Karl Kraus it was who said “corruption is worse than prostitution. The latter might endanger the morals of an individual; the former invariably endangers the morals of the entire country.” Political prostitution and corrupt practices are two of the evils that have been nudging at Nigeria ’s moral fiber the last three decades. There are Nigerians -- irrespective of their level of education and their socio-economic background -- who are immersed in both: they are political prostitutes, and are corrupt in every which way. Some are wise enough to know who and what they are and have kept quiet; others are not so smart, they are like the kettle, calling the pot black. This manner of hypocrisy is very rampant within the Nigerian socio-political and economic space, accounting for why it is difficult to separate the saints from sinners.

A lot of Nigerians think highly of Professor Pat Utomi. They love and respect him. They believe he is a new breed of politician: smart, forward-looking, with refined ideas and refined intellect. During the last presidential election, there were Nigerians who swore on their ancestors’ grave -- vouching for the integrity of a man they believe is beyond reproach, beyond suspect. At home and abroad, his utterances and countenance were of a man with no skeletons in his cupboards. He spoke and walked around like a Saint. His every word and pronouncements were, for the most part, digested without being dissected. After all, he was and still is, Patrick Okedinachi Utomi. When he speaks, people listen. And rightly so, but his last utterances were uncalled for: they were vexing and corruption-encouraging. Not only was he wrong, he was exceedingly wrong!

According to The Punch (Online Friday, 9 May 2008),  Chief Utomi “criticized President Umaru Yar’Adua’s decision to probe the Central Bank of Nigeria’s $462m investment in the African Finance Corporation… He said that there were limits to looking backwards, stressing that the probe of the AFC was capable of embarrassing the country… even if due process was not followed, it is not enough to embarrass the whole country.” Damn! The whole interview was nauseating, vexing, dubious and nonsensical. Utomi sounded like a man who was in the know or knows something about what really went down. He sounded improbable when he said “friends abroad were calling ‘what’s this about AFC and CBN? Why are hatchets been drawn all over the place? Can’t you people focus on nation building?” What is Pat Utomi talking about, and what is nation-building, anyway?

What is nation-building when you cannot hold people accountable for their bad actions? What is nation-building in the absence of transparency and accountability? What is nation-building without good governance? If you mismanage $462 million today (without penalty), you may be emboldened to misappropriate $642 million the next time -- which is exactly what has been happening to the nation’s economy in the last three decades: people failing to be responsible and governments refusing to sanction irresponsible actions. If President Yar’Adua listens to Utomi and the likes of Utomi, others will be encouraged in their reckless and criminal behavior. Four hundred and sixty two million dollars is not chicken-change. And even if it were, there is the need to follow laid out accounting procedures; there is the need to follow the law. Those who knowingly abbreviate and violate the law must be held accountable. Now, if Pat Utomi is publicly asking the President to look away, one wonders what type of advice he gave previous presidents vis-à-vis the economy and on issue relating to corrupt practices. By the way, what would a President Utomi do when confronted with such financial recklessness?

Pat Utomi must have been kidding when he said such a probe would embarrass the country. How, how in heaven’s name could a bank, any bank misappropriate that much money. It is the negligence and or criminality of those involved in the shady deal that is embarrassing to the country. And in fact it would be more embarrassing and disgraceful if the President of Nigeria or the Nigerian National Assembly fails to act. It would be a grave injustice, a dereliction of duty not to act, not to probe. Pat Utomi’s advice is flawed; and it is embarrassing not only to the country, but to all men and women clamoring for good governance. The Central Bank is not an ordinary bank. It is the bank to all banks. It is the institution responsible for the financial wellbeing of the nation. It is the institution other financial institutions and vested groups around the world reference in gauging the health of the nation’s economy. A string of the blunder in question is capable of casting suspicion on the nation’s economy. And that will be the real embarrassment.

