The Nation Newspaper

Category: Dele Agekameh

The coup debate

We are at it again. All of a sudden, the talk of a coup plot meant to truncate the country’s democracy is gaining currency all over the place. A coup d’état, a military putsch or whatever name it is called, is not new in these climes. The country has experienced so many of them which have combined to drag the fortunes of the country backward since the jackboots first appeared on the political scene on January 15, 1966 – 51 years ago. Since then, a good number of military insurrections have taken place, leading to avoidable bloodletting, destruction, maiming and killing.

Judging by the recent outcry by Lt Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai, the incumbent Chief of Army Staff, COAS, after 18 years of unbroken democratic rule, the country appears to be tottering, once again, on the precipice of yet another senseless political upheaval. This is not something to be dismissed with a wave of the hand. After all, the COAS must have reacted to a spate of intelligence reports at his disposal indicating that a plot was in the offing.

Before now, nobody could have dared to discuss such a sensitive topic in the open for fear of running afoul of the law especially in the area of being considered an accessory before the fact which, in the past, has sent innocent and unassuming Nigerians to their early graves. But now that the cat has finally been let out of the bag, it seems we all can discuss the issue freely without fear or trepidation.

It is possible that some people may have been gathering or going about incubating some sinister plots and making overtures to other people on how to acquire power through the back door. For instance, one of the major political parties in the country is seriously disorganised and weakened at the moment, so much that regaining the power it lost after 16 years of unbroken rule – 1999-2015 – does not look feasible anytime soon.

In this regard, all the party could probably do now is to pray for any form of destabilisation in the polity simply because it is apparent that some of the key players may never taste power again in the foreseeable future. Even contesting in the next general election that is two years away is not feasible at all. Yet, these people have stacked so much money. And since there are so many evil people around who wouldn’t mind to put money down for this type of satanic adventure, your guess is as good as mine.

The security agencies should take adequate steps to forestall this type of senseless adventure. The fact remains that as long as people are ambitious, there will always be a threat like this. It is all about power; it is no longer about the North versus the South dichotomy. And because the country is so divided, more than ever before, makes anything like the subject under discussion, very possible.

But another school of thought believes that the current cacophony could as well be a dummy being sold to the public as it were. Otherwise, those who are hinting of a coup should have told us who the real perpetrators are. In other words, where are the coup plotters? It is clear that those desirous of changing government in Nigeria should only do so through the ballot box.

In the past, the country witnessed series of phantom coups that were merely orchestrated in order to get at real or imagined enemies. What they simply say is: “We’ve been in the picture of a coup plot”. This is usually followed by mass arrests. This was the particular dummy sold to Oladipo Diya, a former Chief of General Staff under the dictatorship of the late General Sani Abacha. Diya naively bought the idea, started planning the coup while others he believed were part of the ignoble deal were busy recording him until the bubble burst. By the time he cried out, he was already facing a tribunal of death.

From the look of things, the recent re-organisation in the command structure of the Armed Forces could have been a major step to foil such a plot. Again, is it possible that someone is flying a kite? This question is germane in view of the fact that the issue of the president’s health has become quite topical in recent times. What some people are saying is that the president should throw in the towel and call it a day to allow him attend adequately to his failing health.

Right now, it appears the country is at a standstill. Nothing is moving. Even the issue of Yemi Osinbajo, the acting president appending his signature to the 2017 budget proposal recently passed by the National Assembly, has elicited intense debate. Though we are made to believe the acting president has all the powers to run the country in the absence of his principal, truth is that he will not want to rock the boat. There are certain decisions he cannot venture to take in the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari because people are there to checkmate him. That is the more reason why he would tread with caution as long as Buhari’s shadow still looms large. So we should not deceive ourselves.

Beyond this, as mentioned in this column few weeks ago, there is a groundswell of opinion among the northern elements in the country that Buhari may have been poisoned. The rumour has travelled far and wide. And the foot soldiers are not relenting. Therefore, in the event of any untoward thing happening to the president today (God forbid it), large scale violence could erupt in certain parts of the country, all for no other reason than the pursuit of ethnic chauvinism. Regrettably, no concerted effort is being made by the government to douse this unnecessary tension.

Moreover, if you look at the configuration of the present government, you will discover that it is top-heavy with Muslims. Every key person is a Muslim. Nigeria is so divided that it is almost impossible to hazard a guess on what is really happening or could happen in the next minute. Already, some vocal people are saying that even if Buhari does not stand for re-election in 2019, not even Osinbajo would be eligible to contest except another northerner is dragged into the race. This is the turn-by-turn thing that we ought to have out-grown as a nation if only we are determined to break loose from our debilitating past.

At the moment, almost all the security agencies are headed by Muslims. We need to pray for Nigeria because the signs that we are seeing are not good for the continuous existence and future of the entity called Nigeria. And for those who are saying that people will rise up and confront coup plotters, they need to do a rethink. Nigerians appear to have been pushed to the wall to such an extent that it has been practically demonstrated that no matter how hard you work, you are not likely to reap the full benefits of your labour.

Today, it is only the thieving politicians, their coterie of hangers-on and some privileged few, particularly well-positioned civil servants, who are daily smiling to the bank while majority of Nigerians are wallowing pitifully in a slough of poverty, hunger and misery. Are these the type of people who will confront coupists with their bare hands? It is hoped that innocent people will not be roped in this time around in the name of foiling a coup. Come to think of it, where will the coup plotters start from especially now that Buratai has put his own loyalists all over the place? What this means is that he is probably about the only person who can possibly plan a coup now. May God help Nigeria.

May 24, 2017
His Excellency, the coordinator

Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari transmitted a letter notifying the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria about yet another medical vacation in the United Kingdom. In the letter, the President made it known that he was travelling as a follow-up to his treatment in London earlier this year for a yet-to-be disclosed ailment.

The letter did not disclose the length of the President’s intended stay in the UK but hinged it on the advice of his doctors. That was probably a careful way to avoid the type of anxiety and perturbation his long absence from the country created during his first medical vacation few months back.

Besides, the construction of the letter elicited some debate over whether the President was sincere with handing over to his deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo in consonance with the provision of Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, which provides that: “Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.”

Although that enabling constitutional provision is clear on the matter, the president’s letter had described the Vice-President as ‘coordinating’ in his absence. The word ‘coordinating’, invariably sparked off fearsome debate. The first salvo was fired right inside the hallow chambers of the Senate by Mao Ohuabunwa, a People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Senator representing Abia North senatorial district. He had been recognised to take the floor as soon as the president’s letter was read at the plenary.

Ohuanbunwa must have inadvertently spoken the minds of some of his colleagues and indeed, a teeming population of Nigerians when he drew attention to the word ‘coordinating’ as used in the letter. Not only did he demonstrate that the President’s letter was a little bit cryptic as it tried to avoid directly naming the Vice-President as acting President, he also clearly indicated that the word was in bad taste. From then on, a debate was ignited with all manner of people speaking for and against the wordings of the letter.

