Iyabo Obasanjo and the EFCC
By Reuben Abati

"NO. No. No. I think these EFCC people are overdoing it. Don't they respect anybody? Can you see what they are doing to the General's daughter?"

"What are they doing to Obasanjo's daughter, please?"

"They laid siege on her house in Abuja and tried to arrest her, and she had to escape through the back door"

"No. They said she scaled the fence and bolted away from the waiting hands of the law. They gave the impression that she ran like a frightened chicken. Did they not say they managed to arrest one of her shoes which fell off as she gathered speed like Marion Jones on an athletic dash."

"That is the EFCC's version of the story. Did you see her jumping the fence? I mean does she look like the kind of lady that will scale the fence and take to her heels? I mean, this is a heavy duty lady, a Ph.D, and the daughter of one of the most important Nigerians alive today."

" I see you are up to some form of mischief"

"I mean let us look at it this way. The EFCC must know that there are some persons in this country that they cannot just treat anyhow. A former President's daughter? Chasing her across the fence? Can you imagine American security forces chasing a distinguished former First daughter like that? "

"I am listening"

"Those EFCC officers must realise first and foremost that the EFCC was created by President Obasanjo. If the lady's father did not set up the EFCC, all of them would still be regular policemen chasing N20 bribe all over the place and struggling to earn their salaries as and when due. Nigerians should learn to show some gratitude. And how much are we talking about, anyway?"

"N10 million belonging to the Nigerian people; the EFCC simply wants Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello, also bearing the title of a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic, to come and explain how public funds ended up in her pocket. She has been charged to court. She is expected to report to the EFCC and have her day in court like all citizens under the law."

"She says she is being victimised. What of the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Health. Why is he not being hounded?"

"Are you aware that Iyabo is practically on the run and may be declared wanted by the EFCC? She has not been sighted again anywhere near the National Assembly. Even her house, I hear, has been deserted."

"Because of N10 million? I don't believe that."

"It is not the amount that matters. It is about the alleged offence, being a receiver of stolen funds, abuse of public office, and aiding and abetting the act of corruption I don't think the young lady knows what she is doing to herself."

"Is that what she has been charged with or are you just expanding the charge list?"

"Wait a moment. Are you really serious about what you are saying? Because I assume that you are just being funny?"

"What do you think?"

"I think Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello is misbehaving by playing hide and seek with the EFCC. She had promised to report to the EFCC and appear in court to respond to the charges against her. That is what she should do. That is what she should have done. Nobody is above the law"

"I try to imagine how President Obasanjo will be feeling right now."

"His feelings are actually not important in this matter, right now. When he was President, the General always said that there would be no sacred cows. But he ended up creating so many. His administration did not show any mercy towards those that it brought before the law. What the Yar'Adua government is doing is simply to give further effect to Obasanjo's own logic. He created the EFCC. We expect him to advise his daughter to respect due process and the laws of the land. What comes round, goes round. In nature, nothing is lost."

"She is an adult, she can make up her own mind."

"By running away from the EFCC, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello is knocking the lid off one of her father's legacies. Why are the man's children disappointing him?"

"You think it is easy to face the law? Did you not see how one EFCC official was trying to push Professor Adenike Grange? If those EFCC officials had arrested Iyabo the day they went to her house, they could have put her in handcuffs. I don't know whether she actually jumped the fence or not, but if she did, I can understand. I don't know about you."

"You don't understand. You are just ridiculing her."

"How? Who am I to ridicule the daughter of a former President and a very distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic?"

"Listening to you, you know I just remembered some of those people that the former President used the EFCC to frighten, humiliate and embarrass, and all those people he got the state to label as thieves, and all the persons he pushed out of the Presidential race. They must all be having a good laugh now at his expense. In particular, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar must be laughing so much his ribs must be aching by now. And people like Tafa Balogun, Joshua Dariye and Diepreye Alamiyeseigha are suddenly beginning to look like victims. Even Orji Kalu's mother."

