Coming into office after the exit of one Goodluck, President Buhari surely needs real good luck for the coming battle, as he must scale over five notorious obstacles. These are blackmail, the judiciary, the EFCC/prosecution, Nigerian lawyers and bank chief executives. Judging from past experiences, Buhari’s task is monumental.
In a normal society, the battle so far against looting of public treasury in Nigeria would have been subdued but for obstacles chief of which is blackmail. Even before Buhari took office after his election victory, that blackmail was already on display. For some unknown reasons, outgoing President Jonathan expressed premonition that his lieutenants would be probed by the incoming administration. Jonathan’s sympathisers joined the blackmail by demanding that if public office holders in Jonathan’s administration and, perhaps, Jonathan himself were to be probed, then such probe must be extended beyond Obasanjo’s second coming in 1999.
Yet, such blackmail will not hold. Since Obasanjo in 1999, governments in Nigeria (federal or state) had not only probed predecessors but had also been probed invariably by successors, Jonathan’s administration not excluded. Obasanjo probed everybody before him, including a deceased General Sani Abacha who, up till (this) time of writing, has since ben intermittently subjected to claims of being made to forfeit seized public funds. Therefore, apart from blackmail, which other probe is Buhari expected to institute beyond Obasanjo’s administration?
What is more, while still in office, Obasanjo was claimed by (the then) EFCC chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, to have been probed except that when grapes turned sour, the same Ribadu, within years, gave different versions of his findings. While still in office, Obasanjo was cleared by Nuhu Ribadu of any abuse of office only for the same Ribadu to condemn Obasanjo (after office) for allegedly being more corrupt than General Abacha.
After Obasanjo left office, he was impliedly probed by his successor, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. Nigerians knew of that probe only when an ex-minister (under Obasanjo), Oby Ezekwesili, as Vice President of World Bank, visited President Yar’Adua at Aso Rock and complained that Yar’Adua’s administration was reversing Obasanjo’s policies. Yar’Adua dismissed the allegation and instead, claimed that Obasanjo spent sixteen billion dollars on power projects “… With nothing to show for it.”
President Jonathan himself on assuming office, embarked on leakages of alleged looting of public funds by a trumpeted “cabal,” euphemism so undisguised beyond Yar’Adua’s officials and family members. Curiously, Jonathan never extended his probe beyond Yar’Adua and specifically, never extended his probe at that stage to Obasanjo’s administration. How then could Buhari extend any probe to Obasanjo’s years let alone farther than that? It took Obasanjo’s unfavourable report on Jonathan’s administration to make him (Jonathan) respond with a red signal to Obasanjo that the Halliburton bribe scandal was under intense investigation.
That red signal halted Obasanjo’s aggressive tactics. But then, the same President Jonathan probed and pursued former Delta State governor, James Ibori, for unsuccessful prosecution in Nigeria. From Dubai, Ibori was extradited to Britain where he is currently serving jail term for alleged theft of (Nigerian) public funds. Jonathan also probed or, at least, pursued former Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki, who survived him and is currently Senate President. Jonathan further probed ex-Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, and ex-Adamawa State governor. The two of them are currently facing trial for alleged theft of public funds and money laundering.
Not left out of probe and prosecution by former President Jonathan was ex-Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, who was tried by Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) but was found not guilty and discharged.
Despite all these facts that from Obasanjo’s second coming in 1999, governments had always probed and had always been probed, it is clear that there is nothing peculiar to ex-officials in Jonathan’s administration being probed. He probed and prosecuted others. Yet, President Buhari must develop thick skin for the trials of looters of public treasury.
The next frustration Buhari may face will come from those to investigate and prosecute. EFCC? Nobody would be impressed by the present gra-gra of the agency. In the past, those aggressively pursued, interrogated and prosecuted by EFCC were only those known opponents of President Jonathan like serving commissioners under governor Rotimi Amaechi and others mentioned above.
Otherwise, the same EFCC would either look the other way or soften any prosecution in progress as long as the accused were known sympathisers of the defunct administration. Buhari will particularly be frustrated (in his efforts) with half-hearted prosecution after the initial wise-making on the arrests and the ridiculous anything from fifty-count charge upwards.
There will be poor prosecutors either through professional incompetence or collusion with defendant. In the process, ex-ministers and former governors hitherto known to have stolen billions of dollars wee allowed to escape stipulated punishment. Those who should be in prison are lurking around, waiting another opportunity to loot again.
When EFCC does a poor job, the agency deceives the public with a seeming dissatisfaction an offer of appeal. The agency, in such situation, has never won any appeal to reverse any judgment of a lower court. Why should the prosecution approach a trial with two conflicting laws? Allowing a criminal on trial for the theft of billions of naira to be convicted with a fine of less than one million (yes, one million) naira. Yet, EFCC would number such ridicule as one of the convictions obtained?
That is one frustration President Buhari will encounter in his war against graft. Standard of prosecution is the key to obtaining genuine conviction of these criminals. Buhari’s experience in his series of election petitions should give him the dirty picture of the situation on the bench.
In his coming war on graft, President Buhari must prepare for the frustration to be caused by lawyers substantial number of whom have been exposed as agents of corruption among judges handling trials of governors and ministers whose tenure ended in 2007. Lawyers hide under their professional calling suspects/accused, to frustrate trials. In most cases, lawyers serve as conduit pipes for bribing judges.
Admittedly, when such judges wee exposed in the past, they were dismissed or retired. Should that be the mere punishment? That is why President Buhari will be traumatised by the next set of corrupt judges assigned cases of corruption and or theft of public funds involving public office holders. Shouldn’t corrupt judges have been prosecuted instead of merely retiring or dismissing them? Meanwhile, such judges involved were allowed to keep their corrupt proceeds.
The lawyers (accomplices) were not even touched. Such lawyers should also have been prosecuted for their professional and criminal misconduct. Without lawyers as middlemen to render judges corrupt, the bench would be sanitised. Judges must not be allowed to keep their unlawfully acquired wealth. Only then would the necessary atmosphere have been created by President Buhari for his war on corruption or he would discover to his chagrin how much the criminals and their accomplices – lawyers, judges and prosecutors – could go in frustrating his war on corruption.
When all attention is focused on looting of public funds, as the major form of corruption in Nigeria, the impression is wrongly created that it is all integrity in the private sector or looting of funds in the private sector, specifically banks, is tolerable.
Whereas, criminal bank chief executives are allowed to disgustingly parade all over the place as financial wizards, the crimes of these looters in the financial sector – banks and stock shares – have sent not a few innocent victims to their graves rather untimely.
These bank executives were direct accomplices of looting of funds in the public and private sectors. How did it happen that whatever billions of naira stolen in government or banks was transferred abroad?
President Buhari’s war on corruption will hardly succeed without descending on bank chief executives. Their counterparts in other parts of the world are ever instantly prosecuted and jailed within months after their arrest. But in Nigeria, their shameful acts are turned into carnival of glory in which their trials (if at all) are prolonged into years, to frustrate the observing public in preparation for the charade called trials after which the criminals are set free.
Again, thanks to the agents of corruption – lawyers and judges. They are the sources of frustration ,awaiting President Buhari in his war against corruption.
DURO ONABULE
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