The Nation Newspaper

Category: Festus Eriye

  • Between 2012 and 2016

    Between 2012 and 2016

    So many activists, celebrities and politicians who protested against Jonathan’s deregulation bid in 2012 and have now gone silent in the face of the new measures, have been dismissed as hypocrites by some opposition voices.

    It is amusing watching some of them labouring to justify their new stance. Some say they now back deregulation because they trust Buhari, others say the country was awash with petrodollars and could afford to pay for subsidies.

    On the face of it the volte face appears hypocritical. But think of it this way: only a fool or egotist would not change his mind on a matter when confronted with superior arguments. Rigidity on an issue even when the cold facts are staring you in the face is not a virtue.

    Of course, there’s also the political dimension to the two episodes. Jonathan handed the opposition something to beat him over the head with and they did so with gusto – hurting his government and image.

    Now the PDP-led opposition has the opportunity to serve the now APC rulers a dose of their own medicine. But what do they do? They are whining in social media; waiting for the El-Rufais, Shehu Sanis and Femi Falanas of this world to lead the charge.

    This model of doing opposition business would only guarantee yesterday’s men a long stint far away from the corridors of power.

  • Nigeria’s silly season

    Nigeria’s silly season

    Anyone expecting the toxicity generated by the bitter general elections fight to dissipate would wait a little bit longer. All the indications are that partisan bickering is set to become a feature of our political life for the long term as the opposition mourns its loss and the new government attempts to uproot all vestiges of the old order.

    It is shaping to be a bruising battle where reason and logic are early casualties, and posturing has replaced serious discussion of national issues.

    This last week, we saw evidence that Nigeria is well and truly into her silly season when people in senior positions of political leadership, in furtherance of low partisan agendas, have been defending the indefensible.

    It all began with the drama that attended the visit of Toyin, the wife of Senate President, Bukola Saraki to the offices of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to answer questions related to a petition linking her to money laundering when her husband was governor of Kwara State.

    What should have been a routine appointment in response to law enforcement was turned into a circus with 10 senators, 20 representatives and other supporters of the lady invading the commission’s office to accuse officials of bias.

    In the ensuing backlash, Senator Dino Melaye who has emerged as one of the Senate President’s most ardent supporters, said he joined the scrum of lawmakers, who escorted Mrs. Saraki in his capacity as a ‘private investigator’ and ‘anti-corruption crusader.’

    Unfortunately, Melaye’s crusading zeal didn’t propel him to storm EFCC with observers when other high profile visitors like Stephen Oronsaye or former governors Sule Lamido and Murtala Nyako were being quizzed by the commission’s officials.

    The subtle imputation hanging around Mrs. Saraki’s chat with the investigators was that it was the backlash from political foes still seething that her husband thumbed his nose at the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and grabbed the Senate Presidency for himself.

    Who better to blame than former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, who supposedly had more of a stake in the National Assembly leadership contest than President Muhammadu and all of APC! Quick as a flash that other ‘private investigator’ former Senator Joseph Waku woke up with a start from long retirement to declare that Tinubu was the mastermind behind Mrs. Saraki’s woes.

    Interestingly, a few weeks before this latest episode, Melaye who was facing a challenge to his seat at the election tribunal, suddenly cried out that the ubiquitous Tinubu was ganging up with his enemies to do him in because of his backing for Saraki, in the event the tribunal validated his victory in April. Unfortunately, the Appeal Court just overturned that ruling and ordered the case be retried. Surely, the vengeful Tinubu was one of the judges!

    Let’s quickly point out that an invitation to attend the EFCC shouldn’t be overblown. It doesn’t amount to much since whatever is contained in the petitions remains in the realm of allegations until investigators establish there’s a case to answer. Mrs. Saraki like others hasn’t been formally charged and must be presumed innocent.

    But if we make that allowance, we should also concede that the ongoing process could result in trials and convictions. That is why the conduct of those who overran the EFCC’s office as though the lady’s visit was a social event ought to hang their heads in shame. It can only happen in Nigeria!

    I try to picture a Labour Party stalwart accused of financial crimes storming the Serious Fraud Unit (SFU) in London with his supporters accusing Cameron’s Conservative Party administration of political persecution! Not very likely!

    People should simply insist that the right thing be done and no one rushes to judgment until the accused have been afforded sufficient opportunities to clear their names.

    I admit that Nigerians across the political divide are quick to howl ‘bias’ because former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s PDP government was repeatedly accused of using the EFCC to launch prosecutions largely against his foes.