As the debate would not subside, the President’s handlers, including Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, made frenetic moves to calm troubled waters. The minister described the debate as a needless distraction while taking refuge in Section 145 of the constitution which he clearly said the President had already referred to in his letter to the senate.

The minister was right. What he did was a smart way of dousing the flames of tension that had been building up on the controversial wording. As stated earlier, Section 145 of the 1999 constitution is clear and unambiguous on the issue of acting President when all the conditions are met. The section states that in such situations, once formal communication is transmitted to the upper chamber of the National Assembly by the President, power automatically shifts to the Vice President pending the President’s resumption.

In that case, all the President needed to do was to formally enter a correspondence on his vacation to the Senate. The President does not need to mention either the word acting or coordinating to fulfil the constitutional provision of the empowerment of the Vice President to step in as acting President. The Vice President will function as acting President until such a time a counter-correspondence is transmitted to the senate by the President.

This is a simple analogy of the constitutional provision that empowers the Vice President to step into the shoes of his principal in the event of the principal’s inability to perform his constitutional role. But it appears that there could be some individuals, a cabal or both in the villa who were simply just being mischievous by inserting the word ‘coordinating’ into the president’s correspondence to the Senate. Otherwise, all they needed to do was to copy and paste the President’s previous letter to the Senate.

Therefore, by inserting ‘coordinating’, they wittingly sent a signal that Osinbajo was merely a coordinator. What they probably did not take cognizance of was the fact that once they referred to the constitution, any other thing that follows is not relevant as it is automatic that the Vice President becomes acting President. The whole charade occasioned by the ‘Coordinator’ tag the President assigned to the Vice President in that letter illuminates our political leadership’s predilection to complicate even the most simple, straightforward tasks of leadership. Otherwise, pray tell, why would a Vice President not simply ‘preside’ as the official title indicates, rather than ‘coordinate’?

But beyond the furore caused by the choice of words in the letter, Osinbajo has undoubtedly demonstrated in body language, action and words that he is not an excessively ambitious human being or Vice President for that matter. That is why he refers practically everything to the President. It seems the cabal may not be comfortable with him because they don’t want him to take the shine off the President.

Recall that this same cabal was very much uncomfortable early this year when the President first went to London on medical vacation and stayed away for 50 days at a stretch. During this period, the Vice President, acting as President, acquitted himself creditably. This was very visible to even a layman. Throughout the period, the cabal was scared stiff that Osinbajo’s popularity had soared to high heavens.

It is probably in realisation of this that Osinbajo had to humble himself so much during his recent visit to Katsina State, the homestead of the President, where he told the Emir of Katsina that President Buhari treats him like a son. This is humility taken too far. No wonder some people have unmistakably pointed it out that the Vice President needn’t be too subservient simply because he wants to starve off controversy around his person.

However, in the wake of the latest President’s trip to London, a number of successive events may have given an indication that the President’s camp is indeed, fretting and jittery because of the fear of the unknown which has been variously described as the greatest fear that could assail a person’s sensibilities. To start with, the President’s latest exit from the country coincided with a shakeup in the military’s command structure. And as if that was not enough, the Northern Elders’ Forum, NEF, met in Kano last week and took a surprising stand on the issue of restructuring of the country. The NEF also vowed to resist any move to undermine the current administration on account of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ill-health.

Furthermore, the NEF warned that “the ship of state” must keep sailing uninterruptedly until Buhari returns. According to the forum: “We are aware that attempts are being made to exploit the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari to achieve dubious political goals. We, therefore, warn those seeking an undeserved political advantage to desist. The north is conscious of its obligations as well as rights and will discharge and defend same without reservations.” The forum said it backed “genuine” restructuring of the nation, adding that the north was never at any time opposed to the move.

The warning may have been informed by some developments at the seat of power, Aso Rock, which the group described as “attempts to exploit the absence of the president to achieve dubious political goals.” One of these goals is suspected to be the restructuring of the polity. The forum went on and on and lashed out at real and imagined enemies who they said were exploiting Buhari’s absence to cause the breakup of the country.

This is obviously an overkill. The issue of restructuring has been on the front burner of national discourse from independence in 1960. Ironically, it is the same people now crying wolf that have been working assiduously to truncate any move towards that direction. But like they say, Que sera, sera. What will be, will certainly be.

May 17, 2017
Drumbeats of anarchy

Politicians have a way of heating up the polity. And with so many challenges currently confronting the country – from fighting corruption, to banditry and menace of herdsmen all over the place, to agitations for independence by some ethnic nationalities and incessant official terrorism unleashed on Nigerians by security agents under one guise or another, etc. – you would expect our politicians to be a little more circumspect.

Added to this plethora of problems is the issue of the state of health of Muhammadu Buhari, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Earlier this year, Buhari travelled to the United Kingdom on a medical holiday that kept him away from the shores of the land for 50 days. While in the UK, the rumour mill was agog with Arabian or fairy tales about his health.

At a point, the president was rumoured to have even passed away in the land of the Queen, a story that was quickly debunked by his media managers. At the end of the day, it turned out to be an orchestrated hoax and the matter died a natural death. Soon after, the president flew back home ostensibly to resume his normal duties in Aso Rock Villa.

On arrival back in the country, the general public was duly informed that the president still needed some rest after the surgery he had in London but the rumour mill would not subside. Things came to a head when the president could no longer make himself available to preside over the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting for three weeks in a row. Instead, he resorted to making brief appearances at Friday Juma’at services within the precinct of the Villa.

At a point, he was also absent from Juma’at services in the Villa on at least two occasions in a row. This heightened speculation that the president’s health might have, indeed, taken a downward plunge. This new situation was greeted with a barrage of insinuation that the president may have become incapacitated after all. Next, a section of the public including academics, lawyers, politicians and other ethnic bigots across the political spectrum, started calling for the invocation of section 144 of the constitution.

Section 144 of the constitution spells out the process of declaring the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria vacant on grounds of incapacitation. It states that the office of the president is vacant when two-third majority of the Executive Council (Exco) passes a resolution to that effect. By the way, the Exco comprises ministers and other persons, outside the Vice president, solely appointed by the president. More than that, a team of five eminent doctors, which must include the president’s personal physician, must test the resolution. It is only after these steps have been taken and properly established, that the president of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives can be empowered to sign a notice to be published in the official gazette declaring the office vacant.

But we all know how things work in Nigeria. Like stated earlier, apart from the vice-president who is directly picked by the party after due consultation with the president and other stakeholders, all the ministers and other members of the Exco, are basically handpicked by the president himself. That makes satisfying Section 144 of the constitution a tall order. Perhaps, this was why under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s tenure, the Doctrine of Necessity had to be invoked by the National Assembly to pave the way for his then deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, to succeed him as acting president.

