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The Personification of offices: The Case of Nuhu Ribadu By Suleiman Dankano, Ph.D.
There is no doubt that the name Nuhu Ribadu has become a household name. It has become a household name not only in recent times but also due to the long political legacy of the family in the North. Even at the elite Ahmadu Bello University, the name Ribadu Hall reflects the contribution of the Ribadu family to the sociopolitical development of Northern Nigeria. The name might have assumed a new dimension when the hitherto unknown baby-face police officer was brought to limelight through the lobby of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Alhaji Abubakar himself was hardly aware that the very young man he lobbied for a high profile position was going to become his undoing (a finger that bit its feeder). The purpose of this piece is not to insinuate that if a thief puts a judge on the bench, that judge should spear the thief the jail. Far from this; I am a great fan of transparency among public officers or any body for that matter. This article will serve two purposes. First to chastise Nigerians for their gullibility, cronyism and lack of sense of purpose and two to highlight the inconsistencies in Nuhu Ribadu’s so-called acclaimed anti-corruption war through his selective prosecution and how he himself has benefited from the corruption of a system that brought him into limelight.
First Nigerians are the loudest, arrogant, talk without action, most gullible and self-righteous people in the world. To verify this just take a trip to any major airport in the world and you will not need any body to tell you this is a Nigeria. I will not address the senseless killings, corruption, religious bigotry, hypocrisy and lack of patriotism in this article but spare it for another time. Nigeria is a place where one person personifies the system or organization. Nigeria is also a place where we have shouters who cannot back their shouts with actions. Just cast your mind back memory lane. It is less than ten years ago when we had a pack of hooligans shouting Youths Earnestly Desire Abacha, and the band wagon was soon full with posters all over Nigeria and the cronies shouting Abacha must stay. It was a similar pack of hoodlums who were shouting Murtala as the Saint in 1975 when Gowon was overthrown. The same pack of town criers shouted Buhari and Idiagbon where heaven sent to instill discipline in our country. Once more, the same pack saw Babangida as the best genius the Nigerian military has produced as well as the Maradona of politics, while the economy was going down the drain due to corruption. Just two years ago, the same pack was shouting Obasanjo deserves a third term in office. I call them sycophants because their actions are not only idiotic but equally shameless. It is this same pack that has come to personify the fight against corruption with Nuhu Ribadu. For God’s sake when shall we rise from this intellectual bankruptcy even among the so-called learned men of the Bar? Why has Nuhu Ribadu become synonymous with corruption fitting. Are we saying there are no credible Nigerians out there to do the job? Supposing Nuhu Ribadu drops death today would we say there is no body to take over from him? This is slap not only on the intelligence of patriotic Nigerians but a display of ignoramus on the part of the so-called elite, be they the intelligentsia, political or technocrats. Now let’s turn our attention to the man Nuhu Ribadu
Nuhu Ribadu, a product of the University of Maiduguri who idolized the likes of Jonathan Zwingina, a pseudo-socialist who taught his students the doctrine of socialism and condemned capitalism in all its facets. He was also a great fan of the likes of the late Bala Usman and Patrick Wilmot, acclaimed socialist professors at Ahmadu Bello University. Ribadu’s dream had always been to change the social system, to ensure fair play and equity among the proletariat. On graduation, Ribadu came to be so disappointed with his mentor, Jonathan Zwingina, former Deputy Senate Leader and the arrowhead of the botched third term project of the Obasanjo Regime. This disappointment with so-called socialists of the likes of Zwinga made Ribadu to nurse an ambition of throwing big political wigs in jail whenever he had an opportunity to do so. Ribadu was so disenchanted with corrupt politicians that he saw his appointment as EFCC chairman as an opportunity to strike and so he did with a big bang. For Ribadu, the die was now cast and the old cliché “if you Aku me, I will Dabo you” over (recall the Aper Aku debacle with Godwin Dabo) of Benue State during the Shagari corrupt regime of the early 1980s.