In all of these, here is the irony (if not outright duplicity): two weeks earlier, Utomi had called on “Nigerians to play active roles in the fight against official corruption and injustice in the country.” (See Rise up against corruption, Utomi urges Nigerians, Punch Online Thursday, 24 April 2008). He was quoted as saying corruption thrived in Nigeria because “most of us have failed to challenge perpetrators. Everyday in this country, we are being robbed of our property, and most of us keep docile about it.” In a related mater, Utomi said: “When some people argued that Ribadu was going after only the enemies of the then President (Olusegun Obasanjo), my response was: ‘Let us first catch the enemies of the (then) president. After he has finished with the enemies, then, the (then) President‘s friends will be available to be caught.” What a sad and unfortunate commentary on the part of the venerable Chief.

One of the reasons we (as a country and as a continent) have not been able to achieve real development -- development that is human-centered and which gives preference to basic human needs -- is the pervasiveness and institutionalization of corruption: embezzlement, bribery, and other forms of shady practices. When you can not entrust the national treasury to the president or his appointed agents, who then can you trust? When you can not entrust the constitution to the attorney general and minister of justice, who else can you trust to obey the laws? When parliamentarians are busy lootings and cavorting with midnight-girls, who is there to write appropriate laws and keep an eye on the presidency? When men like Pat Utomi are not being consistent in their condemnation of corruption, then, almost all hope is lost in the effort to salvage our battered and decaying nation.

Wasn’t there a time in the history Nigeria when people were afraid of being branded thieves, when people guarded their reputation and family name with all their might, a time when rogues and street urchins were easily identifiable, a time when to be considered a thief meant being a social outcast? In modern Nigeria , I know of no more than five adults who are afraid of going to jail for stealing the people’s money. Most are not afraid to be associated with scatology. Why should they be, after all communities across the county now welcome and coronate known thieves; churches and mosques now have special prayers for pen and armed robbers. We have a country where a president and the vice president, along with all the state governors, parliamentarians and high-ranking officials were known or suspected thieves.  That is the real embarrassment. Professor Utomi should have known better -- to never excuse corruption or give succor to the corrupt.

Sabidde@yahoo.com

Robot  Villager

# 1 Karl Kraus it was wh...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 10.05.2008 23:10

Luchi  Villager

# 2 First, the government is not saying that CBN misappropriated the money it invested in AFC, rather it thinks that due process was not followed. Why many people are kicking against this probe is that nothing have been achieved by the president's spate of reversals and probes. The hawks around him are simply pushing for their own interests why Yar'adua thinking is that his government is performing. One year down the line and yet nothing to show that this government will turn the country's deteriorated infrastructures around. Posted by Luchi| 11.05.2008 06:07

Bejim  Villager

# 3 Probe or no probe, let Yar'adua perform. It is becoming clearer that Yar'adua has no idea of how to go about the serious business of governance. While it is not wrong to look into the past, it is clearly wrong to do so while sacrificing the future. Probe is justified when it aims at securing the future by preventing a repeat of the past. But it is becoming increasingly obvious that the noises being made in favour of probes from govt circles are all motivated by vengeance. Supposing something happens to Pres Yaradua now (God forbid!), what verdict will Nigerians give his government? For one year there is nothing to show in terms of improving the lives of ordinary people. The Niger Delta is in turmoil, power supply is at its lowest ebb, corruption if rife as advertised in the Nigeria Police, those who stole elections are legtimising stolen offices, the judiciary is dispensing cosmetic justice, the roads are impassable, there are increasing episodes of near air mishaps, an air liner disappears etc. Meanhile Nigeria is reviled by the world as a land of wasted opportunities, and Nigerians abroad have nothing to boast about home. Yar'adua has the opportunity to set Nigeria moving. So far he has chosen to stay dormant while his acolytes move us backward. Its one year gone and nothing acheived. Posted by Bejim| 11.05.2008 08:00

aguabata  Villager

# 4 without mincing words their is a suspicion that the Yardua's kitchen cabinet dont like Prof. C Soludo. Again if we are to prioritise probes in the level of lawlessness and thieving in the country, will this CBN probe be top on the list? Yaradua never supported most CBN initiatives and this probe sends wrong signals to investors. By the way a probe in the British BAE systems contract with Saudi Arabia was hushed and brushed away by government officials claiming it may damage buisness relations, though that decision has been successfully challenged, that fact somehow makes Utomi not exceedingly wrong. Posted by aguabata| 11.05.2008 10:16

