Nigeria: The NGF saga is the biggest fight for democracy today

The leadership deficit

Friday evening presented us with a clear indication of the leadership deficit that has plagued Nigeria for decades and still continues to haunt the country without abatement or respite, the trajectory to progress is not in the remotest sights, it is depressing.

As the day closed, we all waited on social media for the results of the election of the new chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) which as a political block within the Council of State, though not constitutionally relevant is significant in the power brokerage that defines the distribution of power and privilege in our federal republic.

Who they are

In some ways, it determines whether the executive at the centre will have untrammelled lien or negotiated settlements as regards federal and state distributions of the largesse of oil money amongst many other issues that could pertain to the ratification of federally promulgated laws at the state legislature – much of the dynamic is unscripted but it is by no means to be pooh-poohed.

It claims to draw its legality from Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which loosely guarantees the freedom of association and assembly. [Chapter 4 of the Constitution]

A battle royal so despicable

The apparently outgoing chairman of the forum is the governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi who recently had somewhat fallen out with the President over matters unnecessary for comment here apart from the fact that proxies of the Federal Government had engaged in frustrating and embarrassing the man. [Grounding of aircraft – Vanguard Nigeria]

The Nigerian House of Assembly had only the previous day excoriated certain federal agencies for overreach, lack of due process, bias and dissimulation, much of which should have embarrassed all the parties involved, but embarrassment is an unknown emotion in Nigeria - where in other countries there will be contrition, apology and restitution, maybe resignations, one cannot expect the slightest regret of officialdom if they can help it.

A vision unseen

Now, it would appear that the NGF works from this basic premise as articulated in their vision statement – to be, “An effective, proactive, inclusive, non-partisan forum which actively fosters, promotes and sustains democratic values, good governance and sustainable development in Nigeria.” [NGF – Our Vision and Mission]

They acknowledge this goal is idealistic but they believe that they have both the capacity and determination to realise and project this vision and thereby achieve it.

The reading of yesterday’s events shows that these gentlemen and that is a too effusive a compliment for them but for the want of a collective term, failed to attain in the slightest, the effectiveness, the proactiveness, the inclusiveness or non-partisan aims so succinctly expressed in the NGF vision.

Rotten politics at play

As it transpired, an election took place and Governor Rotimi Amaechi took 19 votes to Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State’s 16 votes and was duly elected the Chairman of the NGF.

However, it is the intrigue and machinations behind the scenes before the election that needs some scrutiny exacting excoriation in the starkest terms because it was tyrannous, underhand and atrocious at best.

The ruling party (PDP) has a majority of governors in Nigeria and so it is very likely that any vote will produce a PDP chairman and as a sop to the other parties, the deputy chairman might well land in their docket.

Really rotten politics at play

What really happened was that the PDP governors, 23 of them met and of the lot 19 resolved to post the governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, as the Chairman of the NGF with Governor Segun Mimiko of Ondo State from one of the minority parties as the vice Chairman.

This is after having persuaded other interested governors to withdraw their candidacy whilst Jonah Jang filed his nomination papers well after the deadline necessary to indicate interest in the chairmanship, something people have not yet touched upon.

The mover of this scheme was Governor Godswill or better still Devilswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State whose democratic antecedents is one of rigging, manipulation and dishonesty having confessed in March 2013 that he manipulated the PDP senatorial primaries in favour of his preferred candidate in 2007. [Akpabio Rigging - Punch][Video – Sahara Reporters]

Democracy is opportunity for all

One can easily say the non-partisan aims of the NGF were seriously violated with this factionalisation within the group along party lines but there is a more atrocious issue in play.

The PDP governors numbering 23 constitute a majority within the NGF but the other 5 parties sharing just 13 states are not insignificant. The governors had gathered in Abuja to vote for chairmanship of the NGF and the basic democratic principle will suggest that all of them will be given the opportunity to exercise a voting privilege together in the same place and at the same time.

For the PDP faction of the NGF to have engineered a resolution that garnered 19 votes to install Jonah Jang without the whole group constituting the NGF being present was wholly reprehensible apart from constituting themselves into a tyranny of the majority overriding the wishes of the minority even if eventually the result might go the way of the majority – that patently was not democracy at play, it reeked of subterfuge and dishonest politicking to ulterior ends.

Winning the argument

It is the victory of reason over corrupt enterprise that an election eventually took place because it gave everyone of the governors a say in who to lead the NGF, though one governor was absent; and if the resolution was really worth the paper it was written on, after being tested by secret ballot of all the governors, it should have stood – it fell.

