of Governance And Options For Its Reduction In Nigeria” Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies, Vol. 49, No 1, March 2007.
Nigerian Compass Newspapers. 2009. “Reduce cost of governance” 03 March 2009. Editorial Opinion.
Saturday, 7 March 2009
Arrest Them All - A Call To The EFCC
My wife spoke to me a few days ago. This was after I had received a suggestion as to alternative ways of combating corruption in Nigeria from a very good friend, a member of Champions For Nigeria who resides in the USA. At the same time, coincidentally, several members of the organisation, which I also belong to, gave me their thoughts on this issue of official corruption in Nigeria. They were all concerned. This is in addition to feedback I get from other concerned Nigerians.
My wife was concerned that I am growing emergency grey hairs simply because I seem to be carrying Nigeria’s problems on my head. She seemed to think I am fighting a futile battle, which others greater and more influential than me had fought and had failed. I just had to reassure her that this is not the case. I had to convince her that on the long run, my, and other Nigerian’s fight against corruption will not be in vain, and that there will always be light at the end of the tunnel, even if most of us do not live long enough to see it, at least our children and their children will benefit and see it. That was all I could say. Of course, she is always supportive of my socio-political stance.
My friend from the USA emailed me suggesting that perhaps we should take another look at the way corruption is being fought in Nigeria and this was incorporated into my own suggestions which was published as “Managing Corruption – An Alternative Proactive Approach, ( http://www.championsfornigeria.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=268&Itemid=35 , http://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/articles/3257/1/Corruption-Management--An-Alternative-Proactive-Approach/Page1.html, http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/akintokunbo-a-adejumo/corruption-management-an-alternative-proactive-appr.html and http://www.nigerianmuse.com/20090218100815zg/articles/corruption-management-an-alternative-proactive-approach 18 February 2009) in which I advocated concentrating on preventative rather than remedial measures.
Comrade Ephraim Adinlofu then wrote: “I remembered way back in the 70s, one or two WAEC English questions and essays had always been on ways of curbing corruption in Nigeria. Today, the issue is still the same: movement without motion. Corruption has eaten into the fabric of the Nigerian society. In fact the word "fabric" has become a cliché because of its over usage in the Nigerian context. I think the fight has become more daring and dangerous. The people's consciousness to fight this curse was aptly raised when Nuhu Ribadu, despite his little flaws, was there. And I am happy that Farida Waziri is equally doing it her own way, even though the momentum seemed to have slowed down a bit. The point we must note is that there is no way anybody or organization will fight corruption without its beneficiaries fighting back. But that should not deter whoever and whatever organization that wants to continually take the bull on. My take is that we should use the students, the youths and General Yakubu Gowon. Gowon is the only epitome of example we could approach and use. He is the best example. Even Pat Utomi and Reuben Abati have testified to it in the numerous write ups; IBB, Ibori and Atiku are, to the best of my knowledge, not good examples to the youths. If IBB had not annulled the JUNE 12, 1993 election, Nigerians would have forgiven him on his policy of "settlement" and use him as a good example, but he blew his chance”.
While I was pondering on this issue, I came across a news item in Nigeria Today Online (Thursday, 5th march 2009) “A member of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Oluseyi Moses, says all the 26 lawmakers in the state are fraudulent and should immediately be arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Moses, who represents Sagamu 1 Constituency made the allegation on the floor of the House of Assembly, shortly after the suspension of two members of the assembly, stating further that he was ready to assist the anti-graft agency in exposing their (lawmakers) financial misdeeds. He further said money and the selfish interests of individual members were the causes of the on-going crisis in the Assembly, adding that what lawmakers earn as salaries is much more than what Ph D holders earn in the country, "Yet we still steal." "I am calling on EFCC to arrest all of us," he said. "I will cooperate with the organisation in exposing our financial mess. We should all be arrested. We are all thieves in this assembly. We are only fighting because of our selfish interest and pockets." He added "I would open up and confess to EFCC. We should all be locked up. The bottom line of the fight is money. Virtually all of us have built mansions and have chains of cars on getting to office, and where do we get the money?"
I was aghast, but not surprised. I knew, and many Nigerians knew, that this is exactly what goes on in our country, federal, state or local government levels. I am of course not able to deduce the reason for Honourable Moses’ sudden contrite and motive. It could well be genuine guilty conscience and repentance; or it could be because of the sudden do or die war within Ogun State because things have fallen apart between the Governor, Gbenga Daniel and his House of Assembly. The Honourable’s revelation is very illuminating and alarming and must be treated very seriously. What goes on in those thieves’ dens called legislative houses are very unspeakable; against the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, against the spirit and ethics of a democratic society, a crime against the Nigerian people and is blatant and unchecked larceny.
