Prince Abugo
7 November 2008
analysis
He can, therefore, not be separated from Ibori's corrupt charges, that is why the general view is that James Ibori imposed his first cousin with whom both lived and schooled together in Delta State in order to protect his ill-gotten wealth.
The case instituted against the EFCC by the Uduaghan administration asking the Federal High Court, Benin City, to prevent the EFCC from prying into sensitive government documents of the Delta State government and preventing the anti-corrupt agency from arresting James Ibori strengthens the point that Uduaghan was installed to protect Ibori's excesses while he was governor.
Chief Clark is not a tribalist, in all his national service to old Midwest, Bendel, Delta and Nigeria in general, he is regarded as a nationalist. In fact, Chief Clark has Ijaw, Itsekiri, Urhobo and Isoko blood in him. His Kiagbodo country home is a Mecca to all who troop in there to seek one favour or the other, including many Itsekiris.
Also, in all Chief Clark's travels to Abuja to mediate between the militants and the Federal Government in order to end the crisis in Niger Delta, the revered Chief has not received any material gain from Aso Rock or any financial advancement including hotel accommodations, all his expenditure to and from Abuja have been borne solely by him.
In the seventh paragraph, the writer contradicted himself by heaping praises on him and alluding to him his traditional titles and his rightful place in Ijaw land, maybe, for once, his conscience prevailed but again as someone paid to do a dirty job, he delved again calling Chief Clark "as a man feared by Ijaw people, a chauvinist who could easily pass for an extremist"
The point here is that this ghost writer fails to understand why E.K. Clark is still relevant to the Niger Delta and Ijaw land in particular. Chief Clark is not feared but rather, he loved his people and his people love and respect him in return for the selfless service he has given his people, the Niger Delta region over the years.
That is why it is mischievous, evil and barbaric for these groups of corrupt charlatans to regard Chief Clark as someone benefiting from the militants and Aso Rock in his mediation. This statement must come from someone or group that is suffering from mental amnesia and the question that has occupied all men of goodwill is 'what is the main purpose of this unpatriotic attack and what do they stand to benefit?'
Perhaps, they are referring to a particular former Governor from the Niger Delta who patronises and sponsors some of these militants for political and economic benefits, when they kidnap certain expatriates, drive fear into them so that they flee the nation and turn around to acquire these abandoned companies through intimidation; for instance, one would like to know the true story behind the acquisition of such companies like Willbross, which was originally owned by Americans, these are the issues Chief Clark had been fighting against, for which these lords of corruption wish to kill him for or destroy him, either to vilify him or reduce him to an ethnic warlord who must be avoided.
However, the fact remains that Chief Clark is an acclaimed leader of Niger Delta and South South geopolitical zone. He is a decent leader, father and conscience of the region, who will not trade the interest of the Ijaw nation or Niger Delta in general for personal benefits and that is why, in his dealings with both the high and the low, he exhibits uncommon humility and his home is a home to youths, women and men of all status who see Chief Clark as a benevolent father.
It is, therefore, unfortunate from the following facts, for anyone to question the ability of the Bekederemo family to own properties which is tied to Chief Clark because he was holding public office.
Nevertheless, President Babangida's administration, after a thorough investigation, corrected this evil machination of the forfeiture of Chief Clark's family properties, where the federal military regime issued decree 39 (released of forfeiture of properties). It is, therefore, callous and mischievous to classify Chief Clark with some of these former governors who are charged for corruption and are facing over 1000 charges for corruption, stealing and money laundering.
Though it is true that every accused person is presumed innocent until found guilty by a competent court, which Clark is knowledgeable about as an experienced lawyer of long standing and an erudite politician. These former governors, who have corruption charges hanging on their necks on moral grounds, should stop invading Aso Rock, thereby creating the wrong impression that the charges brought against them are frivolous. Anyone, therefore, who is not convicted at the end of his trial, can be free to mix-up with the Head of State or former Heads of State.
This ghost writer and his sponsors should know that Chief Clark has no ugly past to hide, therefore, he has the courage and determination to fight corruption. What is lucrative about E.K. Clark's services to his people and fatherland, as alleged by this imaginary ghost writer, is not clear but the motive behind his thoughts is either to blackmail Clark into submission in order to support their sins against the Nigerian State, then they are living in a strange land because if they don't have a hidden plan, they should have known that Clark's relationship has no material benefits to him, though he believes some of them are fighting a just cause and his visits to Aso Rock are for nothing but peaceful negotiation of the Niger Delta struggle in order to bring it to an end.
Chief Clark was also gravely worried by the crisis in Port Harcourt that led to the breakdown of law and order during the Omehia administration. The Rivers State crisis was a situation where the Governor, his Deputy, Secretary to the Government and other prominent politicians were declared cultists and were fighting for political supremacy by sponsoring militants to take up arms against one another. This was costing the state both human and material resources.
Under this quagmire, Chief Clark led other Ijaw leaders of Rivers Sate to Aso Rock to appeal to President Yar'Adua to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State, instead of turning the state into a theatre of war. The interest of maintaining Omehia in office through military force which was in conflict with the militants youths, there was no other alternative but to call for a State of Emergency and also appeal to Mr. President to institute a powerful Judicial Commission of Enquiry into cultism and corruption in Rivers State.
Mr. President asked the delegation, led by Chief Clark, to justify their claims, which they did with over 200-page document which is still being under the consideration of Mr. President. It should be noted that Clark does not know Omehia and has no personal grudge against him, neither has he any disagreement with him, all he did under the circumstance was service to his people and fatherland.
It is also to be noted that Chief Clark has no personal quarrel, misunderstanding or disagreement with Dr. Peter Odili and Odili knows this. Clark's disagreement with Odili, however, started when Odili was secretly funding the South South Peoples Assembly (SSPA) for his presidential ambition. Odili himself did not deny this when he was confronted in the presence of Chief A.K. Horsfall in Government House, Port Harcourt.
Recently, we now know where those funds spent in sponsoring SSPA came from through the recent power probe in the National Assembly. It is not Chief Clark who called Odili an Ibo man, Odili did because, even though he is from Rivers State, he attended the Ibo World Congress in far away United States where he identified himself as an Ibo man and went further to influence the Ohaneze Ndigbo of the South East and some of his friends and loyalists in South South to present a common presidential candidate, where Odili will become a consensus candidate.
This, Chief Clark objected to because, at the end, the South South will be cheated because Odili, using the South South slot, the region may also lose out because, at the end, the Ibo in the South-East will use their slot. Chief Clark, no doubt, loves the Ibos and he demonstrated this love immediately after the civil war, his services to the Ibos during the post-war, and a house was named after him in Queens School, Enugu.
Also in Clark's crusade against corruption, Dr. Odili came under his criticism because the former Executive Chairman of EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, on the eve of PDP presidential primaries, presented an Interim Report to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Clark's opposition to Ibori is well known and does not require any further comment.
Finally, the people of Niger Delta and Ijaws in particular, in accepting Chief E.K. Clark as their leader and one of the foremost leaders of South South, have adequately assessed him in his many years of public and private service and Chief Clark is not a leader that will throw stones at those he does not like in the market place. Clark's statement is, therefore, based on facts.
Therefore, he will not slaughter or destroy well known family names because Clark was not the one who arrested, investigated or charged to court the fathers, husbands, wives and sisters of some of these former corrupt governors and, therefore, should not be held responsible for their personal travail.
•Mr. Abugo is communications adviser to Chief E.K. Clark.
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