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Ettedoakaa: Stealing and Abetting Unlimited in the Nigerian Polity By Ademowo Adeyemi Johnson There is wisdom embellished in the Yoruba wise saying which says “Ohun to ko da, ko loruko meji, koda lonje” (meaning ‘what is bad has no other synonym than not good’). This saying shares synonymic affinity with the timeless popular Margaret Thatcher’s statement “what is bad, is bad, is bad!” And in fairness to both vis a vis the teleological experiential effects of certain actions, one cant but agree that truly regardless of popular beliefs and assumptions, what is bad is deontological bad, is surely bad. The question then is: What am I driving at? To ask such question is to incur my wroth for the title of the essay itself says it all: Ettedoakaa Scandal! Nigeria, nay Africa, has perpetually remain where it was decades ago, underdeveloped, due to wanton pillaging of her resources. We have remained hopelessly poor despite the opulence bequeaths to us by nature, our natural resources, mainly because of two crimes: Stealing and Abetting. Stealing has to do basically with corruption, diversion or mismanagement of public funds. However, unlike before, the battle against corruption in Nigeria and Africa has been fierce in the last couple of years. There is general awareness through the activities of various anti-sleaze agencies. In fact, even though very highly placed persons have not been convicted those that have been sentenced have, to a great extent, sent jitters down the spines of would-be corrupt officials. The fear of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and to some extent the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, has become the beginning of wisdom. Unfortunately, however, abetting has not been viewed as a very serious crime in Nigeria. Ignorantly though, abetters have sometimes been used as witnesses against prosecuted officials. In fact, some do get away with it. This is an anomaly for all efforts at caging the hydra headed monster called corruption would be in futility if these persons are not found as guilty as the corrupt officials. Whether they are “remunerated”, that is if they are offered inducement, or “non-remunerated, they must be moved closer to the hanger’s noose just like the underdevelopment messiahs, the convicted corrupted corrupt officials. Now back to the crux of the issue at hand: The case of Madam Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Etteh and “Honorable” AGF Mr. Mike Aondaokaa. The ‘hallow’ lower House of Representatives of the Nigeria National Assembly has been desecrated in the last weeks with the scandalous revelation of an unbelievable and eyesore cost of renovating two ‘palatial’ resident residents of the two most highly placed officials of the House and then the ‘Pugilistic Show’ (a quick reminder to the would-be honorable members to enroll in a boxing school!). The ‘Excellency’ at the center of the brouhaha and ever-gathering hullabaloo is Mrs. Patricia Etteh, the Honourable Speaker of the House. A two-time, eight years member of the House; a Beautician that needed a N40 million naira massaging machine; an undergraduate student of political science at the University of Abuja (I guess her political machination blunder could forgiven based on this); a Diploma in Law holder (she should be excused for her ignorance of due process afterall nemo dat conon habet!); a wife (mountainous petitions and questions abound here); a daughter (whose mother has cried to anyone that cares to listen to leave her daughter alone!); and a mother (who has to celebrate her birthday with her children in Maryland, U.S.A. on the pretense of routine medical check up). Sincerely, I think, taking a cursory look at her profile, Madam Speaker has not erred. Not at all! Afterall, what is N628 million compared with the loot of many former governors? Hers is merely a tiny drop in the ocean of daylight resources robbery that has become the lot of our dear country. If the governors could still be free of serious probes, investigations and court charges till date, then I can’t but agree with Madam Speaker that hers is a cheer case of “witch-hunting”. Why can’t we just leave her alone? This raises another germane question, a rude but necessary digression: Why haven’t these corrupt former governors been prosecuted till date? Mr. Mike Aondoakaa, former Attorney General of Benue State, counsel to a good number of former governors (reports have it that he was a counsel to Akume, Dariye, Kalu, Turaki and others), a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (not of masses anyway) and an avowed enemy of the anti-graft bodies like the EFCC. Rather than assist in recovery of the loots, the AGF has been found to be an ally of the looters at the expense of the public. No wonder discerning eminent Nigerians like Chief Gani Fawehinmi are calling for the removal of the Attorney Genral of the Federation (of former governors?) and Minister of ‘Justice’, who has “been unduly castigating, humiliating and vilifying public institutions and their officers assigned to fight corruption by the constitution of the National Assembly”. His knowledge of the ‘innocence’ of his former clients is surely preventing him from taking the necessary actions. Without belaboring the obvious, it is quite glaring that both the ‘thief’, in this case the allegation at self-enrichment level against the hallow office of the Speaker of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the ‘abetter’, in this case the exalted office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, are not un-guilty in the public court. Regardless of what becomes of the duo as a result of the actions and inactions of the National Assembly and the Presidency, such are inconsequential. The crux of the matter is that these persons have cases to answer. But the first and best mean of treating their cases is to ask them to step aside, be it for a while or eternity. Let’s do away with these cogs and continue with the bandits of illegitimates ruling and silently aiding and abetting the plundering of our national cake. After all, it is the wish of the constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria that there must not be a lacuna in government houses!
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