Buhari’s next level ministers and ‘reward’ for graft

The tainted political history of some of President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial nominees has continued to dominate public discourse. In this piece, TUNDE AJAJA examines the import of this on the image of the administration and its fight against corruption

In the run-up to the 2015 elections, Muhammadu Buhari, the then candidate of the All Progressives Congress, enjoyed enviable goodwill in most parts of the country and beyond.

No doubt, many factors contributed to that goodwill, including his reported incorruptible persona, discipline and no-nonsense disposition to issues as a military man whose regime as the Head of State helped to instil orderliness in the polity.

To complement these, even though he is largely known as a man of few words, he made it sufficiently clear during his campaigns that he would tackle insecurity, build the economy and fight corruption, noting that no one would be spared.

Therefore, one could safely presume that one of the things that helped Buhari to win the election was his anticipated firm stance against corruption, strengthened by his history as an incorruptible, upright man, especially when corruption had been identified as the bane of the country’s needed growth.

In his inaugural speech, he promised to tackle insecurity, pervasive corruption and economic challenges head on, noting that Nigerians would not regret that they had entrusted national responsibility to him.

Also, while on a four-day official visit to the United States in July 2015, he said in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that he would not spare his party members in the fight against corruption.

“I just have to; there isn’t going to be any party member or any personality that can escape justice. It is not the issue of party member. If you have stolen, no party member can escape justice,” he had said.

But between 2015 and his re-election in 2019, some Nigerians and analysts had questioned the President’s sincerity in his promise to fight corruption, especially when he appointed his ministers, comprising former governors that were alleged to have stolen from their states and some of whom reportedly funded his campaigns.

The reinstatement of Abdulrasheed Maina, a man who had earlier been declared wanted over allegations of corruption and the withdrawal of corruption case against ex-governor Danjuma Goje of Gombe State, were some of the developments that also reinforced people’s doubt about the anti-corruption fight.

But, a few days ago, the President again drew the ire of Nigerians when he sent the list of his ministerial nominees to the Senate.

The list contained names of persons that had been accused of corruption, including the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Akpabio, and his counterpart from Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, whose 48 houses were initially seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission before they were returned to him.

At an APC rally in Benin, the Edo State capital, on January 17, 2019, Oshiomhole had while receiving some members of the Peoples Democratic Party into the APC during the rally, said once opposition party members joined the APC, their sins would be forgiven.”

Months after, Akpabio joined the APC and is now a ministerial nominee. Meanwhile, two days ago, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission said it had recovered hospital equipment meant for constituency project on the premises of Mma Obot Foundation, allegedly belonging to Akpabio.

Also, Sylva, who was the governor of Bayelsa State under the platform of the PDP , defected to the APC in 2014. And in 2017, the EFCC returned the 48 houses earlier seized from him.

At the rally in 2018, the President had reiterated his commitment to fighting corruption, saying if re-elected, he would continue to recover stolen funds.

He said, “In the fight against corruption, I assure you that all those who have fraudulently enriched themselves when they were entrusted with public funds, we will eventually get them and deal with them. We are doing it, we will continue to do it and I assure you, we will not abuse your trust.”

But, few months into his inauguration for a second term, persons accused of corrpution were nominated by the President to become ministers.

Speaking on the inclusion of such persons in the ministerial list, a Lagos-based lawyer and public affairs analyst, Mr Jiti Ogunye, described their inclusion as unfortunate, saying it could make people, including the youth, to believe that uprightness, probity in public office and doing the right things may not really be the qualification they need to be a leader or hold public office.

He explained that making such persons ministers could make people believe that once they had money and connection to political power, they would enjoy government attention and patronage.

He added, “The ministerial list, for me, is a loud statement on how to differentiate between Muhammadu Buhari, the myth, and President Muhammadu Buhari, the typical Nigerian politician; and it’s very interesting because the list offers a kind of window for Nigerians to have a peep into the ethical vineyard of this presidency.

“It tells a lot of stories; it puts a bold question mark on the anti-corruption posturing of the administration and it is not just about the ministerial list, it’s also about the kind of politics that is involved in the second phase of the administration, and you would ask yourself if there was really any war against corruption or it was just an imaginary war or a mere simulation.”

