:::::::::Nigeria Horizon:::::::: Alternative news for national development

When the dust surrounding the removal of Nuhu Ribadu finally settles, we would have tragically arrived at yet another conclusion why Nigeria is a failed State. The way we self-destruct will give the impression that there is a demon that needs to be surgically cast out of the soul of our nation. Now after this monumental stumble on the part of a nation, rationalisation follows. Rationalisation-that is what we do best. All you need do is listen to the likes of Wole Olanipekun, Ben Nwabueze, Itse Sagay and Festus Keyamo- lawyers all- to know that any hope of a sane and progressive Nigeria is very dim. While patriots like Wole Soyinka and Gani Fawehinmi had voiced their strong opposition to this stupid and ill-conceived move on the part of the government, the salient question remains: will anything good and sustainable ever come from Nigeria? What does it take to move a country forward? God and nature have been so generous to us yet we seem to be telling God and nature to take their generosity elsewhere, that we are undeserving of their gifts, that we represent the worst of the Black species, that we’ve been so spoiled that we’ve not learned any dire human lessons, that our oil wells need to dry up and our farms need to be ravaged by the drought of the worst kind for any lessons to sink into our collective heads. Our idea and understanding of what constitutes democracy is not only warped, it is counter-productive. At this pace dividends of democracy in Nigeria will forever be an illusion. There is nothing to gain from a process that benefits only politicians and a handful of lawyers, lobbyists, and contractors. Democracy is not about the aforementioned, it is about the masses. The Nigerian masses are being victimised by a process that should protect them, yet there’s always the clamour for democracy, the kind that breeds the likes of James Ibori, Joshua Dariye, Orji Kalu, Chimaroke Nnamani, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, Patricia Etteh and Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello.
In any emerging democracy where the government is serious about moving the country forward, economic terrorists such as the ones we have in Nigeria today will be given expedited but fair trial and executed, if found guilty. In such country, the election tribunals as we have them today will be replaced by anti-corruption tribunals in all the states of the Federation. It is only when we have dealt a deadly blow to corruption and its perpetrators that we can talk of credible elections. Yet so much resources are being wasted on election tribunals whose results means little or nothing in a country without a clear sense of purpose.

I told a friend a long time ago that the anti-corruption process that Obasanjo had initiated in the country would end up consuming him because human history is replete with similar examples, but that it would also remain his only enduring legacy. I would have no problem tomorrow if Obasanjo is tried and jailed for corruption. But you cannot do that until those who are currently standing trial on similar charges are dealt with first. If we continue to go at the Aondoakaa’s “Due Process” pace, Ibori et al will still be standing trial four years from now. That is why it so ludicrous on the part of those who find it necessary to advance the argument that Ribadu is being removed so as to get to Obasanjo. If the Federal government under the leadership of the gentle, quiet, nonchalant and reclusive President Yar’dua has neither the spine nor the interest to deal swiftly with Ibori and his stealing colleagues, where will he find the courage or even the legitimacy to have Obasanjo arrested?

The truth of the matter is that Yar’dua is heavily conflicted having been a beneficiary of the Ibori largesse. But did the man not realise that Ibori did not spend his own personal money towards his election? Why will the President think that his personal or political relationship with an individual is more important than the one he was beginning to build with the people of Nigeria? Does the President understand that sending Ibori to prison cannot be his own fault but a mere execution of the process he was sworn in to protect?
Before being found guilty of massive fraud, Kenneth Lay, the founder of Enron had a direct line to George Bush’s home and office. The stadium where the Houston Astros baseball team (the Bush family is part owners) play their games was aptly called the Enron Stadium. But with Ken Lay’s conviction, all that changed. He no longer had access to George W. Bush, the name of the stadium was immediately changed to reflect and to acknowledge the anguish of those investors who were duped by Enron. With a sense of failure, the stigma of a fraudster and the loneliness of an abandoned thief, Ken Lay finally died of a heart attack in 2006 while awaiting sentencing; he was just 64 years old. If Yar’dua, as the President of Nigeria still thinks he holds allegiance to his rogue ex-colleagues, then, Aso Rock is the wrong place for him to live. He swore to protect the interest every Nigerian and not that of those who plunder the country. His oath of office is to move the country forward not to return us back to where we were under the infamous IBB.

All this crap about Ribadu going for a course to further sharpen his policing skill is not only juvenile, it betrays our leaders as bad and stupid liars. What type of training are Nigerian police officers getting that turns them into thieves and bribe takers? It is Okiro and his fumbling men and women that need to enrol in Ribadu’s School of policing, not the other way round. Ribadu has woefully failed to behave like a typical Nigerian police officer. He had stepped on powerful toes (toes that should be chopped off!), he had caused the arrest and the incarceration of a serving IG. Against all opposition from the AGF, he has managed to put two ex-governors behind bars pending their release or trial. Ribadu has proven within a span of five years that corruption can be tamed if the right person is put at the helms. And now the man needs to go back to school to learn how to function better. Is there any surprise that some people still think that the Blackman still suffers from acute intellectual deficiency? Couldn’t they find a better line such as “you are fired for being an Obasanjo boy”? That will be politically suicidal but at least it will be the truth.

The argument that the institution should outlive the individual is a Nigerian term that is designed to deceive. Hear those lawyers wax poetic of the need to strengthen an institution that has just been put to death! They must show me any institution in the world that does not need a strong and virile leadership for it to function well. I am shocked at Chief Wole Olanipekun’s take on this since I thought he loved Nigeria more than his pocket. Now I know I was wrong. We make institutions. Institutions do not make us. They become what we want them to be. A school principal, a bank manager, a company executive, the leader of a labour union, a priest, a local government chairman, a commissioner, a minister, a governor, and a president, all in their individual position of leadership is the only difference between the success and failure of such institutions. For example, it is obvious that Olisa Agbakoba as the President of NBA is implementing an agenda that will further enrich members of his association rather than coming out strongly against corruption. We can all see how the political arena has become a cash cow for Nigerian lawyers, and they are making the best of it. There’s never been a better time to don the wig and gown in Nigeria.

Finally Nuhu Ribadu cannot be without blemish since he’s a Nigerian working within the rough Nigerian political terrain. He could have been selective in his arrest and prosecution of some of the thieves among us for political expediency. But they are thieves nevertheless, and that gives me a sense of satisfaction. He was also working with Obasanjo, a man described as being difficult to work with, yet he was productive.
If Ribadu who was not holding an elective position was relieved of his post because he was an Obasanjo boy, should Yar’dua wait for the result of the election tribunal before throwing in the towel? It will be most unwise for Ribadu to report for any course being organised by the Police Force as that would definitely spell his end. Those after him will not give up until they terminate him, and the government, by this onerous action seems to be aiding and abetting that. The best option for him is to leave the country and watch from outside how things unravel.

The Blackman’s world is still a world of misery, self-destruction, missed and squandered opportunities. Just take a look around the continent, and you will wonder if God actually gave the Whiteman’s world a thousand years to grow and prosper before creating Africa. Whatever needs to be built, we don’t build. Whatever is built, we bring down. We think backwards and so our world is perennially in darkness. The Ribadu era is gone, who’s going to confront that monster called corruption in Nigeria?

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