A Letter to Mrs Farida Waziri, EFCC Chairman

When we were growing up in management school, we were told that, if a problem is identified, other things being equal, that problem is 50 percent solved. This is true since the cause of the problem clearly suggest the solution there of. Whether this applies to the corruption issue in Nigeria is still not known. Thus, in Nigeria, the main cause of poverty and hunger is corruption as per looting of public money by people in high places. On identification of this problem, the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was established with a clear mandate to recover stolen public money and prosecute the offenders in accordance with the existing laws of the land.

Honorable, your idiosyncrasy and Police track records made the people of Nigeria to venerate you with this dignified position, As a retired public officer, you cannot be insouciant with this respectable responsibility. You’ve nothing to lose if you choose not to summersault into the hands of Nigeria’s demagogue and write your name in “gold” in the annals of the nation’s history. You have everything to lose if you become credulous and make Nigerians and the rest of the world lose confidence in this Institute under your watch. Indeed, you don’t want to leave an irritating legacy that would be indelible for your family. Please keep in mind that whether Mallam Ribadu, your predecessor carried out selective prosecution or not, he (Ribadu) was able to maintain this Institute to an acceptable degree under the circumstances because he recovered substantial amount from the thieves that impoverished the people they took oath to protect. Of course, your tenure would be juxtaposed with that of Ribadu, and certainly more is expected of you in terms of the Institute’s score-board. Remember, you’re older in age and in Police ranking. These qualities come with truthfulness and experience. During your screening process, your husband told the nation that you’re capable of arresting him if the need be. So, who is that, you cannot handle now? Summarily, you should be intransigent and excoriate any hidden agenda of recovering loots from past and present treasury looters. This way, Nigerians, home and abroad and the International community would be buoyed by your good work.

Honorable, the Punch Newspaper of July 23, 2008 credited you with a statement, “rather than going after corrupt Nigerians, she would focus on the prevention of corruption.” This statement is pregnant with you undermining your job description, the main focus as highlighted above---recover all stolen money and punish the offenders. Whatever finesse you want to adopt in achieving this goal is okay, provided Nigerians can attest to the Institute’s success during your tenure. What is interesting to Nigerians is not to see looters taken to court in handcuffs, but the monies stolen by the criminals must be fully recovered and judiciously used to elevate hunger and poverty in Nigeria. Sir Winston Churchill, (1874-1965) said, “it’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what is required.” The maxim that prevention is better than cure is not in doubt, but if your best is to prevent corruption, then kindly go back to your drawing board and return with an improvement on Ribadu’s strategy on recovery of all past loots that are traceable up to present day. This is what is required of you. Your Honor, with due respect and with all humility, any of your strategies that do not include the recovery of all past loots is total deviation from your job description; as such, you may consider stepping aside graciously from this noble assignment as this vision represented in your statement does not resonate with Nigerians.

At this juncture, it becomes apropos to discuss your vision versus your job description because this writer has been in the finance industry for decades. He is a living witness to the transfer of Nigeria’s wealth abroad through over invoicing, etc in the early 1980s:

• Your preventive vision cannot succeed because you cannot control what goes on in the State’s Assembly; neither would the laws allow you to meddle in the State’s Executive affairs. Furthermore, the nation does not have the database, to enhance the monitoring of individual’s assets. Therefore, your vision to cage looters cannot hold. You need not waste the nation’s meager resources and time to start a function that cannot stand the test of time. You can only operate with informants as it is at the moment.
• Your vision to block looted funds being taken outside the country will not hold water. As great as this strategy, it will eventually slow-down international business which is not good for the nation’s economy. Mr. Kofi Annan, former United Nation’s (UN) scribe made the UN body to endorse the return of loots from the Western world to countries concerned. This negates your impression that, “it’s not easy to recover looted funds from foreign bank.” This process has been made easy in recent times. All you need do is, make a formal request with your supportive documents to the countries and follow it up. The delay you might get will not come from abroad, but from the office of Nigeria’s Attorney General because he (AGF) operates a deceptive rule of law. Please whenever this happens, kindly take the bull by the horn and alert the nation. Be assured that, your creator, Almighty God will never let you go hungry as long as you have the desire to help the poor by reducing corruption in Nigeria.
• Effective execution of your job description without fear or favor to anyone would bring succor to the Nigerian people as their well-being would be elevated and even those abroad would heave a sigh of relief. It would restore confidence in the Nigerian system. Therefore there would be inflow of capital investments with all its subsequent advantages. More importantly, is the way the outside world perceives Nigerians. Thus, how you determine Nigerian’s future attitude will reflect Nigerians altitude when in foreign countries. If the EFCC under your watch fails in their responsibilities, then be rest assured that carriers of the Nigeria’s green travel passport would continue to get the worse humiliation across the globe. Don’t be hoodwinked that, the External Affairs Ministry can take care of Nigerians abroad. The buck of Nigerian’s image abroad stops at your desk.
• The EFCC has come under your watch at a time when the presidency is headed by erudite people and your office does not report to the Inspector General of Police. Now that your reporting line is no more complicated, your failure on this assignment would make you equal to General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) who is an opprobrium. IBB’s singular act of giving back to looters, public properties that were proven as stolen made him (IBB) as the Nigeria leader who legitimize looting and corruption in Nigeria. In an ideal society, members of the Bar Association would have researched their law books to ferret laws to put IBB on trial for such heinous crime against Nigeria. Unfortunately, as the days pass-by, the chances of investigating the past military crooks and their cohorts continue to dip. Your Honor, can’t you do something about these past military rogues? That he (IBB) returned looted funds to criminals is not in doubt, so why should he (IBB) go scot-free with that criminal act? The last administration recovered loots beyond year 1999 from the Abachas, so what stops you from doing a good job of recovery beyond 1995?

