Donald
J. Trump is full of surprises. He is an
amazing guy. He has an incredible way of
dealing with his detractors, critics, opponents and sworn enemies.
We
shall come back to that later.
For
now, let us just focus on the allegation that he has no time for Africa and his
pre-occupation is with Britain, Europe, Russia, Israel, China and North
Korea. He was sufficiently provoked to
declare on Fox News:
“I
am the least racist guy you have ever met.
Of course I have time for Africa (especially the retired partners of
KPMG who are still awaiting their gratuity and pension). Indeed, I have already spoken to President
MuhammedBuhari of Nigeria and the President of Zimboda whose name I cannot
remember. The Nigerian President was not
on seat (as they love to say in Nigeria !!).
He was in London. I wish him
well.”
The
problem with dealing with Africa (and Nigeria in particular) is that you do not
even know where to start or when it is going to end.
Here
are some of the stuff my National Security Adviser, Lieutenant-General Michael Flynn
was sending me before I fired him.
(i)
Front page
report of “The Punch” newspaper of February 8, 2017.
Headline: “ICPC
SEIZES 62 HOUSES FROM FEMALE OFFICER”
“The
Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Mr.EkpoNta, says the
commission has seized 62 houses from
a female public officer.
According to him, the matter
is in court and the property will be confiscated by the Federal Government
after litigation. The ICPC chairman revealed this while fielding questions from journalists at the AkwaIbom
Anti-Corruption Summit in Uyo on Tuesday.
He said, “How would the commission address unexplained
wealth by public officers? The commission has a mandate to ask anybody to explain the source of his or her wealth. The commission has the power to
issue an interim seizure order to any public officer to explain the
source of their wealth.
Through that order, the commission has seized 62 houses from one female officer, the matter is still in
court and the property will be
confiscated by the FG after litigation.”
Nta, who spoke on the theme,
“Transparency and Accountability: A Panacea
for Good Governance and Sustainable Development,”
said the anti-corruption war had yielded good results
in the country.
He cautioned public office
holders not to live above their incomes.
Nta said, “There are many
facets of corruption in Nigeria. The commission
will stop at nothing to bring anyone found to have contravened the anti-corruption crusade to book.”
He noted that the commission
had retrieved 40 motor vehicles that were
stolen by some retired directors of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and warned against
trivialising the anti-graft war.
Nta explained that the
commission was prosecuting over 400 corruption
cases in different courts in the country, noting that those found guilty at the end of the trial would be made to
face the full wrath of the law.
He added that the commission
had taken a step further by launching
the anti-corruption campaign in institutions of higher learning and among the members of the National Youth Service Corps.
He said that an
anti-corruption module had long been introduced into the curriculum of the University of Calabar, maintaining that such a measure would go a long way in
entrenching moral values in
students.
Nta explained that the ICPC
had inaugurated anti-corruption clubs
in orientation camps, noting that such measures had assisted the commission
in detecting and arresting about 42 fake corps
members at orientation camps recently.
The AkwaIbom State Governor,
Mr.Udom Emmanuel, lamented that
corruption had eaten deep into the fabric of the Nigerian society.
Emmanuel advised all and
sundry to be in the vanguard of curbing
the menace of corruption if the country
must move forward.
“We must change our mindsets
about the way we do things in the
country,” Emmanuel said.
The governor frowned on what
he described as illicit cash running
into over $157bn leaving the shores of
Nigeria through fraudulent
practices.
He identified corruption as
the greatest enemy of development, noting
that the repatriation of illicit funds across Nigeria’s borders to developed
nations was regrettable.
He said if such funds were
used within the shores of the country, the
socio-economic life of Nigeria would have been positively impacted.
The governor enjoined all
well-meaning Nigerians to join the ongoing
crusade to rid the system of corruption and other economic crimes plaguing the country.”
Front
page report “Daily Trust” newspaper of February 8, 2017.
Headline: “RIVERS RERUN ELECTION:
POLICE RECOVER N111 MILLION FROM
23 INEC OFFICIALS”
“An investigative report submitted yesterday to the
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris has accused Rivers State
Governor NyesomWike of giving N360 million bribe to electoral officials to rig
the December 10, 2016 legislative elections in the state.
