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Mr. President Please Do the Right Thing: Turn over the proceeds of the library launch to the National Universities Commission By Dozie Ikem Ezeife Oakland, California
A lot of controversy has trailed the launching of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s “private” presidential library. I stress the word “private” because it is a critical part of this imbroglio. At this launch, billions of naira was raised. Evidently several individuals and corporations that did and still do business with the Nigerian government were invited and they did donate obscene sums of money. Some members of the board of this project are either public servants that are currently in services or other individuals who are currently doing business with the Nigerian government or one of its several parastatals. It bears mention the fact that the owner of this proposed “private” library is a sitting president.
A lot of prominent Nigerians and a large section of the Press see this event as a veiled extortion. The Nobel Price Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka and Retired Colonel Dangiwa Umar, amongst others have echoed this. Chief Gani Fawehinmi has gone to court on this issue. And rightly so. However, rather than confront the moral, legal and ethical questions raised by this egregious misconduct, the President prefers to keep quiet and instead release his hound dog, Femi Fani-Kayode to snip at the heels of these well-meaning Nigerians. Instead of addressing the legitimate concerns raised by these Nigerians, the President, through his lapdog Femi, chooses to obfuscate and indulge in name-calling.
The issues here are rather basic and simple: Is it legal and/or ethical for a sitting President to initiate a private project and raise funding for it from individuals and corporate entities that make a living through government patronage? Is it legal and/or ethical for persons who are in the employ of the Federal/State or Local Governments to seat on the Board of and actively participate in the raising of funding for this private project? Is it legal for the President to accept a donation of public funds from State Governors? The unequivocal answer to these three questions is: No!
How can the President claim a moral high ground on his war against corruption when he has, intentionally or inadvertently enriched himself by abusing his office. Yes he has because he has co-opted public servants to work for his private project and he has extorted money from individuals and businesses that depend on his government. He accepted N36m from all the State Governors who had no constitutional or legal grounds to funnel public funds to a private business. As far as the “donation” from the State Governors, he is the beneficiary of embezzled funds.
Mr. President has a right to set up a Presidential library. Nobody has any argument with that. But one does not see the sense in embarking on this project while he is still in office. The United States example which Obasanjo’s mouthpiece gleefully cites is an exercise in deceit. The truth is that no sitting United States President has ever launched a Presidential Library. Indeed any US President that dares to do what Obasanjo did would be hounded out of office. Recall that the Agriculture Secretary in the Clinton Administration was forced to quit office simply for accepting a ticket to the Super Bowl. A mere $5,000 ticket! And here we are trying to defend a President who raised billions of Naira (some from public funds) from people who do business with his government. If this is not a clear case of abuse of office, I do not know what is. For the Obasanjo hounds who will soon fall over themselves in mad a rush to attack me for accusing him of abuse of office, Femi Fani-Kayode himself was quoted as saying: “…those who gave money did so because President Obasanjo and the government have created an enabling environment for all these individuals to flourish and make healthy profit. This is perhaps one of their many ways of giving something back in return to the man and the country that have made all these possible for them.”
That was the President’s Man-Friday talking. Talk of hearing from the horse’s mouth. One do not see the justification for Nihu Ribadu prosecuting Professor Osuji, Senator Nwagbara and IGP Tafa Balogun for corrupt practices whilst turning a blind eye to the President’s egregious misconduct. One also wonders why Honorable Ribadu has not filed charges against Governor Attah for embezzling public funds.
The reason while a lot of well-meaning Nigerians are skeptical about Obasanjo’s was on corruption is precisely because of double standards like this. We are quick to rail against the Abacha clan for their father’s kleptomania but the rest of the families of living and dead heads of state whose fathers also stole from Nigeria are quietly enjoying their cache. And we see nothing wrong with that. I do not condone corruption and I am not holding brief for the Abachas. What I do know is that we should be fair and consistent in our actions. No corrupt leader should be above the law and we should not have different rules for the same crime. In fairness to Mr. President, I do not believe he intentionally wanted to enrich himself. He probably meant well. However good hearted his intention is, it was a monumental mistake. What he ought to have done and what he must still do, is apologize to the nation for his mistake and turn over the proceeds of that fundraiser to the Universities Commission for use in acquiring books for all the Universities in the country. That is the only way he can free himself of this moral albatross around his neck.
Dozie Ikem Ezeife Oakland, California
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