Editors remark: This is a continutaion of Etakibuebu’s column published on Tuesday, 2019.
By Godwin Etakibuebu
. . . to the poll on Saturday February 16, 2019, to put his popularity , credibility and acceptability to test. The truth is that the vote President Muhammadu Buhari is going to cast on that day, ditto millions of Nigerians, will present to him one of two things.
He could be smiling, laughing and dancing if he wins, because winning would surely return him back to Aso Villa in Abuja to continue a fresh new tenure of another four years as president. He could equally be weeping and gnashing his teeth [he had cried before in 2011 for losing] in preparation for packing his loads out of that beautiful Aso Rock Villa in Abuja and heading to his home town of Daura in Katsina State if he loses. Whichever way therefore, Buhari shall, after Saturday February 16, 2019, be a celebrating winner or a mourning loser – that is what going to the poll to cast his vote on that day holds for him.
Yet, Nigerians are asking the President, Muhammadu Buhari, to give an account, or succinctly put, narrates facts surrounding three issues; that occurred under his watch as a democratically elected President, publicly before he goes to the poll on February 16. He is being advised by Nigerians [I speak for the people] to take this call to render account of his stewardship on these three issues most seriously and comply by talking to the people of Nigeria as his refusal to talk [which in most cases is his usual idiosyncrasy] may not help him securing his quest for second tenure. The People of Nigeria are waiting to hear from him.
It is for the purpose of this assignment that l concluded this column yesterday [Tuesday February 5, 2019] with a promise of “supplying the facts of each of the three cases mentioned above on this page, starting from tomorrow till Thursday this week”. This is what the continuation of the narrative you are reading is all about, but let me reproduce the three items, as pointed out yesterday, for our collective action. Enjoy the exercise please.
- A comprehensive list of all those that looted the Nigerian common wealth, amount looted by each of them, total loot recovered till date and most importantly amount recovered from each of them. You promised this many times and you owe it a duty to tell us before you embark in staking your popularity; which can only be validated through the people’s collective mandate, for a second tenure.
- We, the Nigerian people, collectively and unanimously resolved and agreed, that you, our elected President, should and must tell us the whole truth – and nothing but the truth – details about Abdulraheem Maina; the man dismissed from the Federal Civil Service by the Administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, for allegedly [primarily] being involved in major fraud of Billions of Naira of Pension Fund and [secondarily] absconding from Service, whom your Administration reinstated “through the backyard door” on promotion, with all his salary cum allowances of the period when he was dismissed from the Federal Civil Service fully paid. The Nigerian People want to hear the details from you please.
- We, the people of this great Country, want a full briefing from you; as our elected President, about what happened to Sani Baba-Inna, a Chief Superintendent of Police and an aid-de-camp [ADC] to your wife, Madam Aisha Buhari, at a time [or is he still?] whom; it was alleged, scammed our beloved First Lady monies within the region of 2.5 Billion Naira at a time. We want to hear from you directly the result of investigations conducted on this greedy Chief Superintendent of Police as a prima facie case of “defrauding unsuspecting associates and officials as initial investigations have shown,” as a statement from the office of the First Lady affirmed.
Let us start with item number one on the list, to wit: A comprehensive list of all those that looted the Nigerian common wealth, amount looted by each of them, total loot recovered till date and most importantly amount recovered from each of them. You promised this many times and you owe it a duty to tell us before you embark in staking your popularity; which can only be validated through the people’s collective mandate, for a second tenure.
Mr President, you owe the Nigerian people a duty and responsibility, both in morality and legality, to give us details of what was looted, the name of the looters and how much each of them [it is obligatory on you to supply us with the names] appropriated to themselves, total recovered loot and also, amount gotten back from each, where the recovered loots are being kept, the amount expanded as cost of recovering the loots, and other details that will convince Nigerians beyond reasonable doubts on the sanctity of your integrity and honesty.
Is this expectation of Nigerians to explain position of things on you, morally justifiable? The answer is yes for one tangible reason. Your alleged principle of character in honesty, accountability and transparency was what won the 2015 general election for the All Progressives Congress [APC]. That victory, by the APC, was all about you and your personal slogan of “killing corruption before corruption kills Nigeria”. If you were not to be in that Party [APC], there wouldn’t have been any one of substance amongst the founders, that would have been able to convince Nigerians of a war against corruption, because they [the real owners of that Party] are well-known all over the world as “fathers of corruption”. It is for this reason that morality bestows on you to tell us about the loots.
On the other hand, it is legally mandatory on you, our beloved and incorruptible President, to give details of all you know about the looted and total recovered of our common wealth to the People of Nigeria. Where is the legality?
In a story published by The Daily Post of October 19, 2017 and captured under a bold headline – Buhari orders agencies to publish names of looters – the story had this to say:
“President Muhammadu Buhari, has directed all relevant agencies to compile documents on names of all suspected looters. This was disclosed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abukabar Malami, SAN, during a meeting at his office in Abuja with a delegation from Social-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP. He said, “President Muhammadu Buhari has directed all relevant agencies to compile documents on names of all looters with a view to promptly enforcing the judgment of a Federal High Court in Lagos ordering the government to release to Nigerians information about the names of high ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered.”
This instruction you gave to all apparatus of government that had to do with the recovering of loots was sequel to a Court order on the Federal Government, compelling it to immediately publish names of looters and recovered loot. It will be instructive at this point to read media reports on the court order; an order thoroughly published on July 5, 2017.
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the Federal Government to immediately release to Nigerians names of high ranking public officials from whom public funds were recovered, the circumstances under which funds were recovered and the exact amount of funds recovered from each public official. The judgment was delivered on Wednesday by Hon Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari following a Freedom of Information suit number: FHC/CS/964/2016 by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). The suit followed disclosure in 2016 by the Federal Government of funds recovered from some high-ranking public officials and private individuals. In her judgment, Justice Shagari agreed with SERAP that, “the Federal Government has a legally binding obligations to tell Nigerians the names of all suspected looters of the public treasury past and present.”
This is where and how you are morally and legally bound to explain to Nigerians the true position of the recovered loots. Anything short of comprehensive report to Nigerians on this demand may not help your frantic efforts in securing a second tenure as you; being Nigeria’s leader, leads us to the polls next week Saturday. So, it is a golden opportunity for you to enhance your chances of clinching victory at the polls if only, you would oblige Nigerians – the electorate – facts of this disclosure.
Let me add this before drawing the curtain on today’s exercise, that the reason Nigerians are asking you for accountability and detailed submission of facts on this topic is that majority of the people of this great country, without losing confidence on your incorruptibility character in honesty and integrity, are of the opinion that “the recovered loots must have been re-looted by some inside sophisticated looters”.
Yes, some certificated looters around you, and you have these suspected dubious individual characters in your cabinet. You have a duty, again bordering on morality and legality, to prove the Nigerian peoples’ fear wrong and the only way of doing is for you to come out neat with facts and figures.
N.B
We shall discuss the remaining two items tomorrow on conclusion.
Godwin Etakibuebu, a veteran Journalist, wrote from Lagos.
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