Obasanjo’s ogbologbo
solution to fight corruption By Muhammad Ajah
For
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to succeed in
its fight against corruption, it should carry out thorough
investigations of corruption cases and also hire the services of
‘ogbologbo’ lawyers. An ‘ogbologbo’, is a Yoruba word which means
‘seasoned and experienced person. These were the submissions of the
former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, when he hosted
journalists at his hilltop residence in Abeokuta.
Those who know the former President very well can attest to his
self-styled bluntness in propagating staged melodramatic episodes
that last longer in mind than its reality. It is an undiluted truth
that as a man who has rigmaroled the corridors of power in Nigeria,
he knows and understands very well the piece of land called Nigeria.
Obasanjo has remained strong in the nation’s politics, moving
majestically anywhere he thinks of, watching the rots he assisted in
creating and dishing out piecemeal desiccated solutions whenever he
feels attention would be engendered. He is always a major of the
dramatis personae in the shows he often dedicates to his
enthusiastic followers. In short, he would have won many awards as
the protagonist of his own didactic verbiages.
He
was a president, like Buhari, who came to power when all eyes:
global, regional, national and local, were on Nigeria. He would have
been, if he cared, the Mandela of Nigeria, coming into power at the
right time when democracy was practically reborn in the country. In
the dire quest to strike a deal for rotational presidency, he was
drafted in from near absence. The land was fertile for him to till
and feed, grow and sustain the Nigerian people. And he did his best.
No sincere compatriot can query his efforts. He could not have done
otherwise because having been left with only about 20,000 naira
after having tasted grandeur and freedom in the military, the
Nigerian commonwealth was too much for him to control. And he did
what he could do and managed to hand over to an unstable Umaru.
Before then, he was able to mortgage national assets, sold some to
loyalists and acquired others by proxy. But only few doubt the
sincerity of Obasanjo in tying Nigerians together, including the
Igbo whom he love with approximate authenticity.
Sometimes people do not take him serious because he prefers the Ali
Baba to the Hollywood. But he is such a simple man who can engage
you in absurdities even while delivering scholarly written official
speech. I used the word ‘simple’ because as a man who later became a
student of theology, he had realized that the world was too harsh to
follow it harshly. If one must succeed, it is risky to rush except
if it entailed conversion of commonwealth to private warehouses and
for personal aggrandizement. Why not, after all Nigerians were,
during his eight year lordship, the happiest people on earth,
suffering all sorts of pandemic, lack, international humiliation and
sluggishness.
A
recall to the past shows that Obasanjo was a man favoured by God and
Nigerians from all angles. He was handed power on the platter of
gold after decades of military (mis)handling of the nation’s
commonwealth. Before the year 1999, Nigeria was reckoned amongst
failed states because of the successive military juntas. By 1999, he
was made the president and he toured many countries before he was
sworn-in. I was lucky he addressed us as students in Egypt and
appealed to us to come back home after studies to join hands in
developing Nigeria.
By
implication, that opportunity of heading a new era under a democracy
required not sophisticated efforts to make a difference. But
Obasanjo gradually revealed the (mis)conception that he was a
Nigerian to the core, with the penchant to pleasure, unabated
freedom and relative preferences. Corruption of the highest order
continued, political gangsterism flourished and poverty was
wonderfully reactivated. And so the eight years passed without
fixing anything tangible in the key sectors: education, power,
health, infrastructures and social amenities. However, I must
recognize one area that was sacrosanct – the unity of Nigeria.
So,
Obasanjo’s comments on corruption often receive stiff criticisms.
Obasanjo claims not to be satisfied with the way President Buhari’s
EFCC is fighting corruption and losing cases. For him, corruption
cases are lost for a number of reasons prominent of which was
engagement of outside lawyers and not the ‘ogbologbo' lawyers inside
the circle. Secondly, investigations are not thorough. Thirdly, the
judges have displayed lack of commitment. There must be the
Salamigate methodology to succeed. “So it is a chain: investigation,
prosecution and the judiciary. If there is weakness along this line,
chances are that corruption cases will continue to be lost”, he
said.
“If
I am a lawyer,” he averred, and I want the opponent to win a case,
what I will file will be `wishy-washy. And if I file a `wishy-washy’
case, the opponent will see the loophole and he will get out of it.
I believe that it is important.”
Obasanjo accused church leaders of corruption at a lecture of
Victory Life Bible Church International while speaking in Abeokuta
on the theme, “The Role of the Church in the fight against
corruption in Nigeria”. In a swift reaction, Governor Ayodele Fayose
of Ekiti state described Obasanjo’s administration as the most
corrupt in Nigeria. The special assistant to the governor on public
communication and new media, Lere Olayinka, advised Obasanjo to
desist from accusing people of corruption in Nigeria. Fayose faulted
the claim that some church leaders in the country were encouraging
corruption politicians and also celebrating people with questionable
source of wealth.
Fayose queried how Obasanjo got his large wealth despite he was a
pauper before he became president. He wondered how Obasanjo, under
whose tenure, Nigeria witnessed the Haliburton scandal could be
sermonizing about corruption. “Isn’t compelling state governors to
make donations to the personal project of a serving president part
of corruption’, he queried further.
Fayose claimed that Obasanjo was the father of corruption in the
present day Nigeria, through the introduction of ‘Ghana-must-go’
politics, saying that it was under his administration that sacks of
money were displayed on the floor of the House of Representatives as
bribe money given to some Reps members to impeach the then Speaker,
Ghali N’abba. The third term saga, amongst others, also threw up
integrity question on the part of the former president whose
influence in Nigerian politics cannot be undermined anyway.
Muhammad Ajah is an advocate of humanity, peace and good governance in Abuja |