Once appointed, the young man went to work right away, creating terror especially among the corrupt political class. He touched the untouchables, sacrificed the sacred cows and became the arrowhead of the fight against corruption. At some point, Ribadu became the law himself, arresting at will and impeaching governors at will. Where the legislature of a particular state refused to impeach the executive governor, Ribadu sent his men to arrest the whole house forcing members to sign an undertaking that they would regain their freedom only if they signed an impeachment motion in jail or a location of Ribadu’s choice. To no one’s surprise, six out of a 24-member house in Plateau State signed an impeachment notice backed by some corrupt old time politicians and clergy men in Plateau State who convicted the governor as charged by Ribadu. This was clearly also evident in the case of the Bayelsa state governor. At some point, Ribadu’s dragnet was solely aimed at minority states, while blanketing the likes of Uzo Kalu as cursory cosmetics to give an impression of a fair balance. Ribadu became a demigod, making arbitrary arrests and bringing state apparatus in many states to a grinding halt. Ribadu became Obasanjo’s hunting dog and whoever spoke a word against “baba” was either threatened with an EFCC arrest or was arrested right away. If you were not an Obasanjo boy, you stood the risk of Ribadu’s anger. It became so glaring that the anti-corruption fighter now became the most corrupt in terms of political and social justice. Ribadu now became the embodiment of the law with such assistance from the Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehidero and the Chairman of INEC, Professor Maurice Iwu. Court orders were disobeyed with inpunity as Ribadu himself became the judge and the jury, deciding who got arrested declaring them guilty even before they were tried. For many Nigerians, the days of anarchy reminiscent of the Buhari-Idiagbon days were now back even in a so-called democratic dispensation. For many, Abacha was a saint when compared to Ribadu and his mentor, Obasanjo. On the eve of the selection staged by Obasanjo and his cronies (permit me to call it so because I don’t believe there was an election any where in the country) thanks to Prof. Maurice Iwu who has a long history of lies in his professional career (he claimed he had found cure for Lassa Fever in the 1980s, just in case you have forgotten).
All these said, let me highlight a few of Ribadu’s lopsidedness in the conduct of the affairs of the Commission. First, Ribadu himself cannot be said to be fighting corruption and at the same benefiting from a corrupt system. Ribadu came to the office as an Assistant Commissioner of Police. Within three years he was promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police and positioned by his mentor, General Olusegun Obasanjo for the post of Inspector General of Police (thanks to the sanity of President Umaru Yar’Aduwa who saw reason and aborted the Obasanjo planned chaos in the police force). Obasanjo even appointed him Inspector General of police on the eve of his departure just in case you have forgotten. Ribadu saw nothing wrong with such accelerated promotion as long as it served his self-interest. In fact, it helped him to now take the war to Obasanjo’s perceived enemies. A man who truly claimed to be fighting a corrupt system should have resigned his appointment once he was promoted to a Commissioner of Police, skipping one rank within two years and to an Assistant Inspector General of Police within three months of his promotion to a Commissioner of Police. He could not claim to be the most hardworking police officer ever produced in the Nigerian Police. Once Ribadu started benefiting from the corruption of the Obasanjo regime, he lost the moral right to fight corruption in the country. Some might argue that he was rewarded for his hard work, yet we did not hear of the police officer who arrested Anini, the terrorist that became a household name during the Babangida regime in the 1980s and many other police officers that have displayed gallantry enjoying such an accelerated promotion.
Having thus said, let’s take a look at Ribadu lopsidedness and arbitrariness. First, Ribadu went on the floor of the Senate and declared Sani Yerima of Zamfara State as the most corrupt of all the governors but went ahead to clear him to contest the senate and has said nothing thereafter. Second, Ribadu went to the media and said that of the over N600 billion that was allocated to Rivers State, Peter Odili had only accounted for N300 Billion and this formed the grounds for disqualifying him to content the presidency. Thank you to Ribadu, but prominent Rivers State indigenes have provided you with all the facts you need to know about how Peter Odili wrecked Rivers State and you have chosen to turn a blind eye, claiming lack of evidence. They have provided you a list of Odili’s assets and properties including the purported ownership of Arik Airlines but Ribadu continues to tell them that the EFCC has nothing against Peter Odili for lack of evidence. The kind of flamboyance displayed at the commissioning of Arik Airlines by Ribadu’s mentor, Obasanjo makes me to suspect that Arik Air is jointly own by Obasanjo and Peter Odili. Ribadu is probably afraid that Peter Odili will open a can of worms should he bring him to trial. This is so because he continues to tell Nigerians that Obasanjo has no case to answer. Of course, how would he? He paid Ribadu to say so by giving him an accelerated promotion. Ribadu has continuously refused to invite Odili for questioning neither is there an attempt to prosecute him. When the former speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly testified before the EFCC that Ahmed Makarfi, then governor, Arch Namadi Sambo, current governor and he connived to share the sum of about N3 billion earmarked for the Zaria Water project, Riabdu went ahead to clear both Namadi Sambo and Ahmed Markarfi to contest for governor and Senate respectively. When the indigenes of Kaduna State petitioned the commission about the over N1 billion house built by Ahmed Makarfi at Jabi Road, GRA Kaduna, what did they get from the Commission? Nothing!