    But even if that were the case, it doesn’t eliminate the possibility that crimes may have been committed. If the ‘victims’ of the so-called ‘witch-hunt’ have done something wrong, should they just be released and sent home because the prosecution is now being carried out by the other side? Law enforcement cannot be suspended until we’ve agreed a national quota system for prosecution.

    Or do we invite United Nations prosecutors to take up these local criminal cases before our politicians can accept that the process would be fair?

    In any event, most ongoing prosecutions are products of petitions. If one side can author them, what stops the other from coming up with theirs?

    But we’re not likely to see that happen in a hurry, because those who should be assisting the law are busy playing games. A few days ago, workers at the headquarters of the former ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) received sack notices. They reacted angrily by firing off a petition to the EFCC alleging massive corruption perpetrated by members of the National Working Committee (NWC). So how did the party leaders respond? Predictably! They accused APC of instigating the workers to destabilize PDP.

    Unfortunately for the nascent opposition its regular attempts at playing victim have been largely unconvincing. Take the whole brouhaha it triggered with allegations that the Acting Director-General of the Department of State Security (DSS), Lawal Musa Daura, was an APC member. The allegations flow from actions taken by the service in response to election-related petitions in Akwa Ibom and Rivers which PDP adjudged as partisan.

    Only those afflicted with a convenient strain of amnesia would be sympathetic. The former ruling party which perfected the art of using the DSS for partisan assignments under Jonathan now fears it would be on the receiving end.

    Of greater significance, however, is the fact that PDP is accusing APC of something it did regularly whilst in power. Lt. General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau (rtd) was a member of the party and aspired to be its presidential candidate in 2011. He would later be appointed National Security Adviser (NSA) by Jonathan. Back then, it was okay for a partisan to occupy this all-important security position!

    It is the same ludicrous reasoning that would have Buhari abandon any attempt at examining the books he received from his predecessor if such a probe didn’t  go right back to Lord Lugard’s time!

    But as some have pointed out, Jonathan chose not to make waves because he found what Obasanjo and Umaru Yar’Adua turned over acceptable. Buhari doesn’t accept what went on under Jonathan and is within his rights to recover what has been lost and bring those who ripped off the country to book.

    Of all the challenges confronting President Muhammadu Buhari, recovering billions of dollars stolen by public officials in the few years could turn out to be the simplest. His job is made easy because the structures of global finance make it easy to track cash flows – legitimate or suspicious.

    But a bigger battle for the soul of Nigeria awaits because what has been lost in the area of values cannot be quantified. We’ve lost a sense of shame, outrage or proportion. These days, we are quick to rationalise what would get people lined up and shot in other climes.

    We hear stories of a minister who allegedly stole $6 billion dollars whilst serving in the last administration and instead of being outraged, some people dismiss the claims as politically-motivated lies because it involves someone from the fallen PDP.

    So far, the Americans have not denied the reports attributed to one of their officials by Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole. I also ask myself what would be the governor’s profit in making such an incendiary claim if it were false.

    The PDP under whose watch these economic crimes allegedly happened has reacted defensively. In one breath, they claim to be supportive of efforts to hold people accountable, in another they angrily claim Buhari is the only saint in APC.

    Even if all members of APC are bandits, does it make the stealing of the country’s wealth by just one individual to the tune of $6 billion right? How much do you have to steal these days to shock Nigerians?

    The challenge Buhari faces is that of pulling a heavy burden up the mountain side alone. It is daunting but not impossible. It would be easier if he had a significant position of the political elite buying into his vision. But that isn’t the case as many would prefer the old system. Still, one man’s iron will and example can change the culture in government.

    Jonathan spent half of his time in office imagining that the whole country was conspiring against him. Even when allegations of sleaze were made against his ministers and associates, he would react defensively by dismissing the accusers as being even more corrupt. On many occasions, he was dragged – kicking and screaming – to move against those with very bad cases.

    That legacy where anything went, where some special distinction had to be made between ‘corruption and stealing’ is partly the reason the lines between what is acceptable and what should shock are so blurred these days. The only way back is to begin a process of consistently celebrating what is right and ensuring that those who cross the line and break the rules receive their just deserts – even if it means being accused of ‘political lynching’ by those on the receiving end.

  • Rules, what rules?

    Rules, what rules?

    In Nigeria’s lawmaking chambers, rules are made to be broken. For instance, where the provision is that only ‘ranking’ senators are qualified to be selected as principal officers, the 8th Senate decided that what is written in Section 3(2) of its amended 2011 Standing Orders isn’t actually what it says.

    That is why today, former Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, a greenhorn in the chamber is Minority Leader. He was chosen over several ranking senators from his South-South zone. Similarly, APC ignored the rule in picking Francis Alimekhena – another freshman – to fill the role of Chief Whip.