That is talking about the legal process and procedure of effecting a change of leadership when a sitting president becomes incapacitated. In this present circumstance, the president and his handlers are doing everything possible to demonstrate to the whole world that the president is, indeed, not incapacitated whatsoever as his detractors would want people to believe.

But, beyond the official denials and the ceaseless clamour for the president to take a bow, some ethnic bigots have, in the last few weeks, been engaged in issuing out ‘subtle’ threats of Armageddon if the president’s detractors do not refrain from trying to stampede him into capitulating. Whether in mosques, market places, beer parlours and other innocuous places, the message that is being passed around is that the president may have been poisoned by his enemies just to get him out of the way.

We all know that this type of rumour that is baseless and without foundation is capable of instigating anarchy if it is not quickly doused. Surprisingly, in spite of this, this rumour seems to have been gaining ground like a wild fire in harmattan. And the peddlers are not only hewers of woods and drawers of water who you can dismiss as stark illiterates but unfortunately, many quite educated people and even members of the various security outfits in Nigeria, have become voluntary megaphones in its spread.

And of course, the social media has not been left out. Quite recently, an unidentified security agent in uniform who was brandishing an AK47 rifle took to the internet and issued a stern warning that in the event that Buhari dies, he would make sure that at least 200 people are mowed down by him in revenge. Just imagine if you have a handful of this type of megalomaniac out there, in the event of what he envisaged, many innocent people could be sent to their early graves for mere reasons of ethnic chauvinism rather than any fault of theirs.

Nigeria is a country of endless possibilities where anything can happen. Sometimes, events or occurrences that defy human comprehension occur here from time to time. And the history of the country is replete with many wonderful stories of the nation’s miraculous retrieve from the precipice. Herein lies a particular predicament that is capable of dragging the country to the brink.

With the fragile security situation in the country, it will be wise for the security agencies to quickly find a way to smoke out the purveyors of this grandiloquent rumour, which, if not quickly checked, could cause large scale security breach the end of which nobody can imagine. It is astonishing that up till now, the security agent who took to the internet, with his photograph conspicuously displayed, to issue that threat of embarking on a killing spree, has not been apprehended and brought to book.

We may know how and when a war will start, but nobody knows how it will surely end or those who will survive the holocaust. We all know that Nigeria is a country of many nations because of the diverse ethnic nationalities making up the fragile country. It is sad that rather than work for national cohesion and the harmonious coexistence of the ethnic nationalities in the country, our leaders are daily dividing us with their divide-and-rule politics, nepotism in matters of appointments, uneven spread of development and all that.

This winner-takes-all attitude by our politicians is killing the country and increasingly dividing us as a nation. The situation is further aggravated by the belief by a section of the country that they have the monopoly of leadership to the exclusion of other ethnic nationalities. It is for this reason that the call for the restructuring of the country in such a way that all the ethnic nationalities will have a sense of belonging is perpetually being resisted by a section of the country. Equality is about equity and fairness.

However, to douse the rising tension, the security agencies and the president’s handlers must come out forcefully to debunk the unholy rumour making the rounds. All we need to do in this country is to be sincere with one another in all we do or say, if we are really serious about building a virile and prosperous nation of our dream. God help us!

May 10, 2017
Write, Jonathan, write!

He started off as a young, promising political reporter in the journalism profession which he cherishes a lot. By dint of hard work, perseverance, consistency and intellectual prowess, he has meticulously and meretriciously risen, through the years, to the pinnacle of his profession. Today, Olusegun Adeniyi, is the chairman of the Editorial Board of Thisday newspapers. A one- time presidential spokesman, Adeniyi has featured at several academic and professional fora within and outside the shores of Nigeria. He is also an author with many titles to his credit.
Adeniyi surely knows when and how to arrest the attention of the public after major events that need to be put in historical perspective for both the living and unborn Nigerians in particular and the larger humanity in general. Last Friday, April 28, was yet another eventful day for Adeniyi as he brought together some heavyweights in the nation’s political firmament at the launch of the latest addition to his repertoire of intellectual works.
His new book, a 204-page treatise titled: Against the Run of Play, chronicles, blow by blow, the account of contemporary political developments in the country that culminated in a gargantuan disgrace for a hitherto formidable political party that had all along prided itself as the biggest party in Africa. Not only this. The behemoth of a party had openly boasted to high heavens that it had the capacity to rule Nigeria till eternity. But, in spite of this confidence and boisterous assumption, the party was roundly defeated at the presidential election of 2015, after only 16 unbroken years in power.
This well-choreographed book which has since become the topic of major discourse everywhere has revealed the roles of most of the major political actors and dramatis personae in the build-up to the 2015 presidential election. It also laid bare, the intricate factors, human and institutional, that led to the defeat of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in his bid for re-election in 2015. The experiences of some of the major actors at the time which form part of the author’s narrative helped in no small measure to give the book a good mileage in authority and credibility.
But then, as they say, success has many friends while failure is an orphan. For Jonathan, a man whose good luck was shattered by the 2015 presidential election and was left to leave Aso Villa like an embattled hare with its tail tucked behind its hind legs, the memory of the loss still haunts till date. From his recent utterances, he is clearly still very bitter that those he trusted to make it happen at the presidential election, actually worked against his interests, accounting for the colossal failure at the polls.
Even before the book was launched and following the launch, the former President had been in the news. Jonathan has not hidden his discomfort over the account given in the book about events that led to the 2015 presidential election that sacked him from the formidable fortress of Aso Rock Villa. The former President has blamed everybody, with the exception of himself, for his failure at the polls.
He also blamed certain foreign governments and personalities including David Cameron, former British Prime Minister and Barrack Obama, former American President, for removing him from office. Jonathan believes that the narrations of some individuals in the book were distorted. And in order to put the record straight, he said that he will come out with a true narrative of what really transpired during the electioneering period.
He reinforced this by posting a series of tweets on his Twitter handle. Part of the tweet read: “I have just read Segun Adeniyi’s new book, ‘Against the Run of Play’ which has so far enjoyed tremendous reviews in the media. My take on it is that the book as presented contains many distorted claims on the 2015 Presidential election by many of the respondents”.
“There will obviously be more books like that on this subject by concerned Nigerians. However, I believe that at the right time, the main characters in the elections including myself, will come out with a true account of what transpired either in major interviews or books.”
This is the crux of the matter. It is obvious that nobody can tell the story of how Jonathan and his octopodal party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, were uprooted in the 2015 presidential election by the alliance of four major political parties, namely; Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN; Congress for Progressive Change, CPC; All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP and part of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, which all came under the umbrella of the All Progressives’ Congress, APC.
Like Jonathan rightly observed, many players in that election will surely come up with various accounts of that election. Many of them will write to justify the position they took during the election. In that case, there could be some additions or subtractions, whatever the case may be, to achieve desired results. Now that he has hinted that he might put pen to paper to narrate his own experience, we must encourage him to do so. Doing so will afford the reading public the rare opportunity to hear directly from the horse’s mouth.
Although they say those who watch football matches see much more of the pitch than the actual players on the field of play, it will be a good thing for Jonathan to document for posterity not only his experience during the 2015 presidential election, but also his tenure as Deputy-Governor, Governor, Vice-President, acting President and President, spanning many years. This will afford him the opportunity to explain his contribution in governance (if any), the type of decisions he took, why he took them and why some decisions were not taken even when they were absolutely necessary and all that.
However, an unsolicited advice for Jonathan is that he should be mindful of the type of wishy-washy biography recently written by General Ishaya Bamaiyi. Instead of promoting his image, the book ended up soiling him. He simply wrote an autobiography to denounce himself. Therefore, in putting together his own memoirs, Jonathan should stick to the truth and nothing but the truth if he is to extricate himself from the cobweb of doubts about his capacity to govern a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious and politically pluralistic society as ours.
As things stand now, many people within and outside Nigeria believe the former President’s tenure as President was riddled with endemic corruption, visionlessness and like a two-time governor once put it in a private conversation I had with him, “Jonathan was bedevilled by lack of capacity to rule”, even though he was the first PhD holder to ever rule Nigeria.
As somebody who closely observed him right from the time he was Deputy Governor in Bayelsa State‘ to his exploits in Abuja, Jonathan comes across as someone who is very nervous, jelly and easily makes enemies or is quick to tag someone as an enemy once all the flotsam and jetsam of people around him concoct any story against anybody they perceive could easily outsmart them. This was probably why he lost the confidence of many of those who could have helped him to succeed as the first minority President in Nigeria while he pandered to the whims and caprices of political entrepreneurs and commercial friends that ran rings around him at the Villa. And of course, Patience, his audacious wife, also contributed a fat premium to his ouster.
Jonathan’s major undoing was that in 2015, he entrusted his campaign more in the hands of political scavengers, charlatans and known rogues. They were pariahs in their various communities who succeeded in hoodwinking him to believe that they were capable of delivering the votes, even though they knew quite well that they were not credible mainly because of their ignoble past.

