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Integrity is indeed a function of perception, otherwise, how can Otunba Gbenga Daniel(OGD) seek to become the face of the opposition in modern Nigeria and possibly become the leader of a party in government? Honestly speaking, OGD is like “a rotten mackerel” in the moonlight; he shines from afar but stinks badly at close range!!! It’s therefore high time that those of us in the PDP realised that the current economic adversity of Nigeria couldn’t become a licence to take Nigerians for granted by presenting proven corrupt people for high public offices. Ignominious corrupt public office holders of recent past shouldn’t be allowed to shamelessly brazen-up for a criminal continuation as if all is well. Reference to Daniel’s speech at his declaration for the PDP National Chairmanship race is a compendium of mockery of our democracy and direct assault on the anti-corruptiion war. In that speech there was nothing OGD didn’t call himself whereas he is actually the terrible opposite of all these attributes. He insultingly eulogised the undemocratic past of which he was eminently involved; when our elections were characterised by shameless rigging, as if current efforts and legislations to ensure free and fair elections are unworthy. Furthermore, he sought to trivalise his ongoing EFCC case where he is truly being accused of converting Judge’s quarters into his private mansion, converting government land and other innocent people’s land acquired fraudulently under the pretence of public use, into his commercial hotel project etc etc and sundry corruption allegations and visible abuse of office. He has indeed by this, thrown an open challenge at the EFCC and by extension, the Federal government. Consequently, I implore the Federal government and particularly Ogun state, to show more interests in the OGD -EFCC affairs; more so now that prosecuting witnesses are being scared off from appearing in court for defence cross-examination. This unholy arrangement has already emboldened OGD as capable of weakening the chances of his conviction.
Candidly, this current pretensions and public bravado of a chairmanship contest by OGD is truly aimed at turning his corruption cases and sundry pending criminal assaults and killing allegations into cases of political victimisation and assault on the opposition. As much as one calls on the government to take needed necessary actions by refusing to be cheaply blackmailed; more importantly, the leaders of PDP need to ensure that our party and indeed, all of us, are unwittingly not dragged into an avoidable and disgraceful criminal coherence and infamous
corruption saga.
Furthermore, I wish to reiterate and appeal to the police and the Attorney general of the federation to expedite actions on the multiple killings on OGD’s instructions while he was governor. I have much earlier written detailed petitions to the police on these to which OGD has made statement to the police. Also, confessional statements and implicating accounts, some of which are in affidavits by witnesses are already with police. Few of these killings and unlawful assaults are, viz:
1. Killing/disappearance in Shagamu of Age Omolemomu
2. Killing of Arojo from Yewa, Ogun state.
3. Killing/disappearance of Awoyemi in Ilene, Ogun state.
4. Ordered multiple killings of over hundred of OOU students on protest against OGD govt whose corpses were callously dismembered and thrown into the sea.
5. It public knowledge that when OGD was Ogun governor, nobody dares to disagree with him without being assaulted, maimed or killed unceremoniously by his government aided cultists and/or killer’s squad. Most interesting of These, is the multiple assaults of the current Ogun governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun when OGD was majestically reigning as violence-loving governor without caution and decorum. Few instances are;
A. On Monday July 18th 2005, then Senator Amosun(SIA) while on constituency tour; rammed into Governor Daniel’s convoy. He ordered the security to open sporadic gunshots on the SIA assemblage, killing two of his supporters in cold blood and wounding several people.
B. Upon an invitation by the state police command, Sen Amosun chose to trek to the Eleweran police HQ. Only Devine intervention saved Amosun from being killed by known and publicly acknowledged OGD cultists/killer’s squad.
C. On 3rd April 2007, during the governorship debate at the premises of Ogun State Television (OGTV), people commonly known as members of OGD cultists/killer’s squad, armed with guns, daggers, cutlasses, axes etc disrupted and terminated the event. Late Dipo Financial, Sen Gbenga Kaka and Sen Amosun, all of whom were gubernatorial candidates were present. Only God saved the day. This was done to cover monumental misdeeds of Gov Daniel that had become major campaign issues. In all these, OGD has tried serious facts concealment and distortions before leaving office but completely hidding of the sacrosanct truth is impossible. I commend Gov Amosun for not retaliating OGD’s violence but it’s wrong of him to wave the recovery of our stolen commonwealth from him. As Gov Amosun currently stations securitymen at OGD’s high rise hotel at Abeokuta, built on illgotten land with questionable wealth, Amosun shouldn’t again reverse himself in disservice to our state. He should rather take cogent steps necessary for the sake of public accountability and to serve as deterrence to corrupt public servants.
The interestingly innovative style of OGD corruption is that he is perpetually broke financially, making him a continuous extortionist and expert cash flow manager. As he rakes in money, he pumps straight into property developments; ranging from hotels to houses in proxy’s names. This is an habitual corruption trait he must have developed as a serving governor when he actually started building of his “CONFERENCE HOTELS” chain and sundry property developments locally and internationally, to cover his tracks . Now out of office and with his declining lift engineering business, OGD present occupation is political extortion of gullible aspirants, majorly Ogun gubernatorial. He is currently awkwardly combining the mentoring of the conflicting gubernatorial aspirations of PDP’s Ladi Adebutu with APC’s Yayi!!! Isn’t this amazing? I understand that just late last week, he extorted Chief Kessington Adebutu of N40m, collected cash in two Ghana-must-Go bags; over this phoney chairmanship declaration alongside multiple political swindlings of other unsuspecting wealthy people using PDP promising opposition status. No wonder he boasts to close allies that he has capabilities to dwarf claims of money made by Mua’zu as PDP national chairman. Former Gov Daniel is a pathological liar and accomplished extortionist with unimaginable prowess to simultaneously engage in multiple contradictions. He is a calamity that should not be allowed to befall the PDP.
Long life Nigeria!
Long life PDP!!
God bless!!!
Sen. Buruji Kashamu.