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few days ago, Nuhu Ribadu, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission boss, took a stand that signified his sincere desire to see Nigeria sanitized of all forms of corruption. That stand was so unique and somewhat risky that no member of the PDP or their appointees, in their selfish desire to perpetually dominate Nigeria, would even contemplate following in Ribadu's footsteps. That stand quickly reminded me of why I saw the young man as full of potential and capable of changing Nigeria for good. He has enough heart and courage to take the corruption fight to the high and mighty and fell them like iroko trees if need be.
The reader should recall that Ribadu once stated, in South Africa, that Babangida would never be the president of Nigeria again because of his corrupt past. It took a lot of courage to make that statement. Many Nigerians believe that Ribadu was doing well until Obasanjo decided that the EFCC was going to become a personal weapon for persecution of his enemies rather than a tool for tackling corruption nationally. That was when Ribadu strayed. In light of his recent stance on the 2007 elections, though, this young law enforcement officer has affirmed that the burning desire he has to see Nigeria become a corruption-free nation has not been completely extinguished. He may have been stymied by Obasanjo's overbearing influence but he is waiting to exhale come May 29th, 2007.
The place was Abuja and the occasion was the PDP party that was put together for the newly selected PDP members. In a paper he delivered, Mallam Ribadu said to his mostly PDP audience, "The time has come to enforce the laws that can help stem the distortions of money in politics which in turn bred political corruption. The Judiciary must show courage and independence and above all help dispel the growing worry among some Nigerians that judgments and justice can be purchased"
The above statement marked the first time that a high-ranking appointee of the PDP party or any PDP member has publicly admonished the judiciary to step up to the plate and do its job. Inotherwords, while other PDP members and their appointees are looking for ways to corrupt members of the judiciary so they can look the other way while they rigged elections, this seeming straight shooter is breaking ranks with them and asking the judiciary to do the right thing. This shows that given enough independence to do his job, Ribadu is poised to discharge it without fear or favor and would have no sacred cows unlike his boss.
It has always been my hunch that the selective prosecution that the EFCC boss veered into, after vowing to bring every corrupt Nigerian to book, was because of the influence of the man that gave him the job. He did not want to upset the man so he started playing along. It seems to me that as May 29th, the day that the wind will blow General Obasanjo out of Aso Rock, back to the boondocks from whence he came, Ribadu will exhale and begin a true war against corruption that all well-meaning Nigerians would appreciate.
Ribadu seems to understand more than other PDP members or their appointees that fraud in any shape or form must not be condoned. He seems to disagree with the PDP elite that believe in the doctrine of the end justifies the means. He gave the PDP what I regard as an ear full during his speech to them. Hear him, "The challenge to my mind before the tribunals today is to strongly make the point that those who purchase their electoral victory at discounted or counterfeit prices are denied the proceeds of the crime. We must unequivocally call on these election tribunals to do for political corruption what new international mechanisms of anti-corruption have done for financial and economic crimes. They must deny offenders the proceeds of their political crimes, deny them safe havens and deny them immunity for their criminal impunity" [Sunday, May 20, 2007]
The above statement is very instructive. While PDP members all over the nation are scared stiff, wondering if the election tribunals would upturn their fraudulent victories, this man is publicly exhorting members of the election tribunals to deny election riggers of their fraudulent victory. One is sure that Ribadu was mindful of the fact that half of the so called newly elected PDP governors listening to his speech were "offenders" and would be affected if the election tribunals discharged their duties fairly, yet he forged on not minding whose ox was gored. This is unprecedented and says a lot about the EFCC boss. Clearly, he knows that if the election tribunal nullifies the presidential elections and PDP looses a rematch, he would loose his job but that did not seem to bother him. His primary goal was to see justice done. I say Kudos to him. This is the type of man that should be in that position. He has the courage, he is intelligent and he has now developed some measures of rapport with FBI and Scotland Yard that would make it easier to trace, apprehend and extradite corrupt leaders.