"Nothing is ever straight forward in Nigeria. You should know that."

"But there are serious lessons in the Obasanjo story. What is going on simply means that indeed power is transient. When you are in power people respect you, and bow and scrape before you, but the moment you no longer have authority and influence, you are treated as if you are worse than the door mat. If the EFCC had gone after President Obasanjo himself, and he proves difficult, you'd be surprised that they will push him and maltreat him."

"And they will justify it on the grounds that the law does not respect anybody."

"Certainly The state is all-powerful. People should always remember this. And that is why when you are in a privileged position, you should learn to be humble and careful. And it is not just in government that this is true, even in the private sector. If you are the boss in a company and you think that you are so important, the moment you lose that position, you'd be surprised that the same receptionists who used to bow before you will keep you waiting and ask you to fill the visitor's form should you show up in that company again. Who would have dared lay siege on Iyabo Obasanjo's home when she was holding court as Nigeria's First daughter?" "

"To be an ex or a former whatever is a curse in Africa. They make it look like you have lost relevance. They treat you like a pest."

"It is the way of the world. The day Tony Blair left office as Prime Minister of Great Britain, he went home in a train. He became a commoner instantly. And that is why people should be careful. The Obasanjo clan was not careful enough. Even in the Presidential Villa, the Obasanjo boys who are still there are being exposed as bribe takers and double agents. One of them was said to have collected $200, 000 to leak a document."

"Do you know that some people who call themselves the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders also went to the National Assembly this week to campaign against former President Obasanjo and his daughter? They want the two of them to be probed by the Nigerian state. And in Ota two weeks ago, the entire Ota community rose against Obasanjo and insisted that he should leave Aworiland. Nationally, locally and even within his own family, the man is under pressure."

"To be fair, sometimes I get the impression that some people out there are determined to teach former President Obasanjo a lesson. Dictators do not have an after-life It is either they die in office or they face life-long humiliation. The General offended too many people. "

"But you are right, I share the view that the protection of power and office cannot be relied upon."

"You can say that to former Governor Aliyu Wammako of Sokoto state."

"You know when the man was removed by the Court of Appeal as Governor of Sokoto state, only last week, he was attending the wedding of the daughter of former President Ibrahim Babangida. All his aides and security details abandoned him at the party the moment they heard the news that he was no longer Governor. They drove away immediately to report for duty under the new dispensation"

"I read somewhere that he was the one who asked them to leave."

"And you believe that? Look, the man was lucky the Governor of Niger State lent him a car. He would have gone back to Sokoto in a chartered cab. And if he didn't have money on him, he would have trekked. In fact, he could not return to Sokoto, he had to go to Abuja first. He must have had difficulties sleeping soundly that night. To be thus at one moment and to be nothing soon after is a sad fate to behold"

"That is why African leaders don't ever want to leave office. This is why Mugabe is holding on to the Presidential election results in Zimbabwe. This is why President Obasanjo wanted a third term in office. I think we the people are part of the problem. We tend to be nasty to the powerless."

"No. People in fact respect good leaders. It is important that persons who hold positions of authority realise that the only thing that is important about them is the service that they render, not their ego and certainly not their personal fears."

"But et tu Umoru? Et tu Umoru treating my daughter like this? Et tu Umoru humiliating me like this?

"Et tu? Et tu? Who be dat? Who talk dat just now?"

"General Obasanjo."

"What can he possibly be tu-ing about?"

"President Umaru Yar'Adua"

"Please leave that man alone. Have you not heard that he has gone back to Germany?

"There is definitely a German dimension to this Presidency. But we thank God that the President is able to run the country effectively from a German hospital, thanks to technology. After all, with a phone call he managed to avert a crisis in Bayelsa state when some forces did not want the Speaker of the House of Assembly to be installed as the Acting Governor after the removal of the Governor by the Court of Appeal."

