Deception

Deception, Lies, Fraud And Farce: The State Of A Nation

Akintokunbo A Adejumo

London, UK

As my British Airways flight was banking and circling over Lagos on the evening I arrived in Nigeria, the passenger next to me, a South African contractor coming to Nigeria for the first time pointed out the window and asked me, “Why do you say that Nigeria has got no electricity? Isn’t that Lagos all lighted up? That’s a very beautiful sight, isn’t it?”. I looked out, and indeed, Lagos appeared to be all lights, and it seems as if our electricity and energy problems had been solved.

However, I knew better. It was all I could do not to laugh. I just told my new-found friend that he has to be on the ground to see for himself. I could not tell him that all the beautiful lights he saw from thousands of feet up in the air were generated by private generators, millions of them. It is funny, sad and ironic, really. Yes, the first impression you get from the airplane is that Lagos is a city all lighted up by the government and whatever companies responsible for providing electricity to Nigerians. The moment you get to your street and you hear the deafening noise of several private generators, causing noise and air pollution, then you know you are in Nigeria and we still have our usual epileptic power supply.

Incidentally, I arrived in Nigeria when a lot of very scary things were going on. The Senate’s Power Sector Probe, dubbed National Integrated Power Project Probe was in full swing. Nigerians are still looking for a light airplane belonging to ex-Governor Ibori of Delta State, that vanished from the face of the earth almost two months after it disappeared somewhere over Cross River and Akwa Ibom States. Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, wanted for her role in the Ministry of Health 300 million Naira embezzlement was playing a farcical cat and mouse, hide and seek game with the now discredited EFCC under a new leadership. Mallam El-Rufai, erstwhile Minister for the Federal Capital Territory under ex-President Obasanjo, was being asked to come forward to explain his actions concerning land and property demolitions and allocations to the senate committee investigating the activities of executive officers since 1999. And several other cans of worms and Pandora’s boxes were being opened or going to be opened soon.

The reason why I used the word “scary” mainly lies in the magnitude of the fraud, scam, lies, deceit and corruption perpetrated by a few persons in the corridors of power and government against the Nigerian people, who are increasingly finding it difficult to survive in a country of such potential and wealth. It is scary, when you realise that in hospitals such as UCH Ibadan and LUTH, Lagos, regarded as “centres of excellence”, patients have to bring in their own cotton wool, drips, medicines, water and other things necessary to treat their ailments. It is scary, when you realise that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof Soludo, stated that 90 percent of Nigerian graduated are unemployable. It is scary when you realise that leaders who were responsible for the provision of education to our children by equipping our universities and secondary schools are instead building their own private universities and schools.

The National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) was conceived by Obasanjo. It has now turned out to be a very big scam. After spending 16 billion dollars (or is it $26 billion? we are not even sure), the stark reality is that there is still no light or electricity in Nigeria. It is one hell of a scam, and Obasanjo’s credibility and sincerity has been badly damaged. Look at the facts: Many of the contracts, if not all, were not awarded by due process, which Obasanjo’s government made a fetish of. Many of the companies awarded contracts were not even registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission as legitimate business concerns. Many of the contractors do not even know where the site of their contracts are. Those who did know the site, just walled off the sites and promptly disappeared with the mobilisation fees. Now, where is the money? Your guess is as good as mine. Very powerful people are involved including two former military heads of states who, through their bogus companies, cornered the contracts, and simply disappeared. Several politicians, former ministers and officials of the various ministries in charge of providing energy to the country have been called before the Committee, and somehow, they have all left the hearing smelling of roses. This cannot be true. Dr Olusegun Agagu, a former Minister of Power and Steel (read Steal) and now two-term Governor of Ondo State (where nothing significant has happened in the last 5 years) even said somebody must be held accountable for not providing enough money after 16 billion dollars (I suppose he meant that 16 billion is not enough to go round to steal). Liyel Imoke, another former Minister of Power and Steel (again, read Steal) and Oil Minister, and now Governor of Cross River State, lamented the fact that so much money was spent on the power sector and nothing to show for it. Yet he was also in charge. He now holds several oil blocks allocated surreptitiously to him when he was in government, and is now in even more control of his State’s resources and allocations.

