On thursday Nigerian newspapers reported, with an underlying feeling of relief, the conviction of two brothers - Danny and Rickie Preddie for the manslaughter of Damilola Taylor, the 10-year old Nigerian schoolboy, who died in Peckham, London in 2000. The killing of Damilola Taylor had evoked much empathy among the Nigerian population, and the understandable sub-text all through had been that the young Taylor was a victim of the fire of racism, which continues to burn in England and elsewhere as a sad reminder of the differences among groups and persons. The resolution of the Damilola case by the English court and jury contains a number of lessons that are relevant to our circumstances, especially the treatment of crime in our land.

With the Damilola Taylor case, the British authorities have laid to rest, the suspicion among the Nigerian community, that this was yet another case of white on black violence. Damilola's killers are young, black boys like him. Despite the diversity that represents the new face of multicultural Britain, and the political correctness with which matters of race are handled by the system, the general impression is that it is still invariably a white man's country, where coloured persons face, in reality, a glass, icy ceiling in terms of status and opportunities.

However, the British society today is a lot more integrated today than it was, say, 40 years ago. The violence that exists on it streets can be explained along religious, ideological and class lines. South-East London, on the streets of which Damilola was knifed to death, is largely the home of immigrants, and the poor, grappling with both social and economic challenges. Poverty remains one of the biggest threats to humanism, anywhere. In Britain, a strange, undying tension exists among immigrant populations, especially between Africans and persons of Caribbean descent involving a culture of rivalry that is difficult to manage.

Crime among youths is also a major problem. The Preddie brothers, at the time they committed the crime for which they have now been convicted were 13 and 12 years old. They have been described as "the scum of the earth"; products of a complicated neighbourhood culture and a broken home. By 1999, Danny, now 18 and Rickie, 19, both had a hand in virtually every robbery in the Peckham area; they were notorious members of the Young Peckham Boys Street Gang. Their victim, Damilola, had only spent about three months in England following his parents' decision to relocate to England from Lagos, Nigeria. He was returning from a computer club when he encountered the brothers whose long list of criminal activities includes theft, robbery and rape.

There are such problematic youths everywhere, black, white, brown. What matters is how each society handles the crisis of juvenile crime. The killing of Damilola shocked the British community and compelled a re-assessment of existing structures for ensuring the safety of lives. If Damilola had been killed on the streets of Nigeria, by a hit and run driver, ritualists or an angry mob, nobody would have been bothered. Last year, a young, 10-year old boy named Samuel was lynched in Ojuelegba in the presence of the police; he was accused of being a ritualist. The police who should have saved him stood by as the mob placed a used tyre around his neck and set him ablaze. Television cameramen recorded the scene. We have since moved on, Samuel was no more than a mere statistic in the catalogue of horror that defines our lives.

The second lesson then is in the high value that is attached to human life by the British authorities. Damilola was murdered in 2000. The investigators stayed on the case, forensic blunders were made, persons were tried and set free, there were three trials in all, the years passed but the case file was kept open, the case even collapsed once when in 2002, a 14-year old girl who had testified that she witnessed the attack on Damilola was branded a liar; but two years later, the investigators came up with fresh evidence on the basis of which the jury has now reached a verdict on manslaughter charges. When a state shows such commitment to crime control and the sanctity of the human life, it reassures the people of its own potency. The level of sanity in a society is a function of the value attached to the human person.

This was further demonstrated in the equally dramatic Boy Adam case when the British Police traced the identity of the human torso that was found in River Thames to Edo State of Nigeria. Detectives were sent at public expense to Nigeria to investigate this intriguing case, and we had all wondered then how a torso in River Thames could be of such great importance to the crime investigation and justice system in Britain. Sadly, in our own society, human life means more or less nothing. Corpses litter our streets, and we simply walk away not caring.

Corruption in official corridors thrives because public officials do not necessarily believe that other human beings have a right to exist. Gloria and Richard Taylor left the courtroom in London, fully aware that the conviction of the Preddie brothers would not bring Damilola back to life, but they were pleased that the British system has played its part, and that justice has been done. It is through gestures such as this that societies strengthen citizenship. The determination of the British investigators in the Damilola case is to be contrasted with the quick readiness with which the Nigeria Police abandon cases of murder. In the last ten years alone we have had cause to lament the failure of the police to resolve various high-profile murders (Alfred Rewane, Bola Ige, Marshall Harry, Mr and Mrs Barnabas Igwe...), not to talk of the scores of unknown ordinary people whose cases are never reported on the pages of newspapers.

