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Prof. Osuji as the Smokescreen By Pius Isume
And the endless charade goes on! Just when Nigerians were closing in on the fraud called Obasanjo, a situation made ever more glaring in his mindless handling and sinister double speak on morality regarding the Anambra issue, he conveniently borrowed a leaf from his man-Friday Babangida and got the nation occupied with a divisive and illegal talk-show as though the nation has not had enough of the Jerry Springler absurdity on our air time. And talk they did!
For two weeks, pumping of hands and getting to grips with the president’s inaugural opening speech to kick-start the talk-show were all that the participants thought wise to engage in not to talk of the occasional snoring during sessions. Soon the voices began to rise and people began questioning the legality or otherwise of the decisions reached at the end of the talk-show when a reality show like the “national assembly watch” was ongoing on another channel and at the same time. Trouble was being stirred and during the advertorial interlude in the talk show, someone reminded Obasanjo that soon the participants would come to terms with the fraud of the whole show. Soon they will realize that like previous Wrestlemania pundits, the end results were already known to the organizers of the wrestling matches save the enthusiastic viewers. Soon, and in between the need for a referendum and open or close areas for discussion, lay an agenda that could make all heated fights at the forum go the way of others before it, bursting the bubble as fast as the show began. What to do?
Corruption! This persistent index of how low our country has become in the international community was whispered in his ears and suggested to be given a spotlight while viewers wait on the commencement of the talk-show after the advertorials ended. And pronto, he turned to his wise counsels and they pointed their fingers towards the most vulnerable, dispensable people to be sacrificed and Baba beamed a wry smile of approval. Prof. Osuji a stranger to the political terrain who dared step in to reform the educational sector by ending strikes in the universities and maintaining a steady university flow for close to 2 years now, was mentioned amongst other ministers, most of whom where neck and shoulder deep in the norm called corruption in the country as well. A man who barely got the job because “Crazy Senators” would not clear his trusted nominee, the previous Minister Dr. Babalola Borishade who was ready to ensure that students stayed at home for 2 years or lecturers get the sack for going on strike for as far as Obasanjo’s ego was satisfied!
And trust Baba to rise to the occasion! With guns blaring and mouth shooting, he announced to a people he has shown no compassion for, the apprehension of some thieves in high places and of course topmost on that list were the nations 3rd officer and a most vulnerable one for that matter – Senator Wabara and the very likeable but political naïve Minister of Education Prof. Osuji who apparently might just have committed his first crime in life and did not learn the works on how to escape conviction even when caught pants down! The applause was immense as Baba OBJ apparently basked in the moment of his glory! The advisers were themselves pumping themselves for a job neatly executed because it is a win-win for them. Their game plan of prolonging the talk-show has now been won without effort. The torrents from the tidal wave that is the exposure should take some time to settle for calm to return to the polity called Nigeria. A new Senate President would be appointed, new dispensable Ministers highlighted and exposed without a fair trial and sacked with immediate effect, Senators connected to their own case announced to the world without the much advertised due process followed in regard to their rights of plea for innocence until found guilty.
That is after all the Nigerian way and the hulks with their commander in chief Obasanjo in full collaboration knows this and they continue to run the country as their spur determined and not in line with any legality, constitutionality or otherwise. Another sad tale in this misnomer called Nigeria!
It really is sad that in Nigeria, people applaud the President for sacking a Minister over N55million, a crime in itself but fail to wonder why the same man could not go on air to announce the crime committed by his electoral crimes buddy Inspector Balogun when that case mentioned was for a mind killing N4billion Naira! Yet the “Anti corruption” President “seriously dealt” with Balogun by retiring him and not sacking him!
What may I ask did the crusader president do when he knew for more than 1 year the details of his In-law Uba’s treasonable crimes in Anambra and suggested to a shocked nation that the “young man spent his resources in helping the party win (?) elections in Anambra” thereby insinuating that the man should have been gratified with tax payers money in Anambra during a TV session leading to Audu Ogbeh’s letter to him effectively exposing his complicity. If that is not corruption I just wonder who wrote the dictionaries we all use. Again I remember a certain El-Rufai who said he was asked to produce N54million Naira by the crusaders main men at the senate, Deputy Senate President Mantu and Jonathan Zwingina for his appointment to be guaranteed and as at today no one heard of investigation or conviction for this men because they are not politically expendable in the Presidents’ eyes since they were needed as part of his plans for the total annihilation (sic) of every arm of government. They were after all, the Presidents eyes at the Senate and above EFCC witch-hunting glaze.