Whereas 19 governors resolved to support Jonah Jang, by the time the votes of the secret ballot were counted, 3 of those governors had dissolved to renew Rotimi Amaechi’s tenure with 19 votes against 16 votes for Jonah Jang.

Secret ballots reveal truth

That in my view was democracy expressed as best as it should, a secret ballot with a count to determine who wins and it must for all intents and purposes if there is any justice and fairness in this world carry the greatest validation and authority over an open resolution that denied the full house of governors the opportunity together to decide who to lead their forum.

Sadly, the Presidency with its interference and weak leadership having been humbled and trounced by the basic tenets of simple democracy in action has not found the strong voice to support a clear democratic verdict that the spokespersons have vacillated and prevaricated on a matter of clear and honest principle, epithets none of the lot appear to possess to any discernable extent and I mean, honesty, character or principle.

This must not stand

The government with all its Machiavellian apparatus of state and calumny will do everything to undermine a democratic verdict for political and pecuniary advantage without scruples – this leaves Nigeria the much poorer where opportunity to show that progressive change is possible it is aborted for selfish interest and megalomania.

A parallel NGF organisation with allegiance to the President is now operating without a democratic mandate having conducted a selection rather than an election, claiming the election by secret ballot after the resolution was rigged, when it was not. The gormless men could not present their ploy to the full house of NGF governors and win the argument by persuasion where everyone had the opportunity to vote without coercion and menace – the NGF vision has well and truly been blinded and abrogated completely on the capriciousness of objectionable men.

We must stand with truth

I would hope that Nigerians will see what is happening in this machination of the utmost evil in high places and refuse to be conscripted into this rotten enterprise just for the aggrandisement of the powerful – Rotimi Amaechi won that election fair and square, the democratic principle should stand regardless of whether we like him or not – it is a matter of the basic tenet of democracy, the man is simply necessary to represent its purpose, somebody needs to be elected when people have voted and the votes have been counted.

The other issue of men who signed a resolution in the open not being able to stand with what they signed when presented with a secret ballot is simply expressive of the absence of good virtue in the men that lead Nigeria; it has been our eternal plague, I am sad to say.

Other references

Why Akpabio, Mimiko, others claim Amaechi rigged Nigeria Governors Forum election – Premium Times

Amaechi wins • Jang 19 votes to 16 as NGF elects chair • Drama as Jang, Akpabio, others reject election – Nigerian Tribune

Jonathan not involved in NGF election – Presidency – Vanguard Nigeria

Pro-Jonathan govs finally split NGF – Vanguard Nigeria

Jonah Jang says God helped him “defeat” Amaechi – Premium Times

Nigeria: Tackling the Northern Complex

It is not elementary

Nigeria is a complex conundrum and for all the facets of life that come up for discussion it is easy to end up with a series of single stories which might skew the issues but they all add up to the narrative called Nigeria, its history, its problems, the solutions, the criticisms from nasty to constructive to the outlook to the future.

One typical example of the jumbled narratives is the North, taken as a homogenous entity in terms of religion, ethnicity and economy for simplicity sake and packaged as such for media consumption but it has probably the most diverse and heterogeneous demography of Nigeria.

Child Hunger of the Almajiri

Recently, I clamoured about [1] the fate of the Almajiri from the perspective of human and child rights, suggesting that certain controls and inspection regimes need to be put in place to arrest the unconscionable and despicable case of children and adolescents being in boarding schools of a certain persuasion but having to be beg for food.

The more heart-rending aspect was the case of a boy ill with malaria and typhoid fever that was not in hospital and had not eaten since the night before; to suggest the head of that school was criminal and irresponsible would have been a heartless understatement – it is a pervasive problem.

The Borno State Government has taken the first step towards addressing this problem by supporting 10,000 Tsangaya schools [2] to tackle the problems of feeding and to take the Almajiri off the streets thereby curtailing the begging menace.

If government money is going into such institutions it should then translate into gaining control to regulate their activities, inspect their facilities and introduce a curriculum that will allow the Almajiri who in that setting will now be pupils and students to learn a trade or some vocational skill along with their religious schooling. If successful, one will hope that this concept will spread out to other states pulling Tsangaya schools into a structured educational regime that upholds child rights preparing them for viable and productive careers.