    The provision in 3(2) states that nomination of senators to serve as presiding officers and appointment of principal officers and other officers of the Senate or any parliamentary delegations shall be in accordance with ranking of senators.

    By virtue of the amendment, senators are supposed to be ranked in line with the number of times re-elected; followed by senators who had been members of the House of Representatives; and senators elected for the first time in that order.

    Incidentally, the rule isn’t a new one as it had existed in Section 97(1) and was only relocated to the new section in 2011 when senators amended the 2007 Standing Orders.

    When the breach was brought up by Senator Kabiru Marafa, the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu rather than address the principle that had been violated simply accused him of crying more than the bereaved.

    My concern is that proper legislative traditions cannot take root in the Senate if its members cannot stand by their own rules for just one election cycle. Even worse, is the bad example they are setting. When lawmakers become lawbreakers, it is no surprise that the populace copies their example enthusiastically.

     

  • When Baba met Barack

    When Baba met Barack

    Fresh from his electoral triumph in 2011, former President Goodluck Jonathan travelled to Washington D. C. where he would briefly meet President Barack Obama before heading for New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS.

    At the event he shared a platform with former United States President Bill Clinton. After wishing him well, Clinton said to Jonathan who was turned out in his trademark caftan and black bowler hat: “I can tell you the Secretary of State (his wife Hillary) tells me your hats are always cool.” The diplomats and VIPs at the meeting cheered and laughed heartily.

    “And I envy your name,” Clinton added to more laughter. “If I’d had a name like Goodluck, I might still be in office!” Four years later not even his uniquely optimistic name could help him cling to power – leaving Obama to welcome a new Nigerian president in whom the world invests the tall hope to deliver what Jonathan couldn’t.

    No one would ever accuse Buhari of being a fashion plate, so it wasn’t his dress sense that his host went on about. He praised his character instead. In a continent where leaders have become notorious for graft, frivolity, fickleness and excess, it certainly was a plus that a Nigerian president was being celebrated as an example for Africa.

    Towards the tail end of Jonathan’s tenure, much of the goodwill which he initially had with the US had largely evaporated. While the Americans were critical of his administration’s abysmal record on corruption, the greatest source of strain had to do with tackling the insurgency.

    The much-hyped US offer to help Nigeria track down and rescue the Chibok girls collapsed in a cloud of controversy over how the armed forces handled the intelligence they received. Some say the body language of the local security leadership suggested they weren’t too keen on having American cowboys riding roughshod over them and taking all the glory.

    Little surprise therefore that before the foreign helpers could parachute into our territory, the former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh declared authoritatively that his forces knew where the schoolgirls were being held. Who knows, the handover notes received by the new service chief might just contain this top secret.

    As the elections drew close, relations between Nigeria and the Americans grew decidedly chilly in the light of their pointed allegations of human rights abuses against our troops and refusal to sell us arms on those grounds. With his ratings tanking, a desperate Jonathan was forced to resort to unorthodox measures. The $15 million cash seizure debacle in Johannesburg was the outcome and the rest is history.

    The speed with which the Americans invited President Muhammadu Buhari over, and the special welcome laid out for him, underscores how keen they are to mend fences with a traditional ally on the African continent.

    In the course of his almost six-year stay in Aso Rock, Jonathan met with Obama three times but I don’t recall anything arresting that was said between both men beyond the anodyne diplomatese.  Contrast that with the US president’s effusive praise for Buhari’s integrity and vision.

    So at the level of symbolism, there was a sense that the visit went quite well for the president and his country. For the first time in a very long time, the narrative emanating from these parts was positive: a seamless transition from an incumbent government to the opposition and an anti-graft leader in a nation that has become notorious for corruption. Apparently something good can still come out of Nigeria.

    But not everyone is swayed by the positive spin that has been put on the visit. Those who would have us believe Nigerians made a historic mistake by voting Buhari in March have been nitpicking. They point at everything from the gender insensitivity that saw the president travelling without a single woman in his team and having his son along for the ride.

    But of greater significance is the claim that the four-day trip was a waste of money because it didn’t produce a promise to sell things like the potent Apache or Cobra helicopters for use against the insurgents in the North-East. That sense of dissatisfaction was enhanced by Buhari’s statement bemoaning the continued refusal of the Americans to sell us arms hiding behind the Leahy Law, which bars such transactions with nations whose forces are accused of grave human rights abuses.

    The best way to determine whether the visit was a success is to go back to what Buhari outlined as his objectives before setting out. He was going to discuss military and defence cooperation as well as measures to strengthen and intensify bilateral cooperation against terrorism in Nigeria and West Africa. The administration’s war against corruption, as well as fresh measures to boost Nigeria-US trade relations were also up for discussion.