May 3, 2017
Lawal and Oke as glamour news

These indeed, are interesting times. They are also good times for news hunters. These days, the whole place is saturated with news in different moulds and dimensions. There is plenty of news in circulation every day to the extent that it takes an editor with good news judgement to decide what the lead story of his paper would be from the plethora of news items available to pick from.
While the ink with which a particular breaking news item is written is still dripping, several other news items of compelling nature keep tumbling in, in quick succession. They come in different shapes and sizes, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Surprisingly, most of the news items usually emanate from the corridors of power and government agencies.
Last week was particularly busy for the media. Work had just started after the Easter holiday when, suddenly, there was bedlam in the presidency following the directive by the president that Babachir David Lawal, the all-powerful Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF and Ayodele Oke, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, be suspended. Both of them had been respectively accused of legal and due process violations as well as the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in a private, residential apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The suspension order on the two principal officers of government came as a rude shock to the public. For instance, the SGF had, few months back, when the controversy surrounding his handling of the grass-cutting contract awarded for the northeast, been given a clean bill of health by the presidency. This caused uproar in both the National Assembly where he was allegedly indicted and the public who viewed the government action as tantamount to condoning corruption. In the case of the DG NIA, the discovery of a whooping N13b stashed away in a private apartment by the EFCC has become a subject of discussion all over the country and beyond.
Investigations revealed that the total money collected by this agency was in the neighbourhood of N56b. In that case, the N13b found hidden in the Ikoyi apartment could have been the balance of the money that was left in the kitty after all expenses suspected to have been made during the 2015 general elections.
However, Lawal opened a Pandora’s Box when, shortly after the news of the suspension filtered into the media, he was confronted by news hunters who sought to know his reaction to the order. As the news of the suspension order by the presidency was broken to him, an apparently bewildered SGF, had retorted: who is the presidency? That question has, in itself, generated another debate as to who really is the presidency? The questions now agitating the minds of the people are: Is the presidency Buhari? Or is the presidency being referred to here, the cabals or scavengers around the corridors of power who have become so powerful that they wield awesome powers?
The questions are germane because it appears that Lawal was quite aware that President Buhari had withdrawn from the public as a result of his illness which recently kept him in London for about 50 days. Besides, in the last two weeks, he had been absent from some official functions including the weekly National Executive Council meetings, only appearing briefly at the Friday Juma’at service in the confines of the Villa. At any rate, Lawal must have been in the know of the power-play in the Villa of which he could have been a major player himself. This was probably why he sought explanation for who was the presidency that issued his suspension order.
It may take many months, if not years or even eternity, to arrive at an appropriate answer to that question. The fact is that activities around the president in Nigeria have, for long, been shrouded in secrecy. Like it is obtainable elsewhere, there is always a coterie of influence-wielding people who cluster around the corridors of power and assume the role of de facto presidents all over the place. They could be friends of the incumbent president, his relations, a group of ministers or advisers who constitute themselves into what is called the kitchen cabinet.
Sometimes, these cabals could have the wives and or concubines of the sitting president as their arrow-head. We saw it in Turai the late President Yar’Adua’s wife; the late Stella, wife of former President Olusegun Obasanjo; and quite recently, in Patience, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife, including some primitive and not-too-exposed Ijaw boys and women of easy virtues, who suddenly assumed prominence in the corridors of power under the Jonathan administration.
For Lawal, he was largely known to the public as a very arrogant person. Many times, he was quoted as telling whoever cared to listen that he could have been better off if he was allowed to operate outside the government and corner contracts from all the states of the federation rather than being pigeon-holed in the government office.
As for Oke, those who have come across him, easily credit him as a quite humble, respectful and easy going gentleman. Agreed. But how do you reconcile that with the quantum of money allegedly discovered to have been stashed away in a private house under his watch. Remember, William Shakespeare once said: “There is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face.”
It was learnt that other security agencies got heavy allocations in the rundown to the 2015 elections. What this invariably means is that this money may have been set aside to influence the outcome of the 2015 elections. Therefore, it might just be necessary to widen the scope of the investigation to include other security agencies who might have been used as conduits to ferry out money for rigging the elections.
At any rate, all eyes are now on the Osinbajo-led three-man panel which has been constituted to investigate the allegations levelled against Lawal and Oke. The panel comprising the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo himself, the Attorney General and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, as well as the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd.), has 14 days to summit its report. From the suspended SGF’s question of who the presidency really is, it is left to be seen how the white paper of the probe panel will turn out to be. Maybe by the time the result comes out, Nigerians would have, indeed, found an answer to Lawal’s question.
From the reports making the rounds, it is understood that but for the insistence of Osinbajo on the need to clear the air on these two principal officers, majority of the people in the presidency had suggested that the matter concerning both officers be treated as a security issue. And some of these people might be part of those (if not the people) who would sit with the president and take a decision on the issues.
For a long time, it has become increasingly clear that whereas Buhari is committed to the anti-corruption war which is one of the cardinal programmes of the party in power, the All Progressives’ Congress, APC, it is doubtful if his co-travellers in government are so committed to the anti-corruption war. That is the reason Nigerians are very sceptical about the likely outcome of the panel’s enquiry at the end of the day. God help Nigeria!