Agidimolaja  Villager

# 5 "Pat Utomi's Advice to President Yar'Adua is flawed", that was the recent submission of our celebrated Sabella. But Sabella, Sir, Pat Utomi's advice may after all not as flawed as you painted it with such horror paintbrush. It might be the Professor's choice of words that forced you to quickly arrived at that conclusion without looking at his opinion from another standpoint. Thank you for reminding us about what many of us already knew and for teaching many what they did not know about Utomi,that he is a very credible man.Out of the packed past Presidential candidates,in a civilized and serious democratic society,Utomi supposed to have won as President.But how many Nigerians voted for him for a change and for a better nation? It is in us as ever not to vote for the best among us.How many voted for Obafemi Awolowo,the best President we never had? The cabal that has been holding this nation hostage for nearly fifty years are still very active as ever and would always stand against any progressive move by any person or group of persons. Soludo's case is not strange then, so also is Ribadu's. Soludo is very credible a man and he knows what the nation needed hence he proposed the new Naira decimal.Guess what?The cabal quickly screamed foul at the rooftop.What did YarAdua do?He instantly stopped Soludo.Nothing is heard about the proposition again.This same cabal are now afraid of Soludo just as they were afraid of Ribadu and so wanted Soludo out of their way as they did Ribadu. What Pat Utomi saw{and I do too} is that the so called probe is a way of getting rid of Soludo, not because he committed an unpardonable sin but because the cabal does not like him being there,he knows too much and unfortunately, like Ribadu, he was put in place by their ever discredited Obj. Rumour already has it that a Katsina economist is already hanging around for the post to be vacant. The money invested was not stolen and Soludo already admitted that there was slight administrative error.What then is the need for the probe if it is not meant to eventually put Soludo out of the place?That is what Pat Utomi called a national embarassment.Do you think it is not?Then think twice. Posted by Agidimolaja| 12.05.2008 00:02