You’re advised to seek a crucial meeting with the Judiciary (the Bench) with a view to determine the way forward on court trials. There is no where on this planet earth with democracy that permits a public servant to have immunity from financial accountability during and after his service.

God bless you.

Tosan Okotie

Texas, United States

July 27, 2008

Robot  Villager

# 1 A Letter to Mrs Farida Waziri, EFCC Chairman When we were g...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 30.07.2008 05:57

allaccess  Villager

# 2 Sir, The main cause of poverty and hunger is not corruption in the Nigerian context, it is the refusal of the Nigerian masses to curb it for over 4 decades while simply allowing it to flourish by waiting for God to do something about it - and the EFCC may have been established with a clear mandate to recover stolen public money and prosecute the offenders in accordance with the existing laws of the land but they do not have the platform to do so since their existence is nothing more than a show of shame to further humiliate the chairman of the commission and the Nigerian nation. How else can you explain the existence of a non-elected president, himself standing on stolen corrupt mandate, now employing someone to investigate corruption? The chairwoman cannot write her name in “gold” in the annals of the nation’s history because she has so far not prosecuted or helped to imprison anyone for any offence. 99% of elected officials in the last 20 years are corrupt in one form or the other; it must be glaring to the chairwoman but her hands are tied, and of course it is only those with no connections in high places that will be used to set examples. She is a law enforcement officer not a politician. Aso Rock rules! Ribadu may have recovered substantial amount from a small number of thieves that impoverished the people but that same cash may have already be stolen again Of course. I also don’t know what role God has in the recovery of stolen wealth, what if the same messiah you are pinning your hopes on only exists in the minds of weak people who cannot operate solo without some imaginary being handed to them by their ancestors and colonialist? If God hears your prayers Nigeria will be the best country in the world with all its million churches and mosques Pal, no man is an island and until Nigerians stop relying on GOD and a few individuals for their salvation they might just get fed up, go out and revolt to rediscover the nation. Posted by allaccess| 30.07.2008 06:53

Ofunwa Villager  Villager

# 3 We wait to see how this voice of Jacob called 'Farida' will ever rise against the dark forces that foisted her on the Nigerian people. Posted by Ofunwa Villager| 30.07.2008 10:32