The third, inescapable lesson is to be found in the meticulous handling of the Damilola case. Here, in Nigeria, although there is no statute of limitation in murder cases, investigations of murder are usually sabotaged by the present-mindedness of the police. When a case occurs, the police naturally show much enthusiasm, but once the dead is buried, and time passes, the case file is either closed or thrown away. Because this is so, murderers and assassins in our midst are emboldened to ply their trade, knowing that time is the ultimate enemy of the Nigerian justice administration system. Murderers are sadistic people. The law does not tolerate them, the system shouldn't. The best way to tackle the spectre of such criminality is by demonstrating that no matter how long, killers would be unmasked. The British have established a tradition of hunting down murderers over time, to preserve their society, and to understand the psychological motivation of murderers. Still, every case is treated as an opportunity for healing and learning. The Damilola case for example, provided the British an opportunity to demonstrate the strong character of their system.

Damilola's death became a catalyst for social renewal. The Peckham community has now been upgraded, particularly the run-down North Peckham Estate where the Taylors lived. The entire estate which had become a ghetto was demolished in 2004; its derelict buildings have since been replaced with modern flats; the community sports centre was rebuilt and named after Damilola Taylor; the Southwark Council has also restructured its Youth Offending Services to deepen its intervention capacity. At the institutional level, attempts have also been made to draw lessons from the murder investigation process. The then Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens underscoring this had said: "We are a learning organization and if we can build on something positive from the tragic case, we must seize it with both hands".

This reflects the official attitude for the most part. The Board of Forensic Science Service is already analysing the blunders that kept investigations going for so long, and is embarking on a review of other cases that may have been affected by such blunders. Observed weaknesses in the criminal justice system are also similarly being addressed. Damilola's burial in January 2001 was attended by a cross section of the British society. On the first anniversary of his death on November 27, 2001, Prime Minister Tony Blair paid tribute to the boy and opened the youth centre that was named after him in Peckham. On January 22, 2004, Damilola's parents, Richard and Gloria were honoured with a From Boy to Manhood Award by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. With the Damilola case, the British have thus been able to show that theirs, in spite of its many imperfections, is a society that cares.

Nigerians need to learn to care a little bit more about others and issues. The social and official attitude towards murder here is to blame the victim, evident in the belief that a dead person is a loser. After the initial expression of grief and the ritual of mourning, Nigerians, like their governments and institutions, simply return to their normal routines. Bola Ige's death had shocked Nigerians. But nothing concrete has been done about it. The files have been closed. The people have moved on with their lives. Even the newspapers mix up the date of his assassination. The burial of Engr. Funsho Williams on Thursday, August 11, was a major event in the lives of the people of Lagos. The markets were shut; many Governors attended the occasion. The dead has been buried. Don't be surprised if the investigation of the murder runs into a cul de sac. Don't be surprised if nothing is done about security at the Dolphin Estate where the man was murdered in his own bedroom.

Perhaps Damilola would have been alive today if his family did not have to relocate to England. The Taylors returned to England in 2000 in order to get better medical treatment for Bemi, Damilola's sister, who suffered from epilepsy. Richard Taylor stayed behind in Nigeria because of his work. There are many Nigerian families today in similar circumstances. They have had to divide themselves between two countries. When the challenge is not one of medical help, the reasons could be economic.

In Lagos, the Taylors could have lived in a well-appointed part of the city; Damilola may never have come across such criminals as the Preddie brothers in the ghetto of South London. Human beings will always make choices, but Nigerians are often under pressure to seek better opportunities away from their home. When Nigeria improves, if it will, fewer persons will be under pressure to run from one part of the world to the other to seek a better quality of life. The following statement is engraved on a plaque unveiled in 2001 in Damilola's memory; his own words: "I will travel far and wide to choose my destiny and remould the world; I know it is my destiny to defend the world, which I hope to achieve during my lifetime." These words have come to pass, unfortunately under tragic circumstances.

