One person who must be having sleepless nights over the arrest and interrogation of James Ibori’s wife, Nkoyo, is the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. After everything Michael Kaase Aondoakaa has done to make our illustrious son look good, why is the British Metropolitan Police bent on getting to the root of this ‘small matter’ which is really not a matter at all?

The former governor of the oil-rich Delta State has been a good boy, at least, to the powers that be. Even our own dear President is said to have benefitted, through his party, from his largesse. That is to show how nice the guy is. So, why should the Metropolitan Police bother themselves about the ‘little money’ and investments which, in his generosity, he has placed in their domain? After all, he could have taken it somewhere else. In that case, the British government and people would have been the losers. Or how many countries have raised an eyebrow over such ‘little money’ kept in their custody? They are simply making good use of it to improve the lot of their people.

And to think that our honourable Attorney General, in the name of the rule of law, has tried to subtly explain to these overzealous oyinbo people that we did not report to them that our money was missing. Our illustrious son might not be able to prove how he made such ‘little money’ as a public servant, but has anybody reported to the Metropolitan Police that his money was missing? In the name of God and all that is good, why would these oyinbo people not mind their business?

One thing they should understand is that if they pursue this case to a conclusive end, some Nigerians (jealous people they are) will insist that the same measure be extended to other Nigerian public officers who are suspected of keeping their loot (sorry, their hard-earned pounds sterling) in the United Kingdom. Now, if one of them has up to 35 million pounds, imagine how much hundreds or even thousands of them are keeping away in Britain alone. And if such assets, especially the money, are forfeited or returned to their lawful owners, the British economy will pretty soon be in trouble - I mean, serious trouble.

Do you now see why our Attorney General should, in the name of due process and rule of law, send a strongly-worded love letter to his British counterpart intimating him of the inherent danger in the Metropolitan Police pursuing this case to a logical conclusion? The outcome will not be good for our leaders, it will not be good for the British people and it will not be good for anybody who has so much suspicious money stashed away over there. In fact, it is capable of inciting the public against our elected (or is it selected?) officials who mean so well and have done very well for themselves.

Our Minster of Justice should not fail to include in the letter the fact that there seems to be some element of witch-hunting in all of this. Or how come, out of the thousands of Nigerians and other foreigners with some questionable wealth in the UK, it is only James Ibori who has been singled out for investigations at this point in time? Surely, some evil people must be behind this. He should painstakingly explain to his counterpart over there that if Nigerian public officials were indeed as corrupt as they have been taunted to be, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), with all its recklessness and lack of respect for the rule of law, should have by now sent hundreds, if not thousands, of them to jail. But you see, only two of them, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and Tafa Balogun, have been convicted somehow. And it was only because due process was not followed by EFCC in their arrests and subsequent trials.

He should mention in the letter that the Metropolitan Police does not seem to have any respect for the rule of law. Or why should they hound an apparently law-abiding woman, intercept her when she was about to board a flight and take her for interrogations without prior notice. That, surely, is against the letter and spirit of the rule of law. He should therefore recommend to his British counterpart to seek ways to bring the Metropolitan Police under his direct supervision. That way, nobody will be arrested or interrogated without permission from his office.

He should also not forget to mention (as an aside) that the rule of law, as practised in Britain, is a little archaic. Well, that should not surprise anyone as the British are widely known to be conservative and not amenable to change. And that is why, even in the 21^st century, they still ridiculously question the source of wealth of a man who presided over the affairs of an oil-rich state in the Federal Republic of Nigeria for eight good years. After taking so much care of his people, does commonsense not suggest that he should keep away a little of his state’s resources to take care of himself and his family in old age? This is a man whose people are so satisfied they will never ask the kind of preposterous questions the Metropolitan Police is asking. Or has anybody of Delta State extraction written to tell them he is not having the good life? So, what is their stress? Again I ask: what is the problem of the British Metropolitan Police? Are they so jobless?

Finally, our meticulous and altruistic Attorney General should let his British counterpart know how unhappy the rich and powerful in the Federal Republic of Nigeria are right now over the James Ibori issue and threaten to drag them to the International Court of Justice. That, I believe, should make the Metropolitan Police soft-pedal on this ‘little matter’ that has been blown out of proportion. How much is 35 million pounds, anyway. These oyinbo people will faint when they know the total worth of the man in question. And, from every indication, he is not the richest Nigerian governor or ex-governor who made his money while in office.  

So, for their own good and the good of all, the Metropolitan Police and their allies should stop poking their long noses into other people’s business. Put unambiguously, they should desist from washing our dirty clothes in public. After all, we did not tell them we wanted the clothes washed. A word, they say, is enough for the wise.    

Robot  Villager

# 1 One person who must be having sleepless nights over the arrest and interrogation of James Ibori&#...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 05.11.2007 09:10

Adeola Aderounmu  Villager

# 2 It is refreshing when we make light the issues that are seriously very painful at heart. The concept is good..it reveals the richness of a Nigerian mind. In another way, writers have helped to ease our souls. But on a very serious note, I am sure many of our writers are angry because of the persistence of corruption under the present useless and empty shout of rule of law and due process. Aondoankaa, Ibori, and the rest of them. Stu pid people. Ba ra wo ban za! Poverty spreaders. Posted by Adeola Aderounmu| 05.11.2007 12:23