FEATURE ARTICLE

Temple Chima UbochiTuesday, November 27, 2007
[email protected]
Bonn, Germany

ANNOUNCE THIS ARTICLE
TO YOUR FRIENDS

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRITISH POLICE AND BRITISH COURT HELPING NIGERIA?

A man’s first care should be to avoid reproaches of his own heart, his next to escape the censures of the world. (English Proverb)
When the eyes say one thing and the tongue another, the practiced person relies on the language of the first. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names. (Chinese Proverb)
If you are a host to your guest, be a host to his dog also. (Russian Proverb)
Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation. (Life’s Little Instruction Book)
You can outdistance that which is running after you, but, not what is running inside you. (Chinese Proverb)


advertisement

Before proceeding, I want to share with my readers one the feedbacks I received based on my article captioned: These are turbulent and hard times being a Nigerian abroad. I want to be fair enough by giving this guy a chance to defend himself. Remember, whatever he wrote might not necessarily be my own opinion, but, as an unbiased writer, everybody is entitled to his or her opinion and I respect that. As a writer, I am impartial here, others may judge. He wrote:

Mr. Ubochi,

I write in reference to your article dated 12/11/07, caption: federal government please help Nigerians in Thailand. Reading through, I noticed where you mentioned my name (Barry Akwuzu) as police informant. It was only yesterday being 27/11/07 that a friend called to inform me of the article, if not I could have written earlier to you than now to inform you that I am not a police informant as alleged by your informant. May God strike me dead if I ever collected any amount of money from law enforcement agency in Thailand. Only insane person will collect money from police to give away is fellow brother. The truth is that, in Bangkok if you are not into drug business others will see you as police informant. It is obvious that they have traitors among themselves but not an outsider in their drug business. Jerry Obinabo, whom the guy mentioned, is my childhood friend and we came from the same neighbourhood way back from Nigeria. He works with narcotic and not an informant. Jerry Obinabo is the final arbiter on all matters of dispute here in Bangkok within Nigerian community. The possibility of two of us being police informant is 0% because none of us is into drug business. I have a registered company with office address; in other words I am not a street guy. I am married with two kids and have nothing in common with this few Nigerian street guys.

I sincerely understood that you wrote your article with good faith, but I am only trying to inform you that I am not of that character as you were informed. I am not under payroll of any such. I am of noble character, and will never betray my fellow Nigeria. Please my brother, if it is convenient for you kindly help me tell our fellow Nigerians my own part of the story because your mere mentioning of my name has done more harm to me than good. For you to get a clear picture of Nigerians in Thailand you need to visit here yourself and I am ready to pay your fare ticket. My telephone is ……. if you want to ask me any question, please do not hesitate to call me.

o the topic of the day: Almost all the national dallies of November 27, 2007 had it that the Federal Government asked the British Government to assist it in restructuring the Nigeria Police Force. This was made known by the Minister of Interior, Godwin Abbe, who said the request was made by Yar´Adua at the just-concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Uganda. He said that the planned restructuring was to improve on the security situation in the country. We were meant to understand that the issue of the reorganisation of the NPF and the British involvement came up when Mr. President had a discussion with the British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown, in Uganda and that in the course of their discussion, the British Prime Minister kindly requested Mr. President for what assistance Nigerian Government would like the British Government to render. Mr. President told him that he would appreciate any support the British Government could give Nigeria in the matter of improving the security services of our country. The minister added that he and the committee he will set-up will advise Mr. President, who will then tell the British Prime Minister on the areas of assistance Nigeria may need.

It will be nice to seek an assistance from the British Government in re-organising the Nigeria Police Force, because, a Police Force that knows its job supposed to be up to its core role of protection of lives and properties and not the collection of N20 at illegal checkpoints. The stories coming out from the Nigeria Police Force are too cold for comfort. In 2006, a policeman shot his colleague because of a bottle of beer. Last month a policewoman shot her colleague in Akwa Ibom State because she didn’t allow her to collect rainwater. It is disgusting to hear that rainwater led to a death of a policewoman in this modern era. The Police Barracks are squalors with no amenities. It is unacceptable that a Police Barrack in Akwa Ibom State where the policewoman shot her colleague has no water borehole for the service personnel. So any re-organisation of the NPF should start with the personnel. Their well being must be taken care of, before any other thing. They need moral and psychological boosting. The NPF personnel need re-training so that each will come to terms with what his or her constitutional role is. They need to know that the Police should be the friend and not the enemy of the people. They should be well equipped for their jobs. It is bad that so many police personnel are buying their uniforms and working gears for themselves, it is bad that some policemen are maintaining and fuelling their duty vehicles themselves with little or no help from the police authority, it is bad that the basic salary of a police personnel is so little that it can´t get a man with a family any where. Any re-organisation should start with the human beings in police uniforms before anything else; otherwise, it will all be tantamount to waste of time.

I want to know why YarÁdua wants the British Government to help re-organise the NPF so that security of lives and properties in Nigeria will improve, but, he and his Attorney-General and Minister of Justice don’t want the British Court to try Chief James Ibori after all the evidence against him? The other day, the AGF asked YarÁdua to stop Ibori´s trial in U.K. (Tribune, November 26, 2007). According to the Paper, the AGF wrote Yar´Adua, asking him to stop the ongoing money laundering trial of James Ibori, in a London court. The Paper added that the minister told the president that the trial was designed to hurt Nigeria’s image and its judicial system. The Paper wrote that the AGF further said that if Ibori is culpable over the alleged crime, that Nigeria was the proper place to try him, with the glory of justice that would be done in the matter coming to the country. According to the Paper, the AGF gave reasons why the case should be terminated in U.K. among which is that it would entail many witnesses travelling from Nigeria to the UK to give evidence adding that media reporting of the trial abroad would demonstrate globally that Nigeria was incapable of tackling corruption within its own jurisdiction and had to rely upon courts in other jurisdictions to prosecute such offences.

I want to tell the AGF that he should tell the whole world that Nigeria is unable to tackle corruption, it is the truth, no need hiding it, and the problem is that people of his ilk are aiding corruption in Nigeria. He has been dragging his feet in this and many other cases and can´t pretend to be saving Nigeria from the ignominy as a failed state that can´t fight corruption by his stopping of the trial of Ibori in London. There’s no gainsaying it that the whole world knows that Nigeria is a very corrupt country and that the officials have no fire in their bellies to confront it. The attitude of the AGF is putting Nigeria to more shame than the trial of Ibori in London will do. I would like YarÁdua and the AGF to tell Nigerians what is the difference between inviting the British Police to come and re-organise the Nigeria Police Force and allowing the London Court to proceed with the trial of Ibori after all the evidence against him. The devil is in the detail.

YarÁdua and the AGF are not serious about fighting corruption in Nigeria and it seems that their days in their present authority positions are numbered, because, with the mountain of exhibits Atiku presented to the Election Tribunal on November 27, 2007, this presidency might be one of the most short-lived in our history and it seems that YarÁdua might have seen the handwriting on the wall and is only marking time as he might be happy to go as that office has proved to be too “big” for him. It is not what he envisaged that he is seeing.

advertisement
IMAGES IN THE NEWS