April 26, 2017
The Ikoyi cash haul

On December 22, 2016, the federal government launched a policy to expose fraud and other related crimes in public and private sectors. Known as whistle-blowing, the policy allows the whistle-blower to be compensated with a percentage or fraction of between a minimum 2.5% and a maximum of 5.0% of the total money recovered.
The policy appears to be working and working well to the extent that the spate at which otherwise “idle or swindled funds,” are being recovered all over the country in recent times is alarming. At the last count, more than N16 billion in multiple foreign and local currencies, had been recovered through the assistance of whistle-blowers. This humongous amount was recovered from where they were either concealed in innocuous places or hidden in some private accounts.
But by far the greatest haul appears to be the recent recovery of about $43.4 million, N23 million and £27,000 in cash at an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos. When converted using the current Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, rate, the total recovered sum amounts to N13,313,714,000. Now, the money is causing ripples in the polity. A government security agency, the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, has laid claim to the money. Similarly, Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, is also laying claim to the money. The governor’s argument is that the money belongs to Rivers State and may have been ferried out of the state by his predecessor and hidden in the Ikoyi flat in preparation for the 2019 election.
On its part, the NIA is insisting that the money was actually a discreet allocation released to the agency by the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration for major but covert security projects. The agency maintained that the former President approved the funds for the 30-year old secret agency after Olaniyi Oladeji, its immediate past Director-General, alerted him to the need for some “crucial and covert security projects” to be carried out by the agency. The agency also said the funds was released in cash directly from the CBN so as to make its spending completely secret.
The storyline is that when Ayodele Oke, the incumbent Director General of the NIA, was alerted that EFCC operatives had swooped on the apartment in Ikoyi, he rushed to the anti-graft agency’s headquarters in Abuja to advise Ibrahim Magu, the EFCC chairman, to withdraw his men as the funds belonged to government. Magu was said to have declined Oke’s request and instead, directed his men to proceed with the operation. Frustrated, the DG, NIA, later took the matter to the Presidency which is now looking into the matter.
In the meantime, last Thursday, Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court in Lagos, ordered a temporary forfeiture of the money to the government and adjourned further proceedings on the case brought before it by the EFCC to May 5. This is to allow anyone interested or wishing to claim the money or make a case why it should not be permanently forfeited to government.
The questions now are: Why the fanfare about the recovery of this huge sum when the EFCC could have just cordoned off the place and wait for further developments after the NIA’s DG ran to Magu to alert him? How much was the total or initial money collected for the “projects” since what was recovered last week could have been the remnant or balance of the original stockpile?
It is becoming a common practice for our security agencies to embark on the display of money before television cameras each time they stumble on money during their investigations. The other day, it was the police who called a press conference and displayed wads of naira notes as money allegedly recovered from some staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as bribe offering to them during the re-run election in Rivers State. These days, the EFCC seems to have made it part of its investigation to always rush to the public and display huge sums of money as recovered loots.
The practice is that the EFCC will make arrests and the next thing is that the media, particularly the social media, will be awash with stories about the arrests only to discover later that the persons, whose reputations may have been tarnished, are innocent after all. What is easily deducible from this is that the intelligence gathering and intelligence sharing of our security agencies are very poor. Most of the operatives are either not intelligent or as intelligent as expected. That is why, in most cases, the services merely rely on rumours and pass same to the unsuspecting public for consumption.
Again, if I may ask, why do we have the penchant to display money like primitive people in this country? We should be mindful of the effect of this primitive practice on Nigeria and Nigerians both at home and abroad. Otherwise, how do you think the outside world would look at Nigerians when they travel out of the country? How do you want our development partners to feel towards the country, since Nigeria would be viewed as a country that has too much money than is needed? So much money that everybody is stealing left, right and centre.
From the latest development, it is clear that those in government are using security votes to siphon money from our coffers under fictitious sub-heads. This particularly huge sum of money was said to have been taken from the President’s security votes. If that is the case, you can imagine how much is there in the kitty as the President’s security vote that could be spent as his whim and caprice dictate.
Remember the $15 billion arms money seized in South Africa, the Abacha loot which General Ishaya Bamaiyi, has shamelessly said was reserved for arms procurement, and quite recently, the Dasuki arms money that has been a subject of intense criminal investigation all over the place. The worst thing about this so-called security votes is that the president, the governors and the local government chairmen, have been drawing money without any recourse to account for how it is spent.
Since Jonathan approved the money in question, the public may need to know whether the money was meant for the 2015 election as the nation has since uncovered the bizarre money spinning for that election under different sub-heads as in the Dasuki arms-gate. By the way, why would an agency of government warehouse government money in a discreet private house when there are CBN offices in most state capitals?
The NIA was established by Decree 19 of 1986, which also gave birth to the Defence Intelligence Agency, DIA, and the State Security Service, SSS. In addition to that, it derives its powers and functions from the instrument that gave its objective as protection, promotion and enhancement of Nigeria’s policy objectives outside Nigeria.
Its functions include: Obtaining by covert sources or other means, external intelligence on activities of Nigerians or any person, organisation or country outside Nigeria whose conduct is aimed at bringing disrespect to Nigeria and her leaders or undermining the security of Nigeria; Obtaining by covert sources or other means, external Intelligence that is capable of advancing Nigeria’s vital interest; Identifying and assisting in the apprehension of persons outside Nigeria believed to have committed any crime against the security of Nigeria; Monitoring the intentions, activities and foreign country/governments towards Nigeria, among others.
From the above, it could be seen that the NIA operations are largely external in nature. The agency may keep money for its operations, but certainly not such an embarrassing amount of money they cannot easily explain. What projects is the huge amount of money stashed away in Ikoyi meant for? This is a question to which Nigerians need urgent answers, if the agency is not to be taken as another conduit pipe through which our common patrimony is being diverted to private pockets. Nigerians are watching.