Obasanjo And Transcorp

President Olusegun Obasanjo owes Nigerians an explanation, following the disclosure by ThisDay (August 9) that the President's company, Obasanjo Holdings, holds about 200 million shares in Transcorp, the embattled government-sponsored company which has been the butt of much criticism and objections following the shady and controversial offer to it, of a 75 per cent equity in NITEL. The principal argument against Transcorp is that it is unduly favoured by the Federal Government in the sale of public enterprises under the national privatisation programme.

Its principal promoters are persons who are known as Obasanjo's friends, including those who donated generously under the cover of Corporate Nigeria to the President's re-election campaigns in 2003; those who supported the proposed elongation of the President's tenure and those who donated money to the equally controversial Presidential library project. But when it is now revealed that the President is a shareholder of the same company, through "a blind trust," there is cause for concern indeed. Matters have not been helped by the issuance of a statement by the Vice President's team that he was offered shares in Transcorp too but that he turned down the offer.

This is not necessarily an innocent disclosure; the timing and the motive are to be read in relation to the complex politics between the Obasanjo and Atiku political groups. So far, there has been a refutation by the President's office that whatever shares he has in any company has since been divested. But isn't this saying the same thing as the ThisDay report? When the veil is lifted, who shall we find? Afterall, the President recently disclosed that only his Obasanjo Farms could access the N50 billion agriculture loan. And were we not told at a time also that the President makes about N30 million profit monthly from his business investments?

What is at stake is a matter of principle and perception. As a Nigerian, the President has the right to have investments, set up businesses and choose his own business associates. What he must not do, and must not be seen to be doing is to use the privilege and powers of his office, to acquire interests and advantages for himself, or manipulate a public process in his favour, or his associates' or agents, for the purpose of material gain. It is the Nigerian way to abuse public office in this manner. Privileged public officials use their positions to set up universities, media houses, buy shares and property etc. But an anti-corruption President must be above board like Ceasar's wife and be seen to be so. We are still awaiting Baba's defence in the court of public opinion.

Robot  # 1 | 13.08.2006 11:59

President Olusegun Obasanjo owes Nigerians an explanation, following the disclosure by ThisDa...Read the full article.

