The NPA Six and other offenders

By Reuben Abati

"MI'LORD has caught a big one. In fact not one, five. It is a wonderful day for Nigeria".

"You always like to jubilate when someone falls on bad times. What's the matter with you?"

"Why shouldn't we jubilate? No, tell me, why shouldn't we roll on the floor with laughter from rib to rib? When last did the long arms of the law catch up with big men who have mismanaged public resources? Madam Farida Waziri's EFCC has been busy with too many cases in progress. Everyone who wanted progress with the anti-corruption war started yearning earnestly for Ribadu, the action-packed former Chairman of the EFCC. Now something big has happened".

"I know. Mrs. Waziri has been beating her chest. President Yar'Adua must also be pleased".

"But it is the judge that we should praise. He has shown courage and determination. It doesn't matter what they do to him after this. He will be remembered for his courage in sending six big men to jail in one day, without the option of fine. What was it again? - the splitting of contracts, abuse of office, and disobedience of lawful orders."

"Heavy matter".

"And the whole matter took 14 months. The case began in August 2008 and now, it has been determined. Some other judges allow cases to drag on endlessly. And lawyers would be allowed to keep making frivolous applications just to delay the course of justice".

"I hear this Oyewole is a no-nonsense judge. I recommend his example to other judges. Take a case, stay with it, do justice in record time".

"You know for a moment, I thought Chief Bode George was going to get away. I mean the man is a big man in every sense of that word in Nigeria. Former Governor of Ondo State. Former Principal Staff Officer to the No: 2 man in the Abacha Government. National Deputy Chairman of the Peoples' Democratic Party (South West). The topmost chieftain of the PDP in Lagos State. A friend of the one and only OBJ of the do-or-die politics fame. A judge looked at the man straight in the face and sent him to jail?".

"They are already sewing his prison uniform at Kirikiri. Have you not heard? He will get it today. The moment he arrived, the prison authorities took his measurements. The law is no respecter of persons. Nobody is above the law. That is the good news in all of this."

"Even those five others are big men. We are talking of Board members of the Nigerian Ports Authority and a former Managing Director of the NPA. The NPA is one of those lucrative departments. When a man is given a high position in a body like that, he throws a party".

"But there is something about the case that I still don't quite understand. I think there is an escape route for the NPA Six when the matter goes on appeal".

"It doesn't matter. What we know at the moment is that the men have been convicted. That is the position of the law. Did you not read that when Chief Bode George arrived at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, one of the first inmates to welcome him was Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, Abacha's Chief Security Officer who has been in that prison for nearly nine years".

"Ten"

"Whatever"

"No condition is permanent, my brother".

"I'd like to see more big men in jail. May be that will curtail their greed".

"Like who and who?"

"Like all the ones whose cases are still pending."

"Name one person".

"I don't want to be charged for contempt; only a Court of Law can determine who goes to jail".

"You see? You are a coward. You don't want to offend anybody".

"Okay, you too, name somebody you think also deserves a prison uniform and a special welcome by Abacha's CSO."

"Walahi, prison no good o. So, where do you think they will keep Chief Bode George. Will they give him a VIP suite?"

"You think Kirikiri Maximum Prison is a five-star hotel?"

"I understand it is organised like one and you can stay in a VIP suite if the price is right. You may even get a chance to have your wife sneak in for an overnight stay, again if the price is right. This is Nigeria. Were you not in this country when the wife of a prominent prisoner took in while he was still in prison and it was reported that the pregnancy was his. At night, you may even be allowed to go home and return at dawn before anyone notices your absence".

"One of these days, this your mouth will put you into trouble. But whether there is a VIP suite in prison or not, I don't think Chief Bode George will find it funny".

"I hear he is not taking prison food."

"Don't worry, he'd soon adjust."

"But why are you talking about Chief Bode George? What about the other five?"

"This is Nigeria. Don't be surprised if they are granted amnesty sooner than you think."

"You think they will be granted bail pending the hearing of their appeal?"

"I suspect the men will be released at the Court of Appeal. I have been reflecting on the grounds of their conviction. Splitting of contracts, Abuse of office. Disobedience of lawful orders. These look to me like administrative irregularities. I mean when did a contract become an atom? Is Bode George a scientist turning contracts into atoms, and splitting them to create a bomb?".

"Yes. A bomb of free cash. It swells the pocket, the mouth, the belly, and it can send a man to prison... Because public funds are involved, when you split contracts in order to top up prices, you are violating the law. This case should teach Board members of public institutions that if they abuse their fiduciary responsibilities, they may go to jail".