April 19, 2017
Unravelling Admiral Ikoli’s death

In the last few years, there has been a frightening upsurge in violent crimes, especially armed robbery, kidnapping and assassination all over the country. This is closely followed by various communal clashes where dangerous weapons have been freely deployed. But while the various communal clashes are simmering down, the violent crime wave especially assassination, has headed for the opposite direction. There is now hardly any Nigerian, living in a town or city, who has not heard of a story of one violent killing or the other.
The number of security agents shot dead while trying to stop these hoodlums is rising dangerously. Recently, Akinwunmi Ambode, the energetic governor of Lagos State, set up a properly equipped and trained neighbourhood watch code-named Neighbourhood Safety Corps in an attempt by his government to arrest the growing trend of violent crimes in the state. In spite of this, the state witnessed yet another bloodbath last Sunday as rampaging militants mowed down four policemen, an army captain and one civilian in one fell swoop during a foiled kidnap operation at Ishawo, in the Ikorodu area of the state.
As we all know, the concept of national security pre-supposes that the highest responsibility of any government is to safeguard and protect the nation, its people and institutions from internal subversion and external aggression. Even more frightening is the proliferation of illegal arms of all kinds. Hence trigger-happy criminals are multiplying; all they need are guns and other instruments of mass destruction and these are readily available to them by the activities of smugglers through our porous and undefended borders.
In recent times, the country has become one vast arms bazaar where anybody can buy virtually any type of handgun and ammunition. No wonder, the spate of violent crimes and unnecessary shedding of the blood of innocent people across the country, has been going on unabated. Therefore, it was not totally surprising when news broke out last week that the Fleet Commander of Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Daniel Ikoli, had been found dead at his Apapa, Lagos residence. Initial confusing reports said that Admiral Ikoli might have shot himself dead in the new era of mounting suicide cases in the country. The Commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS BEECROFT, who was appointed into the presidential committee on the probe of arms deal, was said to have been found in a pool of his blood in his bedroom.
According to a naval aide to the deceased, a boy who lives at his home claimed he heard gunshot from Ikoli’s room and took cover. The aide said: “The boy said he heard gunshot and when he did, he took cover. The bullet hit him on the chest. Three bullets were seen in his room. No one can really tell what happened but the position he was seen suggests he might have been scared of something or someone.”
Chinwe Umar, a Lieutenant Commander and the command’s information officer, said the police have been invited for investigation. In a report she put out shortly after the incident was uncovered, she simply said: “In the early hours of Wednesday, April 5, gunshots were heard in the vicinity where Rear Admiral Teikumo Daniel Ikoli resides in Apapa. When his room was opened, he was found dead. Police have been invited and investigation is ongoing.”
The death of the naval officer who has been described as an exceptionally brilliant, honest and hard working officer, has continued to dominate discussions across the country. Not a few people have expressed total indignation over the manner of his death. While many people are lost over what could have led to his death, the rumour making the rounds is that Ikoli must have committed suicide. First, they said he had been complaining about the high exchange rate prevalent in the country because he has kids in foreign schools. Again, they said he might not have been in a good condition of health as he had recently been rapidly losing weight.
It appears the notion that the officer might have taken his own life cannot hold water. The reason is that his performance at the arms probe panel instituted by the presidency to probe the $15 million arms deal which has seen many top officers in the security services being dragged to various courts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had earned him accolades everywhere. This is because of his honest and uncompromising stand. This, it was reported, resulted in an accelerated promotion he got recently. For such a man with a principled stand on issues, the last thing that can cross his mind is suicide. Or would a man commit suicide just because he was promoted above his course mates?
On the issue of exchange rate, a family source said he only has one child schooling abroad. And in any case, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, recently announced some palliative measures to alleviate the difficulties encountered by Nigerians who have children abroad or want to go for medical vacations. With these measures, the exchange rate of foreign currencies has dropped by at least between N100 and N140 to a dollar thereby bringing the rate to about N360 to a dollar as against the previous N520 to a dollar a few months ago. In this case, why will Ikoli commit suicide because of high exchange rate when the opportunity is there to recall his son to Nigeria to continue his education?
Besides, one of his elder brothers who spoke last week said the issue of sickness and consequently getting lean does not arise. As close as he was to his brother, he said he never mentioned anything about being sick to him. With this revelation, it is clear that those who want to divert attention from the real circumstances surrounding Ikoli’s death may have tried to cook up some cock and bull stories in order to cover up their tracks.
From what has been pieced together, although the story is that the door to Ikoli’s room was found locked from inside at the time the dastardly act was uncovered, there could be other inlets into the room including the ceiling. Also, the position in which he was found is suggestive that he might have been hiding from something or someone. In addition, there were traces of footsteps on the staircase leading to his room. Therefore, the story does not look like a case of suicide because even on the night before, he was said to have attended a get-together party, meaning that he didn’t suffer any depression as being sold to the public.
With the circumstances surrounding his death, both the Naval Intelligence and the Police who are now saddled with the investigation, may not be able to come up with any genuine report on this incident. For instance, the investigators might need to look inwards into the navy to unravel the circumstances of Ikoli’s death. In the case of the Police, they have always been found wanting when it comes to high profile cases like this. My suggestion, therefore, is that the Defence Intelligence Agency, DIA, could be in a better position to investigate this sudden death. This is more so because of the renewed vigour with which the new leadership of DIA under the new Chief of Defence Intelligence, CDI, AVM Ahmed Usman, has been going about its duties.
Ikoli’s case should not be allowed to join the ever-lengthening cases of unresolved murders that have plagued this country. This is because as long as assassins continue to strike without being detected by the security agencies, many more people will continue to resort to assassinations to settle squabbles or silence opposition to their moves. And the society will definitely continue to be the worse for it.