"I recommend that we should set up an annexe of the Nigerian Presidential Villa in Germany. I like President Yar'Adua. I don't see any reason why he can't run Nigeria from Germany with the help of e-mail, phone calls and text messages. I mean why not?"

"Yes, why not? Since in any case, there is no Nigerian hospital, no Nigerian doctor in any local hospital, not even a private hospital inside Nigeria, that can take care of the President's health."

"What do you expect when those who are supposed to take care of the health sector and raise standards are busy sharing money including your sister, your very own representative in the Senate, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello."

"Make una leave my sister alone o. Hen hen. If she like make she jump fence, na exercise she been dey do."

"You should advise her to go and meet the EFCC in court"

" It is not your fault.. You mean if the EFCC really wants to arrest Iyabo, or the court actually wants her, they won't know how to go about it? "

Robot  Villager

# 1 By running away from the EFCC, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello is knocking the lid off one of her father's lega...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 18.04.2008 07:22

thekingsjester  Villager

# 2 OMG! I can't seem to get over this I'm still having a good laugh my ribs are cracking! Maybe Iyabo should be our high jump athlete to the Beijing olympics in August! She obviously needs no training in the sport! :D :arrow: :D:arrow: :D :arrow: :D :arrow::D :arrow::D Posted by thekingsjester| 18.04.2008 08:20

nci  JJC

# 3 We all know that this attempted arrest was a calculated way of averting the due prosecution of the General and her daughter. I wonder how on earth a lady jumped the fence and the whole security men and women (numbering maybe 5 or 10) left her run faster than Ben Johnson. An ordinal Nigerian would have been shut by the same security outfit. I think this is a kangaroo hoax. However, anyone who has served in public offices must be held accountable. General Obasanjo and her daughter must answer questions that emanated from their regime. A public office is a public office. Nobody is above the law. Hiding only complicates the whole process. Even if you have a private company, human beings must be treated as humans. One important value this family and most politicians in Nigeria lack is found in this quote by Albert Einstein ‘‘Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value’’ Nigerians, let us rise up to the challenge. Let us all fight for our value and integrity in this era. We have been so lazy that we allowed evil and corrupt persons to rule us for years. "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." ~ Edmund Burke, (1729-1797). ‘‘We are always free to take any decision of our choice, but no one will ever control the consequences of his/her decision’’ ~ Rui de Sousa. The General took his decisions when he was in power, neglecting the law. Today, he is faced with the reality of life. Whatever goes up, soon, comes down. I pity the generations of this family as history will always be reflected even if one person is good. The decisions we make today will definitely determine our future. Accountability is the watch word. Posted by nci| 18.04.2008 10:14

ILN TOO  Villager

# 4 Iyabo Obasanjo and EFCC: No more selective justice from EFCC. Iyabo must be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted. She must face the music if convicted of any corrupt practices. Yar Adua's Health: I am rather pessimistic about what UMYA has to offer apart from pedantic bureaucracy and sanctimonious references to the need for adherence to due process. After almost one year in office, the man has to dash off to Germany everytime he needs medical treatment. If our leaders are really serious, they would introduce laws that will prevent government officials from getting medical treatment abroad. it is the only way to ensure that our brainless leaders give serious thought to revamping our dilapidated hospitals. But of course, they are brainless. Thinking is therefore alien to their nature. Posted by ILN TOO| 18.04.2008 10:39