felix  Villager

# 6 What is going on here??? Mob lynching??? Every reasonable Nigerian must be frustrated at the level of corruption going on in that country but care should be taken not to swallow the propanganda dished out by those hell bent on returning robbers to the CBN and other government agencies line , hook and sinker. . It is obvious that Soludos term is about to expire and from his body language, Yaradua and his "born to rule brigade" are not interested in an extension and that is all fair with some of us who beleive that he has done well to earn an extension, but if he must be replaced to appease a cleuless caliphate,it behoves on all Nigerians ,a Sabella included to make sure that another Abubakar Abubakar is not enthroned to run the CBN aground as he reigns for decades without any solid, positive policy attributed to his name . If Soludo rushed this investment without adequate authorisation as the authour has laboured to prove here, then he should answer the appriopriate questions, but a thourough analyses of events proves he followed the law. The intention was noble and shows forsight but as is the case with almost every policy embarked on by Soludo, there will be supporters and antagonists. ACF was/is an interesting alternative to the ADB which has been slowly wrestled from the hands of Africans by the same western backers whose policies always shy away from spuring socio-economic development in that continent. So while Abidde may not like Soludos investment in AFC?, can the discussion on this interesting issue, on a civilised board like this be organised in a way that will show some remarkable difference from what you will get say at Onitsha main market or at a Kaduna cattle rearers meeting???...Can we have a topic like " AFC:good investment or bad investment" and not "Soludo:corruption and embezzlement" until there are sufficient facts to back up the later especially now that the amount involved can easily be traced to AFC as was stated by CBN/Soludo ab initio??? Though I have some problems with Utomis penchant to mouth off "lets just move ahead" as if proper understnding of the past is not necessary for this "ahead-ahead" thinking, it is only when you move the discussion away from entrenched sentiments to the sphere of "real analyses" that you may understand where Prof Utomi is coming from this time around and why it maybe necessary to fight on Soludos behalf.......Here is a detailed blow by blow explanation of what transpired between Soludo/CBN and FGN as reported in the Guardian... LINK: http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/editorial_opinion/article04//indexn2_html?pdate=010508&ptitle=Soludo, Soludo, AFC and the new Abuja mafia By Etim Etim VERY few Nigerians in the financial industry and political establishment are ignorant of the true intent of Michael Aondoakaa, the attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, when he set up a panel recently to investigate if the Central Bank's investment in Africa Finance Corporation was authorised. We have always known, even before the naira denomination drama last year, that the attorney general wants Professor Charles Soludo, the CBN governor disgraced out of office. He will therefore do anything, including throwing the kitchen sink, as the Americans put it, at the professor. How could the attorney general of the federation expect that a Central Bank governor would invest $450 million in a project without appropriate authorisation? Even if Soludo were not a first class econometrician (by the way, I know him because we were both undergraduates at the same time in the same university), he could not have contemplated deploying such resources in a bureaucracy as huge as CBN without requisite approvals. Aondoaka's inquiry is therefore ill motivated and filled with mischief. President Yar'Adua will be right in calling for the dismantling of this panel, much so because he was misled into endorsing it. The AGF has embarrassed the country and the AFC as an international institution initiated by the country and subscribed to by several other African countries. The fact that the AFC is spearheading investment in the electricity sub-sector, President Yar'Adua's core agenda, makes the attorney general's move all the more intriguing. I know a bit about the AFC and the ideals that informed its formation. In my article entitled, Africa Finance Corporation: An idea whose time has come published on this page last August, I argued that the Yar'Adua administration should also work with the Corporation in providing the urgently needed infrastructure and amenities in the country. What the AGF is doing could imperil such a relationship. From all I know, the CBN investment in AFC was duly authorised. In late 2005, President Olusegun Obasanjo constituted a Presidential Technical Committee under the supervision of the CBN to work out the modalities for setting up AFC. On January 14, 2006, the president authorised the CBN "...to take all necessary steps and lead the process" of setting up the corporation. On February 7, 2006, the Technical Committee was inaugurated with Professor Soludo as Chairman. Members were Dr. Shamsudden Usman; Deputy Governor (operations), now finance minister; Tunde Lemo, Deputy Governor (Financial Services Surveillance); Chris Edordu, former President Afrexim Bank; Dr. Seyyid Abdulahi, (former Director General, OPEC Fund); Dr. Oba Fajana, former World Bank economist and former Head, Governance Division of Africa Development Bank. There were also a representative of Federal Ministry of Finance, a representative of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and notable personalities like Aliko Dangote, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Tony Elumelu, M.A Alao and Cecilia Ibru. On March 24, 2007 the CBN Governor wrote to the President, informing him of the CBN's plan to invest up to $490 million in the event of the Nigerian private sector not being able to take up the entire equity and seeking approval for the following documents: the draft headquarters agreement, the draft charter and the draft agreement. On May 24, 2007 the President minuted thus: "Approved for immediate execution and implementation" and directed the memo to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Minister of Justice, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance and the CBN Governor. Following the Presidential approval, the Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo, at a public ceremony shown on NTA signed both the shareholders agreement and the headquarters agreement on behalf of the federal government. The CBN Board had approved the investment on August 2, 2006, in line with its authority and limits set by section 27(1) (i) and (ii) and Sec. 31of the new CBN Act, 2007. This law was passed by the National Assembly. Could our attorney general not have had access to this information? Is he creating another scenario to humiliate Prof. Soludo, just as he did during the currency redenomination drama last year? The CBN Act empowers it to 'subscribe to, hold and sell shares of any corporation or company...' In addition to AFC, the CBN has invested in other institutions such as the NDIC, NSPMC (The Mint), NEXIM, Bank of Industry, Nigeria Agricultural, Cooperative and Rural Development Bank, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Agricultural Credit Guarantee Fund and Afrexim Bank. In order to mobilise other African countries for the AFC investment, President Obasanjo also approved the use of a Presidential jet on road shows to Ghana, The Gambia, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Algeria, and Egypt in March 2007 by a delegation of the Technical Committee. The zeal with which the CBN pursued the AFC investment in particular and the reforms in the banking sector in general rhymed with government's plans to make Nigeria one of the 20 largest economies in the world in year 2020. It is regrettable that this distraction may dampen the enthusiasm of the corporation's staff and overshadow their achievements in the last few months. The institution is involved in funding an electricity power plant in Aba in eastern Nigeria and a broadband and submarine fiber optic cable project stretching from Portugal along the western coast of Africa to Angola. It is also leading a consortium that will develop sub-Saharan Africa's first-deep sea container port project at the Atlantic coastline area of Olokola in Nigeria and financing the construction of an 88 kilometre ring road in Port Harcourt and reviving electricity projects in Rivers State. Just a few weeks ago, President Yar'Adua announced an initiative on Accelerated Expansion of Power Infrastructure. AFC is to source funding for, and provide technical expertise for this renewed drive to improve electricity generation and production. Quite fortuitously, it was the week that the organisation announced that it was arranging funding from international financial market for up to $2.8 billion for the Accelerated Expansion of Electricity Infrastructure, the administration's quick-fix step to address the energy gap, that the AGF announced the probe. The immediate impact of the Aondoakaa inquiry is that the AFC's reputation could be demeaned in such a way that its capacity to source offshore funds to execute its mandates could be diminished. How could the country's attorney general be harming the credibility of an institution that is spearheading the implementation of the President's key agenda? It is a clear case of a senior government official working at cross purpose with the administration he is serving in. The nation is worried that the last one year has been spent largely on motions without movement. The failure of President Yar'Adua so far is not just because he has been an absent leader. In his absence a new generation of Abuja mafia is emerging. Their struggle for power will further dwarf his effectiveness. Etim is a company executive in Lagos Posted by felix| 12.05.2008 01:09

