The
Wabaras: Felicia & Senator Adolphous Wabara; Suddenly Rich?
By
Paul I. Adujie
Lawcareer@msn.com
New York, United States
Felicia Wabara, the wife of the former Nigerian Senate President,
Senator Aldolphous Wabara, purchased a house in New York a few months
ago for one million dollars cash! This was reported two months ago by
Sowore Omoyele and Jonathan Elendu both of
www.ElenduReports.com
It was widely reported at the time, that the purchase by Mrs. Wabara had
no mortgage installments or some sorts of regular bank payments involved
in said property in New York, United States. These revelations were
first made by Messrs Sowore Omoyele and Jonathan Elendu, both of
ElenduReports.com months ago and since then, the public focus has
seemingly shifted to President Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku’s
squabble, the Dukubo gangsters and other matters. The Wabaras
controversy has seeped into oblivion, as it has hardly received a
mention in the Nigerian media!
Unearthing the sudden wealth between Mrs. Felicia Wabara and Senator
Wabara is important for several reasons they lived here in New York
before moving to Nigeria where Mr. Wabara became a senator, in the
Nigerian senate and at some point, the chairperson of senate
subcommittee on Police Affairs, this is the committee that was supposed
to act as an oversight and supervise, Nigeria Police that produced Tafa
Balogun the disgraced corruption laden billionaire former Inspector
General of Police. Some National Assembly members surely need to chat
with the EFCC, in this instance, we may also recall that Senator Wabara
was implicated or ensnarled in the Osujigate fifty-five million Naira
Ministry of Education bribe for budget scandals.
Additionally, Mrs. Felicia Wabara was a president of a Nigerian cultural
association here in New York, United States, where members constantly
agonized about the abject conditions of Nigerians in Nigeria and most
decent Nigerians would say ad nauseam, how they wish they could change
things in Nigeria, just so that, abject poverty, that drove some of us
here and continues to drive the desperations of throngs of Nigerians to
foreign embassies, would be a thing of the past.
As a former president of this Nigerian cultural organization, Mrs.
Wabara, even after relocating to Nigeria, with her newly minted senator
husband, she was invited to an annual dinner event by this Nigeria
cultural association and she was a featured speaker and this was about
four years ago. And while her husband, Senator Wabara, headed the senate
subcommittee on Police Affairs in Nigeria, she used, or more like, she
abused the opportunity to engage in tirades against the federal
government of Nigeria and she spoke in that vein and for longer than she
was scheduled and a good number of those present, including myself,
complained that she had turned the event into a political pulpit, in
which she engaged in countless invectives and in the most acerbic tones!
Some of us had wondered about her behavior, especially as wife of a
prominent senator, who in our view, was part of the current Nigerian
federal government and as a member of the ruling party, the PDP. Mrs.
Wabara raved and ranted in my presence, about corruption during that
annual dinner by a Nigerian cultural association here in New York and
even those in agreement with some of her expressed displeasure, wondered
why she could not see the inappropriateness in her indecorous tirade
against a federal government of which her husband is a prominent part.
And
the complete hijack of the evening’s cultural program for her ad hoc
lecture on corruption in Nigeria, at a forum that was entirely not the
right setting for the gripes that she expressed and in also considering
how time-consuming her speech was, as well as her choice of words.
Now, a
reexamination springs a complete surprise between what Mrs. Wabara
claimed she stood for then, which is irreconcilable with her apparent
profiting from the Nigeria system that she roundly criticized at the
time! It smacks of hypocrisy and doublespeak. And it has all the smudges
of do as I say, and not what I do? I had previously forwarded the
Wabara’s property purchase revelation to the EFCC and the ICPC and I
will do so again, as a reminder, these anti corruption agencies in
Nigeria are probably overwhelmed with so many petitions and myriad
information.
But we
must all be encouraged by the achievements of the EFCC in particular,
and we must keep supplying information that will assist the corruption
fight, it is a dauntless task! It is surely an arduous duty that
requires sustained and focused efforts by all Nigerians.
This
is therefore to serve notice to those engaged in corruption in Nigeria,
against Nigeria’s national interests, that we will not let them forget
their iniquities and their pillaging of Nigeria through their corrupt
ways. We will not let them off the hook; we will not let them sleep
easy.
Mrs.
Felicia Wabara and Senator Wabara must explain to the Nigerian public,
the source of their sudden wealth and property acquisition in New York,
United States, even before they have a chance to also explain to the
EFCC and the Nigerian judicial system!