A year ago, a member of the House of Representatives, confided to another friend of mine that if Nigerians knew how much money they, Representatives and Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, take home every month, which is not even their salaries, Nigerians might rise up against them, march on the National Assembly in Abuja and lynch them and burn the corrupt edifice to the ground. (I honestly wish this could happen, call me an anarchist). If you are the Chair of a committee in the National House of Assembly, you’ve got it made. Ordinary members are not left out of the underhand deals, and they make considerable money too. It is well known in Abuja that any Federal Ministry, Government Department or Parastatal that wants to get its budget passed, must inflate the budget to cater for the demands of the committees overseeing them, or the budget will not get passed. The same underhand practice goes on in the State assemblies and local government meeting houses too.
In his article “We Shall Overcome” (Nigeria Today Online, Friday 6th March 2009) Cornelius Ewuoso wrote “I could not hold back my tears when I read that article by Okey Ndibe, regarding the amount each member of the House of Representatives and each Senator receives annually as constituency development fund: $ 1.2 million and $1.7 million for each member of House of Representatives and each Senator respectively. Wahoo! This is very scary. An amount sufficient enough to pay more than 8,000 striking Nigerian teachers! What a paradox. Where is the transparency and justice? This provokes a question which must asked, what should be our priority? Our pockets or the education of our children? Millions of Nigerians go on hunger strike, live without any means of livelihood while those who claim to be their representatives, loot their money; live in luxury and comfort. There is decadence everywhere you turn to, but our representatives seem not to care. Failure stares us in the face, thousands of Nigeria go home at the end of the month without their salaries, live in continuous misery and yet these despots are allowed to go home with such a huge amount to the detriment of the people. But, whose representatives are they? What is at stake, dear friends, is the question of justice. So many are being treated unjustly; while a few are allowed to whisk away public properties. Teachers are either under-paid or not paid at all, while some are allowed to smile home with this huge sum of money. As a result of this, these secondary and primary schools teachers who could ordinarily sustain themselves and their families through their labour, now live in abject poverty, pains, frustration, hopelessness and uncertainties. And their rights to a meaningful life whisked away by a powerful few. Shall we then fail to speak for these ones and the millions of other Nigerians- the pensioners, displaced NITEL staff, University lecturers, Local Government staff - marginalised and oppressed all over the country? I do not think so. God’s command is relevant here, ‘what you do unto others, you do it unto me (God)’.
So where do we go from here, my brothers and sisters. The very people we are appealing to, to make the laws which will enable corruption to be fought to a standstill; the very people we are writing a petition to, to remove the immunity clause that protects executive office holders from prosecution whilst in office, are the same people carting away millions and billions of Naira in illegal, stolen, embezzled and undeclared loot.
Back on the case of the Ogun State House of Assembly: since people are so deep rooted in corruption, every step they take will continue reflecting that. What do we expect? A few weeks ago, the EFCC was trying to launch its ANCOR (Anti- Corruption Revolution) programme in the South-West, none of the Governors were there - it's a shame.
Compatriots! Please do not be deluded. What is allegedly going on in the Ogun State House of Assembly is replicated in all the other 35 states of the nation, as well as in the local governments and the Federal House of Representatives and the Senate. It is the free money which Nigeria seems to have that has made democracy and politics in Nigeria a “do or die” battle amongst existing politicians and potential ones. Everybody wants to get there, share in the cake (read: looting) and they will do anything, including murder and genocide, to get there.
Look at how suddenly, disgraced, impeached former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, has become very relevant again in Ekiti politics, dictating terms and conditions to his party, the PDP, and the party now looking to him as their ace in the pack to win the forthcoming re-election in the state. What a mess? I tell you, the PDP is going to implode soon, and with its Chairman acquiring a N400 million mansion, they are on their way to self-destruction.
Also, Olusegun Agagu, my former lecturer at the University of Ibadan and now, ex-Governor (thankfully) of Ondo State was arrested (or quizzed) by the EFCC for stealing $23 million or 25 Billion Naira within about 6 years. He was caught this time, only after being forced out of the Governor’s Office for rigging himself into office for a second term; he may have stolen 3 or 4 times more during his lacklustre rule in the state. Don’t forget he was also a Minister of Aviation. Even the new Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko, was also a Federal Minister of Housing and has himself some case to answer about the small matter of diversion of funds whilst he was running the Ministry.
This is the perfect opportunity for the EFCC to investigate these “dis-honourable” members of the Ogun State House of Assembly, if they are willing to provide full disclosure and evidence, as obviously Honourable Moses wants to do, and let justice take its course. In fact, the whole House of Assembly should be dissolved by Federal fiat, constitution or no constitution, and the Governor himself, who cannot plead ignorance of this entire goings on, be questioned and indicted. These are very serious allegations indeed, and the EFCC should act immediately before anybody develops cold feet. The EFCC and ICPC torchlight must not only be directed at executive office holders, but also on our legislators, local councillors, board members of Parastatals and civil servants.