Now, for the avoidance of doubt, I have had my share of criticism against Ribadu in the past. First, I criticized the manner in which the EFCC was breaking down people's doors and barging into their homes because of mere and yet to be substantiated allegations of corruption. I averred that the EFCC was becoming the judge, jury and executioner, a development that was seriously threatening to our nascent democracy. I insisted that Ribadu should allow the courts to have the final say in determining innocence or guilt and doling out proportionate punishment. I also complained when the EFCC was turned into a personal weapon of the president to fight his enemies. I felt that the selective prosecution of people was watering down the effectiveness of the commission and was making it less acceptable to Nigerians and the international community at large. While I reeled out my criticism against Ribadu and his EFCC, I always maintained that he seemed like an honest man that would do the right thing if given the chance and enough independence. His position, which he unfurled at the PDP retreat, seems to be proving that he is more of an asset to Nigeria than a liability.
Ribadu has transformed Nigeria's political landscape. In the past, leaders funneled money out of Nigeria with impunity and without bothering to hide it. With the progress that Ribadu has made so far, these office-holders are now conscious of the fact that they could no longer just siphon money out of the country. As I write, many outgoing governors are said to be making plans to flee Nigeria come May 29th when their executive immunity would have expired and exposed them to the dragnet of the EFCC.
I just finished reading a news story about Governor Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State. He is said to be on the run and is hiding in Spain to escape the long arms of the EFCC. At this point, because one does not know the full details of what Nnamani is being accused of and whether he is guilty or not, one would reserve judgment but the point here is that Nuhu Ribadu has created awareness. If come May 29th, he succeeds in prosecuting outgoing governors in courts of competent jurisdiction and further succeeds in putting them behind bars; he would frankly become the darling of many Nigerians that are pauperized every time elected officials siphon government money out of the treasury for private use.
In light of my gut feelings about Ribadu and the good he is capable of doing for Nigeria, he has my vote to continue as the EFCC boss for many more years to come. The National Assembly should ensure that the move to make the EFCC completely independent of the presidency should not only be on paper but must be seen to be consummated. A word of caution is in order here: A clear operational guideline must be developed for Nuhu. The guideline should include prosecuting all cases in courts of competent jurisdiction, ceasing and desisting from barging into people's homes, commando style, often without court order to ransack the places. He should also be chided to guard his mouth and watch what he says in public to avoid needlessly tarnishing the image of innocent people.
As for Obasanjo, he has lost the opportunity to be a statesman. His overzealous move to "continue the reforms he started", pushed him into working in cahoots with INEC to impose unwanted and dubious candidates on the masses. This writer believes that he is in for rude awakening as he prepares to go back to Ota. Election protests are being staged everywhere. As the days go by, rather than subside, dissent from the opposition is increasing. It is a true test of democracy that will most probably culminate with the election tribunals showing the current impostors their way out. I see a ray of sunshine in the murky clouds of Nigeria's future. So help us God
HERE I STAND
Breaking News It is my understanding that several Diaspora Nigerian organizations have set aside May 26th, 2007 to protest the sham that was the 2007 elections. On that day, they will assemble in major United States Cities like Washington DC, Atlanta, New York and Houston to bring the attention of the United States Government and citizens to the fraud that was perpetrated by the so-called Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) under Professor Maurice Iwu and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In the words of Dr Chris Aniedobe, Interim Secretary General of Council of Igbo States in America (CISA), "What we are seeing today [in Nigeria], however, is not imperfect elections; it is organized crime that has exposed Nigerians to ridicule all over the world and there is no bigger threat to Nigeria today than letting this organized crime entrench itself and forever usher in a tradition of do or die"
The rally will be a peaceful one aimed at collectively sensitizing the international community to the fact that injustice and disenfranchisement should not and must never be condoned by any government. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere as Martin Luther King once said. The organizers of the rally seek to call the attention of the international leaders, who are inviting Umar Yar'adua to G-8 summit, that they are indeed trying to hobnob with a product of illegality and must stop. The organizers are asking that the April 14 and 21st elections be annulled and fresh ones conducted by an unbiased umpire.
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