MONDAY QUARTERBACKING

I am beginning to get a little bit ticked off about official “committees” reaction to corruption in Nigeria, just a little bit. I don’t mean President Obasanjo’s reaction to corruption – he seems to be making the right noises, with all those 16 anonymous people dragged before Akanbi’s Anti-Corruption tribunal, even though I can’t even name more than 5 people. I mean lesser beings than himself in this civilian administration.

JERRY GANA’S BROWN ENVELOPES

Take first the issue of brown envelopes, about which I wrote recently, in a piece in which I asked several yet-to-be-answered questions. Information Minister Jerry Gana, on February 8, 2002, tucked in some crisp N50,000-laden “brown envelopes” into the lunch box of about 20 foreign journalists - to cover their travel expenses to a “beration” session in Abuja - only for a few of them to return the money and a few others yet to say what they did with the money. We would not have known about it – except for “tell-tale” Time magazine reporter Stephen Faris.

Well, I just can’t imagine AFP and CNN and Time Magazine and Newsweek Magazine, etc. – whose annual budgets are more than that of Nigeria – not being able to pay the way of their journalists from Lagos to Abuja. Yet our country – with our president running all over the place for debt relief – is able to shell out a cool N1-million-plus to invite 24 journalists to a beration session at N50,000 each?

However, to make matters worse, following a quick investigation, Justice Minister Kanu Agabi came out fuming, accusing Stephen Faris of lies and blackmail, and promising jail-time for the next journalist who does what Faris did: tell “the whole truth” about those brown envelopes!

Agabi’s alibi? That all major organizations – he even mentioned some of them: UN, USIS, etc. - give money to journalists all the time to be covered! Everyone does it – so we do it too!

The Federal Government yesterday announced that The Nigeria Police has been directed to commence prosecution of the Time (International) magazine reporter, Stephen Faris, for publishing "false" report alleging bribery scandal in Nigeria.

The magazine had in its April 15 edition carried a story entitled "The whole truth" alleging that foreign journalists who met with the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Professor Jerry Gana, on February 8, 2002 were offered bribe of $400 each so that they could oblige the country with less negative reports.

The report prompted President Olusegun Obasanjo to set up an investigation panel, whose report was submitted to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting yesterday.

Announcing the committee's findings, Justice Minister, Mr. Kanu Agabi (SAN), said the entire magazine report was false, and targeted at damaging the nation's image at the global level.

"What Stephen Faris (Time magazine reporter) described as the "whole truth" should more appropriately have been described as the whole lie," he declared, adding that the panel also discovered that Mr. Faris was not at the meeting held with foreign journalists, and neither was he in the country.

Mr. Kanu Agabi said government has decided to prosecute the reporter, adding that henceforth any foreign journalist that reported falsehood about Nigeria would not be allowed to escape justice.

The justice minister explained that it was clearly stated in the letters of invitation for the interactive session with Prof. Gana that their travel hotel accommodation and other incidental expenses would be fully refunded and that all, but two of the 24 journalists invited, took the refunds.

"This was announced severally at the session and during lunch. If the intention was to bribe journalists it is inconceivable that it would be made so open," he asserted.

The minister, who was flanked by Prof. Gana, said the aim of the session was not to influence foreign journalists but to reprimand them about misrepresenting events happening in Nigeria sequel to the CNN report that Nigerians are itching for military rule.

He disclosed that out of the 24 foreign journalists that attended the interactive session and given the N50,000 only one person returned the money, while two declined the money on the grounds that they were in Abuja for another assignment.

"The implication is that the majority of the journalists accepted the propriety of the reimbursement of their expenses by the ministry," he said.

He expressed concern that some people are earning their living through offering false information about Nigeria, and warned that government can no longer take such situation kindly.

The report presented by the Special Committee set up by President Obasanjo on the bribery allegation absolved Prof. Gana from any blame, stressing that, "it is usual for most international organizations to provide honorarium for invited journalists to cover expenses. This is the practice of the USIS, UN Agencies and international media organisations."

