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MONDAY QUARTERBACKING
Two Fighting Again! - Na'Abba vs Obasanjo

By: Mobolaji E. Aluko, PhD , Burtonsville, MD, USA
Monday, November 6, 2000

Back in May, I wrote a Sunday Musings entitled Two Fighting! The Battle of the Y2K Budget In Nigeria". Then, the Executive, under President Obasanjo, and the Legislature, under the then Senate President Okadigbo/still House Speaker Na'Abba duo, were having an interesting brawl over the current year's budget that delayed "agreement" beyond the number of months that General Abacha himself ever dreamt of.

Today, two are fighting again - this time just Obasanjo and Na'Abba - and it ain't pretty!

This time, however, I have little to write myself, as I use poetic license to bring to your attention the following tapestry, cobbled together from re-arranged excerpts of news in Vanguard of Sunday, November 5, 2000.

It has to do with some pretty unusual events of Tuesday, October 31, 2000, in Abuja, Nigeria.

Begin Tapestry
"The bribery scandal that exploded on the nation last week may yet decide which way the country travels for many years to come.... ....A ball of faeces has been thrown at the ceiling fan in the House of Representatives, and by the time it comes down, no one may be spared from the swirling mess...."

"Nigeria's Lower Legislative Chamber is involved in what the Yoruba call roforofo fight with the Executive arm of government headed by President Olusegun Obasanjo. Participants in such fight cannot escape being badly messed up or roundly stained. It does not matter the justification or innocence to which a participant lays claim......"

"N4 million has become a toxic waste in Abuja. No one is prepared to claim it. Since the money was dumped in the House last Tuesday, the two sides have stuck to their claims. While the pro-Na'abba insisted that the money belongs to the Presidency; Presidency spokesmen laboured to convince everyone that the President, like Ceasar's wife, is beyond all reproach in graft matters...."

"A total of N4 million cash, denominated in N50 and N20 bills was dumped on the dais bearing the mace (the House symbol of authority) by some members who claimed that it was part of the bribe given to them by the executive to remove Speaker Ghali Na'Abba. The shocking sight of the so-called exhibit (brought out from three Ghana -Must-Go bags) made a serious negative statement about the sincerity of the Obasanjo government in pursuing its anti-corruption crusade....Understandably, the development, nay, drama degenerated.

A free for all fight ensued and the Speaker lost control of the proceedings for about three hours. Nigeria in the public gallery watched with a mixture of glee and pain, the show of shame. It was expectedly beamed to the outside world and prominently too....."

"Shock and disbelief ran through the House in one dashing moment. The law makers have acted in many drama since they assumed office, but this was a command performance. Hon. Jagaba declared that the money had been offered to eight members of the House on Monday night, who collected them and then handed them over "as part of their contribution to fight against corruption in the country." He named Honourable Yinkes Daminas, Damcida, Honourable Lawali, Honourable Bello Yero, Honourable Josiah Gokun, Honourable Jibrin Babangida and Honourable Muhammed Arzika as the people who were so induced.

He also identified the Presidential Liason Officer to the House, Dr. (Mrs) Esther Uduehi as the conduit pipe through which the bribe was passed on by the Presidency. Jagaba also fingered the President, Olusegun Obasanjo, the Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar and Governor Peter Odili of Rivers State as the owner of the money. He also got the House to refer the matter to the relevant committees of the Anti-Corruption and Ethics and Privileges for investigation......"

"....After the initial confusion created by Honourable Jagaba's startling presentation, the House went into voting on the main issue of whether it should embark on self probe or not. After the counting, 182 members voted against probe while 76 voted for. This led to another round of boxing by both sides. But Na'Abba has won again..."

"Hon. Bello Yero was one of those who confessed to receiving the N500,000 bribe. The legislator from Wase Federal Constituency of Plateau state and chairman of the House Committee on Loans and Debts told THISDAY that he was given the money on Monday at about 8.30pm by some people as an inducement to remove the speaker.

"Initially, I refused to collect the money until I made some consultations. I later informed the speaker who told me to go and take it to the anti- corruption committee as exhibit. My signature and collection of the money was done by seven other people. It was not a one-on-one affair. I surrendered the money to prove to the world that there are still men of honour and as part of my contribution in the anti-corruption drive. I am ready to testify anywhere and if possible, give the names of the people who gave me the money". Though he would not divulge the names of the bribe givers, Yero was emphatic that he knew what he was talking about and he would disclose the identities of the corrupters to the investigating panel......"