ariteni  Villager

# 4 You have spoilt a beautiful essay by: 1. Mentioning General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida 2. ASKING MRS WAZIRI, HEAD OF EFCC TO MEET WITH THE JUDICIARY. THERE IS NO NEED FOR ANY MEETING BECAUSE YOU CANNOT ENFORCE COMPLIANCE. E.G. NJC DIRECTIVES ON INTERIM INJUNCTION. A FIRST YEAR ADMINISTRATIVE LAW STUDENT WILL CONVINCE YOU THAT THE IMMUNITY PLEA IS A MERE RUSE WHICH A CORRUPT JUDGE CAN ALWAYS USE AS UMBRELLA TO "PERFORM". OUR LAW DOES NOT PERMIT OR EXCUSE PUBLIC OFFICERS FROM PUNISHMENT WHEN THEY LOOT. THERE IS NO NATION ON EARTH THAT LEGALLY PREVENTS THE EXCUTIVE FROM PROSECUTING CITIZENS THAT ERR AND 99.9 PERCENT OF THOSE RULINGS, ORDERS, INTERIM INJUNCTIONS MADE AGAINST THE EFCC ARE WRONG IN LAW (SOME WERE PURCHASED). MRS WAZIRI ONLY NEEDS TO DO HER JOB WELL. SHE KNOWS THAT SHE WOULD GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS AN "ALAWADA" POLICE OFFICER IF ONLY ALAMIEYESEIGHA IS JAILED - OF ALL THE CORRUPT GOVERNORS/EX-GOVERNORS. (AT LEAST RIBADU GOT ONE ALTHOUGH GOV-GENERAL HAS DECRIED THE INEQUALITY OF JUSTICE ON THE GROUND THAT HIS COLLEAGUES DID EXACTLY WHAT HE DID BUT WERE LEFT SCOT FREE.) THERE IS NO NEED TO BEG OR LOBBY THE JUDICIARY. EACH TIME A CORRUPT GOVERNOR IS LET GO BY A PERVERSE OR ILLEGAL INJUNCTION OR ORDER THE ENTIRE SOCIETY IS HURT. SOME RECENT COURT DECISIONS ARE A MONUMENTAL EMBARASSMENT TO THE ENTIRE JUDICIARY AND LEGAL COMMUNITY BUT SOME "ALAWADA" LAWYERS IN DEFENCE OF THESE "ALAWADA" INJUNCTIONS/ORDERS WOULD BAR FELLOW LAWYERS FROM COMMENT. "THE ANSWER MY FRIEND, IS BLOWING IN THE WIND ...." LEAVE THE JUDICIARY ALONE, BUT BE READY TO TAKE THE THORNS ALONG WITH THE ROSES AS THE ELECTION TRIBUNAL JUDGEMENTS HAVE SHOWN. THAT IS THE PRICE OF "DEMOCRACY". NOW, ON THE ISSUE OF GENERAL IBRAHIM BABANGIDA YOU MUST REMEMBER THAT RIBADU'S REMOVAL IS NOT UNCONNECTED WITH HIS SPEECH IN SOUTH AFRICA WHERE HE SWORE QUITE UNEQUIVOCALLY THAT BABANGIDA TYPES WILL NOT ENTER ASO ROCK AGAIN. WHEN OUR PRESIDENT (YAR ADUA) WAS NOMINATED, SOME SAY IMPOSED THE FIRST PERSON HE VISITED TO PAY OBEISANCE WAS GENERAL BABANGIDA. FARIDA WAZIRI'S APPOINTMENT COULD ONLY BE CONFIRMED AFTER A NOD BY GENERAL BABANGIDA. BABANGIDA REMAINS A SECURITY ISSUE FOR ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA AND THE MAN SHOULD BE PRAISED FOR HEEDING BABA IYABO (AND RIBADU'S) ADMONITION TO KEEP OFF THE PRESIDENCY WHEN HE COULD EASILY HAVE SNATCHED IT FROM PRESIDENT OBASANJO. APART FROM INSTITUTIONALISING CORRUPTION HIS GREATEST LEGACY IS ENSURING THAT YAR'ADUA PRESIDENCY (AND ABUBAKAR' TRANSITION DOES NOT COLLAPSE - AND NIGERIA IS GRATEFUL. SO, MRS WAZIRI SHOULD JUST LOOK AWAY OR DEMAND "EVIDENCE" LIKE ONE FORMER PRESIDENT BUT FOCUS ON THE PUBLIC OFFICERS OF THE PRESENT CIVILIAN DISPENSATION. SHE KNOWS THAT AS A MEMBER OF THE MUCH DISCREDITED NIGERIA POLICE FORCE THE EXPECTATIONS OF NIGERIANS ARE LOW. SHE SHOULD PLAN ON SPENDING ONLY 3 YEARS, DO WHATEVER SHE CAN AND GET THE HELL OUT OF THAT HOT SEAT SO SHE CAN ENJOY HER HUSBAND/RETIREMENT. OTHER THAN THESE, THIS OPEN LETTER IS AN EXCELLENT CONTRIBUTION TO OUR PUBLIC DEBATE EVEN THOUGH IT ASSUMES THE SUITABILITY OF THE APPOINTEE. IT IS CONTRUCTIVE AND INSIGHTFUL. MORE GREASE TO THE WRITER'S ELBOW. Posted by ariteni| 30.07.2008 17:35