April 12, 2017
Ndume as sacrificial lamb

The relationship between the Presidency and the National Assembly (NASS), has for some time now, been a sort of cat-and-mouse game. The sour relationship dates back to June 2015 when members of the lower and upper houses of NASS went against the laid-down guidelines of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) for the filling of leadership positions in the two houses of the apex legislative body.
Almost two years on, things have never been what they ought to be. While the House of Representatives may have devised a careful method to coast along with the executive, the Senate has always had a running battle with the executive, even though the APC has a slim majority in the upper house. The frosty relationship between the executive and the Senate was more demonstrated by the subsisting court case instituted against Bukola Saraki, the Senate President, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, which has continued since he came into office.
Another case that would have involved the Senate President and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, was dramatically stepped down at the last minute. The case had to do with an alleged forgery of the Senate standing rules which paved the way for the emergence of Saraki and Ekweremadu as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively. In the first instance, Saraki was not the person who was originally pencilled down by the APC as Senate President, while in the case of Ekweremadu, he belongs to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which at that time paraded no fewer than 48 members in the 108-member strong Senate. The election that threw up the duo of Saraki and Ekweremadu is one nightmare that the APC is still trying hard to contend with.
The party hierarchy was dazed. The Nigeria Police Force had to wade in to investigate the veracity of the allegation levelled against both Saraki and Ekweremadu. At a point, it appeared that the police had been able to establish a prima facie case, but at the end of the day, nothing happened. This raised suspicion that official manipulation of the investigation might have occurred. Whatever the case is, it is on record that after all the noise- making, the issue, perhaps, has been consigned to the dustbin of history, never to raise its head again. That is the way we are in Nigeria.
While some of these cases have not been given enough attention probably due to political exigencies, one particular case which has to do with the confirmation of a substantive head for the anti-graft body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has continued to dominate national discourse. At the last count, the Senate had twice turned down Ibrahim Magu, the President’s nominee for the position and current acting head of the EFCC. What is obvious is that while the President believes Magu is the most suitable candidate for the job, some influential members of the Senate, including the Senate President, do not buy this line of argument because of certain vested interests in who becomes the anti-graft czar.
Today, one of the Senators and former majority leader of the upper house, Ali Ndume, has become a scapegoat of the rivalry between the executive and the legislative arm of government. Ndume’s problem started when he spoke his mind to news hunters who besieged him when he visited Aso Rock Villa shortly after Magu was first rejected by the Senate last December. He had publicly declared that the issue of Magu was not yet foreclosed contrary to what the Senate had told the public through its spokesperson. That created some sort of misunderstanding among some of the Senators who publicly condemned Ndume for going against the thinking of the entire Senate.
Soon after, a palace coup was hatched in the Senate. That coup saw Ndume removed as majority leader, paving the way for Senator Ahmad Lawan, who had originally been pencilled down as Senate President before Saraki and his band of coup plotters overturned the apple cart and changed the political configuration of the Senate to the consternation of the APC party hierarchy. In other words, that “original sin” by Saraki and his acolytes is still smouldering and haunting the leadership of the Senate.
The opportunity to hang Ndume finally came a few weeks ago when he (Ndume) brought the attention of the Senate to certain newspaper reports alleging some wrongdoing against Saraki and his Rottweiler, Dino Melaye. It would appear that Ndume was genuinely concerned about the image of the upper chamber in the eyes of the public and so he needed to bring the matter to the Senate’s attention so as to tackle the issue once and for all as well as restore the integrity of the Senate which had suffered some bashing in recent times.
Soon after he laid his report at plenary, the house referred the matter to the ethics and privileges committee with a mandate to investigate the allegations. By the time the committee submitted its report last week, it did not only exonerate both Saraki and Melaye, it went ahead to recommend suspension for Ndume. It was the mitigation by Mathew Uroghide, a Senator representing Edo State on the platform of the PDP that saved Ndume by half of the prescribed 181 sitting-days suspension. It is an irony that it was an opposition Senator that deemed it fit to plead for leniency on behalf of Ndume while his co-travellers in the APC wanted him to serve the maximum punishment for trying to “protect the integrity of the Senate”.
It is obvious that what is playing out in the Senate is the politics of 2019 and Ndume as sacrificial lamb on the chessboard. Now, he has been bruised, battered and his ego deflated. Kashim Shettima, the Governor of Borno State, Ndume’s home state, has since led a high-powered delegation to the leadership of the Senate to appeal to them to temper justice with mercy and reinstate him because, according to Shettima, Ndume’s absence from the Senate will seriously hamper the post-Boko Haram reconstruction work going on in the state.
As it is, Ndume has no option than to tag along. In any case, going to court to challenge the legality or lack of it, of his suspension does not arise. Nobody is sure if the case could be disposed off within the six months the suspension is supposed to last. Even it is disposed off within that time, the Senate might decide to appeal the judgment and that will mean that he cannot get back to the chamber until the final determination of the case. And that could take a long time. So, since he has been humbled, the only option left for him is to lick his wounds and move on. As they say, in politics, nothing is permanent.

April 5, 2017
Almighty Senate

The latest episode in the dramatic sessions of the federal legislative houses, the Senate in particular, involves two needless issues that leave the Senate open to suspicion. Whether it is through tactless attempts at self-preservation or deliberate and shameless misuse of power, it is getting increasingly clear that the senators are unconcerned about the implications of some of their actions. Within a period of 2 weeks, the senators had rejected, for the second time, the tireless Ibrahim Magu’s nomination as substantive head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and, in the same period, created a row over dress code of the Comptroller-General of Customs (CG) Col. Hameed Ali (retd), which has escalated into a national issue.

The CG, on his own part, is wrong on many levels for his sharp and stubborn refusal to don the uniform of the service which he has agreed to head, without coercion, and with benefits customarily enjoyed by anyone occupying the position. But it is regrettable, the manner in which such a small issue has been amplified so much that a suit has been filed in court to “determine whether the Senate can compel the CG to wear uniform”.

One cannot make these things up. In a country still reeling from Boko Haram’s menace, and in a declining economy that has put millions on the brink of penury, the important issues have been set aside in the pursuit of frivolities. In this case, both sides share equal blame for escalating the inconsequential issue; but the Senate, on account of its antecedents, and because of its sheer number against one man, has to be apportioned a greater share of the blame.

The CG was invited to discuss the rationale behind a new policy on payment of import duty on old and new vehicles which may adversely affect Nigerians in these trying times. However, his appearance before the Senate has been dominated by the issue of dressing. And it is still dragging on, especially now that it is in court. No fresh insight into the policy or any indications whether the suspension of the exercise will hold indefinitely or may be lifted. The rumour mill says the President of the Senate is allegedly involved in apparent non-payment of import duty for some cars, and the CG is being humiliated by the Senate, so much that the senators have called for his resignation.

On the question of Magu, the senators seem to have put into practice the phrase that has been repeated over and over in Nigeria that, “when you fight corruption, corruption fights back.” After all the analysis in the media, and by prominent lawyers, that followed the initial rejection of Magu in uncommon fashion based on refuted grounds, including accusations of self-interest by the senators, they have now defied the sensibility of Nigerians in general and rubbished the credibility of their offices by persisting in their rejection of a man with a track record for getting the job done.

The posture of the Senate is already having unintended effects. Because of the senators’ propensity for abuse of office, invitees now do everything in their power to avoid appearing before the Senate. The Senate had invited the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, to address the house in its probe of allegations of mismanagement of funds meant for the rehabilitation of the North-East. The SGF sent a letter last Wednesday declining the invitation based on a suit he filed in court challenging the invitation because he believed the call was in a bid to disparage him. Should the Senate require an appearance by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, at a future date, we already have an inkling what would happen as the Senate has declared him unfit for office along with the CG.

The reason for the utterances and actions of the Senate are not far-fetched. Many senators are ex-governors or ex-office holders at different other levels who have been in the system and have baggage from their previous jobs. Be it old scores to settle, political debts or underhand deals to hide, the baggage slows down the legislative process and affects decision-making on critical matters. Added to that is the arrogance that the office brings, which causes every action or utterance against the better judgment of the ‘almighty’ Senate to be an affront which must be ‘punished’.

In their battle for self-preservation, the Senate does not realise how it has become a circle of misfits who routinely accuse each other of all manner of wrongdoing, from outright crimes, to abuse of office, and even disrespect to each other, while in another breath, attacking other officials in other arms of government for much the same things. It is no wonder that government functionaries view their invitations with disdain as they have proven themselves to be dedicated only to their own self-interest.