gwobezentashi  # 2 | 14.08.2006 03:56

Transobasanjo Corporation By Sam Nda-Isaiah Last week, ThisDay joined Leadership in pushing the multiple standard of the Nigerian president, as far as his venal interest in Transnational Corporation (a.k.a. Transcorp) is concerned to the front burner. Apart from a few columnists, no media house in Nigeria was ready to openly editorialise on the crooked relationship between President Olusegun Obasanjo and Transcorp. It was difficult to know why; maybe, it is for fear of being arraigned for sedition, and an overzealous judge refusing bail. But last week, ThisDay took the bold step. On Wednesday, August 10, the newspaper declared on its front page that the president owns 200million shares of Transcorp, through his Obasanjo Holdings Ltd. The shares, it said, are held in a blind trust. I don’t know what the influential newspaper meant by “blind trust”, but whether blind trust or deaf trust, the truth is that Obasanjo, the grand patron of anti-corruption in the world, owns substantial stocks in Transcorp. But again, the newspaper erred in the figures. The president actually and in reality owns 600million shares of N6 each. And this itself is about 15% ownership of Transcorp. Not only that, the president is a co-promoter of the company, and several of the board meetings have been held at Aso Rock. No wonder some people now pejoratively refer to the organisation as the Aso Rock Company. As a substantial part owner of the company that has not produced one single product or any type of service anywhere in the world, the president has given away (at giveaway prices) NITEL, the Abuja Hilton Hotel and two oil blocks to the company. They are also waiting to pick up the Port Harcourt Refinery and the federal government-owned clearing and forwarding agency. At about the same time the president was offered the shares, Vice President Atiku Abubakar was also offered 100million shares but he smartly turned it down. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was also offered 100million shares, which she also quickly rejected. But many top government officials currently serving in this government accepted and paid for their Transcorp shares in full. As if this fraud is not egregious enough, the president has approved and is comfortable with the appointment of Dr. Ndidi Okereke-Onyiuke as the chairman of the organisation. Mrs Okereke-Onyiuke is the director-general of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). By their own declaration, Transcorp will soon be floated on the NSE, and the offer price is expected to be between N10 and N12 per share. Dr. Okereke-Onyiuke will, of course, use her powerful office to do for Transcorp, their company, what Obasanjo is doing for the company with NITEL, oil blocks, etc. This class of abuse of office has never been known in Nigeria’s history. It is a fraud, which gives even the harshest critics of Obasanjo shingles. Power has entered Obasanjo’s head so much so that he has forgotten himself. The president is naked but he thinks he is the most gorgeously dressed king in the world. Even by the standards of corruption in Nigeria, what Obasanjo and his men are doing to the people of this nation is unprecedented. It is as if the president is under a spell or some form of juju fired at him by his numerous powerful enemies. Nigerians are shocked and amazed. I have a friend who calls Obasanjo the chairman of corruption in Nigeria. Yes, it is this president who has presided delightfully over the sharing of N50million as bribe to each senator and Rep in order to sit tight in power against the will of the people and the spirit of the constitution that brought him in; he presided over the most roguish elections in Nigeria’s history; he has been presiding over the inimitable excess crude account scandals; the serial misappropriation of appropriated budgets; the Presidential Library scam; the allocation of oil blocks to individuals as if the Nigerian oil fields are also owned by Obasanjo Holdings Ltd. The list is too long to contemplate exhausting them in this write-up. For the kind of money Nigeria made in the last seven years, only mind-boggling corruption can explain why Nigerians got poorer within the corresponding period. Transparency International (TI) in Nigeria awakened from its deep sleep last week to condemn Obasanjo’s ownership of a large chunk of the new company that has already been awarded NITEL and the Abuja Hilton Hotel. Where were they all along? The president goes around abusing his office, probing and blackmailing his enemies, while engaging in the worst form of corruption ever. Fola Adeola, a distinguished banker, was sacked by the president from his position as CEO of Transcorp because he (Adeola) intends to contest the Ogun State senatorial seat in which his daughter, Iyabo, has also indicated interest. For daring to show interest in his beloved daughter’s “seat”, he also sacked Adeola as chairman of the National Pensions Commission. Well, as someone asserted, what was Fola looking for in Transcorp in the first place anyway? He did not fit in. The president then subsequently brought in Mr. Bernard Longe, the immediate former managing director of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, who was sacked for his professional incompetence in awarding a loan of $100million to IILL to purchase NITEL without any form of collateral. The story of Longe is interesting. After First Bank lost the $100million, the board decided to ease him out but was polite enough not to call it dismissal. He was simply informed in a letter that his services were no longer required. With a brave face, Longe dragged the board to court. The court not only threw out his plea, but also converted the “your services are no longer required” to an outright dismissal. He appealed the judgement, and the appeal failed again. This is the profile of the chap he feels comfortable enough to do business with as the new CEO of their company. But perhaps, we should not be surprised about the president at all. What do you expect from a leader whose soul mates are Ibrahim Mantu, Chris Uba, Tony Anenih, Bode George, Festus Odimegwu, and many others like them? The president, it would appear, chooses his friends deliberately! http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/Transobasanjo%20Corporation.htm

Fjord  # 3 | 14.08.2006 04:59

A damning report from the brave ThisDay newspapers, and a contribution to facts by Sam Nda-Isaiah. Obasanjo is now going the way of well-known monsters of the likes of Abacha and Babangida. Some praise to Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, (none for Atiku) Obasanjo may not be willing to go after 2007 afterall. Here we have an allegedly corrupt president championing an anti-corrupt Nigeria, and there's no response from the Presidency. The sheer shame and effrontery of it; and Obasanjo is an official of Transparency International... .

incubus  # 4 | 14.08.2006 07:26

I dont understand it, I mean doesnt the man have an ounce of decency in his system??? Does it not bother him his perception by other leaders around the world!!! I blame Nigerians!!! Why do we have an option of voting an illetrate into power!!!! Is there no decency in the world??? Whatever happened to university graduates???? I seriously think the legislation should be looked into!!! I am totally not up for a non-educated presidency let alone SOLDIERS (with or w/out degrees!)!!!!

