Leadership (Abuja)
30 December 2008
column
A cartoon in the Daily Trust of December 24, 2008 captured succinctly the mood in the nation's bustling white collar crime scene. The cartoon showed two fake drug barons in the hitherto incapacitated fake drug market in Onitsha, Anambra State, celebrating the 'promotion' of Dora Akunyili, the former director general of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to the Federal Executive Council as minister of Information and Communication. "Congratulations! We are back on track", said one of the barons to his accomplice, who retorted: "NAFDAC will soon be under our control too, just like what EFFCC is to the ruling class".
The ruling class has conspired against Nigeria and returned the land to fake drug barons, fraudsters, money launderers and bare-faced treasury looters. Akunyili was the last person standing in the campaign against corruption and other forms of organised crime. She was a thorn in the flesh of fake drug barons whose murderous exploits mowed down millions of Nigerians with impunity in the last 30 years. Akunyili took the battle to their doorsteps in the last seven years forcing them into a disorderly retreat. Not even the evil machinations of shameless political scoundrels like the late Lamidi Adedibu, PDP's infamous garrison commander in Ibadan, could stop the accomplished pharmacist on her track. Now, she has been felled in the guise of promotion. Nigeria has become one huge polity with systemic corruption. In fact, it could be christened Corruption Incorporated.
The country has a track record of re-deploying, vilifying or even mowing down its best anti-graft crusaders at the peak of their performance. Unlike Nuhu Ribadu, Akunyili has not been vilified. But like in the case of Ribadu, a script is being played out by the ruling class. Ribadu's own started by way of a glorified course in the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS) in Kuru near Jos in Plateau State. That was followed rapidly by a controversial demotion by two ranks which, in a stampeded bid to fool the populace, was extended to Haz Iwendi, a fallen hero in the police force. Last week, Ribadu was dismissed from the force and declared wanted like the notorious thieves he once chased.
No one expects Akunyili to be disgraced the way Ribadu was, but the 'promotion' to the federal cabinet and the deployment to the ministry of 'misinformation and incommunicado' is seen largely as a tactical withdrawal of a gallant general from the battle field by conspirators to allow the enemy some breathing space and a chance to regroup and stage a counter-offensive.
One wonders why Akunyili was not deployed to the strategic Ministry of Health where she could mobilise her robust vigour and vim to reform the nation's crippled health care delivery system. Those who influenced her deployment to the Ministry of Information would have felt that she could still over-lap to contain the fake drug barons if she is in charge of the health ministry.
Like the campaign against treasury looting, the battle line of the war against fake drug is now in disarray with the withdrawal of Akunyili. Those who believe that by encouraging Akunyili and Ribadu through effective publicity on their activities, the press was promoting individuals rather than institutions, should take a second look at the tempo of the campaign against corruption since Ribadu was eased out. The EFCC has become something of a non-governmental organization (NGO) for the protection of corrupt public officers. The anti-graft body is now shedding crocodile tears over the travesty of justice that personifies the verdict delivered a fortnight ago on Lucky Igbinedion, the former governor of Edo State.
The man who ruled a state that hosts what is arguably the most primitive capital city in southern Nigeria for eight retrogressive years, is reported to have justified the deplorable state of roads and other infrastructures in Edo State with claims that Benin City, the state capital, is an ancient city and that he has succeeded in making it maintain its 'coveted' status. He turned Benin to a Medieval town.
Ironically, the Igbinedion Empire is probably richer than Edo State, courtesy of the eight-year misrule of an Igbinedion. The former governor was charged with stealing the sum of N2.1 billion. Unfortunately, the EFCC conspired with the defense team and in the pretext of plea bargain, Igbinedion was eventually begged to part with a paltry N3.5 million. The penalty was so lenient and compromising that Igbinedion reportedly paid the fine from his pocket and hurriedly hopped into a waiting white Peugeot 307 car and headed out of the court to avoid being detained in EFCC cell as directed by the judge.