Talking Poverty Alleviation

In the Nigeria Poverty Profile released by the National Bureau of Statistics, we are presented with the stark detail that relative poverty has increased between 2004 and 2010 with the North-Central, North-Eastern and North-Western zones revealing increasing levels of poverty compared to the three zones in the South.

Courtesy of the National Bureau of Statistics - Nigeria Poverty Profile, Page 17 [3]

The Northern Governors then thought to redress this imbalance by demanding a review of the revenue allocation [4] from the centre; this threatens to draw a dangerous fault-line giving credence to that age-old North-South divide that has become the basis for analysing problems in Nigeria.

Looking at the numbers, there probably is a case for a review but the problems are more fundamental than that. The Niger Delta oil-producing area probably has the highest per-capita allocation but the governors have not been judicious in the use of the funds for the development of their states. Most of the communities are poor, their lands polluted, infrastructure lacking and the travesty gave rise first to activism and then militancy without much improvement towards tackling the environmental disasters or the future prospects of the masses.

Likewise, governorship in the North has not taken up the responsibility to create enabling environments and offer the essential impetus for development that can pull their people up from abject poverty and it is unlikely that throwing more money at the region with yield the results required but that is a subject for negotiation and debate between all affected parties.

Stilling a brewing storm

The demand however called for cool and wise heads to comment from the Presidency. Until recently on matters of security, power or policy, the President has been handed speeches that has left a good many readers and listeners in despair, complete forlorn as to where the country might be going that clueless had become the description of President Goodluck Jonathan’s grasp of issues.

One can only suppose the President had sacked his uninspiring speechwriter and acquired one that could capture the mood and set out a range of opinions that make sense and give people, especially the governors a sense of responsibility and purpose, though we still have to wait and see what comes of it.

However, in response to this demand, the President in a speech recently given [5] on a visit to Makurdi had this to say.

"We have resources in all parts of the country to sell. All states of the federation have products they can export. The governors should work with private sector operators to produce and sell what they have not only to Nigerians but also to export."

"Nigeria is an agro-based economy even before the civil war and that is why they did not borrow money to prosecute the war. We should be able to revive this process like it happened in those periods when oil was not an issue."

"If we create the enabling environment and liaise with the private sector, people will not need to steal or go into 419 before they can make it."

Making governors more accountable

In other words, state governors should work better at realising potential in their states and seek to exploit such as if there were no oil revenues to rely on.

The national cake is no more big enough to go round effectively, the states that to generate more income internally by doing the best with the resources they have and seek markets for their goods for their states to prosper.

One interesting element of history that we seem to forget about Nigeria that the President alluded to in his speech is that Nigeria might well be that only country in the world to have prosecuted a civil war without running into debt, it harks back to a can-do spirit of fiscal prudence that Nigeria apparently once had, which means it can be rediscovered again.

In all, all governors have serious work to do having escaped the fury of the people during the #OccupyNigeria protests and deep scrutiny of their policies until after their tenures the President has laid down the modalities on which governance accountability will be based, this should be the first of many to get them to sit up and start delivering solutions to their people.

Sources

[1] Nigeria: Letting Our Children Live Like Dogs | Akinblog.nl

[2] Borno Govt to Support Tsangaya Schools

[3] ACF backs northern governors on revenue allocation review | Punch Online Nigeria

[4] Nigeria Poverty Profile: [Image Captured from Page 17 of PDF] | The National Bureau of Statistics

[5] Jonathan tasks governors on revenue generation | The Nation

Other references

Nigeria Poverty Profile [PDF] | The National Bureau of Statistics

Editorial: Nigeria - The North, Religion and Politics | Akinblog.nl

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review X - The North | Akinblog.nl

Nigeria: What The James Ibori Deal Exposes

Others doing the deed

That it will take foreign countries to expose the rot of endemic corruption in Nigeria just shows how the system appears not to have the capacity to reform and divest itself of the problem.

This morning [1] James Onanefe Ibori the ex-governor of Delta State agreed to a plea deal accepting all charges of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud in the United Kingdom.

In Nigeria, despite the mountains of evidence that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had, it was literally impossible to prosecute the man, he gummed up the judicial process, employed militants to resist arrest by the authorities and successfully absconded from justice to Dubai hoping to have escaped from reckoning and accountability.

How the big fish was netted

Meanwhile, in the UK, his wife, sister and solicitor were fighting charges of money laundering for which they were all convicted but it meant James Ibori was fighting legal battles in at least three countries.