CBN Governor, Prof Soludo claimed insulation and ignorance from all these. He saw nothing, heard nothing and said nothing. He is just a banker to the Federal Government, despite the fact that he is the one who eventually releases money to do these projects. Dr Okonjo-Iweala, former Finance Minister, also appeared before the Committee and her revelations indicted Obasanjo, Imoke and her successor, Mrs Nenadi Usman. So did Oby Ezekwesili, former DG of the Bureau of Public Procurement. One man, I think he is the Chairman of Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (whatever that means) actually made a very serious allegation against Obasanjo, alleging that OBJ once commissioned an empty site as a power station in Cross River State. It is instructive to note that no former official whose hands these money passed through was culpable. I know that when OBJ commissioned a power station in River State during ex-Governor Odili’s reign, the following week, EFCC invaded the state looking for evidence that Odili had bilked the state. Odili is still walking freely in Nigeria today and enjoying his ill-gotten wealth quietly having secured several court orders against arrest.

If you ask me, I doubt if anything will come out of this particular probe, despite the “honourable” Senators saying otherwise and keeping our hopes up. There are too many powerful people involved. These powerful people are not even afraid, they are sure they will be protected. Even as I write, Obasanjo and Atiku have been invited to appear before the committee. I await with bated breath if OBJ will, but I am sure Atiku will appear, if only to further present himself as a saint, having been seriously battered by the recent results of the election in his home state of Adamawa, in which his candidate was again beaten by the Governor with four “first ladies”. Ridiculous.

Enough about power probes. Let me now go to missing planes. A farce has been playing itself out here. A light plane belonging to a company owned by ex-Governor Ibori (Delta State’s private bank) was said to have crashed in the tropical rain forest region of Cross River and Akwa Ibom State. Two months after, the plane could not be found in the densely populated region. The pilot and the crew have vanished into thin air. I cannot comprehend it. If crashed planes could be found in the dense forests of the Amazons and the hills of the Andes in South America, how come satellites cannot pick out a crashed plane near Obudu Cattle Ranch in Nigeria, a region of very dense population and villages all over the place?

Then came the stories; the plane had been found in a neighbouring country, but nobody seems willing to confirm this. The purported owner of the plane, Mr James Ibori, a former Supermarket cashier in London turned eight-year Governor of one of the richest state in Nigeria (and also a convicted person) has not even shown any concern about the loss of his plane. In fact he was one of those who ensured the (s)election of Vincent Ogbulafor as the new National Chairman of the ruling PDP, which means he still enjoys great prominence, popularity and support in that murderous, retrogressive so-called political party. Lord, please have mercy on us!!

Then came the mother of all farce, in the persons of the EFCC and Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello playing cat and mouse with each other and insulting the collective intelligence of Nigerians. It is the stuff of which movies are made. The daughter of our nearly-discredited ex-president is on the run and in hiding from the EFCC for knowingly collecting 10 million Naira as her share from the 300 million unspent budget of the Federal Ministry of Health. The Minister, Prof Grange, a respected Professor of Paediatrics and her Minister of State, Gabriel Aduku are in hot water right now with nine other officials of the ministry. You know the story. Prof Grange was really out of her depth in Nigerian politics. She should have kept to her classrooms and laboratories. Aduku knew what he was doing. He was the one even demanding that the money be shared out quickly because he needed to travel and needed the money. So much for our honourable ministers. Anyway, others involved in the scandal have since returned the money and are awaiting prosecution, while our very own former “first daughter” has done a disappearance act, after admitting she took the money and spread it to her Committee on Health to enable them go on a retreat to Ghana. But she’s not giving the money back. What is the matter with the Obasanjo family? Why are they bent on self-destruction? The answer is neither there nor here. It will take a psycho-analyst to answer these questions. Iyabo was first a Commissioner in Ogun State under another master of propaganda, Gbenga Daniel, then became a Senator of the Federal Republic. Since her father left the scene in near disgrace, the daughter has been involved in one scandal or the other. Remember the case of impersonation (Mrs Okanlawon) and fraudulent facilitation of contract deals? Anyway, I do not believe the EFCC does not know where she is. Nigerians have urged her to give herself up but all have fallen on deaf ears. She seems to think she has some kind of immunity against arrest, and the EFCC is obliging her. They are the “Owners of Nigeria” truly. As of the time of writing this article, Iyabo is yet to give herself up.