denker  Villager

# 7 In his absence a new generation of Abuja mafia is emerging. ...and their spokes-men find in inconsequential Diasporans like Moses Ebe Ochonu, Sabella O Abidde....bunch of foolish Clowns..indeed! Posted by denker| 12.05.2008 06:13

honourablek  JJC

# 8 I think some of the villagers are misunderstanding what Prof Pat Utomi meant by his pronoucements,he was not outrightly condemning the issues of due process or accountability,what he is however stating is that the reputation of the country and the economic implication of these sometimes unfounded and politically motivated probe will be further damaged as the foreign investors we all yearn for will not take us serious if we are not careful the way the present administration is going about doing its business of governance. Johnson Olukayode Oludairo London Posted by honourablek| 12.05.2008 06:24

ikechukwu  Villager

# 9 I would have peffered Utomi conceeding that Yaradua could investigate the issue of $USD462 million as it concerned how CBN invested in AFC, and also preffer Utomi's demand of UMYA policies(becaus it seems the man does not have focus talkless of losing it). I really can not see anything in the direction of policy formations and implementation. Meanwhile, could someone tell me if UMYA is still in Aso rock's bed being attended to by a doctor or he has travelled to Germany to see his specialists. As you know these days we couldn't tell when the president is sick or ok.This president self na wa o! Posted by ikechukwu| 12.05.2008 10:14

