TIME TO LET DSP ALAMIYIESEGHA GO FREE, NIGER-DELTA TROUBLE FREE
The President in Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Yar’adua told Nigerians at his inauguration that he would be a servant-leader, continue more vigorously the war against corruption and tread firmly the path of constitutionalism.
That was the cheering news: he assured Nigerians in particular and the rest of the world that he would not do it the way of his abrasive predecessor who thought he was Nigeria or a small god. So far, he has kept his words with going the constitutional way of doing things and most Nigerians are now of the opinion that some ex-soldiers may not qualify to be constitutionalists.
Umaru Yar’adua has also done what the all knowing and all innocent Olusegun Obasanjo could not do! He declared his assets and it was estimated to be about one billion naira worth. That is a lot of money and the servant-leader must have made a lot of it during his eight years as Governor of not rich Katsina State. To curious minds, the President explained that some of the assets were donations and gifts from his fabulously rich late brother and the ICPC definitely does not have the wherewithal to go ask the late Shehu Musa Yar’adua if he indeed gave so much properties to his junior brother.
Nigerians are always inquisitive about their leaders but they should not be blamed for this. Nigerians deserve to know how their servant-leaders make all their money while the best accountants or auditors find it difficult to reconcile what they spend in a minute against what they earn by salaries in a year!
Commendations should be given to the President, Umaru Yar’adua for doing what all the clean men of yesterday could not do. He has boldly thrown a challenge to the governors and senators to follow suit. Hope the ICPC will remind the governors so that they will not claim that nobody reminded them.
Of course, the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo could not declare his assets before or after office. There are rumors and speculations out there though of his stupendous richness which was not there before his eight years rule. Fingers are currently being pointed at his several assets worth billions and one would be concerned if he declared this after he left office in May, 2007.
He deserves the credit of setting up the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission but also deserves all boos for not allowing the Commission any free hands. He confessed by his mouth of his employing the Commission to go after some people who disagreed with him. He did say at a campaign before May 29, 2007 that the EFCC would be used to go after Rahman Mimiko of Ondo State and also against a record holding decampee from Osun State. The man decamped from the PDP to ACF, later to AC and finally back to PDP when he lost some positions.
Mr. President Yar’adua needs to quickly follow up on his declared zero tolerance for corruption and stop dragging his foot because of his former colleagues. Most of the governors between 1999 till 2007 should be audited for stealing and the guilty ones thrown into jail as scapegoats for future or current governors. It is because of the President’s flip flopping on the governors that some runaways had returned while others hitherto hiding in the sands have developed confidence to show their dirty faces.
Great respect for the governor of Jigawa State who confidently asked the National Assembly to remove the immunity clause protecting state governors from prosecution. Umaru Yar’adua should not hesitate to help Nigerians do away with the unholy protection which had allowed several men with stealing minds to misappropriate public funds as governors .
The impeached governor of Bayelsa State does not deserve to remain under trial or in jail. Aside from the seemingly lack of interest by the Presidency in the prosecution of indubitably corrupt and thievery former governors, Alams has suffered more than his colleagues who are stinking of stealing public money.
He has gone through unqualifiedly huge shame from London to Lagos and to Port Harcourt to deserve a ‘guilty plea’ arrangement with the government so that he can go home to enjoy the balance of his loots.
The government should strike a deal in which all the traceable loots will be taken from him while he will get a reprieve to go home but never to be allowed near government office or purse in life.
There are some loot smelling governors from Niger Delta in particular and from all over Nigeria in general who have been walking freely on the streets. These people are almost worse than Alams or on the same level. If they could be protected by the former President before May 2007 and still being allowed by the current President to be sleeping easy in their houses with their wives or concubines, then Alamieyisiegha deserves to be let free today.
Importantly, there is an urgent need to do a lot of talking with the people of Niger Delta and to hear from them what exactly they want and how to meet them in the middle. The continuing cases of criminality under the guise of fighting for the underdeveloped masses of Niger Delta is fast turning to a bad spectacle.
The recent abduction of an infant does not stand the militants or their creators on the right side of public opinion. It has rather poisoned the minds of millions of people all over the world against their much professed struggle for betterment for the conditions of their region.
The continued abduction and kidnapping for money have made people to wonder where they left their patriotic messages of fighting the cause of their people for which some of their noble leaders have paid for with their lives. The leaders in the region need to now address the monster created by those who started the ‘jihad’ but no longer in positions to control it.
It is a shame to all Nigerians and even the leaders of the Niger Delta region that their admired struggle is being sacrificed on the altar of avarice while some seeming hoodlums now in control of this well intentioned sermons to let the so called Nigerian leaders to see how they have messed up the golden hen laying the golden eggs for the nation.
The government of the former Nigerian President was pressured not to use force against the militants because of its Odi crimes which ordinarily should have attracted the UN and the Policeman of the world to drag the abrasive former leader before the War Crimes Court. It is a good thing. The man who confessed that Umaru Yar’adua would handle affairs like Niger Delta better than him had to succumb to pressures from all over the world against using his abrasiveness against the militants because of possible civilian casualties.
The way it is today, the militants need to quickly rein in their colleagues who have turned the struggle into money making ventures in which people are kidnapped for money and lives are wasted for other things but emancipation of the people.
It is time to stop all criminalities in the Niger Delta and also for the government to show the world some developments in the region . The people of Niger Delta should collectively stop the war in the region and give the government some time to perform, and carry out real developments of this underdeveloped but revenue generating region. Nigeria is better as one than pieces.
John Ayodele,
Atlanta, USA.