Every arm of government is unique in its contributions to the polity and importance for its sustenance. However, the legislature is the only arm of government solely populated by the representatives of the people, chosen by the people to guard their interests. Where there is rot in the Senate or the legislature generally, then the country is in danger, democracy is in danger, and the very existence of the country is at risk.

Particularly disturbing is the cold war between the arms of government, demonstrated through the consistent rejection of Magu, the repeated friction between the AGF and lawmakers, and the allegations of usurpation of powers by the lawmakers against the judiciary that has to entertain any credible suit brought before it. What is shaping up is an erosion of our democracy, and at its root is the arrogance and decadence of the lawmakers. Another disturbing development in recent times is in the activities of the Department of State Security (DSS).

In this gradual slant towards dystopia, and with our lawmakers holding the country to ransom with their inflated egos and exaggerated sense of importance, the future looks bleak. Short of a dissolution of the legislature and replacement by a thoughtful process of elections by the people, who are many times complicit, there seems to be little lee-way for reparation.

The protracted delay based on an unrelated matter is unjustifiable and renders the senators themselves seemingly unfit for office. The Senate should clean its own house before pointing fingers.

March 29, 2017
The Magu ambush

It has the trappings of a soap opera. First, the President sent a letter to the Senate seeking confirmation of Ibrahim Magu as substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). But rather than do the needful, the Senators allowed the letter to gather dust for five months before they decided to hold a screening session.
In what looked like a premeditated action, on the day the nominee first appeared at the Red Chamber, the Senators merely relied on a report submitted to it by the Department of State Services (DSS) and pronounced that Magu was not fit for the office of chairman of the EFCC based on the security report against him. He was neither given an opportunity to defend himself nor was he ever questioned before the DSS wrote the report.
Expectedly, the matter generated intense discourse as concerned citizens cried foul. After an initial lull, the President finally referred the matter to the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) for investigation. The AGF’s office absolved Magu from all the allegations levelled against him by the DSS. Shortly after this, the President went on a prolonged medical vacation and nothing was heard about the matter for some time.
Then suddenly, on Tuesday, March 14, 2017, the Senate fixed the following day, Wednesday, March 15, 2017, for the much-awaited screening session at the Red Chamber. People had thought that with the clean bill of health earlier given to Magu after the AGF’s investigation, it would be a mere walkover for the anti-corruption czar. But they were dead wrong.
On the appointed day, Magu casually and unknowingly walked into a carefully planned ambush engineered by the Senators and the DSS. Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy Senate President, who fired the first salvo, knew exactly where the day’s screening session was headed when he pointedly asked Magu to explain to the Senate how he responded to the corruption allegations earlier levelled against him. He did not stop there. He said the President’s re-nomination letter to the Senate did not clearly state how Magu responded to the issues that convinced the President to re-nominate him.
Thinking that it was child’s play, Magu said he responded in a written statement and that if he knew that it would come up again, he would have come along with the document. Still oblivious of what was to come, Magu said talking about it would fuel acrimony between the two sister government agencies, that is, the EFCC and the DSS. At that point, Bukola Saraki, the Senate President, interjected and made it clear to him that he should answer the questions put to him to the best of his ability. Magu was dazed.
Shortly after this, the chief executioner, Dino Melaye, rose to his feet and let the cat out of the bag. He referred to another letter received from the DSS the previous day, affirming their earlier report on Magu. He took time to read out parts of the letter. Dino raised his voice to deliver the killer-punch in paragraph 14 of the report where the DSS concluded that: “Magu has failed the integrity test and will eventually constitute a liability to the anti-corruption drive of the present administration.”
Pronto, in a voice vote that ensued, the Senators chorused “nay” and that, for the second time, ended Magu’s quest to be confirmed as the substantive chairman of the EFCC.
Like the previous rejection, many Nigerians have condemned the action of the Senators. Already, in the public domain, a number of factors have been raised as likely responsible for the rejection of Magu by the Senate. None of them, however, has anything to do with his competence or his passion to prosecute the anti-corruption war. Almost everything pointed to his uncompromising stance on issues of corruption and the fact that he does not appear to be a man who can be easily swayed.
It has also been exposed that several times some Senators approached him to see if he would play ball in the event of his confirmation, but Magu had clearly told them that the law will always take its course. Since many of the Senators, especially those of them who had been governors and other political office holders in the past, are currently being confronted with various corruption allegations, it would appear that many of them went to the Senate to seek sanctuary from prosecution. Therefore, with the way Magu is going about his anti-corruption crusade, it is becoming increasingly clear to them that there may be no place to hide after all, which was why, many of them were desperate to extract “relief” from Magu before agreeing to his confirmation. With the fast approaching 2019 general elections, the Senators know that his confirmation may mean tougher times for them.
It appears Magu too, has been a bit careless and largely undiplomatic. What stopped him from going to the Red Chamber last Wednesday, with a copy of his response to the allegations raised against him by the DSS? Recall that even with his confirmation still hanging in the balance, Magu also recently opened another Pandora’s Box regarding state governors and the National Assembly members over allegations of embezzlement of the money refunded by the Paris club.
In the first instance, the money was given to the state governors without appropriation and the NASS had pretended that it did not notice this constitutional flaw. Perhaps, as they say, ‘a lot of water had passed underneath the bridge.’ So, naturally, the two groups — the governors and National Assembly members — will join hands to frustrate Magu. And the only way that can happen is to block his confirmation.
It is apparent that Magu did not see early warning signals or he chose to ignore them. While he is said to be close to the National Security Adviser (NSA) who, ordinarily, should have been consulted by the DSS, it is also said that the NSA and DSS boss have no cordial working relationship. Even Magu is said not to be in the good books of the AGF for one reason or another. From what was gathered, the AGF may have absolved Magu of blame just to satisfy the Vice President. He could have also surreptitiously worked against Magu as well.
By and large, the Magu episode does not give the impression that the President is in charge. It is a pity that he has become hostage to the vested interests in the Villa. Now, it is apparent that there exist some fifth columnists in Aso Rock. It is also clear that some highly-placed officials of the administration are not interested in the President’s anti-corruption drive. This is because they are intensely corrupt and their loyalty to the President is just on the face and not in the mind. Therefore, they see a person like Magu, with his uncompromising stance, as a threat to their existence in the corridors of power. It is corruption ferociously fighting back and winning. The earlier the President becomes more assertive, the better for him, his party – the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) – and the country at large.
If Magu eventually leaves, it may sound the death knell for President Buhari’s anti-corruption war, which is the fulcrum of his administration. Obviously, the next man will have to think twice and tread softly to win the “affection” of our corruption-riddled politicians and dubious businessmen. And then, it will be business as usual! God save Nigeria!

March 22, 2017