AISAGBON OMOGIADE  Villager

# 5 When Brigadier General Osaigbovo Ogbemudia(rtd) became the governor of Midwest State in the 70s, the probe panel he set up recommended the seizure of some properties belonging to certain politicians of the State.Several houses were therefore forfeited to the then Midwest State government. One of the most prominent politicians of the defunt Midwest State and former minister of finance of the State, late Chief Francis Omo-Osagie had warned Ogbemudia in the following words; "Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones"These words became prophetic in the aftermath of the coup that took General Gowon and his governors from power. The governor that took over Midwest State from Ogbemudia was Maj.general A. Innih(rtd).He also set up panels to look into the activities of the past government.At State level,several of Ogbemudia's properties were seized and at Federal level, he was dismissed from the Nigerian Army.These decisions have long been reversed by the government of Shagari. OBJ wanted to assure Nigerians that he is a born again christian, statesman and an incorruptible president.He set an anti -corruption agency to "fight" the vice that has been a hinderance to our national progress.The leader of this agency was one Ribadu who got un-deserved promotions for acting the scripts of OBJ.The revelations of recent weeks, have thrown light to the unbridled hypocracy that was associated with OBJ's fight against corruption. As the bible OBJ is currently sudying says,"whatsoever a man soweth,he shall reap"(Gal 6:7) Let us see how his household will dance to the tune he had set for others. Posted by AISAGBON OMOGIADE| 18.04.2008 10:44

Jucihart  Villager

# 6 Na waaaaaaa ooooooooo. This kain thing don tire me sef. how se go begin jump fence, she for kukuma tok say she wan represent 9ja for august. Secondly, if her hands no dirty, make she waka go meet EFCC, he whose hands dey clean no fear d wrath of the gods. But make we tell oursefs truth, wetin make every body wey enter power go begin do yeye things and wen im go comot no fit waka look people for face. shame shame dey catch them all. im be like say Abdulsalam beta pass them all. we tanda dey wait for wetin Iyabo and EFCC go take conclude them drama. Posted by Jucihart| 18.04.2008 10:49

wolvrine  Villager

# 7 ILN TOO, Umoru shd be barred from seeking treatment abroad? Is he no longer a Nigerian, a human being with the right to seek and obtain the best medical treatment he can get? within or outside the shores of his country? I understand the sentiment behind your statement, but it's not the best way of solving the problem. two murders dont make a life. As for the honourable Senator disgracing the father, methinks she's simply following the family trend. abi which honour is she letting down? Posted by wolvrine| 18.04.2008 12:38

aguabata  Villager

# 8 i expect Abati to save his theatrical skills for less serious issues, this development should be sustained with all seriousness, from the charges against Iyabo, she could easily dismiss them on technicality with a good lawyer, EFCC should be working hard with their legal team to make a thorough case and build up a good evidence, Abati and co should be shouting over their heads that no stone should be left unturned, their should be no untouchables, I also want people to give Yaradua some credit for allowing this new wave of probity no matter how weak it is. Posted by aguabata| 18.04.2008 12:39

NWANZA  Villager

# 9 " She is an adult, she can make up her own mind." The love of money is the beginning of trouble, even for ordinary man. It is a fools Gold they say, at the end of the struggle it brings no succor! "By running away from the EFCC, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello is knocking the lid off one of her father's legacies. Why are the man's children disappointing him?" Iniquity is a dirty stain which runs rampant and infect sons & daughters. "You think it is easy to face the law? Did you not see how one EFCC official was trying to push Professor Adenike Grange? If those EFCC officials had arrested Iyabo the day they went to her house, they could have put her in handcuffs. I don't know whether she actually jumped the fence or not, but if she did, I can understand. I don't know about you. " EFCC wahala na big wahala, even Iyabo leave house for them. How high be the fence she jump...anybody care to measure the olympic height? "You don't understand. You are just ridiculing her." 10 million naira is a ridiculous sum no be so? "How? Who am I to ridicule the daughter of a former President and a very distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic?" The money is very distinguished, not the Lady. Posted by NWANZA| 18.04.2008 12:46

JAGA-JAGA  Villager

# 10 All these brohaha about Iyabo being at large is absolute nonsense. I can't be fooled. If the government wants Iyabo today, she will be arrested and brought to justice. The entire exercise is "army arrangement" according to Fela of blessed memory. Period. Posted by JAGA-JAGA| 18.04.2008 15:20

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