It is pertinent to note here that what happened in the Ministry of Health happens in all ministries, federal or state, every year. All ministries simply share unspent money among the top officials and commissioners and ministers. And why did they not spend the money allocated to facilitate projects and make life better for Nigerians? First, most of the budgets are inflated to accommodate some stealing. Second, they never intend to execute most projects, or most projects in the budget are phantom projects. Third, they deliberately save some of the money, so that they will have something to share at the end of the financial year.

One lesson that is very much highlighted in the Ministry of Health is the fact that our civil servants are as corrupt as the politicians appointed to oversee their ministries. In fact, our civil service has been the bedrock of corruption ever since Murtala Mohammed carried out a purge of them in the 70s. So we should focus and beam our searchlight on them more often. It is a well known fact that any Minister that fails to carry his/her top civil servant along with them will not succeed, whatever they try to do.

All these boil down to lack of accountability, sincerity of purpose, corruption, fraud and a profound lack of caring for the people they are supposed to serve. It is the story of our life in Nigeria. I have such a total distrust of politicians and government officials that I fear I might go to my grave with that attitude intact. Most of them simply cannot convince me that they are offering and implementing selfless service to their people and constituency. (I have seen only one exception so far, but it is early days yet, and that is Governor Babatude Raji Fashola of Lagos State, who I must admit, to my happiness, so far has been doing wonderful things in his state. He is very focused, sincere and committed to seeing that “Eko o ni baje” , “Lagos will not spoil” – but that is an article for another day).

A little digression. In Ibadan is a brand new hotel. The room rate is about N35,000 per night. I understand that there are similar hotels built in Lagos, Abuja and Abeokuta. It is meant for Senators and other politicians for retreats, conferences, etc. And, you guessed it, they are owned by one Mrs Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello.

Oyo State and Alao-Akala! I don’t know which of them is going to kill the other. The Governor has been in excellent propaganda form ever since the Tribunal practically conferred legitimacy on him. And why wouldn’t they, after almost 850 million naira in “Ghana Must Go” bags changed hand during the nights? (Don’t quote me, but that is the amount being bandied around). Would that come from his pocket? No, it is the money of the people and Government of Oyo State going into private hands. Thank you, Lord. Yes, back to propaganda: the Governor is becoming something of a “Goebbels” in the art of propaganda and self-promotion. There are huge posters of him all over Ibadan and other cities in Oyo State proclaiming him as what the people of Oyo State have been yearning for. He is the “Teacher In Chief” to the teachers in Oyo State; he is the “friend” of civil servants and pensioners; he is going to do this and do that; Oyo State will become a model state and the envy of others. One of the posters is strategically located in Molete, next to Chief Adedibu’s first house. I saw local government cars, who have at the rear window, sun-screens proclaiming their loyalty to the Governor. Woe betide the councillor or chairman who does not exhibit their loyalty to the supreme Governor of Oyo State.

Now let’s have a look at what has happened so far: Nothing. While I was in Nigeria, Oyo State received a total of 27 billion Naira within one week; 13 billion as refund from the Paris Club of debtors and another 14 billion as excess crude oil allocation or something like that. When I heard this, instead of being happy at the windfall for the people of Oyo State, I was filled with sadness, anger, and frustration. And I was proved right within one week. This is what my Governor has done with the money so far: he bought cars for the State’s labour union officials (Is it the business of the state to buy cars for labour unionists?); he has promised to give each member of the state’s House of Assembly, 20 million naira each as “constituency allowance”. That is what he as spent some of the money on so far. Meanwhile, there are thousands of unemployed youths and graduates on the streets; the streets of Ibadan and other major cities in the state are in dire need of repair or reconstruction; there is no beautification plan, as in Lagos, Ilorin, Minna and Calabar, for the city of Ibadan and the city is a sight for sore eyes; the Water Corporation of Oyo State cannot supply water because there are no chemicals and cannot pump water because they do not have generators; pensioners have not been paid their allowances for the past 24 months or so; the sewage system of Ibadan, the capital is non-existent; waste disposal is non-existent; Cocoa House has no supply of electricity and the companies there run on generators (can you imagine each floor of maybe six companies running their own private generator in a such a cramped space everyday?); armed robbers are running all over the place and so many other important issues the man should attend to.

But no, your guess is as good as mine that a lot of that 27 billion Naira will find its way to Molete, if it has not already done so already, and to others too numerous to mention here – loyal local government chiefs and councillors, commissioners, loyal civil servants, hangers-on and other political jobbers, Oyo State NURTW chiefs. Wow, it is a spree. The thief has been put in charge of the treasury. Take what you can, it is the national cake.

