“I love my country I know go lie
Na inside am I go live and dieI know my country I no go lieNa im and me go yap till I die…”
Fellow
Nigerians, let me borrow that incredible song I believe was composed by
Tunji Oyelana and produced in the Shehu Shagari era, around 1981. The
National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was comfortably in charge and the ruling
party had gone on spending spree. The situation got so bad, or so we
thought, and Wole Soyinka and his irrepressible “conspirators” regaled
us with satires. Stage plays were still popular in those days and the
place to be, as a student at the University of Ife, was Oduduwa Hall,
next to the Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library. I will never forget “Opera
Wonyosi.” Even now “The Beggar’s Anthem” still reverberates in my head.
We thought we had seen the worst of our country then but the profligacy
of that time pales into insignificance compared to today’s madness.
Late
last year, the Federal Government announced that it would be pursuing a
whistleblowing policy to encourage Nigerian citizens to inform, snitch
or tell tales (depending on what side of the divide you are) on their
fellow citizens who have been engaged in corrupt practices and secretly
salted away money and property. The incentive for the whistleblower was
that they would receive between 2.5% to 5 % of whatever the value of
money or property recovered as a result of the information. On another
day, I will deal with the politics, morality and efficacy of
whistleblowing as a tool in the fight against corruption. On my own
part, my major concern is the lack of protection other than financial
reward offered to the whistleblower!
The
serious season of the Whistle Blower started in February 2017 when EFCC
operatives raided a building said to belong to Andrew Yakubu, former
group managing director of the NNPC. They recovered almost US$10 million
dollars and £100,000 from a safe ensconced in a building deep in the
outback of Kaduna. The Man subsequently walked into the offices of the
EFCC and demanded for the money back contending it was a gift. As the
matter is now in Court and thus sub judice, I will not enter the debate
as to who, how or why?
The
season continued in March 2017 with another discovery of money in
Kaduna. The closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja
and its relocation to Kaduna led to this expose. Upon
information received, security agents had intercepted a package at the
baggage screening point at the newly refurbished and revamped airport. Originally
it was claimed that the money, which was found in five unmarked and
unaccompanied bags, was in crisp new N200 and N50 notes. Investigations
swung into full gear but till today we have not heard anything further
about the investigations. The
only information, if any, was that the money had been recovered as a
result of the activities of a whistleblower. We certainly are none the
wiser about the owners or the purpose of the money.
The
season of anomie moved Southwards into Lagos, the commercial capital of
the country, in April, when money was recovered in various locations
there.
On
April 7 a whistleblower tipped off the EFCC Lagos Zone that a large sum
of money was stashed in an office building at the LEGICO Shopping Plaza
in the Nigeria Air Force Complex in Victoria Island. When
Operatives raided the office, they found almost N500 million in N1000
and N500 denominations in several “Ghana Must Go” bags. On enquiry it
was discovered that the offices concerned were abandoned Bureau De
Change (BDC) offices. The offices had apparently not been used for two years. As far as we know, efforts to locate the owner of the BDC has proved abortive and nobody has turned up to claim the money.
The
next major heralded whistleblowing event occurred on April 10 when the
equivalent of almost N250 Million in Naira and various foreign
currencies was recovered in a Bureau De Change (BDC) in the popular
Balogun Market area of Lagos. Although
two people were apprehended, they claimed the money belonged to their
unidentified boss from the Northern part of Nigeria. The real owner of
the money and the BDC involved remain un-named.
However, the mother of all discoveries was apparently yet to be made. On
12 April 2017 Nigerians woke up to the revelation that more than US$43
Million, £27 Million and N23 Million was found in a flat in Osborne
Road, Ikoyi. The discovery in Ikoyi has apparently opened a can of worms
and it is not known who will be exposed and consumed by the debacle. Unlike
the other unknown and un-named owners affected by the previous
whistleblowing escapades, a few people have been touted as potential
owners of the property and the money.
The first of the alleged owners was a former Managing Director who was recently fired from NNPC, Mrs Esther Nnamdi-Okagbue. She
promptly dissociated herself from the money or the property and
threatened that if she continued to be intimidated she would break her
silence and cause cataclysm in the country. Next
up was a former national Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’Azu who
allegedly owns the property although it was claimed that a prominent
Nigerian bank has foreclosed on it. The embattled former national
Chairman immediately and stoutly denied any link with the flat in which
the money had been found or the money itself.
