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Among other things she’s said to have caused $2 billion to be withdrawn from the ECA illegally.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.