It is too much for me to contemplate, and believe me, I am not a prophet of doom, but I just can not see what other things this man will do with our money, except blow it. He has not got the right attitude, the ideas, the plans, the commitment; in short, he is not the man to put things right in Oyo State. He is not up to it, except steal the state blind and report to his godfather.

In 1933, when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany, he predicted the “Thousand year Reich”. By 1945, barely 12 years later, the thousand year Reich was in ruins and he himself was dead. In 1983, after “winning” their election to a second term, the ruling NPN in Nigeria predicted that the NPN will rule Nigeria for the next 100 years. Well, by the end of 1983, there was no more NPN and its leaders were on the run or in jail. So much for political parties trying to turn countries into one-party states.

But then in April 2008, came Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, (s)elected as the new National Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party of Nigeria. One of his very first statements is that the PDP will rule Nigeria for the next sixty years. Why he picked sixty years is something I don’t understand. Why not 100 or 1000 years? That would be better, wouldn’t it? Anyway, therein lies the problem with our politicians. First, they are never students of history, and if they are, never learn from it. Secondly, they engage their mouths well before they engage the thinking process. And thirdly, and most importantly, they are never ones to be called democrats. For a party that professes to be democratic, why would they want to monopolise power for sixty years? Such parties will never accept defeat gracefully at the polls, and will always try to rig elections. Inevitably, their ultimate plan and goal will be to turn Nigeria into a one-party state. Normally I would probably have no problem with this, but then if the party and its members cannot be trusted to rule Nigeria as it should be ruled, that is where we have an objection to them being in power for sixty years. In fact the mere thought and knowledge of the PDP being in power for the next five years is frightening, depressing and unimaginable to the majority of Nigerians. Their performance, or rather non-performance, over the last eight years is nothing to write home about. In fact they have demonstrated to Nigerians many shortcomings as a focused, genuine and serious ruling party. Apart from the corruption of the party, the party consists of very murderous thugs, lack of any political ideology, a dearth of know-how and of sincerity of purpose, a deep ignorance of good governance and a deep-rooted lack of sympathy to the plight of the people of Nigeria. In short, the party is not a political party, but a gang of dubious and questionable characters and charlatans parading themselves as rulers of the nation.

Having said this however, the opposition political parties are no better than the PDP. If they get in, we should not expect anything better from them. They will just be a breath of fresh air and a change from the frying pan into the fire. And once they are consolidated in power, don’t be surprised if their Chairmen also start making such inane and risible predictions as Mr Ogbulafor. They are all the same.

Unless something changes with our political thinking, organisation and orientation, we will continue to have such mediocres as Ogbulafor uttering inanities like that, and wishing to turn the country into a one-party state and hence, owning the country, holding the people hostage and under serfdom forever.

I hope my experience has been instructive to others. Definitely, I always learn extensively on my visits to Nigeria. It is a good country to be, if only they will let us. We therefore must not relent in our efforts to root them out and have our country back from these forces of darkness and retrogression. How we do this is entirely up to us, for we are the architects of our own destiny.

Let the truth be said always.

Just before I posted this article, I received a comment from a good friend, Emenanjo Adinlofu. This is what he had to say and it bears me out on my impression of Gov. Fashola of Lagos State:

"What you said about Fashola's performance in Lagos was confirmed by my wife when she came back from Nigeria. I sincerely hope he will keep it up. Nigeria will not die, it is our crude and ruthlessly selfish leaders that will die and leave that country. I may be wrong but some times I have this strong feeling that God has a purpose for that country and I believe sooner than later, that purpose would be revealed. Meanwhile,I extend Noam Chomsky's thesis, that the only opposition now in Nigeria is PUBLIC OPINION/OUTCRY. And perhaps the civil societies and labour".

Gov Fashola, please keep it up. A lot of us are seeing as beam of hope in an otherwise dark tunnel. Do not be distracted by Tinubu's politician friends milling around you thinking that because Tinubu made you get there, you are an extension of Tinubu's eight-year folly and wastage in Lagos State. Prove them wrong, Sir. Prove that Nigerians are not all corrupt. Prove that ordinary people can be proactive and have sincere love of their people in mind and want to help them. Prove that a young man can save Nigeria.

I am sure you can, and will do it to the finish. We wish you the best and people will support you as long as they see you are doing the right thing.