The
rumour mill then shifted attention to one of the foremost and frontline
Ministers in President Buhari’s Government and a vociferous champion of
the anti-corruption campaign, Rotimi Amaechi the Minister of Transport. Linked
by satanic rumours with the vivacious Television presenter and media
entrepreneur, Mo Abudu it is alleged that Amaechi owns the property and
the money found in them. It
is claimed that this is so because he bought two properties and gave
one to his friend Mo Abudu. Mo Abudu has also issued a Press release in
which she vehemently refutes the allegation that she is involved in a
relationship with Amaechi or that she owns the flat in which the money
was found.
Given
my close relationship with Amaechi, I called him to ask about the story
particularly as the Governor of Rivers State has claimed that the money
belongs to his State. The State Government claims that the money was
diverted funds from the sale of the State’s Gas Turbines to Sahara
Energy for the price of US$319 Million. Amaechi’s reaction was one of
incredulity. As he told me, “Bob Dee, you know that I have always told you I am not rich. How
would I have access to that kind of money and look you in the face and
say that!” In short, Amaechi denied anything to do with the money and
told me that he knew the game his detractors were playing and that he
would leave them to their conscience. I thought that he felt resigned to
the fact that as one of the Poster Boys of this administration and his
unflinching support for the President from the electioneering era till
now, he was bound to be subjected to this kind of buffeting and
earth-shattering allegations. Amaechi would never be forgiven by the PDP
who believe that he sacked them from power because of the initial
position he took at the Governor’s Forum which led to the fatal schism
in the PDP.
To
compound the matter and deepen the mystery, social media went agog with
the news that the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) had claimed that
the money was part of its operational funds which it had kept in the
flat that it was using as a safe house in Lagos and that everything went
through due process. It is unclear as yet whether this report is true or not but certainly, the plot thickens.
May
the soul of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti continue to rest in peace. He had a
song for everything, on different occasions. One of my favourite was
“Unknown Soldier.” The song practically portrayed the inability of our
government to unravel any major act of crime and the penchant for
blaming it on unknown people, as if Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO)
descended regularly on our shores to wreak havoc. Fela’s song was so
poignant and unforgettable. As I received the news of the huge sums of
dollars being busted in some people’s homes and offices in Nigeria, my
mind flashed back to Fela and how he would have composed a song titled
UNKNOWN LANDLORDS.
Believe
me, our country is super unique. Where else can anyone keep about $50
Million US Dollars in raw cash? The mere sight of that would have made
regular people to faint, collapse and probably die instantly but not
here. When God created us, he installed a certain shock-absorber in us
that makes it impossible for us to shake or panic in the face of
horrendous encounters.
It
is curious that the EFCC claims that in all of these matters it has
been tipped off by whistleblowers yet those people have seemingly not
been able to provide the identity of the owners of the money or even the
property in which the money was found. Wouldn’t
any rookie investigator first ask those questions before hotfooting to
the scene of the alleged crime? Would you not stake out the place to
find out who comes and goes as well as to be sure that you are not
walking into a trap? Except it is a deliberate strategy to keep the
names for now but why mention some publicly and hide others?
It
appears that these mysterious landlords and owners of money are cloaked
with some kind of aura or “aferi” (rarefier) that makes them invisible
to the eyes of the EFCC but otherwise apparent to everyone else. Many
are wondering what is happening at EFCC. The conspiracy theory out there
is that the Acting Chairman of the EFCC is simply raging around like a
bull in a china shop seeking to find prized heads he can hoist on his
stick or at worst pull down with him if he finally has to fall on his
sword? The sing-song is that Magu wants his job substantively by all
cost and any means. Why not? He has every right but he needs to
straighten up his prosecution desks and ensure that the cases are well
handled in the law courts and less of the theatrics that we see daily as
if that is what this anti-corruption fight is all about when it should
be much more. If care is not taken, this extraordinary battle may fizzle
out and end miserably like all others before it.
It
seems like the circus has come to town and the unknown landlords like
the masquerades of yore will never be unmasked. To do so might forebode
bad tidings for an already beleaguered government. It is now obvious
that corruption is not easy to fight in a country where it has become so
endemic and malignant. We wait with bated breath for developments in
the saga of the unknown landlords!
Dele Momodu is a Nigerian journalist, publisher, and former presidential aspirant. He tweets from @delemomodu. This article is culled from ThisDay.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
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