By:Ifeanyi Izeze
If filters fromthe submission by the Attorney General of the Federation
(AGF), AbubakarMalami, to the Senate Committee probing the reinstatement
of the fugitiveformer Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed
Maina, are real, thensome people in government may just have completely
lost the sense of ignominy.
How do youreconcile that people in positions of trust in this
administration carry on asif this country solely belongs to them?
Deliberately, they do the wrong thingswithout any qualms and as if that’s
not enough, they also go all out torationalise what to an average normal
human being would be a clear aberration.
Hear Malami’snarrative to the senate committee: Yes, Maina is a fugitive
but we did had ameeting in Dubai during President Buhari’s visit to the
UAE and he was able toconvince me that not only would it cost the federal
government about N2.5billion if we lose the case he instituted against us
but he also gave mecrucial information that allowed us to recover hundreds
of millions of Naira;that was in the public’s interest. Also, it was
revealed how former PresidentJonathan channelled N5 billion of pension
funds every month for himself throughMaina.
Do you see theman Nigeria has as its Chief Law Officer? Public’s interest
to recover hundredsof millions when the accused himself set up the company
to get the money in thefirst place and was wanted for offences running
into over N100 billion? Allhail my country!
The AGF’s accountactually got me so twisted and distracted that it became
more sane to just forgetall that the man who initially stole and ran away
might have done and focus on thephantom N5 billion a month presidential
servicing tale.
Imagine the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation (AGF), meeting and
negotiating with a fugitive on therun from justice in his country? What
kind of a country is Nigeria? How cananyone rationalize that our chief law
officer knew Maina was wanted; he knewwhere to find him; but decided to
make a mockery of Interpol’s red notice forhim? If Malami was able to see
Maina, why was Interpol not able to get him(Maina) arrested and brought to
Nigeria?
The AttorneyGeneral of the Federation secretly met and entered into a
“business deal” witha Nigerian fugitive hiding from Interpol; and
subsequently maneuvered thefugitive’s covert return without notifying
either the Interpol and/or maybe theEFCC! Why did the Attorney General
even meet Maina in Dubai given the fact thatsuch association would
scandalise the Buhari administration as it eventuallydid? We really need
to be more serious as a country.
Does Malami makeany sense? You claimed to have recovered looted funds from
Maina which is anadmission that you knew Maina was corrupt as alleged yet
you wrote to head ofservice that such a looter be reinstated and promoted.
Do these people thinkthey are talking to fools?
Let’s look atthe narrative: a wanted criminal, as alleged, sought audience
in Dubai with topofficials of the government in power and Ibrahim Mugu,
the EFCC boss and the InspectorGeneral of Police who purportedly
placedthe suspect on Interpol radar were in the same presidential
entourage but werenot alerted. The wanted fugitive finally held
consultation with the AGF (thenation’s chief law officer) in presence of
the National Security Adviser (NSA)and both plotted the reinstatement of
the fugitive without clearance from thePresident. The fugitive was
smuggled into the country and reinstated with promotionin the Ministry of
Interior and the minister, Danbanzau did not complain. Thenwhen Nigerians
raged against the opprobrium, the President ‘’ordered” the sackof the
fugitive without ordering his arrest. Up Nigeria!
Is it notglaring that President Mohammadu Buhari reinstated Maina using
the AGF and theMinister of Interior? Is it possible for that level of call
for reinstatementto get accomplished without superior directives from the
Presidency? Look atit: which official could have the power to direct
security agencies not toarrest a wanted criminal for months if not the
President?
Truth be told, justbecause of the same mindset of owning the country,
Buhari and his men neverknew the decision of reinstating and promoting the
fugitive pension fundscammer would cause the kind of outrage it did which
was why he ordered the sackof the man as sacrifice but not without the
caveat of also not ordering hisarrest.
If not for acongratulatory message for Mr. Maina by a group called League
of ‘Civil SocietyOrganisations’ which commended the federal government for
the reinstatement andpromotion, nobody would even have known that the same
man on Interpol and EFCCred alerts had resumed work with a promotion even.
Chai Nigeria!!
No doubt, fromthe very beginning, the whole idea of reinstating the
fugitive Maina wasplanned in Dubai during Buhari’s visit and the president
was aware. The idea ofalleging a N5 billion monthly servicing for the
former president was merely todivert attention into creating an impression
of fighting corruption which theyhave discovered is the only language that
makes some Nigerians lose their senseof judgement over the present
administration
Instead ofcoming clean on how Maina was reinstated, they are chunning out
all kinds oftales including how former President Jonathan attempted to
assassinate Maina ashe was leaving the Presidential Villa after an evening
appointment to cover upthe role of the former president in the pension
fraud. Why is our attentionbeing deliberately diverted from how Maina was
surreptitiously reinstated? Havewe become so naive that we are allowing
ourselves to be fooled by thediversionary hoax being churned out to cover
up the roles of the AGF and hiscohorts?
As aptly askedby one of my colleagues in his comment on the reinstatement
scandal, why didn’tMaina tell Nigerians at the onset of the scandal that
he was giving formerPresident Jonathan five billion naira every month? And
these revelations arecoming through the Attorney General Abubakar Malami.
Is Malami Maina’sspokesman? Abeg make una go sit down forground jorrr!
(IFEANYI IZEZE writes from Abuja; iizeze@yahoo.com; 234-8033043009)