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The Stroke of Midnight - By Phil Tam-Al Alalibo
BY Tam-Al Alalibo
DATE : Friday, 22 September 2006
Make no mistakes about it; what we have on our hands is a tribe of greedy,
monstrous and avaricious politicians marking the time to the stroke of
midnight on May 29, 2007 when their term expires. Before then, however, they
must have their fill, they must embezzle to the hilt; they must loot, spend
and loot again. They must buy cars for their girlfriends and countless
streams of mistresses; they must buy mansions and planes, businesses and
companies to cushion their retirement. And he who does not partake in this
frenzy must be a paramount fool and suffer the painful repercussion of being
a pauper.
Recent revelations regarding the utter licentiousness of the president and
his vice have been grossly shocking. We talk here of billions of dollars
being tossed about to satisfy personal goals. At last, Nigerians know that
Obasanjo and his vice have been the bane of their problems in the last seven
years. I do not believe that there are many Nigerians left who still believe
that Obasanjo is incorruptible. With such corruption that even the devil
would be ashamed of, does Obasanjo, the alleged born again Christian, have
the moral ground to persecute Atiku or anyone? It appears that Atiku is
winning the battle in the court of public opinion, not because he has
adjudicated himself whole, far from it, but rather, Obasanjo, hitherto
regarded as the cleaner of the two men, has been exposed intoto transposing
Atiku as the lesser evil. If any good can emanate from this opprobrious
entanglement, it is the nauseating revelation that Obasanjo is as corrupt as
those he has sent to jail or arre
sted in the persons of Tafa Balogun, Alamieyeseigha, etc. Many have known
this all along, but the slugfest has confirmed it for all. While there are
still many questions, many intrigues, many confounded treaties that
Nigerians may never know, one thing remains clear; that the country now has
a clearer idea of the caliber of men at the helm.
The story gets messier at the state level with no respite in sight. A few
days ago, we heard that operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) on charges of money laundering arrested the wife of the
Bayelsa State Governor, Patience Jonathan. As if they had not learned from
the mistakes of DSP Alamieyeseigha, they appear to be heading the way of
perdition once again. Just this week, I was discussing on the phone with a
friend from Bayelsa that the Niger Delta does not deserve the 50% derivation
been clamored for. One must ask; what have they done with the money received
thus far? It was the former finance minister, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, herself, a
native of Delta State (Abia, by marriage) who challenged the Delta State
government to justify more than N300 billion in revenue allocation; she
further noted that the State was richer than most African countries. And she
is right, for I have been to Delta State, recently, and it does not appear
to have seen much developm
ent. It's truly a sorry sight, its major cities; Sapele, Asaba and Warri
remain in dire need of infrastructures and yet, we have heard rumors of its
governor gulping up mansions in London with Bentleys to spare.
In the case of Dr. Jonathan, it appears that education has not been a factor
in the governance of the state in spite of lengthy promises and venal
academic pontifications. In time past, we blamed the lack of development on
illiterate military leaders who could hardly spell their names not to
mention chart the course of a complex nation. We joked of a certain northern
politician who when asked what minerals his state had, responded by saying,
'there are lots of Fanta and Coke?' whereas the questioner meant natural
resources. But what excuse can be adduced now that western-educated men and
women well aware of the difference between Coke and natural resources occupy
the highest offices in the land? We are to understand that the University of
Port-Harcourt educated Dr. Jonathan does not understand that money
laundering is inimical to the development of his state; and was he being
mendacious and vile when he promised a transparent government? Or is this a
situation where corruption is
so acidic that it beclouds the judgment of even the most learned in our
society?
In neighboring Rivers State, Dr. Odili, a medical doctor, is not aware of
the importance of a robust healthcare sector that hospitals in the state
remain bare and a breeding ground for infections. A few weeks ago, I wrote
under the title, Governor Odili Must Explain, where I noted the dearth of
development and achievement of Odili in the last seven years in spite of
billions of dollars at his disposal. Since then, I have received an
abundance of emails from people on the ground with several noting the
selfishness of the Niger Delta leaders and their deliberate actions to
subject their people to poverty. For example, the abhorrent actions and
flagrant reign of profligacy of DSP Alamieyeseigha cannot be blamed on
northern leaders or on anyone else, but on DSP himself.