Ehn, is that so? We learnt – gleefully, courtesy Agabi/Gana - that that Jeff Koinage of CNN – one of the culprits that caused the beration session to be called - took the money and has not returned it. Any comments, CNN.com?

Anyway, inquiring minds wanted to know, so I went asking some foreign journalists that I knew during the Abacha days. Actually, one of them (name with-held, in imitation of Nigerian journalists! -) ) gave pretty damning information via email to my AOL address:

Dear Dr Aluko

Just a brief note to say how much I enjoy your contributions [on Nigerian affairs on the Internet.] As for this brown envelope affair brought to light by the recent piece in Time magazine, I am sure there are a lot of overlapping agendas; I, for one, am curious to know why it was not until late April before something that happened in February surfaced in print. Did those present see the envelopes as no more than a misguided effort to facilitate correspondents' travel arrangements, not worthy of comment? Or did they know what was afoot, choosing to hand back the envelopes and cause no fuss because they wanted no trouble from a government already unhappy with foreign journalists? …….

[About your inquiry whether international organizations do indeed pay journalists’ fare…] it's an interesting point. The ministers are talking rubbish. At least as far as the international media goes, the UN, EU etc would never reimburse journalists' expenses of any kind. At [the foreign media organizations that I have worked for], it was made pretty clear to me to accept no gifts/payments in kind/honorariums or any such kind from governments, companies or individuals, be it Africa or elsewhere. The most a UN agency or government might have offered would be a facility trip: for example, the UN inviting journalists to travel with an aid convoy or on aid flight to a remote part of, say, Angola. Journalists who travel with, say, Bill Clinton or Tony Blair on a tour of Africa might be offered a seat on a plane and help with making hotel bookings, but would pay for the privilege.

I have reported from two dozen countries in Africa and from Nigeria under four governments; I was frequently summoned to dull and pointless meetings with officials and was never once offered a brown envelope of any description - even Abacha's people (and I know the honourable minister then was one of them) would never have bothered. If any journalist did not return the minister's envelope, I would expect them now to be under severe sanction, or possibly dismissal, by their employers.

As I say, I was not there, so quite what Mr Gana was up to I do not know. I cannot really believe it was a serious inducement - journalism is not the most lucrative profession, but equally, I would be surprised if there were many hacks working for international news outfits so hard up for cash that they would need to take $400. Gana has been at best foolish; but then, he should never have had a job in government anyway.

Wow! There you have it: from a foreign journalist! I discovered his note to me in my mail-box, and I am sharing it with the world – that the world may know!

THE GOVERNOR’S POTOMAC HOME

The other thing that is getting me steaming is “L’affaire Kogi” – by which I mean Governor Abubakar Audu’s purchase of a house not too far from me here in Maryland, USA: 12301 Glen Road, Potomac, MD, 20854-1022, USA to be exact.

I have been following the news now and again, sometimes saying “What is the big deal? So many of these Nigerian officials have houses here anyway!”

Should I start naming names? Nah! Jealousy and envy are too common fare among us Nigerians, ojare!

However, I have been an advocate of asset declaration as a way of checking corruption in our blessed country. Then I heard recently that some people, at the beginning of their office, declared assets that they did not have so that they could acquire in office those same assets – some kind of forward planning of corruption – and my heart sank.

Only in Nigeria would they think of such “crookery”, as Prof. Wole Soyinka once described it!

So imagine how pricked my ears were when the Kogi Governor was quoted as saying that he had DECLARED the Potomac asset on his form in 1999.

Third transfer of house: 03/15/2001 Price: $1,719,954 Seller: Par Development LC

That simple. If you want, you can check on my information too: absolutely nothing to hide. Montgomery. Perrywood. Voila!

Anyway, my position has always been: if Governor Abubakar was trying to hide something, would he have used his name? After all, house purchases in the US are largely open affairs. In any case, we would soon see the assets declaration form, would we not?

Vanguard
Sunday News

Audu gets House's clean bill over foreign property

Sunday, 28th April, 2002

By ADE BADA

KOGI State House of Assembly has dismissed Senators Tunde Ogbeha and A. T. Ahmed's petition against Governor Abubakar Audu over alleged fraudulent acquisition of foreign properties for lack of solid evidence of corruption against him.

