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EFCC: Dele Momodu’s Ranting By Abiola Falayajo
First of all, YES, I, and I believe many Nigerians out there are not pleased with Dele Momodu. After reading Dele Momodu's article on Anti-corruption published by This Day (10.06.2007) and his recent opinion in the Nigerian Tribune (Ribadu and his cheap blackmailers), one is confused and obviously prone to ask some salient questions. What is Momodu's problem with Nuhu Ribadu? What is Momodu's problem with EFCC fighting corruption in Nigeria? Whose interest is Momodu trying to protect? Is it the Nigerian state or the alleged looters and other corrupt people in the country?
Quoting him, "I know why Ribadu is so angry that he had to unleash his attack dogs on me. I had mentioned in a recent article how their evil Mafia hounded our biggest business man, Dr Mike Adenuga, into exile. I also revealed how they downloaded some wicked lies against the man to some media houses in Ghana in order to frustrate his bid for a licence. How petty and mean can one be against a fellow country man? They are now desperately cooking lies against my person"
Well, it might interest the self acclaimed omnipotent journalist turned business man called Momodu that EFCC came out with a press statement stating that they are investigating (any body could be investigated no matter how powerful) and questioning Mike Adenuga just has they had investigated some minute cyber cafe operators on the street of Lagos.
According to the EFCC, "we visited Chief Adenuga's home on Sunday, 9th July 2006, only after several invitations to him, over a period of more than three months. He refused to honour the invitations. Even at his Victoria Island, Lagos home, for over seven hours, Adenuga, among other evasive tactics employed by his family and staff, refused to see EFCC operatives or allow them entry"
The EFCC went further "It must be emphasized however, that EFCC's invitation to and interaction with Chief Adenuga is normal. No crime has been established against him. He is innocent until proven otherwise. However, the Commission wishes to reiterate that No one is Above the Law"
There is no record of Adenuga, by whatever means, disputing the EFCC’s version of events. So the question is: if indeed Adenuga has got nothing to hide, why would he choose not to see the EFCC? Why would he run away? After all, he has not been charged for any offence yet. Even if he is charged, why should we not wait for him to prove his innocent in the court of law before we seek to hound the EFCC for investigating him?
As a "journalist of International standing" (whatever that may mean), Dele Momodu is quiet aware of the fact that people doing business in his adopted countries (Great Britain and Ghana) are subject to scrutiny and their activities are in accordance with laid down rules and regulations. So why should Nigeria be different?
Momodu's statements that "I want to sound a note of warning that I’m not a governor, or big man like Adenuga and so cannot be cowed" is pathetic and perfidy at its worst. It must be pointed out to the likes of Momodu that it is not the Governors alone that are corrupt in Nigeria. If there is any reason for Momodu or the writer of this piece to be investigated for corrupt practices, it should and must be done for no one is above the law. Is Momodu saying the governors are being cowed? Even with the enormous evidence provided by EFCC and those that can be physically seen all over the world in terms of the governors and so-called “big men” ill gotten wealth.
For his information, the fact that his Ovation celebrates ill gotten wealth with impunity does not confer him the right to a self-promoting destructive critism of Ribadu and EFCC.
How could Dele Momodu say Ribadu is only making noise? You don not call an agency with proven record a barking dog. According to EFCC, “It can boast of lots of achievements in its four years of existence, including, thousands of cases under investigation and hundreds of convictions as well as recovery of properties, assets and money in excess of $5 billion” That is about N625 trillion, money that can be used to fix our roads, hospital, combat crime rates, create employment for our graduates and drop outs est.
It appears Dele Momodu, as usual, is playing his master's script but in his attempt to make himself relevant to those psychopaths at the corridor of power and business men of questionable wealth, he should leave EFCC out of it. If the majority of Nigerian masses including notable and respect leaders such as Wole Soyinka, Gani Fawehinmi, Col. Umar just to mention a few feel Ribadu and EFCC are doing a great job, wetin be Dele wahala?
Even the most fanatical supporters of EFCC would concede that the commission has got its own short comings (just like everyone of us including Momodu and this writer). However, its overall intention of riding the country of corrupt practices has never been in doubt. Besides, Nigeria is a difficult and peculiar country for an agency such as EFCC to operate smoothly because of the inherent corruption in almost all the facet of our society, hence the commission is bound to step on some toes and make some mistakes. But that does not give people like Momodu any leverage over the agency and its staff.
Finally, Mr. Momodu, please stop feeding us lies. While your motive is suspect, your statement here “the media, and the human rights group, allowed EFCC, under the incredible supervision of Ribadu, to get away with “murder”, in many instances. How can one ever forget the many artificial impeachment proceedings, hatched by the anti-democratic forces, in the middle of the night and executed in the wee hours of the day, in Bayelsa, Oyo, Ekiti, Adamawa, Plateau, and others, all in the name of fighting corruption. We need to ask what concrete achievements they recorded. We allowed our hatred against the governors becloud any logical reasoning” clearly betrayed your desperation to discredit EFCC. What has EFCC got to do with the impeachment of Ladoja in Oyo state? Again, our hatred against the governors, who is fooling who, Emotions apart, Mr. Momodu, it appears you clearly have contempt for the Nigerian people and it surely appears you have been commissioned by the agents of corruption to continue the destruction of the Nigerian nation but God would not allow you. You and I with others with dual nationality can easily run away to our adopted western countries at a blink of the eye but what about the over 120 million helpless Nigerian masses walloping in abject poverty? Think about the consequences your loving governors and other so called big men have caused the innocent soul Momodu…please think about it when next you are picking up your pen.
As it is presently, the agency is doing a great job even in the face of the most formidable power of the powers that be. What the country and the agency needs is to be constructively criticized where necessary and not for people like Momodu who are beneficiaries (in one way or the other) of the rotten system to embark on campaign of calumny against the agency and its chairman.
Abiola Falayajo is the interim president of Yoruba Renaissance Group. afawell@yahoo.com Melbourne, Australia. |