The chairman of the 15-member Special Joint
Investigative Panel, made up of officers from the Nigerian Police and the
Department of State Services (DSS), DCP Damian Okoro, said of the N360 million,
N111, 300,000 had been recovered from 23 Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) officials.
He said three Senior Electoral Officers (EOs)
admitted receiving the money directly from Governor Wike. The EOs were present
at the Police Force Headquarters during the presentation of the panel report
and exhibition of the recovered bribe money in Abuja yesterday.
Okoro, without mentioning their names said they
were the team leaders who collected the money from the Governor and shared it with
their colleagues on electoral duty in Rivers state.
He said the three senior EOs were given N20 million
each while twenty others got N15 million each, out of which
N111, 300,000 was recovered and displayed at the Police Headquarters.
He also said the panel discovered that failure of
leadership and followership rather than law enforcement was responsible for
political upheaval and violence during the Rivers State re-run legislative
elections.
He noted that the electoral violence was funded by
desperate politicians who sponsored militant groups to not only target their political
opponents but also law enforcement agents, including the Police, mostly within
Ogba/Ndoni/Egbema Local Government Area “ONELGA.”
 |
| JK Randle |
In his remarks, the Inspector General of Police
(IGP) Ibrahim Idris said the INEC officials arrested in connection with
electoral malpractices in the Rivers State rerun election would be prosecuted.”
Front page “The Punch” newspaper of
February 14, 2016
(a)
Headline: “BOKO HARAM STEALS 1,000 CATTLE IN
ADAMAWA”
“Suspected
members of the terror group, Boko Haram have carted away over 1000 cows, 70
sheep and 40 goats in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
Eyewitness accounts stated that
the not fewer than 30 rustlers who were
well-armed invaded Madagali settlement at about
10 am on Friday and carted away the animals.
Some
of the residents of the settlements claimed that the hoof marks of the stolen cattle were traced by locals to paths leading into the Sambisa forest, the fortress
of the insurgents.
The pursuing villagers said they
had to turn back from the track of the
rustlers when they noticed they were headed for the forest.
One of the local hunters on the
trail of the rustlers said, “We could not go further for fear of being killed
by members of the Boko Haram insurgency who are still holed in some parts of
the forest.”
Confirming the incident, the
village head of Krichinga, Abubakar
Kanuri said some rustlers invaded their homes and carted away over 1000 cows belonging to villagers.
He said the
rustlers were well-armed but did not hurt anyone.
According to
him, the matter has been reported to the military manning the area.
He lamented
that incidents of cattle rustling were becoming rampant in the areas and called
on Federal Government to step up security in the areas.
Kanuri stated that the incident
has impoverished some villagers who
worked very hard to rear the animals and condemned
the act in strong terms.
He said the
cattle must have been stolen by members of Boko Haram, who might have run short
of food and money as he claimed that the insurgents could sell the animals to
make money.
One of the
villagers whose cattle was stolen, MallamSaleh, lamented that the rustlers were
likely members of Boko Haram and that they invaded his home at about 10am and
carted away 100 cows, and 50 sheep belonging to him.
Saleh said nine of his
colleagues were also affected as the rustlers
also carted away over 900 cows, 20 sheep and 40 goats belonging to them making the total of over 1000 cows stolen by invaders.”
(b)
Headline: “WOMAN WHO DONATED N1 MILLION TO
BUHARI DIES”
“My dream is to see a day that
Buhari will win the (presidential) election and be sworn into office. That day,
I will slaughter a cow, cook plentyof food and throw a big party. I have told them
that I will declare free food at my shop for everybody including those in the
town and villages to come and celebrate.”
That was a statement of the now
late Fatima Koko, who donated N1 million to MuhammaduBuhari presidential
campaign organisation in January 2015.
She lived long enough to see
her dream fulfilled. Her age was put at 95. Koko’s death was announced on
Saturday by the Kebbi State government.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has
expressed his sadness over the death of the campaign benefactor, popularly
called Maitalle Tara, who in 2015 donated N1 million, reportedly her life
savings, to his campaign as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives
Congress.
She reportedly waited nine hours in
Kebbi early last year to donate the money to Buhari.