"How will those big men look in prison uniform"

"That is not important. They don't do fashion parade in prisons. A prison uniform is a prison uniform. One elewon is not different from the other".

"Jesus Christ, the husband of widows!"

"I understand Chief Bode George's supporters wanted to make trouble at the court premises. They became unruly, raining curses on the judge, and threatening journalists".

"If they are not careful, they'd join their man in prison."

"And to think Chief Bode George caused all this by suing The News magazine for libel. If he had known, he would have kept quiet."

"It is like Jeffrey Archer and the UK Daily Star. Look, it simply means that big men should watch how they behave. A big man today can wear a prison uniform tomorrow. That is the way of the world".

"Even if they sew prison uniform with damask, may my enemy never wear it".

"Why? Your enemies should wear prison uniform. What kind of prayer is that?"

"You know I am a Christian. We are taught to pray for our enemies."

"Well, don't pray for people who split things that shouldn't be split".

"Like who?"

"Like the kidnappers of Pa Simeon Soludo, the father of Prof. Charles Soludo".

"Prof. Chukwuma, please. He has retired his Charles."

"Look, that is not important to me. What kind of country is this? Why would anyone kidnap a man, an old man, 78 years old, just because his son wants to be governor?"

"Some people's wives and mothers have been kidnapped before now. And this is the second time they'd take Pa Soludo. When his son introduced banking consolidation as CBN Governor in 2006, and some banks lost their licenses, he was also abducted. He lost an eye during that incident".

"It is a clear sign of Nigeria's underdevelopment."

"More like the failure of the Nigerian state."

"It is obvious that certain elements are determined to intimidate Prof. Soludo, and frighten him".

"The kidnappers are asking for N500 million."

"What price must a man pay to be part of the Nigerian governance process"?

"Certainly not the life of a father."

"It is called collateral damage, though"

"It is pure criminality and it should be condemned. It raises serious questions about human security."

"This Nigeria tire me, no be small".

"Look at what is happening with the U-17 football tournament that we are hosting. When other countries host such an event they end up making profit from ticket sales and endorsements. Nigeria is losing money. Other countries gain international recognition and pride, but Nigeria is ridiculing itself".

"I hear FIFA is not happy with the Local Organising Committee. They are complaining about low turn-out at the stadium".

"But I have seen some improvement this week".

"Artificial improvement. To keep the tournament going, the Nigerian authorities are renting crowds to fill the stands".

"I know".

"For the Nigeria-Honduras match, 40,000 tickets were given out free to encourage spectators to come to the Abuja National Stadium".

"In many of the centres, school children are taken out of school and forced to make up the numbers at the stadium, I don't remember which match I was watching. It was around 7.30 p.m. and I saw these helpless children, secondary school pupils, watching a football match they probably were not interested in. That's child abuse".

"In Lagos, the state government provides free transportation to and from the stadium".

"In Bauchi State, Governor Isa Yuguda is buying up all the tickets for the matches, and asking people to just come to the stadium. He is paying N20 million."

"All the governors and Ministers who are buying up tickets for free distribution, I hope it is their personal funds they are spending. I really hope so."

"It is not only the Nigerian authorities that are bribing the spectators. I read a story in the Nigerian Tribune about how the Italian U-17 team decided to distribute sweets and T-shirts to spectators."

"Wonderful."

"And trust Nigerians. They supported the Italians."

"When are they going to serve food? I beg if you know where they are serving food, let me know."

"Hungry man."

"But you know, the biggest scandal of the U-17 tournament occurred on Wednesday in Enugu. It rained heavily and the Burkina Faso-New Zealand match had to be suspended. The artificial pitch was flooded. It became bloated.

"I saw it on television. I saw concerned officials using buckets to drain water from the pitch'

"Nobody used a plastic bucket. You sef?"

"You mean you did not see people frantically using towels to drain water? I saw people using knives and blades to rip the flooded pitch open"

"And that is a pitch that was specially imported and installed. Expensive installation."

"You never know. May be someone split the contract, and the contractor had no option but to do a shoddy job."

"It is a shame."

"Don't worry. Soon, it'd be over."

"That thing I said about food, don't forget eh/"

"Mr. Food."

"I just want to split some dollops of pounded yam."

"Don't worry, you won't end up in Kirikiri for that."

Robot  # 1 | 30.10.2009 02:36

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