The talk show that is ongoing, did not get votes from the national assembly but yet it is still been funded from where and by whom no detail to Nigerians is deemed necessary and nobody thinks that is corruption! We all know how money was displayed to the full glare of the nation during Na’aba’s tenure as speaker to influence the house to impeach principal officers and no mention till date of where those monies came from even when principal officers from the executive arm of government where fingered as been the sources. That too is not corruption. I remember vividly when a certain Vincent Azie then Auditor General of the Federation made some damning revelations indicting government of serious financial abuse sometime in February 2003, he got sacked and replaced with immediate effect and the issue never mentioned again.
The electoral act fraud is not corruption, ID card scam is not corruption, OBJ running a farm while still in office is not corruption, telling the nation to our bemused faces how he intended to “join the cue” or rather “beat the cue” as the case may be in setting up a university while still serving as the president is not corruption and till date I am still waiting for the updated version of corruption from Aso Rock to include in my silly poor dictionary at home. Even his own election in his state and by extension Nigeria was called a fraud by the Appeal Court and consequently cancelled. In civilized countries, the end would not have been heard of that case as the way electoral votes were apportioned to swell his electoral fortunes would have been investigated and he sure can not claim negligence to how it all happened in his favour.
Sometimes I really do feel sorry for my Ibo friends when they cry “marginalization” because this attitude has continued to reoccur with this government. This is more so when one looks at the endless list of the people left to “hang and dry”. Evans Ewerem, the late Okadigbo, former Senate President Anyim (who never slept well during the last days of his tenure for daring to go into alliance with the then Speaker Na’aba), Wabara (who incidentally I have no pity for going by the way he got into the senate himself) and even the old man Ekwueme amongst others including the former Auditor General Azie. Compare to the Late Sunday Afolabi, Tafa Balogun and Omisore, who were heavily indicted for large scale fraud, people might start giving meaning to the conspiracy theory and that does not spell well for the country he seeks to play a Zik of Africa in his pretence of being nationalistic.
Truth is Obasanjo is dishonest and selective in his fight against corruption and knows the fallible and dispensable people around government to expose. Governor Dariye is convenient for him to use as a fall guy with his money laundering allegation but I still wonder why he has not queried the source of the numerous public donations his friend the Governor of Rivers State Odili gives at every opportunity either to his party or friends alike? What legacy is he living behind when he carefully picks who has amassed enough ill gotten wealth and judges the need to reveal corrupt people on several factors other than natural distaste for corruption and transparency instead of his chosen option of vendetta and opportunistic gains to mask his high handedness in governance and dismal failure to deliver on electoral promises? Why does he pursue the Abacha family with gusto but gets cold feet in mentioning the crimes of his buddy Babangida and dares anyone to mention the facts which Gani Fawehinmi has already provided at the Oputa panel?
It really is a sad time for this country. The level of corruption is endemic and I normally would be in the forefront of the applause in a crusade of this nature but coming from him, this fight is a mere smokescreen which will whither off as soon as he achieves the goals he has set for himself at the national talk-show. My heart goes to Prof. Osuji for making himself the smokescreen and I hope the many lightweight political neophytes caught in the web of this government learn that theirs is just a borrowed time and the next N1,000 they give a policeman would soon become spotlight for public discuss while the jet age thieves still in government are sitting over their judgment and clinking glasses over the next deal to be brokered with or without the Obasanjo’s knowledge because they know they are the “untouchables” and Obasanjo has no guts to take them head on. That unfortunately is the story of Nigeria – the million dollar thieves as judges and the naira thieves as convicts and a President who tells us that the morality between 2 thieves Uba and Ngige is to hang the lesser thief Ngige while the bigger thief Uba who revealed the stealing process to him be exonerated of any crime and in fact become a star witness with immunity from prosecution in the conviction trial of the lesser thief (after all the lesser thief has no chance of escaping punishment where Obasanjo is already convinced)!!!
Pius Isume Seoul, South Korea
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