In a statement by his Special
Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President described the
deceased as “a woman with a good heart, who stood by her convictions, and gave
sacrificially.”
Buhari commended Koko’s
conviction and sacrificial giving, urging Nigerians to learn from her good
example.
“She gave practically all she
had towards our campaign. Though well advanced in age, she still believed a new
Nigeria was possible, and followed her conviction with action. What generosity
of spirit and what tenacious faith in her motherland. Nigerians, old and young,
have a lot to learn from her,” the President said.
Buhari condoled with the family
and relations of the deceased and urged them to take solace in the fact that
their matriarch lived to a ripe old age.
While noting with delight that
Koko saw the beginning of the change she had long yearned for, the President
said the onus was now on all Nigerians to ensure that the change gets
entrenched and solidified for generations yet unborn to benefit from.
The President also sympathised
with the governor and people of Kebbi State, whom he said would all miss the
sterling qualities of Koko.
He added that the life of the departed
will serve as a standard to imitate “in the service of God, humanity and
country.”
(iii)
BREAKING NEWS ON AI Jazeera
(January
29, 2017)
Headline: “HRH SANUSI LAMIDO SANUSI,
EMIR
OF KANO DROPS BOMBSHELL”
“The Colonial masters refused to
educate the North. According to the
Secretary For the Colonies:
The purpose of the British
Administration in Northern Nigeria is to assist native administration to
promote the true happiness of their people and not education and material
development.”
(iv)
Front page report: “Daily Trust” newspaper of February
16, 2017
Headline: “HUNCHBACK KILLED FOR RITUALS IN EDO
STATE”
“The police in Edo State, last Friday, paraded four persons, including a
native doctor, for allegedly killing a 62-year-old hunchback for money rituals.
It was gathered that the suspects, identified as Aluma Sunday, Peter
Olotu, Philip Ogeneka and Sunday Ogono, were arrested when one of the suspects,
Aluma, was taking some part from the victim’s body to the native doctor in Ondo
State for the ritual.
Parading the suspects, Edo State Commissioner of Police, HaliruGwandu,
said the suspects were arrested during a stop and search at Sabongida-Ora in
Owan West local Government Area of Edo State.
He said the suspects would be charged to court after investigation and
urged the public not to panic about the stop and search operations of the
police.
Answering questions from the journalists, the suspects said it was
poverty that made them to kill the victim for quick money.
Aluma, who lived in the same village with the hunchback, said it was
Peter that killed him.
On his part, Peter said he asked the victim to accompany him to the farm
where he strangled him and cut off the hunch and buried the body.
According to him, he took the hunch to Aluma who placed it inside a pot
of honey for preservation before they were arrested.
Also speaking, the native doctor, Philip, denied asking them to bring a
hunch back body part for money rituals.
“I only told them I heard from my father that there were some persons
that could carry out the act in Ile Ife,” he said.
(v) Front page report in “Nigerian Tribune”
newspaper.
Headline: “ALL ARMS
OF GOVERNMENT ARE CORRUPT – OSINBAJO
·
Customs, NDDC are
corrupt – Sagay.
ACTING President YemiOsinbajo has observed that
no arm of government or any segment of the Nigerian society can claim to be
insulated from corruption which he said can only be brought to an end through
best practices.
Declaring open the “National dialogue on
corruption,” organised by his office in collaboration with the Presidential
Advisory Committee Against Corruption, at the Presidential Villa on Thursday,
he noted that corruption is an existential threat to Nigeria as a nation and as
a viable economic entity.
He said: “Clearly, there is no doubt whatsoever
whether any arm of government can excuse itself, every part or arm of the
society can excuse itself, but the truth of the matter is that we all know that
corruption in Nigeria is systemic.
It doesn’t matter whether it is the executive arm of government,
the judiciary or the legislature, every arm of government is involved in this
systemic and life threatening social anomaly called corruption.
There’s no question at all. And it affects all segments of the
society. It affects the religious, it affects agencies and civil society
groups.
There’s no one in our nation that can say they are not in one way
or the other, not necessarily being complicit but at least under some influence
or the other of some of the implications of corruption.
So, I think we should leave the finger pointing, because the
finger pointing is unhelpful. What is important is that we recognise that there
is a major problem here.”