If these leaders were well intentioned, the political crisis in the Delta
region would not have festered. If they had used the oil money judiciously,
the region would be basking in prosperity. But the truth is the political
class profits from instability, it profits from crisis, and it becomes
relevant in the midst of strife and war; that is the sad irony of it all.
Until they can show probity in the use of resources, they cannot mount the
moral pulpit and ask for resource control. As Ken Saro-Wiwa once noted, the
problem of the Niger Delta is with the people of the Niger Delta. The
subtext is clear; Niger Delta leaders in collaboration with the
multi-national corporations subjugate their people to paucity and scantiness
of means. How then can anyone blame the federal government when the state
governments have not lived up to their responsibilities?
It seems, then, in Nigeria, an educated leadership has been a curse than a
blessing to the citizenry. If I am not mistaken, the former governor of
Anambra, Chinwoke Mbadinuju is a doctor, and yet, under his watch, Anambra
reverted to primitive existence with teachers going unpaid for fifteen
months and development brought to a standstill. At the national level, the
late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo held so much promise, as a private citizen; he had
criticized the government of the day relentlessly and held it accountable
through the pages of the newspaper. He was western educated, an accomplished
author of eight classic books, and countless articles and vast in
philosophy, but yet, when the opportunity came to put his education to the
benefit of the people, he fell painfully short. Professor Fabian Osuji, the
disgraced former Education minister has been a professor of high standing
and integrity, yet his many years of education did not serve him well when
greed became his mantra as he sought
gratification from an inflated ministry budget.
We ought to be cognizant of the fact that the nation's politicians are in a
mad rush by the stroke of midnight to empty the federal and state treasuries
and most would do so with impunity. I am reminded of the case of a military
administrator of a south-south state who absconded with his loots before the
handover date in 1999. The state police commissioner was hurriedly sworn in
to lead the state until civilians took over. But even in the face of this
gross dereliction of duty about to manifest, there is hardly any
repercussion that will attend their way. Is it not the aforementioned
governor of Anambra, an accused murderer, who was rewarded with
ambassadorial position after leaving office in 2003? And what has become of
the former governor of Kogi State, Prince Audu, who shelled out $1.8 million
for an Atiku-styled mansion in Maryland? Though an ANPP governor, word had
it that he campaigned so vigorously for Obasanjo in the 2003 presidential
elections that he is now enjoying what
could be termed as after-office immunity.
As the stroke of midnight on May 29, 2007 approaches, some of our
politicians are concluding plans to jet out to foreign lands. Mallam Ribadu,
the Chairman of the EFCC revealed recently that some politicians and a state
governor had made plans to flee the country before the expiration of their
tenure to avoid prosecution. The said state governor had planned to escape
the country under the guise of an accumulated leave citing the need to rest.
I dare say that the governor is Joshua Dariye of Plateau, a noted fugitive
who has amassed so much wealth that he could afford to donate N100 million
to the PDP when his state, with the lowest revenue allocation can hardly pay
workers' salaries.
Where do Nigerians go from here and how do they reclaim their country from
the vampires of the night? The answer is clear; they must hold their leaders
accountable. A sure way of getting their attention is to engage in
demonstrations and strikes until conditions improve in the same manner done
by civilians in Sudan that overthrew a military government in 1985. It is a
good thing that the EFCC has decided to screen those vying for office in the
2007 elections. It will serve the polity well if men and women with
integrity and a genuine desire to improve the lot of the people are voted
into office. Until at such time when Nigerians hold their leaders to the
highest measure of accountability, they would continue to be lied to,
cheated on, diced and sliced. And by the stroke of midnight on May 29, 2007
when the curtain is drawn, the next cast of actors will assume the stage for
a sure reenactment. |
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