Last Thursday almost all national dailies in Nigeria reported the 419 bombshell dropped by Senator Nuhu Aliyu on the floor of the upper legislative chambers the previous day during a session on EFCC and the government's readiness to continue the battle against graft post-Nuhu Ribadu. Senator Aliyu, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police and Chairman, Senate Committee on Security and National Intelligence caused an uproar in the Senate when he declared confidently that the Senate was riddled with fraudsters!

Reportedly the Senator from Niger State threatened to name names amidst confusion and hecklings to disclose the 419ers in the hallowed legislative chambers but he was stopped by the Senate President who ruled that the matter be referred to the House Ethics and Privileges Committee for thorough investigation which should be complete in a fortnight.

Specifically Senator Aliyu had said while making his contributions: "I totally agree with the content and spirit of this motion. I think Nuhu Ribadu made a world of difference in the war against corruption because before the emergence of the EFCC, Nigerians were seen in all parts of the World as 419 people. Even in this National Assembly, we still have 419 persons. The Police found itself in a very hopeless situation that before the coming on board of the EFCC, these 419 men were having a field day without checks."

The reverberation of the bombshell dropped by Senator Aliyu spilled over to the lower House the next day as widely reported last Friday by the local media as members raised a motion challenging the Senator to name those in his 419 Senators list and proposing that the ex-fraud czar be invited over to butress his point.

Senator Nuhu Aliyu as a former top cop knows what he was talking about! He could not have been kidding!! Any attempt to dismiss his revelation with unseriousness a la Nigerian factor cannot be in the best interest of the season of rule of law and due process. The allegation is a weighty one which requires diligence in establishing the facts from fiction. But if you ask me I would readily side with Senator Aliyu because he was an authority and insider in the white collar crime world. His courage and insistence on naming names deserve some applause!

It is only in Nigeria that a convicted fraudster like Emmanuel Nwude (whose properties acquirred with the proceeds of international fraud) should come out of prison and faced with stark reality of going bankrupt petitioned the President to complain of shady deals by the EFCC and others in the dispossession of his dividends of fraud. Only in our country could known fraudsters use their illicit wealth to launder their image and even buy power and privileges for themselves.

The Senator Aliyu 419 bombshell instantly reminded me of the German legislative narcotics exposé some years ago. Then it was reported that the legislative quarters in Bonn (or Berlin) were infested with cocaine! And when investigators were called in (with their sniffer dogs in tow) they stunningly discovered stains of the 'white powdered substance' splashed even in closets and most inconvenient corners. The rest is history but suffice to add that whereas in Germany and Nigeria fraud and drug doing are crimes punishable by law those whose primary duty it is to advance the course of the law towards curtailing or eliminating the menace are those found wanting.

One wonders how, in good conscience, a coke addict or an ex-419er in the House could play a responsible decent role in any debate that seeks to nip in the bud negative effects of these two societal scourge.

Fraud (incorporating all shades) and narcotics (incorporating cannabis et al) are about the most choking crimes in the world. The revolution of science and technology and the evolution of the modern man with insatiable quest for honour, recognition, wealth and good life has had their negative sides and implications. Striking a just balance in a global econo-social disequilibrium becomes most traumatising.

Back home in Nigeria what can one say when we all know that even presidentially we have produced fraudsters in Generals Ibrahim Babangida, late Sani Abacha and lately Olusegun Obasanjo? We have executive con-men everywhere from the local councils to the presidency!  We have produced guber frauds, electoral umpire frauds, fraudulent godfathers, ex-Senate president and ministers, commissioners and even pastors and imams!

The EFCC makes so much noise about rattling the cyber fraudsters but they have not beamed their searchlight on those in corridors of power. There are many out there being undeservedly respected and honoured.

Whereas the yahoo boys target Whites mainly fleecing them without conscience those who fall mugu to the advance fee fraud schemes are as guilty as those merchants of greed. Since the average White man believes African leaders are notoriously corrupt any story that sounds typical (with millions of dollars up for grabs as a foreign partner) is bought sometimes hook, line and sinker. In the end when the mugu is seperated from the guy (that is the victor and the vanquished) only God knows how the victim, the unwary white man, would have behaved had the fund existed and hit his bank account as speculated.

Senate President David Mark who has markedly been leading the upper legislative chambers honourably (even if he has had a dishonourable past) should ensure that justice is done to the Senator Aliyu's 419 bombshell in the Senate. After a thorough inquest the findings which may vindicate the ex-AIG must be made public and those found guilty or in the list of dishonour named and shamed.

That will be the least Nigerians expect. In the interest of integrity and credibility of the National Assembly the air must be cleared about this 419 runs.

SOC Okenwa,

soco_abj_2006_rci@hotmail.fr

Robot  Villager

# 1 var sbtitle2976=encodeURIComponent(That Senato...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 28.01.2008 14:58

anneoboho  Villager

# 2 sometimes in 2000, I fell victim to a fraudster who also had the ambition of becoming a member of the house of representatives. The man, (I've forgotten his name) ran to calabar chased from Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital by the administration of the state at the time who hunted and punished fraudsters. As soon as he got into calabar, he started duping students of house rent for a house that was not even his own. As I said earlier, I became one of his victims. When I notified the police, he took to his heels. The next I heard of him was that he was a member of the house of representatives representing my local Government, Urueoffong Oruko, Oron, in Akwa Ibom state. I even saw him cruising around town in this popular green governmnent car that has prestige written on the front fender. So, what are we talking about? we all know that in this country, you can only be rich if you are rich and one of the easyiest way for some is by fraudulent means. Posted by anneoboho| 01.02.2008 10:44