ozoodoo  Villager

# 10 CBN’s $460m in AFC & $8bn deposit in 7 banks Written by Les Leba http://www.vanguardngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8052&Itemid=0 Monday, 12 May 2008 A good friend of mine has always insisted that the innocent advice of a primary school student in Ajegunle would be far superior to the postulations of a Harvard trained professor with overriding self-interest in a public project at stake! My friend’s favourite analogy to drive home his point is that of a plan to connect two small communities on opposite banks of a river with a bridge! On consultation, our experienced, super-educated and enlightened professor with self-interest would first quote intimidating references of his credentials and buttress his arguments with copious information on the challenges and opportunities inherent in building bridges on the River Thames in London, River Kwai in Asia and the San Francisco Golden Gate bridge in America. He would then proceed to support a bloated elaborate offer for a project cost in excess of millions of Naira, which would include all kinds of kickbacks and kick forwards from which he and his cronies would be major beneficiaries. On the other hand, when asked his opinion, the innocent primary school student would timidly point to the narrowest neck of the river, with a width of about 20 feet as the ideal spot for the bridge. Our literally, uneducated child would explain that since there are less than 100 people on either side of the shallow river, a sturdy wooden bridge would suffice, and indeed, the community in both villages can be mobilized in the course of a long holiday weekend to build the bridge by self help, using wood materials from the lush forest groves, which abound in the area. But tell me, dear reader, who will listen to such simple analysis and reasoning from an Ajegunle primary school pupil when the professors from Harvard and Cambridge have spoken? My friend’s cynicism instigated my casual observance of a series of wasteful and uncompleted public projects on which billions of Naira have been spent all over the country and I wondered if simple common sense was ever accommodated in the project decision making process. Indeed, over the past four years, I have consistently maintained in this column that the ubiquitous market women would have made more sensible and progressive decisions for our economy than the eggheads in our Central Bank, Ministry of Finance and Debt Management Office in the last 6 – 8 years! Indeed, our depressed economy, parlous industrial landscape, rising unemployment and unbridled inflation and consequent insecurity are abiding testimonies of the failure of these public organs at a time when our income as a nation continue to exceed unprecedented heights! The shocking revelations from the ongoing probes of impropriety in our public finance have confirmed my position in this column that Nigerians have been taken for a ride by those who have thrust themselves on the rest of us as our leaders at all levels of government. The initial report of the government panel probing the unilateral CBN injection of $462million into the establishment of a private finance outfit called the “The Africa Finance Corporation” shows that our erudite Governor of the CBN may have momentarily forgotten that public funds do not belong to him in his private capacity. The extent of this delusion is amplified in the following features of the establishment of the AFC; for example, $17 million of public money has been spent on consultancy and travel since the establishment of the AFC last year, even as its alledged Managing Director ‘stayed in a hotel for more than a year at a cost of $1000/night. The panel’s report recently submitted to the Presidency also condemned Professor Soludo’s appointment as “Chairman of the AFC in his personal capacity, as a clear violation of Section 9 of the CBN Act 2007 which bars principal officers of the CBN from holding any office by virtue of their respective offices.” The eminent Professor may also have overplayed his hand in the payment of the said $462million investment in November 2007 without bringing President Yar'Adua into the picture. Soludo’s defence that former President Obasanjo approved the remittance a few days before he left office in April last year certainly begs the question. Soludo’s defence that six Nigerian banks also contributed about $551 million does not justify the attendant lack of due process in the establishment of the AFC. Indeed, the government panel has alleged that Austin Ometoruwa, the AFC’s CEO was arrested for allegedly “shuffling funds around without due process,” and it is speculated that all six banks may also have been the beneficiaries of CBN’s largesse of $8bn to some Nigerian banks as reward for their increased capitalization last year! According to the petition from the office of the Federal Attorney General and Justice Minister, this pattern of scratch my back, I scratch your back may also have been adopted by AFC’s CEO in the alledged handout of $100m to a Chinese company which used it to buy shares in the AFC; the promoters of the Chiense firms are yet to be identified! Nigerians should not be surprised to learn that there are now successful Chinese-Nigerians who are anxious to reap where they did not sow! In a related development, Bello Lafiaji, the former Chairman of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, “was arraigned at a High Court in Lagos by the Independent Corrupt practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC). Lafiaji and his Special Assistant have been arraigned on charges of conspiracy to commit crime, receiving money for personal benefit in the discharge of his duties, and conspiracy to use his office to confer corrupt advantage upon himself … contrary to Section 26 of the Corrupt Practices and other related offences Act 2000” Daily Independent – 9/5/08, pg A4. In view of the preceding, it should be inevitable that to avoid criticism of selectivity, the ICPC and the EFCC should take a closer look at the shenegigan of the CBN administration in the last five years. The office of the Attorney General should also take a closer look at Soludo’s largesse of $8bn deposits with some Nigerian banks; what are the terms of these placements? What is the tenure? What rate of interest are the banks paying back to the Nigerian treasury? What collateral did the banks deposit with the CBN to access these loans? Were these deposits/loans duly approved by the current President and the National Assembly, and why is it that the CBN goes back to borrow at a much higher interest rate from the same banks that it has given easy, cheap and soft loans to? In any case, why should we be giving away soft Dollar loans when we still go cap-in-hand to seek foreign direct investment at a much higher cost than we ask for our own soft loans?! Why is the CBN placing deposits in the banks and enormously enriching the banks by borrowing back funds which are then simply kept idle in CBN vaults? What level of commercial bank equity is owned by senior officials in the CBN and Finance Ministry? The law enforcement agents on financial crimes owe Nigerians a duty to be seen to be acting above board; what is good for NDLEA Chief is also good for the CBN team of experts. Posted by ozoodoo| 13.05.2008 13:47