We therefore call on the EFCC to wade into this issue of the Ogun State House of Assembly. What better chance to prove to Nigerians that the EFCC is capable and that the war against corruption is not derailed?
My wife was concerned that I am growing emergency grey hairs simply because I seem to be carrying Nigeria’s problems on my head. She seemed to think I am fighting a futile battle, which others greater and more influential than me had fought and had failed. I just had to reassure her that this is not the case. I had to convince her that on the long run, my, and other Nigerian’s fight against corruption will not be in vain, and that there will always be light at the end of the tunnel, even if most of us do not live long enough to see it, at least our children and their children will benefit and see it. That was all I could say. Of course, she is always supportive of my socio-political stance.
My friend from the USA emailed me suggesting that perhaps we should take another look at the way corruption is being fought in Nigeria and this was incorporated into my own suggestions which was published as “Managing Corruption – An Alternative Proactive Approach, ( http://www.championsfornigeria.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=268&Itemid=35 , http://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/articles/3257/1/Corruption-Management--An-Alternative-Proactive-Approach/Page1.html, http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/akintokunbo-a-adejumo/corruption-management-an-alternative-proactive-appr.html and http://www.nigerianmuse.com/20090218100815zg/articles/corruption-management-an-alternative-proactive-approach 18 February 2009) in which I advocated concentrating on preventative rather than remedial measures.
Comrade Ephraim Adinlofu then wrote: “I remembered way back in the 70s, one or two WAEC English questions and essays had always been on ways of curbing corruption in Nigeria. Today, the issue is still the same: movement without motion. Corruption has eaten into the fabric of the Nigerian society. In fact the word "fabric" has become a cliché because of its over usage in the Nigerian context. I think the fight has become more daring and dangerous. The people's consciousness to fight this curse was aptly raised when Nuhu Ribadu, despite his little flaws, was there. And I am happy that Farida Waziri is equally doing it her own way, even though the momentum seemed to have slowed down a bit. The point we must note is that there is no way anybody or organization will fight corruption without its beneficiaries fighting back. But that should not deter whoever and whatever organization that wants to continually take the bull on. My take is that we should use the students, the youths and General Yakubu Gowon. Gowon is the only epitome of example we could approach and use. He is the best example. Even Pat Utomi and Reuben Abati have testified to it in the numerous write ups; IBB, Ibori and Atiku are, to the best of my knowledge, not good examples to the youths. If IBB had not annulled the JUNE 12, 1993 election, Nigerians would have forgiven him on his policy of "settlement" and use him as a good example, but he blew his chance”.
While I was pondering on this issue, I came across a news item in Nigeria Today Online (Thursday, 5th march 2009) “A member of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Oluseyi Moses, says all the 26 lawmakers in the state are fraudulent and should immediately be arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Moses, who represents Sagamu 1 Constituency made the allegation on the floor of the House of Assembly, shortly after the suspension of two members of the assembly, stating further that he was ready to assist the anti-graft agency in exposing their (lawmakers) financial misdeeds. He further said money and the selfish interests of individual members were the causes of the on-going crisis in the Assembly, adding that what lawmakers earn as salaries is much more than what Ph D holders earn in the country, "Yet we still steal." "I am calling on EFCC to arrest all of us," he said. "I will cooperate with the organisation in exposing our financial mess. We should all be arrested. We are all thieves in this assembly. We are only fighting because of our selfish interest and pockets." He added "I would open up and confess to EFCC. We should all be locked up. The bottom line of the fight is money. Virtually all of us have built mansions and have chains of cars on getting to office, and where do we get the money?"
I was aghast, but not surprised. I knew, and many Nigerians knew, that this is exactly what goes on in our country, federal, state or local government levels. I am of course not able to deduce the reason for Honourable Moses’ sudden contrite and motive. It could well be genuine guilty conscience and repentance; or it could be because of the sudden do or die war within Ogun State because things have fallen apart between the Governor, Gbenga Daniel and his House of Assembly. The Honourable’s revelation is very illuminating and alarming and must be treated very seriously. What goes on in those thieves’ dens called legislative houses are very unspeakable; against the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, against the spirit and ethics of a democratic society, a crime against the Nigerian people and is blatant and unchecked larceny.
A year ago, a member of the House of Representatives, confided to another friend of mine that if Nigerians knew how much money they, Representatives and Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, take home every month, which is not even their salaries, Nigerians might rise up against them, march on the National Assembly in Abuja and lynch them and burn the corrupt edifice to the ground. (I honestly wish this could happen, call me an anarchist). If you are the Chair of a committee in the National House of Assembly, you’ve got it made. Ordinary members are not left out of the underhand deals, and they make considerable money too. It is well known in Abuja that any Federal Ministry, Government Department or Parastatal that wants to get its budget passed, must inflate the budget to cater for the demands of the committees overseeing them, or the budget will not get passed. The same underhand practice goes on in the State assemblies and local government meeting houses too.