"..Spokesman of the Speaker's supporters, Hon. Stanley Ngada (Borno), said, at the weekend that there was "concrete evidence" including video shots of how meetings were held to deliberate on how to carry out the impeachment. Ngada also claimed that they had evidence on the bank accounts from which the alleged bribe money was withdrawn...."

• "..Are there video clips of the deal?
  
• Was Atiku Abubakar there?
  
• What of Gov. Odili, was he there?
  
• Was the money channeled through somebody; and who was the channel?
  
• And if indeed there was a channel, did it mention Atiku and Odili as those who made the money available?
  
• And if their names were mentioned, was that enough to confirm that they actually did provide the largesse?......."

"...the House (of Reps) will commence public hearings on the matter on Tuesday. The public hearings are being organised by the House Committees on Anti-Corruption and that of Ethics and Privileges which have been given the mandate to investigate the allegations of bribery against the Presidency and Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili to the House members to impeach Na'Abba.

During the public hearings, evidence will be tendered by the eight lawmakers who turned in the sum of N500,000 each allegedly given them separately by some of their colleagues as inducement to join in the removal of the Speaker. At the sitting of the House last Tuesday, the members who turned in the bribe money expressed their readiness to testify before any authority with details of the people who gave them the money, the venue and the time as well as the identities of the people who witnessed their signature and collection of the money....."

"Certainly, the onus now lies with the pro-Na'Abba group to prove that they were actually given money and not for the Presidency to prove it did not give. Of course, the implications are clear to either side. Analysts have however wondered why the Presidency, if it is true that it had a list of 230 lawmakers who were ready to throw out Na'Abba, would it still go ahead to bribe an extra-eight. Unless, they reasoned, the eight so bribed were an unsettled part of the list of 230...."

"..However, as the news stepped into Aso Rock, the Presidency responded promptly. Like a piece of soap, which dwindles in the act of keeping others clean, the Presidency was getting what it perhaps, did not bargain for. The President, through his spokesman, said he was ready to appear before the Anti-Corruption Committee to "clear his name, if need be.

"Dr. Doyin Okupe, Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity described the allegation as a "cheap blackmail, wicked and unfounded." "Anybody who wakes up from a wrong side of the bed can pack wads of note and claim it was given to him by one personality or the other," he stated. The next day, Oduehi described the allegation as "indecent falsehood....."

"The PDP described the situation as "ugly" and set up a committee headed by Dr. Alex Ekwueme to investigate and turn up its report in two weeks...."

"If for instance, the bribe accusation turns out to be a hoax, will the PDP and the House have the political will and muscle to weed out the criminal liars? And if it turns out to be true, will the Anti-Corruption Committee be strong enough to send the President and his accomplices to jail? And will the implication of this be for the general polity, one thing is clear from this.

The next few weeks will give Na'Abba a break as attention will now be shifted from him and focused on the mysterious hill of money. Another is this, whichever of the contending positions on the bribe scandal is right, the point has been made. Somebody is very desperate for power, and in the deadly gambit he had adopted, Nigerians can only ask themselves when the curtain falls, whether any evil surpaseth this...."

Excerpted and re-arranged from various articles of:
Vanguard Daily (Lagos) ANALYSIS November 5, 2000 Sufuyan Ojeifo Abuja
Vanguard Daily (Lagos) ANALYSIS November 5, 2000 Ben Agande Abuja
This Day (Lagos) November 5, 2000 Bature Umar Abuja
End Tapestry

Epilogue
Very ugly indeed! "Oro tun p'esi je". Translation? I am again "Speechless in Burtonsville". Or should I be terrified?

If we are already No. 1 in Corruption according to Transparency International, can we now move up to No. 1/2? I mean, much of it is about perception, is it not? I scratch my head to bleeding point.

Do try to have a good week, despite everything happening in Nigeria.

Bolaji Aluko

PS: If you are an American citizen, do remember to vote right tomorrow, Tuesday, November 7, and remember to stay away from the thorns in Nigeria's bushes as you fly into the polling booth.

 

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Published with the permission of Dr. Bolaji Aluko