"And having found that both the petition and the publications neither alleged fraud nor corrupt enrichment and in view of the fact that no evidence was proffered in proof of the purchases as being linked to corruption beyond the newspaper publications, we find no merit in the petition and dismiss same," the adhoc committee which investigated the matter stated in its report.

Accepting the report of the committee, the house in a resolution supported by 18 members adopted the report which gave the governor a clean bill of health.

The governor was said to have purchased a house at the new colonial villa on Glen Road, Potomac, Maryland, USA at a cost of $1,719,954.00 (232,193,790) and another at 25, Bishop Avenue, Hempstead, London at a cost of $4m (N656m).

Responding to the allegation, the legislature set up an eight man adhoc committee to look into the matter with a view to determining;

* When were these properties bought and at what cost?

* Whether these properties were declared with the Code of Conduct Bureau or not.

* Whether the loan being solicited by governor Audu through his economic mission abroad were used to purchase these houses?

Consequently, the committee which was given one week to submit its report took both oral and written evidences from the petitioners, the governor, the editor of Sunday Times, the Director, Code of Conduct
Bureau, Lokoja as well as the chairman of the agency in Abuja.

But, the committee at the end of almost two weeks sitting declared that the work of the committee was constrained due to lack of access to the governor's asset declaration form with the Code of Conduct
Bureau.

The Bureau had in a letter dated 24th April, 2002 and signed by one Mrs. A. F. Kolawole and addressed to the speaker noted:

"Please be informed that in line with section 3 © part 1 of the Constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria, the Bureau would not be disposed to releasing/disclosing any information contained in the
completed assets declaration form of Governor A. Audu since the National Assembly is yet to prescribe any such condition.

Chairman of the committee, Sani Atai Igonoh, frowned at the inability of the National Assembly to prescribe an enabling law for the procurement of such information from the CCB.

According to him, even though the editor of Sunday Times maintained his stand on the stories, the CCB would have helped to clarify grey areas.

Meanwhile, Sunday Vanguard learnt that the Governor has filed a N500 million suit against Sunday Times for damages allegedly suffered through its publications.

UNQUOTE

What? This is getting rather annoying: Which kind of "clean bill of unhealthiness" is this? It certainly looks as if some dirty Naira bills changed hands here!

How can Governor Abubakar Audu be given " a clean bill of health" when the very assets declaration which forms the center of his defence - that he bought a house in 1999 when the open records
indicate that the house was built in 2000 and bought by the governor in March 2001 - cannot be ascertained?

How come the Governor himself cannot release his own asset declaration form? Is that self-declaration "banned" by the Constitution - or the National Assembly too? Or has he lost his own asset declaration
form?

Or his dog ate it?

Personally, methinks that the Governor should just make a clean breast of the whole thing. If I were he, I would. After all, he is protected by Section 308, being one of Nigeria’s 74 “Untouchables.” Knowing the governor and actually liking him primarily because of his love for education - although I would not like him have named that state university after myself, or created so many more local government councils when the existing ones are barely surviving - he probably has a good explanation for all of this rope-a-dope, this weaving and bobbing, this shadow-boxing, about this Potomac affair.

Finally, president Obasanjo’s official corruption crusade is a (cruel) joke if there is no public access to asset declaration forms of public officials UPON assumption of office AND annually! Let us demand that clear legislation NOW!

And finally, there should be simple “Smell Tests” in public affairs: if you are doing something secretly, it is probably wrong! Furthermore, Brothers Aremu Obasanjo, Jerry Gana and Kanu Agabi (all confessing Christians by the way) could always apply the simple WWJD Christian test: “What Would Jesus Do”?

Bolaji Aluko
Scratching and shaking his head
At the ongoing official "boldface"
With respect to corruption in Nigeria.
If we are serious, let us be serious.

If we are not, then say so.

The Federal Government has asked the American Cable News Network (CNN) to withdraw its correspondent from the country over perceived bias in his reportage on Nigeria.

The federal government yesterday protested against foreign media coverage of recent unrest in Nigeria, describing it as "unbalanced, sensational and inciting."