In his article “We Shall Overcome” (Nigeria Today Online, Friday 6th March 2009) Cornelius Ewuoso wrote “I could not hold back my tears when I read that article by Okey Ndibe, regarding the amount each member of the House of Representatives and each Senator receives annually as constituency development fund: $ 1.2 million and $1.7 million for each member of House of Representatives and each Senator respectively. Wahoo! This is very scary. An amount sufficient enough to pay more than 8,000 striking Nigerian teachers! What a paradox. Where is the transparency and justice? This provokes a question which must asked, what should be our priority? Our pockets or the education of our children? Millions of Nigerians go on hunger strike, live without any means of livelihood while those who claim to be their representatives, loot their money; live in luxury and comfort. There is decadence everywhere you turn to, but our representatives seem not to care. Failure stares us in the face, thousands of Nigeria go home at the end of the month without their salaries, live in continuous misery and yet these despots are allowed to go home with such a huge amount to the detriment of the people. But, whose representatives are they? What is at stake, dear friends, is the question of justice. So many are being treated unjustly; while a few are allowed to whisk away public properties. Teachers are either under-paid or not paid at all, while some are allowed to smile home with this huge sum of money. As a result of this, these secondary and primary schools teachers who could ordinarily sustain themselves and their families through their labour, now live in abject poverty, pains, frustration, hopelessness and uncertainties. And their rights to a meaningful life whisked away by a powerful few. Shall we then fail to speak for these ones and the millions of other Nigerians- the pensioners, displaced NITEL staff, University lecturers, Local Government staff - marginalised and oppressed all over the country? I do not think so. God’s command is relevant here, ‘what you do unto others, you do it unto me (God)’.
So where do we go from here, my brothers and sisters. The very people we are appealing to, to make the laws which will enable corruption to be fought to a standstill; the very people we are writing a petition to, to remove the immunity clause that protects executive office holders from prosecution whilst in office, are the same people carting away millions and billions of Naira in illegal, stolen, embezzled and undeclared loot.
Back on the case of the Ogun State House of Assembly: since people are so deep rooted in corruption, every step they take will continue reflecting that. What do we expect? A few weeks ago, the EFCC was trying to launch its ANCOR (Anti- Corruption Revolution) programme in the South-West, none of the Governors were there - it's a shame.
Compatriots! Please do not be deluded. What is allegedly going on in the Ogun State House of Assembly is replicated in all the other 35 states of the nation, as well as in the local governments and the Federal House of Representatives and the Senate. It is the free money which Nigeria seems to have that has made democracy and politics in Nigeria a “do or die” battle amongst existing politicians and potential ones. Everybody wants to get there, share in the cake (read: looting) and they will do anything, including murder and genocide, to get there.
Look at how suddenly, disgraced, impeached former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, has become very relevant again in Ekiti politics, dictating terms and conditions to his party, the PDP, and the party now looking to him as their ace in the pack to win the forthcoming re-election in the state. What a mess? I tell you, the PDP is going to implode soon, and with its Chairman acquiring a N400 million mansion, they are on their way to self-destruction.
Also, Olusegun Agagu, my former lecturer at the University of Ibadan and now, ex-Governor (thankfully) of Ondo State was arrested (or quizzed) by the EFCC for stealing $23 million or 25 Billion Naira within about 6 years. He was caught this time, only after being forced out of the Governor’s Office for rigging himself into office for a second term; he may have stolen 3 or 4 times more during his lacklustre rule in the state. Don’t forget he was also a Minister of Aviation. Even the new Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko, was also a Federal Minister of Housing and has himself some case to answer about the small matter of diversion of funds whilst he was running the Ministry.
This is the perfect opportunity for the EFCC to investigate these “dis-honourable” members of the Ogun State House of Assembly, if they are willing to provide full disclosure and evidence, as obviously Honourable Moses wants to do, and let justice take its course. In fact, the whole House of Assembly should be dissolved by Federal fiat, constitution or no constitution, and the Governor himself, who cannot plead ignorance of this entire goings on, be questioned and indicted. These are very serious allegations indeed, and the EFCC should act immediately before anybody develops cold feet. The EFCC and ICPC torchlight must not only be directed at executive office holders, but also on our legislators, local councillors, board members of Parastatals and civil servants.
We therefore call on the EFCC to wade into this issue of the Ogun State House of Assembly. What better chance to prove to Nigerians that the EFCC is capable and that the war against corruption is not derailed?
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