To crown it all, Ribadu has persistently said he has no case against former president Obasanjo who came out of prison in 1999 with only N20,000.00 but is now the richest man in Africa. How did Obasanjo rise from N20,000.00 to become the richest man in Africa? I believe Nigerians and indeed the world demand answers from the EFCC. How did Obasanjo’s Ota farm which was a wreck and had nothing during his time of incarceration during the Abaca regime rise to become a $30 million a month estate in less than five years? Nigerians demand answers from Ribadu and the EFCC if really Obasanjo has no case to answer. And should I mention the likes of Iyabo Bello Obasanjo and other Obasanjo children that participated in looting? How about the Bell University owned by Obasanjo, does it deserve investigation? Another question is the ownership of Transcorp. There is no hiding the fact that Transcorp had no office as at the time it acquired NITEL (thanks to El-Rufai who headed the BPE that sold NITEL to Transcorp). As at the time of the sale, Transcorp was operating from a Kiosk outside the Rancher’s Bees Stadium in Kaduna. Are we surprise that both the land and mobile lines of NITEL are now grounded? The company never really existed as the time of the sale. Could it be that the likes of El-Rufai, the pin head size Minister and self-acclaimed anti-corruption fighter who would employed his NYSC girlfriend as an expert had something to do with this? May be this is something Ribadu should have investigated. Ribadu’s support for Paul Wolfowitz (the former World Bank President) who promoted his girlfriend only displayed a morally bankrupt individual that poses as a corruption Czar.
A last point to make is the selective prosecution of those he perceives as the enemies of “baba” whom he must make sure you prosecutes. Why was the Plateau State governor, Joshua Dariye portrayed as the most corrupt of the governors when indeed he stole the least among the governors now being prosecuted? Dariye is purported to have stolen N776 Million which is nothing compared to the N300 Billion Ribadu said Peter Odili could not account for. Although, I don’t really care if Joshua Dariye rotes in jail for life for what he did to Plateau but all I am saying is that Ribadu seemes to be chasing the shadows rather than the real people. Why are the Boni Harunas, the Joli Nyames, the Uzo Kalus, the Chiroke Nnamanis, the Saminu Turakis being singled out for prosecution when Ribadu said at least 30 of the 36 governors under Obasanjo’s regime would face prosecution? Is Ribadu swallowing his words or simply pandering to “baba” who put him in that office?
Unless Ribadu and the intellectually bankrupt lawyers, politicians, technocrats and the dump Disapora now crying for his been removed as antithesis to the war against corruption can provide answers to the questions raised in this write up, I can only conclude that because Ribadu as a benefactor of the Obasanjo corrupt regime and these sycophants crying fool to his removal have more to answers to give Nigerians as to why Ribadu cannot be removed. Shame to the likes of Gani Fawehim, Falana, so-called human rights lawyers and the bunch of intellectual illitratesd now parading themselves as patriots and interested in fighting corruption. The anti-corruption fight of the EFCC is nothing but a sham, a ruse, cronyism and zealotry. Until Ribadu can be bold enough to bring Obasanjo and his cronies to book, he does not deserve to occupy the office. Ribadu has outlived his usefulness, and we need new brains at the commission. If this was in the western world, he should have resigned a long time ago rather than being used as a hunting dog. I challenge Ribadu’s Muslim ethics which the family is well known for to come clean and resign rather than continue the regime of terror, dishonesty and lack of decorum in the war against corruption. And for those crying fool for his removal, I would say zip your mouths and “remain in a permanent condition of shut up” says Chief Zeburdiya, the comedian. Enough of this rubbish by those who talk before thinking!
Suleiman Dankano, Ph.D. Kano, Nigeria
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