Some wonder whether the terms of the plea bargain also entitled him to prior knowledge of the penalty he was going to pay as the prompt payment of the fine suggests that he had an idea of how much he would be required to cough out.
The whole episode smacks off travesty of justice and a huge sell-out on the part of those who struck the plea bargain deal in a case where the EFCC had overwhelming evidence to convict the thieving former governor and secure a sentence that could deter those waiting on the wings to commit similar crime.
The EFCC was apparently acting a script in the plea bargain strategy. At the end of the day, all the more incriminating charges which would have earned the former governor more grievous conviction were dropped, leaving the lighter charge of negligence as the only offence. The message being sent by those who conspired to free Igbinedion after he spent eight retrogressive years looting the commonwealth of the Edo people is that crime is profitable. All you need to do is steal enough to be able to settle those who have the power to march you down to prison.
The same organisation that shed crocodile tears over the scandalous verdict delivered on Igbinedion on its watch has presided over the disappearance of the case files of the 31 governors allegedly compiled by Ribadu. It has turned round to intimidate Ribadu and his former lieutenant to hand over any incriminating documents on the sacred cows in their possession, apparently for destruction.
Consequently, fraudsters who were in a disorderly retreat in the last five years are now back to fight with the ferocity of a wounded lion. Emmanuel Nwude, the convicted swindler whose evil ingenuity in fraudulent practices saw the collapse of a Brazilian bank which he defrauded of a staggering $242 million and used in buying shares of Union Bank, has been hiding in shame since his eventual conviction some three years ago.
Now the man is back on the turf challenging those who compelled him to forfeit the proceeds of fraud. One day, he would take Ribadu to court for prosecuting him and enlist the services of federal attorney-general, Michael Aondoakaa, to nail the vilified anti-graft czar.
The hand of the clock of the anti-graft campaign has been set back by, at least, 10 years. The ruling class and their mentors have mowed down the generalissimo of the anti-graft crusade; the worriors are, therefore, in a disorderly retreat.
With the cruel treatment meted out to Ribadu, anyone who wants to take on Nigeria's notorious white collar criminals would have to play back what happened to previous anti-graft crusaders. Murtala Muhammed was cut down in his prime for fighting corruption. After him, no one had the guts to challenge the plunderers of the commonwealth of Nigerians until Muhammadu Buhari arrived the scene some seven years later. Like Murtala, Buhari was pushed out in less than two years and soon after, the nation witnessed the institutionalisation of corruption. The summary of it all is that, the attack dog in the anti-corruption crusade is always attacked in a ferocious counter-offensive.
Guinea's Coup Makers
The Republic of Guinea has had only two presidents - Ahmed Sekou Toure, 1958-84; Lansana Conte,1984-2008 - in the 50 years since independence from France. That may be the African concept of political stability. But that stability has turned a country that was a net exporter of food at independence to a net importer of all it used to export. Guinea, a country with the world's highest known deposit of Bauxite, a key raw material for the making of aluminium, is now one of the poorest nations on earth, courtesy of the evil machination of cruel, visionless dictators. Last week as Conte drew his last breath, a rather obscure army captain did just what Conte did in 1984 when Guinea's first dictator, Sekou Toure died - he seized power.
Mousa Camara, the captain who seized power last week, looks every inch a wretched or frustrated army officer. He does not even cut the image of a brilliant army officer. If he was brilliant, at his age, he probably would have been a brigadier-general or, at least, a colonel.
The logical conclusion from the above scenario is that like Liberia in 1980, a frustrated hungry officer has again seized power in an impoverished West African state. Guinea would be too lucky not to be marched down the road that Master Sergeant Samuel Doe took Liberia through.
The unfortunate thing about the political turmoil in Guinea is that, the world has eventually been intimidated into accepting the coup makers without the mildest of resistance. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) did basically nothing, apparently because it is now being headed by a man who cannot even provide electric power at home.
France, Guinea's colonial master that was talking tough at the beginning and even threatening to intervene militarily, finally cowered and helplessly called for prompt elections. It is sad. The world might have tacitly added another Liberia to Africa's multitude of failed states.
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