    In all that was laid out before the trip, there was very little that was specific and nothing suggested that the delegation was going to force their hosts to sign on to sell us arms. Obviously, emerging from the visit with such a deal would have been a massive coup.

    That said, it would be churlish not to acknowledge that the swift thawing of relations between the traditional allies was important. In the course of the visit, the World Health Organization (WHO), representatives of the World Bank, committed to spend $300 million to fight malaria in Nigeria.

    In terms of numbers, that sum was dwarfed by the World Bank’s pledge to invest $ 2.1 billion for rebuilding the infrastructure devastated by the insurgency in the North-East.

    Buhari has repeatedly stated his determination to recover monies plundered from the nation’s coffers by government officials and others. His plans received a boost as the Americans offered to track illicit money from Nigeria in all their jurisdictions.

    Given what we now know about outrageous sums that found their way into private pockets in recent years, a nation that cannot pay its workers’ salaries should not sneer at any deal to recover monies running into billions of dollars. I suspect that such arrangements didn’t deliver much in the past because friends of Nigeria couldn’t find reliable and zealous partners in our political leadership to get the job done. In Buhari they sense they have a man they can do business with.

    In the face of an insurgency that has received second wind with a wave of suicide bombings, a showpiece arms sales agreement would have been the icing on the cake. It is disappointing that it didn’t happen. It would have been expecting too much to think the Americans – no matter their desire for a fresh start with Nigeria – would rush into such a commitment with a seven-week old administration which still has a lot to prove.

    For now it is convenient for them to hide behind the Leahy Law. Rather than waste energy griping and pointing out the hypocrisy of the Americans who have never allowed a little thing like human rights stand in the way when they want to sell arms to some of their ‘special allies,’ Nigeria should consider what her options are.

    If we’re so enamoured of the Apache and Cobra attack helicopters, then we can begin to work to get off the list of countries categorised as human rights abusers. Buhari has committed himself to probing allegations made against the military by Amnesty International and has also pledged that under his watch, such practices would not be permitted. I’m sure that the US would be looking to see what concrete action he takes in this regard. Author of the act, Senator Patrick Leahy has suggested as much in his biting reaction to Buhari’s criticism.

    The alternative is to take our cash into the market place. The US and UK are not the only countries that sell arms. France, Russia and China to name a few are big players in the global arms industry. All three are keen to extend their scope of influence in Africa and around the world.

    All said and done, even if all Buhari achieved in Washington was the restoration of an old friendship, he should be applauded. Given her challenges, Nigeria needs all help it can get from friends around the world. That is far better than the hulking, sulking embarrassment it was fast becoming in the recent past.

  • Arepo is another republic

    Arepo, a strip of marshy land bordering Ogun and Lagos States is fast becoming the venue of regular man-made disasters. This last week, an estimated 100 persons perished in an inferno caused by a clash between two gangs of petroleum pipeline vandals.

    It is also a symbol of how the authorities are fast losing control over vast strips of Nigerian territory to anarchists and criminals. The example of Boko Haram is well established. But much of what they terrorise are areas in the middle of nowhere.

    The Arepo neighbourhood, on the other hand, is smack in the urban environment as you approach Lagos from Ibadan. It is a location in which several middle class estates are sprouting. But its curse is that an NNPC pipeline traverses it.

    On numerous occasions, the pipeline has been vandalized, leading to mass casualties. Government officials would pay visits for photo-opportunities, only for criminal gangs to return once repairs have been done and pumping of refined petroleum products resumed.

    In the latest disaster, scores were killed. Amazingly, for a long period of time neither the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) nor National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other agencies could access the site of the accident. However, heavily-armed vandals were roaming freely and almost murdered two photojournalists who strayed into their path.

    Arepo captures the recurring headache of securing pipelines that run through vast unpopulated territories. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has proved largely ineffective and the other security agencies either have other distractions, or are not enthusiastic about the assignment.

    Jonathan thought the way out was to hand the job to ethnic militias in exchange for billions of naira in payouts. In the Niger Delta, many who were favoured with the contracts were those who formerly used to destroy these same pipelines. In other words Nigeria was paying protection money to thugs so that the supply chain won’t be disrupted.

    Gani Adams of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) – a beneficiary of the short-lived contract confirmed this theory – in his reaction to the Arepo attack. He suggested that in the few months his group executed the contract, vandalisation stopped. He blames the resurgence on Buhari’s refusal to continue with Jonathan’s arrangement.

