Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa state, has described the
anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari as a ruse.
Speaking in an interview with the Hausa service of the BBC, Lamido
wondered how a man who worked under Sani Abacha, the late military
dictator, could be talking about fighting corruption.
Abacha had appointed Buhari as chairman of the then Petroleum Trust Fund
(PTF).
“He (Buhari) worked under Abacha; in fact he was the closest to the late
military ruler and when it comes to corruption, everybody knows where
Abacha’s government stands,” Lamido said.
“Buhari is just making noise; there’s no iota of truth in the so-called
commitment to the improvement of security and halting graft in the
country.”
Lamido also faulted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
for its refusal to disclose the owners of the monies recovered in an
apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos.
“It’s unthinkable to say that the EFCC had discovered huge monies in a
building in Lagos but could not track the real owner; who leaked the
story? Who did the source say is the owner of the find?” he asked.
“Those in position of authority should always have the courage to tell the
led the truth because leadership is sacred.”
Lamido’s criticisms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government
started before the ruling party formed government at the center.
Two months before the election that ended the 16-year reign of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), he said the country was too big for the APC to
govern.
“If you go through the social media, what they paint is that APC has won
almost 99 percent in Nigeria,” he had said.
“What is APC? An amalgamation of pain, anger and desperation. And this
country is too big for them.”
In July 210 5, Lamido and his sons spent four days in Kano prison after
being arrested by the EFCC.
They were arraigned on a 28-count charge of corruption and money
laundering. The commission accused them of siphoning billions of naira
belonging to the state government.
When he regained freedom, Lamido said only those detained with him would
understand what he and his children went through.
“People hate me because I am outspoken,” he had said.
“It is difficult to share my prison with anyone because it’s not like
hunger or something tangible. You have to be in there to feel what I and
my children went through.
“I’m not new to detention, it’s all part of struggle for life. If the
purpose is to humiliate, well that’s part of the hazard of occupying
public office.”