He said while there were cautions taken in 2015 to convince Nigerians of the sincerity of the administration, it would appear that the caution had been thrown overboard this time round especially as the President would no longer seek re-election.

“For him to do this in his second term when there is no election ahead of him, is at one level cynical and yet very disrespectful to the feelings of Nigerians,” he added.

Ogunye pointed out that it was obvious the administration had recorded some successes, but that making such appointments makes a mockery of the expectation of people who expect that those who would be called to serve in public office would be men of impeccable character and people who could serve as role models to others.

He said, “Politicians may not see anything wrong with this; they would say it is politics and that it’s about having people who have money with a large following.”

He said despite the reservations many people have about former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he wasted no time in dissociating himself from his appointees or other persons accused of corruption when he was in office.

He said, “In spite of everything we know about Halliburton and Siemens scandal in his administration and the suggestion that he was complicit, when the Adolphous Wabara case broke, he distanced himself. When the story of his minister, Chief Sunday Afolabi, broke, he distanced himself from the man even though they went to the same school.

“Also, when some lawyers were being considered for ministerial positions and they had issues with the ICPC then regarding the election-related contract scam, their names were withdrawn on account of those allegations.

“So, rather than moving forward to consolidate such modest symbolic gains, what this latest move by the President is telling us is that it doesn’t matter and if that is the way we have to go, it makes the anti-corruption war – if it’s a war at this stage – more difficult to fight, less convincing to articulate and it may only then means that perhaps it is designed more for those involved in Internet fraud (yahoo yahoo) who are being convicted in droves now.”

Ogunye explained that the high moral standard people expect of the President wasn’t arbitrary.

He added, “He’s a president that locally and internationally has projected himself as an unwavering combatant against corrupt practices.

“So, we are only holding him to the standard he has set for himself, which was what he sold to us in 2015; the same standard he reiterated when he was campaigning in 2019. Therefore, when he’s conducting the affairs of state in a manner that is not in sync with the standard he has set himself, of course, we must hold him to account.”

Also speaking on the import of the President’s nomination, the President of the Committee for Defence of Human Rights, Mr Malachy Ugwummadu, noted that such a sad commentary would not provide any prospect for positive movement in the direction towards where the nation should be.

“I think it’s a very unfortunate and sad commentary; one that does not inspire any hope of change,” he added.

Ugwummadu said he wondered what the President would tell (Ibrahim) Magu, the acting EFCC chairman, noting that such would only compound the corruption level in the country.

He said, “I do not know how much motivation or incentive that can provide when you have people being investigated by the EFCC being appointed as ministers. That is a very mild tap on the wrist and it is a signal that we are busy hitting our heads against the wall while they are settling scores politically. Although I recognise that the place of presumption of innocence under Section 35 (5)  of the constitution.

“I know that there are a lot of balancing to be made, but leadership is not where you stand in the time of convenience, it is where you stand at all times. Therefore, I would say it mainly compromises the notion and jeopardises the perception that people have and still hold in his favour.

“The President rode to power in 2015 on the crest of his avowed integrity, but I must tell you that many of those virtues are beginning to come in conflict with a very convoluted political environment that no longer leaves the integrity as intact as it was when the nation rose in unison to ensure his emergence through the electoral process.

“That integrity has been put to the test and we have so soon seen that whereas he may be determined, grappling with the exigencies of the time is such that compromises the foundation of that integrity in a way that exposes him.”

He said while some people believed that the man meant well, whether or not he has the capacity to drive and navigate through the complex web of the Nigerian political path was left to be seen.

He stated, “By the time impunity rises to this level, you are already looking at the last bus stop before anarchy, which is why people are taking to self help. People had hoped that the President and his team would have acted fundamentally different in a way that would restore the hope and confidence of the people other than the speed with which they are dissipating it as we speak.”

Also, the President of the Campaign for Democracy, Bako Usman, said the inclusion of persons accused of corruption makes a mockery of the anti-corruption fight of the administration.

He said, “The APC came on the change mantra and most of us who were advocates of having Nigeria at a better level of governance thought this change would be a positive change, but we never knew it would be a negative one.

“Their fight against corruption is just rhetoric. If you are not in their good books, they come after you but if you are in their good books nothing would happen to you. People who were found wanting in the previous administration are still the same people you are wining and dining with.”

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