    Adams perhaps doesn’t remember that long before Jonathan made him a potential billionaire security guard, Arepo was the scene of a terrible inferno that claimed the lives of scores of opportunists who gathered to scoop fuel from the ruptured pipeline. In 2012, three NNPC officials who came to fix a damaged line were killed.

    Down in Delta State, some so-called ‘militant’ group that goes by the name ‘Urhobo Gbagbako’ last week blew up pipelines belonging to the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) at Ighwrenene town in Ughelli North Local Government Area.

    Indigenes say the group damaged the facility to protest government’s refusal to hire its members to provide surveillance services over all the pipelines in their territory.

    What is now happening is that in certain parts of the country people feel the country owes them a living, and that the best way to attract attention is by destroying infrastructure. But paying protection money by whatever name is not the answer.

    Whenever a government gets into these funny arrangements, it passes a vote of no-confidence on its security forces and equally indicts itself. A regime that will abdicate responsibility of securing territory and infrastructure no longer qualifies to be called a government.

    The new Nigeria that Buhari wants to build – we’ve been told by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo – rests on the rule of law. We can begin to put the building blocks in place by empowering our security forces to take back territory that have been seized by rampaging marauders. Our leaders cannot be comfortable in Abuja while hoodlums claim sovereignty over places like Arepo.

  • The persecuted and prosecuted

    The persecuted and prosecuted

    Seven weeks after President Muhammadu Buhari took office the docks of Nigerian courts are becoming overcrowded. A long line of high profile politically-exposed types have been paraded through them in recent times and many more are headed in that direction judging from pregnant statements emanating from the new administration.

    In the last few weeks were have been treated to the unusual sight of former Adamawa State Governor, Murtala Nyako and son as well as his erstwhile Jigawa colleague, Sule Lamido and offspring being ushered into prison vehicles at the onset of their fraud and money laundering trials.

    Equally unexpected was the sight of Stephen Oronsaye, former Head of the Civil Service under President Olusegun Obasanjo, standing for two hours in the dock as he commenced the process of extricating himself from a long list of similar charges as the former governors.

    But for drama, nothing beats the invasion of the Abuja home of former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, by two truckloads of Department of State Security (DSS) agents. He has since been released and the siege on his residence lifted.

    There was never any doubt that Sambo would have many questions to answer regarding the running of the office of NSA in the light of the seizure by South African authorities of $15 million which the Goodluck Jonathan administration claimed it was using to purchase arms.

    The diplomatic incident triggered by that unorthodox transaction as well as rumblings about misappropriation of huge sums set aside for tackling the insurgency in the North East put the spotlight on the man and the recently ousted service chiefs. It would surprise me if he didn’t expect to face queries at some point. His comments in yesterday’s edition of The Nation suggest he was shocked at the speed at which the government has moved against him.

    Dasuki is not the only member of the last administration who’s been feeling the heat. Former Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been in the wars – exchanging brickbats with Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole over her management of the Excess Crude Account (ECA) and other actions whilst in office.

    Among other things she’s said to have caused $2 billion to be withdrawn from the ECA illegally. In the ensuing dust-up Okonjo-Iweala first claimed the monies were moved with the knowledge of the monthly Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meetings – only for state commissioners of finance to deny that they ever signed off on such an action. The minister would later say the amount was spent on payments made for petroleum subsidies as approved by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The ex-minister has put her travails down to political persecution; accusing Oshiomhole of embarking on a witch-hunt because she declined to approve loan requests totaling N15.37 billion which the governor sought to use to meet state obligations.

    In the current charged political environment in Nigeria, a wise man would refrain from making judgments as to who’s telling the truth or breathing lies. It is safer to wait because sooner or later the four-man panel set up by the National Economic Council (NEC) would make their findings known and the courts would rule.

    However, no one can escape the common thread that runs through the reactions of all those who have been put on the spot by the new administration. Okonjo-Iweala sees political foes at work. Lamido claims Lilliputians intimated by his political profile are frightened that he’s about to sweep to victory in the 2019 presidential race!

    As for Nyako, the problem is Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, who is desperately trying to insinuate himself into the good books of Buhari by framing innocent men and their angelic children.

    As of today we don’t know what the full list of Dasuki’s ‘sins’ are but he already has a zealous champion in Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman, Olisah Metuh, who’s crying ‘freedom’, ‘democracy’ and ‘human rights.’

    The more imaginative have suggested that through the visit of the DSS to the ex-NSA’s lair Buhari was finally exacting a revenge that was three decades in planning. Apparently, the retired colonel was among a three-man team of officers who at Sallah in 1985 went to arrest the general when he was military Head of State. So 30 years to the day Dasuki is getting his comeuppance – again at Sallah! Such impeccable timing!

