By Babatunde Jose
Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you that ye may receive admonition. (Quran 16:90)
It was the late Chinua Achebe who wrote in his book, “There was a Country” that, “Nigeria is plagued by a home grown enemy: political ineptitude, mediocrity, indiscipline, ethnic bigotry, hedonism, hereditary spiritual paganism and monumental corruption of the ruling class.’ (Italics mine)
In 2015 a case commenced against the former governor of Borno State involving about ₦300 billion. This was not all: the EFCC also wanted to know “how he raised $72million to buy a G650 Gulfstream aircraft after leaving office in 2011. The politician has at least two private jets.” To this the EFCC also accused the governor of “benefiting from $200 million released by the former administration to facilitate Boko Haram ceasefire in a neighboring country in 2014. Whether and to what extent the $200 million were embezzled or only partly raked off is not mentioned. Suffice it to state that this office holder was at the higher levels of the pyramid of public fund skimmers. Later he decamped to the ruling APC. We found no further information about the status of his case which appears to be ‘pending’.
The so-called ‘Armsgate’ scandal identified theft of at least $2.1 billion and probably far more, over the period 2007 to 2015 through use of fake contracts for military equipment that failed to materialize.
Among others, they procured second-hand helicopters at a highly inflated price of $ 136 million which should have cost about $ 30 million. Having no rotor blades they proved to be useless anyhow. This group of soldiers diverted ₦ 3.6 billion belonging to the Nigerian Air Force for their own use, purchasing property in both London and Lagos Island. Property and assets valued at ₦ 2.7 billion were in the end forfeited.
Ten years ago was the case of our run-away petroleum minister, ‘the lady with the golden bra’, who was credited with managing to put jollof rice worth billions of Naira and dollars in her brassiere. Despite forfeiting many property to the government, she is still at large, a fugitive from justice, albeit a rich one, as a result of profits from criminal enterprise.
She was able to use her influence to direct a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to award contracts to shell companies (created in Nigeria) that were owned by existing business associates in return for substantial bribes. From Nigeria, the proceeds of those illicitly awarded contracts were used for the purchase of various assets, including extensive property in London, a $50 million condominium located in one of Manhattan’s most expensive buildings – 157 W. 57th Street. They were also used to purchase the Galactica Star, an $80 million yacht.
• Permanent forfeiture of 2,149 pieces of jewellery and a customized gold iPhone worth $40 million
• ₦ 23,5 bn and $ 5milion in various Nigerian bank accounts
• Property in Nigeria: worth between £5.5 million and £17 million
• Properties in London: (i) £ 1.73 million property sold for £ 2.8 million before the court order; (ii) Hampstead:property sold for £ 5,85 million also before the court order; (iii) three further properties in London collectively valued at £11.5 million, two of which were sold for £5.5 million before action could be taken.
• Property in New York: A $50 million Condominium in Manhattan and an $80 million Yacht.
Final forfeiture of a total of 56 houses to the Federal Government. The properties valued at about $21,982,224 are located in Lagos and Port Harcourt, River State.
What manner of unbridled acquisition would make a man or a consortium of thieves concoct the real estate heist reported recently by the EFCC. The courts declared a permanent forfeiture of the unbelievable sprawling Abuja property with 753 duplexes and other apartments located in the Cadastral Zone area of the capital city. Am sure they were thinking of vying with the Federal Housing Authority.
In the docks today is a former governor who is being charged for the minor infraction of ducking over a 100 billion of state funds in his back pocket. According to the EFCC the former governor misused state funds to acquire properties, in various parts of Abuja worth N950 million, N100 million and N920 million respectively.
The main issue is that our man paid the sum of $845,852 to the American School, with State Government’s fund, being lifetime school fees for his children. The American School has since refunded $760,910 to the EFCC which demanded it.
However, he was also accused of transferring $570,330 and $556,265 to TD Bank, USA, and possessing unlawfully obtained property, including N677.8 million from Bespoque Business Solution Limited. All these were for his private enjoyment after working tirelessly for the welfare of his people for 8 years.
There was also the case of a man charged with keeping watch over the national treasury who forgot over 109 billion Naira in the pocket of his raincoat, which he discovered when he got home. The rascal decided it was not worth returning because the wife would not hear of it. She made the proverb that ‘whatever cloth is sewn for the egungun, automatically belongs to the egungun’.
“Some of the former governors who were charged to court in the past ten years and whose cases have not been concluded by the court and which the EFCC have decided to revive include; Ayo Fayose, Rasheed Ladoja, Joshua Dariye; was sentenced and pardoned, Chimaroke Nnamani, Orji Uzor Kalu, Jolly Nyame; was sentenced and pardoned, Abdullahi Adamu, Lucky Igbinedion; enter a plea bargain, Sullivan Chime, Theodore Orji, Danjuma Goje, Aliyu Wamako, Timipre Sylva and Sule Lamido. Most of them have found themselves in and out of the Senate and other political positions and EFCC have abandoned most of those cases without trial.
“They never went back to court to list most of these cases for trial. What type of society do we belong to in this country? Meanwhile, the EFCC are parading around that they convicted over 2000 cases most of whom are internet fraudsters and petty thieves. As long as we have sacred cows, corruption in Nigeria will continue to increase.
Shameless hooligans, they will not be deterred in their wanton gluttony and avaricious tendencies. On a good Sunday morning, they line the Lagos Mariner with their exotic cars in front of the Cathedral Church of Christ and other places of Sunday worship; paying fat-fat tithes, thinking they can bribe God; forgetting that God is not a hypocrite and will never lend His Holy name to brigandage and unholy parade of ignominy.
We see them too at the mosques on Fridays: Here too, the weekly admonition to do good deeds and eschew Alfasha, injustice and conspiracy are strange to their ears. Like the Quran said, they are deaf, dumb and blind; and would not listen or follow the straight path.
Allah commands justice, the doing of good, and liberality to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you that ye may receive admonition. (Quran 16:90). .But . . . .. .Deaf, dumb, and blind, they are void of wisdom. (Quran 2:171)
But they cannot mock God: ‘A thousand Samuels cannot escape from God’.
They forget so soon that God is a God of retribution: ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’ Numbers 14:18
The Prophet (SAW) said: “Allah does not punish the individuals for the sins of the community until they see the evil spreading among themselves, and while they have the power to stop it, do not do so.” (Ahmad).
Today, many of our Imams, pastors and political bootlickers are guilty of this and for sure, they have earned a visa to hell fire!“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” ― Dante Alighieri:
The parable of those who reject Faith is as if one were to shout like a goatherd, to things that listen to nothing but calls and cries: Deaf, dumb, and blind, they are void of wisdom.(Quran 2:171)
To this extent therefore, we should today take a firm stand against corrupt and inept leaders. Enough is enough!
Those who have ears, let them listen; for, when ‘the come comes to become’, there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Happy posthumous birthday to our late patriarch and father Dr. Ismail Babatunde Jose OFR. He would have been 99 today. May Allah continue to keep him in Aljannatul Firdous. Inna Lillah wa Inna Illehi rajiun.
Barka Juma’at and happy weekend
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