At first, he lost the battle in Dubai as a place of refuge and ultimately got extradited to the UK where the revelations today might just be a microcosm of gubernatorial excess in Nigeria, window into corruption and an introduction to how our dear country has been plundered for decades by our leadership who expect no censure or sanction because it has become the rite of passage for anyone near the cash till.

Born a criminal

James Ibori’s criminality goes back a long way and in the UK itself; he was convicted for stealing in 1991, then for being in possession of a stolen credit card in 1992; many of his sort have besmirched the name of Nigeria, disgraced us, creating for many honest Nigerians untold heartache, distress and difficulty in seeking access and opportunity abroad because of their dishonest and shameless activities.

We have had to work twice harder, produce more documents, jump through impossible hoops, aver until we were red in the face because we were deemed untruthful, dishonest, suspect and suspicious because the likes of James Ibori raised the threshold of plausibility even for the least significant issues – it is a travesty that those of his ilk still get celebrated, honoured and respected in Nigeria.

Despite the plea bargain, I am glad that the deal was not a sealed and confidential document; the prosecutor did not mince his words in laying out the depth of opprobrium James Ibori must accept and the inefficacy of the system in Nigeria to police itself.

The lack of checks and balances

James Ibori was to have earned $25,000 per annum as governor over the 8 years he was in the Delta State government house, which will come to $200,000 in total. I doubt the British police were plucking numbers out of the air if they are suggesting he stole $250 million during his tenure. In other words, James Ibori walked away with 1,250 times the money he was legally entitled to.

You have to ask what system we have in place in Nigeria that allows a government official or a politician with responsibility for an executive office to walk away with a multiple of 1,250 of his entitlements and still be untouchable, unimpeachable, feted in high places, having the adulation of the people and unaccountable to any authority.

The bigger Nigerian corruption problem

That is the problem Nigeria faces because the stolen $250 million is no doubt the tip of the iceberg in terms of how Nigerian has been plundered, raped and stolen from by a brigandage of leadership that still rules in our midst. He cannot have done this alone; most of this would have been facilitated by other accomplices and conspirators who have taken their cut and have blended into society as respectable and without blemish.

The numbers are in the news story, but in what really grates and shows that we are nowhere near resolution of the Nigerian corruption problem; the public gallery of the court was not big enough to accommodate the almost 30 supporters of James Ibori, some wearing T-shirts with the slogan “Free Ibori”.

Our fight

In all honestly, it would have been nice to have all those disgraceful, shameless, odious, dishonourable people corralled as promoters of corrupt enterprise in the UK, Nigerians who have been completely blinkered that even if the truth slapped them in the face and literally yanked their ears off, they will rather side with falsehood, shame and the disreputable.

The problem is more widespread beyond those who stole, we have grown to condone it, tolerate it, celebrate it and desire it. In some ways, James Ibori just foolishly got caught; we Nigerians who strive to build a good name for our country just have to work harder to ensure that the likes of James Ibori and their supporters do not become the enduring image of what a Nigerian is, either at home or abroad.

Source

[1] Nigeria ex-Delta state governor James Ibori guilty plea – BBC News

Nigeria: The need to manage the Emperors of State

Emperors of State

Executive governors of states in the Federal Republic of Nigeria appear to have untrammelled fiat almost equivalent to absolute monarchies of old within their fiefdoms.

I do not intend to cover that particular matter but they are also granted immunity from prosecution which has the somewhat unintended consequence of many acting with impunity as they project the personification of absolute power that corrupts absolutely.

Thankfully, they only have that megalomania for the tenure of their offices before they become ordinary citizens again. Usually, to forestall a wholesale jettisoning of the things they put in place they would most likely attempt to interfere with the succession process with the hope of putting in a stooge that will for gratitude or other allegiances be their marionettes in power.

Deficiencies in governance

One thing is evident with our system of democracy, there are no strong institutions that make for ensuring that the governor acts within the sometimes grey areas of the law, the state legislatures tend to be overly partisan and factional rather than work as a moderating chamber more representative of the people and the powers the governor exerts are sometimes unreasonable that they will almost always be reviewed and the acts rescinded.

In many states where the new governors have been elected especially where the successor has come from another party or there have been differences within the same party that the erstwhile governor has not been able to influence the succession process the states have been in radical flux.

Basically, it is like the new governor is on a crusade to expunged every act and idea of their predecessor which all fall within the spectrum of atrocious through commendable to excellent, you rarely find areas where these governors attempt to build on the previous successes and take the state forward.