    We should be ready to hear lots of these conspiracy theories as more outrageous exposes emerge of the malfeasance of recent years. The template was put in place by Jonathan when he prophesied before the handover that he and his disciples would be persecuted for their service to the nation.

    Some would be tempted to conclude from the travails of Dasuki, Okonjo-Iweala and others that the former president’s prophecies are coming to pass. But before succumbing to such a temptation let us remember that not only Jonathan’s acolytes are facing the music currently.

    Nyako and former Bayelsa State Governor Timipre Sylva are members of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC). Oronsaye was one of the most influential members of Obasanjo’s team. Lamido was a thorn in the flesh of Jonathan till the very end. He was a member of the rebel G7 PDP governors until he and Babangida Aliyu backed out at the point of defection.

    Whether or not there’s merit or not in ongoing probes, or cases being tried in courts, we must allow the system to resolve them. Too many times the judicial process has been short-circuited through the introduction of politics and sentiment.

    Indeed, sentiment is a curse upon this country. It contributes greatly to the impunity that we wanted terminated. Until people – no matter their station or how highly they rate their service to society – realise that there would be consequences for actions in and out of office, enduring change would never take root.

    Of all the irritating sentimental slop I’ve heard in recent times, the one that takes the prize is the suggestion that Buhari should disavow any plans to investigate wrongdoings of the recent past because Jonathan didn’t challenge the results of the elections. This goes back to the sense that in accepting defeat the former president somehow did us all a favour!

    Even if Buhari entered into some quid pro quo deal with his predecessor not to sniff in his mess as the condition for him going quietly, he will soon discover he has no such powers. He would be going against the laws he swore to uphold by bending them on the altar of expediency for privileged persons.

    If all those alleging ‘persecution’ would be reasonable they would admit that the offences they are accused of are quite serious. What we owe them is a fair process that allows them to clear their names. They should take comfort in the fact that Nigerian courts have proven that they are able to discharge their responsibilities in a manner that should give hope to those facing charges. The recent acquittal of former PDP presidential campaign spokesman, Femi Oluwakayode (formerly Fani-Kayode) on money laundering charges is a case in point.

    But the accused must decide whether they want to take their chances in the courts of law or resort to blackmailing Buhari and his administration by deploying sentiment. The latter option might provide a temporary feel good sensation but ultimately the media jury is worthless and of no practical effect.

    If newspaper judges declare you ‘persecuted’ on account of your ethnicity or loyalty to the last regime, and a high court judge finds you culpable for criminal acts then you are headed for jail for a long stretch. So what really is the point in all the propaganda? Why not keep your best shots for the judge that counts?

    Ultimately, the success of the clean-up exercise which Buhari is undertaking, may come down to how he responds to the blackmail he’s increasingly being subjected to. Given his past he would be accused of restoring dictatorship even if the police move to apprehend a bank robber caught in the very act.

    Those who have criticised the visit of the DSS to Dasuki’s home have labeled it an ‘invasion’ – creating the impression that it was done illegally. But the former NSA has admitted that the officers had a valid search warrant from a magistrate court.

    How times change! In the days leading to the March general elections, the DSS invaded an APC data center in Lagos – damaging doors and computers. They claimed the place was being used to clone voter cards and hack into Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) data base.

    Several of the staff working in the office were arrested and detained for days. The agents never produced any warrant. Rather than condemn the brutal action of the DSS, Metuh and his party simply echoed the trumped-up allegations against the opposition and called for the law to take its course.

    Where were Metuh and his PDP human rights activists when the same DSS was used to harass Sanusi Lamido Sanusi following his suspension as Governor of the Central Bank? Where were they when the police sealed off the Emir’s palace in Kano for days forcing the ex-CBN chief to be installed as traditional ruler in Government House?

    Members of the former ruling party and those who served under Jonathan somehow believe that they can escape justice for mismanaging the country by blackmailing the police and other agencies that would be raking through their mess in the coming days and months. The authorities should deny them the satisfaction by doing everything by the book.

    Luckily for PDP, in Buhari we have a president who is very sensitive to accusations about autocracy and intolerance. He is bending over backwards to prove how tolerant and democratic he’s become. That’s fine but he should also realise that the despoilers of Nigeria are stubborn characters who will try every trick in the book to get away with murder.

    They will only stop when convinced that they’ve met their match in someone of equal obduracy. Buhari has talked up a storm; he must now prove that he’s the man for this hour.

  • Service chiefs and ethnic champions

    Buhari appointees to head the nation’s security agencies provide substantial material for analysts to sink their teeth into. Two of them – Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Tukur Buratai and National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (rtd) – hail from Borno State.

