By Casmir Igbokwe
Erudite scholar, Professor PLO Lumumba, was quoted to have said that “in Japan, a corrupt person kills himself. In China, they will kill him. In Europe, they jail him. In Africa, he will present himself for election.” The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) appears bent on stopping this negative perception about corruption in Africa, nay Nigeria. The Commission’s latest guests happen to be two former governors. One is the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello. The other is the immediate past Governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano. Some small fry called Bobrisky and Cubana Chief Priest, said to have abused the naira, are also in its trap.
Bello was said to have defrauded his state to the tune of N80.2 billion. The EFCC arraigned him on April 18, 2024. But he was absent. Pronto, the anti-graft body declared him wanted. The police withdrew his security details and the Immigration placed him on watchlist. These are just the icing on Bello’s cakes of trouble.
The main menu is not yet ready. But nemesis appears to be in a hurry to exert revenge. Recall that in the November 16, 2019 governorship election in Bello’s Kogi State, one abomination occurred. Apart from about six people who lost their lives, a woman, Salome Abuh, was gruesomely murdered in her house for purportedly not supporting Bello and the APC. Abuh happened to be the women leader of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of Wada Aro Campaign Council, Ochadamu Ward in the state. After the election, some thugs chanting, “GYB 4+4”, reportedly invaded Ms Abuh’s house, shooting sporadically. They bolted every exit and escape from outside, poured petrol on the building and set it on fire. Ms Abuh could not escape as bullets rained in her direction while the house burned. She cried from inside the inferno until her voice petered out. I was particularly pained by this callous act and my prayer then and even now is that the spirit of that woman should continue to haunt whoever had a hand in her death.
In the February 25, 2023 general election in Kogi, more wonders happened. In a bizarre act, the Kogi state government excavated and cut off some roads in Kogi Central. The suspicion was that this was done to prevent access to some polling units by the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agents. This was apparently to facilitate rigging of the senatorial election in favour of the former governor’s candidate. The roads in question lead to the senatorial district of the senatorial candidate of the PDP in the election, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. Funnily enough, the state government explained that it excavated the roads as a deliberate security measure to cut off traffic on those roads in order to restrict criminals who had been breaching the peace of the area from using the roads.
More bizarre was the plight of civil servants in Kogi State. In 2017, a director in the state civil service, Mr. Edward Soje, committed suicide because of his inability to provide for his family due to 11-month salary arrears the government owed him. His wife had given birth to a set of male triplets barely 10 days before the man took his life. Ironically, the babies came after 17 years of childlessness. Also, in September 2019, teachers in Kogi urged Bello to pay them 39 months’ salary arrears.
Bello survived his shenanigans in Kogi because of his immunity as governor and because he was a strong supporter of the then President Muhammadu Buhari. You know, once you are a loyal member of the APC, your sins, no matter how grievous, will be forgiven.
Now, Buhari is out of power and Bello is no more the governor. So, the chickens have come home to roost. So far, President Bola Tinubu has kept aloof. Remember that prior to the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary election held in June 2022, Bello did not hide the fact that he was opposed to the emergence of a southerner as President of Nigeria. He said there was nothing like zoning arrangement in the APC. This was even when northern governors had declared support for a president of southern extraction. He had picked up a form to contest for the presidency and had warned the National Working Committee of the APC and the northern governors that excluding him from the presidential primary election would create crisis for the party. Politicians don’t forget such disloyalty easily and, possibly, Tinubu has not forgotten.
The case of former governor Obiano of Anambra State is a bit dicey. The man his acolytes and admirers call Akpokuedike Global, is not a member of the APC. He is also not close to Tinubu. Hence, though his alleged sins are not more grievous than those of some of his colleagues who are enjoying their loot with peace of mind, he will have to bear his cross like an orphan who has nobody to defend him.
The current government in Anambra tried to defend him. It said it never complained that the state money was missing. This rescue attempt failed. Obiano also wanted the EFCC to leave him alone; that he should not be tried in Abuja for what happened in Anambra. This also failed. On April 18, 2024, he finally lost every bid to stop his trial as the anti-graft agency maintained that he had a case to answer.
It had charged him with nine-count money laundering offences involving stealing over N4 billion from Anambra state government security vote account. The EFCC claimed the funds were diverted through companies that had no business relationship with the state government. Such funds were allegedly converted to dollars and handed over to Obiano in dollar cash. The former governor denied the charges during his arraignment at the Federal High Court in Abuja in January this year. His full-blown trial will take place June 24, 25, 26 and 27. It will be an interesting legal battle.
Outside politicians, the EFCC has also beamed its searchlight on naira abusers. The cross-dresser, Okuneye Idris Olanrewaju, also known as Bobrisky, has become a major culprit. Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on April 12, 2024 sentenced him to six months imprisonment without an option of fine for mutilating naira notes to the tune of N490,000. This is contrary to and punishable under section 21(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, 2007.
On his part, businessman, Pascal Okechukwu, also known as Cubana Chief Priest, asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to decline jurisdiction on the naira abuse charges the EFCC instituted against him. Like Bobrisky, Cubana Chief Priest was accused of tampering with N500 notes at a social event, contrary to the CBN Act. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted bail to the tune of N10 million.
The truth is that Bobrisky and Cubana Chief Priest are scapegoats in an offence that is widespread in Nigeria. In almost all events in the country, be it wedding reception or burial ceremony, people spray money like water. I attended a number of events in my community in Anambra State during the last Easter period and I shuddered at the amount of money guests sprayed at some of these events. I understand that in some social clubs, it is mandatory for all members to spray certain amount of money to their colleague, the celebrant. For some of the clubs, the minimum to spray is N1 million or even more.
At the rate people commit this naira abuse, you begin to wonder if, truly, there is hardship in Nigeria as generally believed. Many Nigerians are good in unnecessary showmanship. It has become our tradition and I wonder if the EFCC can ever stop this trend.
It is all about our value system. Most of the people throwing money in this fashion hardly engage in any charitable work in their various communities. Their relatives may be dying of hunger and some other deprivations. That is not their business. All they want is to show to the crowd of onlookers that they have money; that they have arrived.
Nevertheless, the EFCC may have to look for more cells and prisons to contain the large number of Nigerians who may be convicted for spraying money during occasions. My point is that the anti-graft agency should focus more on bigger financial criminals than chasing naira abusers. Many Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) make some expenditure without presenting payment vouchers, contrary to the provisions of the Financial Regulation 601. Besides the former governors, the Commission should also investigate some former presidents to show that we are serious about fighting corruption.
Let’s emulate a country like Guatemala, which in 2022, jailed former President Otto Perez and his Vice-President, Roxana Baldetti, 16 years each for corruption. The country’s court also fined them $1.10 million and $1.06 million respectively. Perez, who was in office between 2012 and 2015, was even forced out of office due to the corruption allegations.
The EFCC has done its best. But, I look forward to the day when a president or governor will be forced out of office in Nigeria for corruption. I look forward to the day when all former governors, now serving as ministers or senators but still collecting humongous life pensions, are forced to return the money to the treasury and tried for economic sabotage against their states. I look forward to the day when the EFCC will not just arraign one or two ex-governors but all of them who embezzled their states’ security votes while in office. Until then, Yahaya Bello and Willie Obiano appear to be fall guys.
•Also published in the Daily Sun of Monday, April 22, 2024
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