Osinbajo advised that that dialogue should therefore search for
models around the world that could be applicable to the Nigerian situation in
the war against graft.
“The truth of the matter is that there is nothing peculiar about
the Nigerian citizen, or the Nigerian type. Corruption thrives where it is
allowed to thrive and there are many societies that have found themselves in
worse circumstances than Nigeria and have somehow managed to solve their
problems,” he added.
He enumerated some steps to be taken to tackle the menace
including how judicial officers should be appointed as well as an examination
of their welfare, noting that any judge accused of any infraction must be
investigated and prosecuted through the NJC to avoid political influence.
The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee (PACAC), Professor
ItseSagay, in his remarks, accused the Niger Delta Development Commission
(NDDC) and the Nigeria Customs Service of corruption.
He accused NDDC of financial recklessness at time that it was
complaining of being broke while he said the Customs had continued to wallow in
bribery and corruption.
He revealed despite not having enough money to execute development
projects, the Commission acquired 70 cars at the cost of N560 million.
He said: “My dear friends, you will not believe that with all we
are going through, the NDDC (Niger Delta Development Commission) which is the
other name for uncompleted projects, has just bought over 70 cars.
Of those, about eight of them are Super Lexus Jeeps costing 78
million naira each and about 10 are Land Cruisers costing 63 million naira
each.
This money was taken from funds for infrastructure, water,
housing, hospitals, school, etc., without conscience; recklessly without a
thought for the wretched people of the Niger Delta. These huge sums where
plundered from their allocations, from the Federal Government.
The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission
(NDDC), Mr NsimaEkere, has lamented the N1.2trillion debt burden facing the new
management of the commission.
According to the MD, the over $40billion received by the region in
the past 10 years was frittered away.
He said the NDDC must now find a way around the huge debt owed by
the past board while carrying out initiatives to free funds for urgent
development projects and programmes.”
He narrated how Customs blatantly extorted money from importers
especially at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos, saying that nothing has changed
since the advent of this administration.
He said: “Now we need to ask ourselves what the problem really is.
We are definitely overwhelmed by the epidemic of kleptomania. But do we also
have a collective psychiatric problem?
Why should a person loot what he cannot spend in ten lifetimes
thereby exposing the rest of the population to misery, hunger, poverty and
wretchedness?”
Sagay blasted the recent anti-government protesters, calling them
agents of the last administration.
He stated: “Let me briefly reflect on the recent public
demonstration against the present administration, under the pretext of
demonstrating against hardship brought up on us by the very mentors and
sponsors of the so-called demonstrators.
These groups consisting of rented characters, and those who have
lost elections or whose federal appointments were not renewed went about
pretending that they don’t know those responsible for our catastrophic
impoverishment. These characters belong to two groups.
Those who are agents of the looters, 2010 to 2015, and want to
divert the attention of the ordinary Nigerians from the true culprits of our
recession and misery, by transferring it to a hardworking, selfless
administration which met sand rather than cash in our treasuries.
The second group are the naïve, unthinking ones who cannot make
the slightest connection between cause and effect. Is Buhari to conjour wealth
from the air? Is he God who can say let there be funds, and there are funds?
Why did the demonstrators of February 6 not start from Otuoke?
Have they forgotten that the Niger Delta Avengers have destroyed
our oil producing capacity so much so that we were producing less than a
million barrels a day at a period when the price had plunged from $110 per
barrel, as it was in the Jonathan era, to just over $30.
So, why all this pretence about calling for good governance,
(which is in fact what we have today) when they looked on with love and
adoration, whilst the national wealth was being plundered away and shared by
their sponsors and mentors in the previous government. Why is it that
Nigerians hate the truth?
If we cannot even be honest enough to admit that the last
government’s corruption, wastefulness and mis-governance are the cause of our
present hardship, how can we join hands with the present government in
salvaging our economy and promoting our social development?”
Bashorun J.K.
Randle is a former
President
of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of
Nigeria (ICAN) and former Chairman of KPMG
Nigeria and Africa
Region. He is currently the Chairman, JK Randle
Professional Services.
Email: jkrandleintuk@gmail.com
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