    The new Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar, is from Bauchi State. This means that of the five senior positions, three went to officers from the North-East, one each to the South-South and South-West.

    The underlying assumption appears to be that by selecting majorly those with direct connections to the hotbed of the Boko Haram insurgency we might see greater commitment in the war against the terrorists.

    So far no one has raised questions as to the competence of the appointees, but plenty has been said about their ethnicity. Some have interpreted the fact that none of the officers is of Igbo extraction to mean a new dawn of South-East marginalisation. Newspaper editorials have even been written about the ‘snub.’ Those who make these arguments need to take a deep breath and calm down.

    While their groups may be the largest, Nigeria isn’t just about Igbos, Yoruba or Hausa-Fulani. It is extreme arrogance to carry on as though beyond the big three other ethnic groups don’t count. Indeed, there are hundreds of them and we all have equal constitutional rights as those who can’t see beyond the interests of their clans.

    When Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika was Chief of Army Staff there were scores of other ethnic groups that were not accommodated in the leadership of the security forces. We didn’t hear them moaning about some perceived injustice.

    In the last administration, at a point heads of three pivotal security agencies were from the South-South zone: Ekpeyong Ita, Director-General of DSS, Lt. General Kenneth Minimah, Army Chief and Solomon Arase, Inspector-General of Police.

    To be fair, recent Nigerian presidents have gone out of their way to promote inclusiveness in appointing leaders of the armed forces. The point should also be made that this country doesn’t have enough service chief positions to go round every ethnic group.

    Those who think they are promoting the interests of their people by pushing these primordial arguments are actually hurting them as they end up cementing unhelpful prejudices and perceptions about them.

  • Pros and cons of presidential ‘go slow’

    Pros and cons of presidential ‘go slow’

    In his last incarnation as Head of State, Muhammadu Buhari and his second-in- command, Tunde Idiagbon, were a couple of all-action soldiers who took an unruly nation by the scruff of the neck and set it straight.

    The impact of their short reign remains branded in the nation’s psyche such that many anticipated another action-packed crack at governing Nigeria. The opening 30 days of the new All Progressives Congress (APC) have been anything but that – leading to the resurrection of the less than flattering “Baba Go Slow” tag that was last hung around the neck of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

    A recent Bloomberg article by Daniel Magnowski titled ‘Buhari Goes From Nigeria’s Change Champion to ‘Baba Go Slow’ aptly captured the frustration of people who expected him to come out with guns blazing. Aside from those who are interested in Buhari’s appointments because they hope to be beneficiaries, there are others for whom politics is spectator sport.

    For them the whole business of hiring and firing is entertainment. On that front very little is happening. Many who had expected that Buhari would send the remnants of the Goodluck Jonathan era – everyone from service chiefs to hastily appointed agency heads – packing once installed in office, are mystified that he’s taking his sweet time getting rid of them.

    In fact so frustrated have some Nigerians become that since Buhari would not name his aides and ministers they have taken to appointing them for him. In the course of a meeting a little over a week ago a colleague excitedly announced that the president had just ‘named’ long-time associate Col. Hamid Ali as Chief of Staff. News of the ‘appointment’ soon went viral online. Three hours later the Presidency was denying that such an appointment had been made.

    While Buhari keeps his list of cabinet nominees in a bomb-proof safe in Aso Rock, journalists and other stakeholders entertain themselves with speculations, or vent their anger at the lack of action by reminding us of how everyone from Barack Obama to Olusegun Obasanjo had – to use their favourite cliché – ‘hit the ground running.’

    The leisurely take-off of the new administration has inspired Nigerians who are past masters at gallows humour to offload a few jokes. I saw an online comment the other day asking Jonathan to quickly send ‘Patience’ back to Aso Villa because Buhari keeps asking for her!

    Although six weeks have passed I still refuse to join the chorus line that’s already writing the obituary of the new administration. My position is simple: If Buhari received a ‘change’ mandate doesn’t he deserve breathing space to do things differently – even if it’s not at the pace some would like?

    Those who keep reminding us of what Obasanjo, Yar’Adua and Jonathan did in their first few days in office are actually saying – yes we voted ‘change’ but what we actually want is for you to do things the exact way these former leaders did.

    Pace is important given that the last administration left Nigeria prostrate. But in the current situation haste just for the sake of appearing busy has dubious benefits. What is important in a race is not how fast the take-off is but how well you end. Jonathan et al presumably ‘hit the ground running’ but ended up running the country aground.

    That said, we must concede that not everyone who has criticized Buhari’s tardiness in naming a team has done so with base motives. Many have made very strong points that the president and whoever has his ears need to take on board.