Consequences of the lack of continuity

Obviously, each governor has their own agenda and manifesto; it is their prerogative to act and hopefully in the best interests of fairness, justice, of the people and of the state rather that follow through their personal animosities in a show of sheer pettiness masquerading as leadership.

However, other things suffer if the system is not built to manage the acts of the executive governors at their most powerful and guarantee continuity after they have left. In fact, it feeds a vicious circle of counter-productive measures that give a lie to our democratic experiment.

On the matters of contracts, land ownership, business confidence, long-term enabling environments for development and growth the looming uncertainties that are generated by the musical chairs of quadrennial elections mean many projects not completed within the tenure might get abandoned and other thriving initiatives might be jettisoned.

Examples of breakdown

Worse still will be actions the old governor took for their own benefit when the new broom puts the old person in their place as is now happening in Ogun State - the once promising potentate at the advent of office who by the end of his term was probably the worst thing that ever happened to Ogun State who for his power-drunk egregious and megalomaniacal excesses plundered the state and appropriated lands that are now subjects of dispute.

If the new governors do not do well to spell out their intentions, many might read their actions as an all-out vendetta especially when one read the placards of student protesters whose university was downgraded to an institute of education amongst other things happening there and all around the country.

Constitutional review

There is a need to review the powers the executive governors had and what they can do, the state legislatures need to rise to the challenge of being better moderating influences on the governors whilst ensuring that the ideas and projects put in place have every prospect of continuity no matter who sits in the governor’s house.

Our constitution after almost 13 years of use is in need of radical amendments and subtle refinement to make our democracy more representative whilst also making leadership more responsive and accountable to the electorate.

Most importantly, there is a need to redress the matter of public service with more emphasis on the service over just having a public – these changes must happen soon, if we are to have a more enduring union and the hope that the best minds do vie for office and bring forth the change that Nigeria so badly needs.

References

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria – State Executive

Amosun, Daniel trade words over church land | Vanguard Nigeria News

Tai Solarin Varsity students protest merger | The Nation

Nigeria: Removing influence from selecting the cabinet

The President and his cabinet

This is where President Yar’Adua needs to begin to assert authority as the executive President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that he has the final say about how he runs his cabinet and who he invites into that fold.

It is understandable that we have had to bear the cross of the rottenness of federal character that ensures representation at the federal level is evenly distributed across all states regardless of size, representation or population – in my view it is becoming a nightmare.

One of the problems there is, we end up with space-filling jobbers rather than the best qualified Nigerians for jobs that require competence, initiative, vision, discipline, principles and hopefully, less politics.

Too many pools very few talent pools

In fact, I would rather we had the original 12 States such that the pool of talent can be better gathered, but the tendency to tribalism and unidentifiable clans would almost always get in the way, because there are still some that believe that a job is best filled with sycophants and through nepotism rather than by merit.

Certain thugs who think they are leaders want to be able control the bodies they have put in these posts such that they can exact undue pressure and obtain favours in gratitude for endorsing under-qualified people who by rights should never be in those positions and they, the appointees know it.

But mostly there is this chauvinistic, Barbarian tendency for the power-brokers to wield political influence – there has to be chest-beating that ends with the ultimate putdown – I put you in your position you must respect me. It is a completely corrupt enterprise.

Now, it appears at the beginning of the second year of President Yar’Adua’s tenure, he has the opportunity to reshuffle his cabinet, boot out non-performers, reassign the talents and bring in fresh faces. We might expect a Government of all Talents (GOATs to be unkind).

The political system we have in Nigeria means that selection for ministerial posts would mostly go to card carrying members of the ruling party and a few stellar Nigerians we cannot afford to ignore as state quotas are filled up.

Busybody state governors

I am not surprised that state governors in some ways would want to have some say in the selection but really what they should be doing is offering a list of names and allowing the President to make his choices – they should not be promoting particular affiliations or associations – in fact, my fear is that they might have promised to guarantee posts for representatives of their state – that kind of attitude has to stop.

The cabinet is the President’s means of ensuring that his vision and the programmes of his party are executed by people he can trust, who have the competence to carry through their brief and excel in delivering results for the people of Nigeria without guile or dissimulation.

I cannot understand how the performance of a minister can be measured by the pork that has been delivered to their home states rather than what has been done for Nigeria as a whole.

Delivering pork is the work of the legislature, they are the direct representatives of their states and constituencies – ministers have a broader brief and state representation is the least significant of those.

