By Ikenna Ellis Ezenekwe [Chem Engr, NYC]
Who does Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara thinks he is fooling?
His decision to exit the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] for the All
Progressive Congress [APC] could not have come at a more convenient
time. A time when the current Speaker of the House of Representative Rt.
Hon. Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila mandated the Federal Minister of Niger
Delta Affair to put his mouth where his money is – and produce the names
of the supposed federal lawmakers who were recipients of the Niger Delta
Development Commission [NDDC] contract bonanza and related fraud.
Just when the Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio responded that the
recipients were not the members of the current House of Representatives
but the members of the previous House of Representatives under the
leadership of Rt. Hon. Yabuku Dogara – Dogara woke up and discovered the
corrupt nature of PDP in Bauchi State – and the pristineness of the APC.
He suddenly came to the realization he no longer wants a part of it.
Who does he expect to believe the tale he just discovered after more
than one year the Government of Bauchi State is corrupt? After partaking
in the unholy communion? Who is fooling who? And, who is gullible enough
to believe the fairy tale?
The Cambridge dictionary defines a hypocrite as “someone who says they
have particular moral beliefs but behaves in a way that shows these are
not sincere”. And, defines a coward as “a person who is not brave and is
too eager to avoid danger, difficulty, or pain”.
If only the Nigerian public knew the Economic & Financial Crimes
Commission [EFCC] was hot on his trail and had pulled his files, it
would be clearer to understand the predicament Dogara finds himself.
The EFCC had begun investigating his activities while at the Green
Chamber – and had concluded on its findings. To arrest the former
Speaker was the next move. Dogara was faced with arrest and prosecution
– in the same manner, Senator Godswill Akpabio was faced with arrest
prior to his shameful exit. Like Akpabio, Dogara flipped the switch and
crossed over for the political cleaners where his sins will be forever
forgiven – and amnesty granted, at the APC.
In Akpabio’s case, he was rewarded for his crossover, and for the
synthetically manufactured battle, he waged against the Governor of Akwa
Ibom – the PDP Governor who took over the Governor’s seat after his
exit. He was awarded a ministerial position in return.
In the case of Dogara, the play cards are the same. Off the bat,
following his crossover, he launched his version of a synthetically
manufactured battle against the PDP Governor of Bauchi State – detailing
what he termed as corruption with the Bala Mohammed administration. An
administration that has won accolades beyond the boundaries of Bauchi
Stare as worthy of emulation. One that has revamped the educational
infrastructure within the span of 12months by adding over 350 classroom
blocks across the wards that make up the State. Has achieved the
erection of world standard molecular laboratory for the testing of
Covid19 that presently serves four neighboring States at over 300
samples daily. Road construction networks in proportions never witnessed
in the history of the State – including water treatment plants to
accommodate the increase in population due to migration of IDPs.
Does the question then become what is really Dogara’s agenda? It cannot
be Bala Mohammed or his administration.
Apart from freeing himself from the grips of the EFCC. He may be
positioning for the Vice President position against the 2023
presidential elections or a Ministerial position.
As a coward battling out of the fear of possible prosecution, it is
evident he has sold his rights and integrity to the drowning APC. A
vomit he excreted. With which face will he face his former colleagues
whom he lampooned when he defected from the APC to the PDP?
After labeling the APC, the party of corruption, he has returned to the
party of corruption. Now, he sees the PDP as the party of corruption.
Who is he fooling? And to imagine he was the number four citizen of the
country for 4years defines the trouble with governance in Nigeria.
“What happened to the N4.6 billion loan taken from a bank and paid
directly into a private company’s account?” – was one of the questions
Dogara wanted to answer. He claimed it led to his decision to exit the
party.
Dogara, himself, knows firsthand the truth behind the non-existent loan.
But he is eager to play dirty. He wants to play ostrich. Dogara knows
the Bauchi Government never secured any N4.6billion loan.
The supposed N4.6billion concerns a legitimate contract awarded to a
contractor for the purchase of vehicles for the government. The Bauchi
State government, as most clever state governments do, issued the
contractor an Irrevocable Standing Purchase Order [ISPO] – which in
layman’s term means the Bauchi State government reached an agreement for
the contractor to be paid in monthly installments through automatic
deductions from the government’s bank account. Armed with the ISPO, the
contractor approached a financial institution and presented the ISPO as
collateral to secure a loan. The contractor was awarded the loan – and
the vehicles were delivered.
Dogara puzzlingly called the simple transaction a loan in an open letter
released to the public.
And to know that Dogara was among the recipients of the vehicles is
disheartening and exposes his hypocrisy. He collected a Toyota Land
Cruiser. Yes, he even wrote a thank you letter to the State government
acknowledging the receipt of the vehicle.
Dogara’s defection back to the APC may not be his last defection. It
should be understood Dogara left the PDP for his personal gains and not
for the benefit of good governance. The fear of EFCC prosecution and/or
persecution propelled his exit [cowardice] – but to author a letter
depicting the government of Bauchi as corrupt is weak and unnecessary.
–
Ikenna Ellis Ezenekwe is a Chemical/Environmental Engineer who resides
in New York