    We have heard excuses about the lack of cooperation from the last administration with regards to hand over notes. But that doesn’t explain the fact that between when the presidential election results were declared and May 29 the incoming crew had a clear two months to put together some sort of skeletal structure.

    We’ve been told that Buhari is busy doing mysterious things to make the governing environment pristine for his new team to operate in. The upshot is that the earliest a cabinet would be constituted could be September.

    No matter how reasonable the reasons are the longer the president takes to cobble together a governing team, the more uncertainty would shroud the government and its intentions within the country and without. People have mentioned the impact of this uncertainty on the financial markets. It is also critically important in a country where much of the activity revolves around what the government does or doesn’t do.

    It has also been argued that one of the reasons there seems to be an upswing in the spate of insurgents attacks in the North-East is the sense that the new administration is still feeling its way – trying to put in place its own strategies.

    Somehow the military momentum that swept Boko Haram out of the villages and towns they had hitherto occupied appears to have dissipated. In the intervening period when one government gave way to another, the insurgents have gotten second wind, retooled their strategy and returned with multiple suicide attacks in different locations.

    It is hard to argue with the statistics. There has been an upsurge in suicide attacks in recent weeks. Every few days now there’s a new one. Last weekend in Borno State six female suicide bombers wreaked havoc. The killers have visited Kaduna and Kano States and have been to one of their old stomping grounds – Buni Yadi.

    Something is definitely going on here. It may or may not be down to the fact that those tasked with leading the fight against the insurgents are unsettled because they are uncertain about their future. Whatever it is, that feelgood factor that was so evident in the days following APC’s stunning electoral victory is slowly ebbing away. The new regime would be making a costly mistake if it dismisses this view out of hand.

    The delay in constituting a team may have conveyed a sense of ennui, but the bungled National Assembly leadership selection process added a picture of disarray so early in the life of the administration – leaving its foes to crow ‘morning shows the day.’

    Buhari may have been forced to calibrate his speed by the shock of what he met on the ground, but he must understand that his stock of goodwill with an impatient population cannot last forever. It is in his interest to constitute a team as soon as possible. There’s too much pressure when one man is the focus of all, and he definitely doesn’t need the air of uncertainty generated by his ad-hoc arrangement.

  • The power of atmospherics

    President Muhammadu Buhari recently rejected a proposal by the State House bureaucracy to procure five armoured Mercedes Benz cars worth N400 million for his comfort and safety. On Friday, he and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo announced a 50% cut in their salaries.

    Last week also, he met with within the confines of Aso Villa with the activists from the BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group which has been campaigning for the rescue of hundreds of kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls. Not only did he meet with them, both sides ended up posing for a group photograph.

    This marks a sea change in relations between the seat of power and this influential citizens group. Before now Jonathan used to barricade himself within the villa while sending some female minister to engage BBOG leader, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili and her team in a shouting match. That is when former presidential aide Dr. Doyin Okupe wasn’t accusing the group of being in cahoots with the evil opposition APC and antagonizing the military. Back it always felt like Jonathan was threatened by BBOG.

    These populist moves that may not significantly change the state of the average citizen’s pocket. But it affects the overall atmospherics and sustains that sense that a new day has dawned in the country and things can never be the way they were ever again. Such symbolic gestures shouldn’t be dismissed lightly.

  • What’s come upon EFCC?

    What’s come upon EFCC?

    As he was being led away to the van that would convey him to the prison where he would spend days while perfecting his bail conditions, former Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, reportedly blurted out: ‘Am I now a prisoner?’

    He’s not alone in the dock. From former Imo State Governor Ikedi Ohakim to ex-Governor Timpre Sylva of Bayelsa, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Audu Abubakar of Kogi and one-time Head of the Federal Civil Service, Stephen Oronsaye, a steady stream of once powerful figures are getting their day in court.

    It is not the first time we would be treated to these dramatic images of public figures being tried for abusing their positions of trust – only to see the much-hyped prosecutions collapse like a cardboard box. There’s no guarantee that these cases wouldn’t go the way of others with the one-time accused walking away as free men because of prosecutorial incompetence.

    What should interest us is the sudden surge of zeal sweeping through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In the last couple of years this same organisation under the same leadership had been in deep slumber.

    Many attributed this to the perception that the last administration didn’t seem too interested in fighting graft. As Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, famously said the then president’s body language suggested a tolerance of sleaze. Indeed, Jonathan often defensively argued that Nigeria’s bad image for corruption was overblown.

    So what suddenly come upon Ibrahim Lamorde’s EFCC? I would suggest that Buhari happened to them. The anti-graft agency didn’t need an army of interpreters to decode his ‘body language.’