The President’s prerogative

In fact, I do not see why the state governors should have to get on with the ministers from their states, the relationship should be benign and of no influence if any – state governors have enough on their plates to govern their states and bring results closer to the people with their commissioners than to be nosing around in the federal cabinet.

It should be the exclusive remit of the President and his advisers to determine which minister has not held their brief with competence or not performed, regardless of the state the minister represents or the concerns of the nosily idle governors.

He should put his foot down on this matter and the governors that feel so slighted because they cannot get their way should get busy with their day jobs, else the rule of law and the protection of the essence of our federalism should be the book thrown at them and the matter.

We have greater matters to deal with about Nigeria and we have to begin to accept that not every kinsman is the best qualified to perform if we are to build Nigeria into the great nation we all believe that it is.

Reference

Nigerian Tribune – The cabinet reshuffle rumours

Listing to the insignificance of the EFCC

The presumption of innocence

In a democracy one would expect the preponderance of the rule of law and in view of that due process that allows for the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

Where legal issues are concerned, one would expect that mere accusations are quite below the threshold of any professional standard, especially, if those accusations are not converted to proper indictments and the accused is given the opportunity to defend themselves in the properly appointed forum.

This might be before a jury of their peers where appropriate, else the case prepared against the accused would just be argued before a panel of judges who with their expertise in the relevant jurisprudence would review the evidence and presentations adjudicating thereafter.

The expectation of due process

It is in the light of this that I have issue with the release of a list of 135 names of politicians by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a letter to political parties about persons they deem unsuitable for office or rather should be ineligible to participate in elections through party representation.

This is completely wrong-headed, the appropriate agency to decide the suitability of any candidate for elections should be the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or some appointed organ to screen, vet and approve candidates.

In September 2006, we were informed that 31 of 36 state governors in Nigeria were under investigation, that was probably newsworthy, but what stage has been reached with the investigations and who has been charged with a crime or misdemeanour?

A case of utter incompetence?

Prominently, a case was prepared against the Vice President who has had a protracted falling-out with the President, none of which has passed muster. It makes one wonder if the EFCC is completely incompetent in preparing cases that are presentable and acceptable to the courts considering the number of cases that have not progressed beyond indictments before high courts have quashed the applications.

Alternatively, there is a growing inclination to the idea that the EFCC has become an instrument of vindictiveness – a puppet of the President – to besmirch and smear anyone who has deigned to challenge the Presidency especially in that failed bid to gain a third term last year.

Generally, I have been of the view that Chairmanship of EFCC and the lines of reporting responsibility should be outside the Presidency and Executive arm of government and high up within the Judiciary, probably at the level of the Minister of Justice but appointed by the legislature on the advice of the judiciary rather than the executive.

The people

This is not to say that people on the list and many more surreptitiously and blatantly left out are not guilty of graft, corruption and probably murderous crimes, but they cannot be adjudged guilty until duly proven to be so, short-circuiting the process through letters of presumptive guilt is beneath contempt.

The way times have shifted in Nigeria has allowed for the mendicants, robbers, brigands and thugs of yesterday to present themselves as benevolent and compassionate persons desirous of leading Nigeria out of the doldrums that were the results of their acts years before.

It is seriously gratifying to see that the ex-President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida had to pull out of the primaries for the presidency knowing momentum and wealth were not on his side to lead Nigeria into a greater nightmare than one he started in the 80s which culminated in the Presidency of the sociopath Sani Abacha.

Reforming the EFCC

Whilst the ideas and policies that lead to the formation of the EFCC are laudable and should be continued, I am not sure that the headship and direction of the organisation has been properly served by a junior functionary being elevated into the spotlight of gung-ho personality vandalism or character assassination, though some of the work of the organisation has been commendable.

The people who have plundered Nigeria’s means and resources need to be fearlessly brought to book through transparent and internationally acceptable legal processes that are beyond reproach and exude commendable legal professionalism.

We cannot have cases been ridiculed in high courts found wanting in necessary preparation to pass the scrutiny of aggressive legal examination and thrown out at the first hurdle – these matters are in need of better heads and hands.

As for the list, Nigerians would just have to decide – if allowed a free and fair election based on their ability to have registered properly – who is worthy of office, when evidently the detail of the cases against the listed cannot have been judiciously addressed in court giving them the opportunity to defend themselves or seek redress for possible defamation or libel before the elections in a few months time. This activity has been pre-emptively disingenuous and has done no one any good.