Citizen O  # 5 | 14.08.2006 10:11

Call me irrationally optimistic, but I think the allegations from Thisday are the last desperate throes of corrupt elements like VP Abubakar, IBB etc. They have seen their waterloo in this administration and are coming up with serious smear campaigns to distract from their own kleptomania. If it is true that Obasanjo owns 200 (or 600 or whatever, since the figure doesn't seem to have been ascertained yet) million Transcorp shares and can be proven to be corrupt, I would love nothing more to see even the president fall from grace. In these last seven years, we have seen senate presidents, inspector-generals of police, former military leaders, governors etc. fall to OBJ's corruption campaign. It is far from perfect, but the EFCC's work is the brightest hope we've had in decades of cesspool Naija politics. I think those who have fallen victim to the campaign know that the noose is tightening, and a certain former head of state will be the next big name to fall. I would like to believe that Sam Nda-Isaiah's editorialis sincere and not paid propaganda in service of the Atiku/IBB guard, just as I believe that many Nigerians have sincere questions about OBJ's business interests. What I don't agree with is what one Villager called the "aluta continua" student activism school of politics, in which any politician is assumed corrupt before proven innocent. Does it not seem unusual that these accusations come out at the same time the EFCC grabs Mike Adenuga and Mohammed Babangida? It is like Dariye claiming that he shared his looted money with OBJ, or Kalu claiming that he financed OBJ's campaigns with his ill-gotten millions. Soon, I am sure, Ayo Fayose will suddenly "come clean" about his many contributions to Godfather OBJ. I find it all a little too convenient for these miscreants whose wrongdoing has been proven. If OBJ is a thief, let him fall with the rest of them once his term is over. So far however, I have not been convinced by these sketchy reports (which sum is it, 200 or 600 million? how was it paid for? etc) that seem to be guided by invisible political hands.

edoji  # 6 | 14.08.2006 12:38

Corruption is Corruption. We should call a spade a spade and not shovell. OBJ himself, by illegally withdrawing money from the excess crude accounts and seeking to legitimise that after the deed has been done abused the powers of his office. OBJ himself, by buying up 200/600 million shares of Transcorp and manipulating the market in his favour to make undue profit acted corruptly. OBJ himself by illegally awarding oil blocks and gave away prime national assets to Transcorp acted corruptlyand abused the powers of his office. That having been said OBJ, by empowering EFCC to go after corrupt politicians, politcal foes or not, acted legally and legitimately in the interest of Nigeria. It was just like my friend arguing during Alameseigha and Dariya case, that EFCC is engaged in mere witch hunting and political blackmail. I dont care about that provided the corrupt are punished. Let Baba punish his political foes for their corrupt deeds, come 2007 or thereafter, someone else may decide to revisit OBJs' period in power and punish him for his corupt deeds as well! Carrying the argument to its logical conclusion, it doesnt also matter whether its IBB/ATIKU conspiracy that exposes these Transcorp scandal... Yes scandal (that is what it is in a sane society - remember John Prescot and a mere cowboy-outfit casino saga). Let them fight, Nigeria would be the better for it.

Consciencious Objector  # 7 | 19.08.2006 04:32

Please lets not fall for this nonsence propaganda by Atiku. Quickly after the allegation of OBJ owning some shares in TransCorp, it was divulged that Atiku rejected 100 million shares offered to him. So now he is an 'honest' man. The truth is that TransCorp is way too transparent for the likes of Atiku whom have acquired oil blocks during the first term of this administration without the open bidding process that Obasanjo has now enforced. OBJ is a saint next to Atiku so lets not fall for this nonsence, TransCorp or not. Four other indegenous companies beat TransCorp to Le Meridien hotel, and the goverments clearing agencies, yet no complain because it's not 'TransCorp'. As Nigerians, we can be very very shallow minded with an extremely basic mentality, thats why we fall for all of this. Whilst I'm not in agreement with all of OBJ's policies, the likes of Atiku are the very worst in Nigeria. At least, we know where all or most of OBJ's money is invested. That is transparency. It should be lauded and encouraged not vilified. Atiku and IBB are at least 10 times richer than OBJ, yet we can't see one investment locally they can attribute to their wealth. Soon as I got insigt into Atiku's working, it left me in awe at his insatiable, extremely unpatriotic tendencies. (Why should 90% of his money be in the US, SA and british banks? while OBJ doesn't even have a foreign bank account). We have to elevate our thinking and let companies like TransCorp and other indegenous companies be, lest we encourage the habits that Atiku's and IBB's have entrenched of siphoning money to foreign accounts with zero local investment to show.!!