The profile of Chief Ndutimi Alaibe is one that lots of Nigerians would love to read. But apart from the rumour that he had a lot to do with journalism prior to his ‘incardination’ into the just dissolved board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, nothing about him is let out for public consumption. Let me say this without any intention of demeaning this juggernaut. If it were possible to bury his beautiful wife in secret without public glare, I am sure he would do it.
There have been lots of controversies around the man. For several years, he headed the Finance and Administration department of the NDDC assisted by the ever-elusive P.Z. Aginye who eventually contested for the governorship in Delta State. Alaibe played his cards so well and so surreptitiously that outsiders hardly got to know what this man was doing in that department. In 2004, when the NDDC came under severe criticism on account of the buses procured for the economic empowerment of youths and cooperatives in the Niger Delta, Xcel Magazine did a piece on the fraud that said the bus scheme was carried out in the guise of empowerment. Alaibe successfully bribed off the continuation of that report with the sum of four million naira.
What surprises development analysts is the pedigree of the competence of this man on development issues. The rude shock is that this competence is not manifest in his transactions. A few of his kinsmen who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that Alaibe’s going is a welcome development. Some even bluntly refer to him as a “trouble maker.” A few of his boys who admitted that they did some “jobs for Oga Alaibe” are bitter with him and have threatened to come out in the open to say what transpired. To make matters worse, Alaibe’s aides are a bunch of “liars,” another source hinted. “They use your brain to make money and ask you to come today, come tomorrow,” another aggrieved source confessed. Some others see the former NDDC MD as a man whose mission it was to make money for himself and those few charlatans who “danced to his tune.” There were countless controversies around how Alaibe became the NDDC MD after Chief Emmanuel Aguravwode left. It is said that Alaibe was not the best replacement, but he was able to play around the powers that were, and got the office, sources hinted.
Alaibe was not only making waves in the NDDC, he also had his claws lacerating the back of politics. He contested keenly for the office of governor in Bayelsa, his home state, even at the expense of the rules of the game. To him, Goodluck Jonathan was not material for the governorship position, gimmicks of Nigerian politics notwithstanding. Shocking enough, upon his appointment to office as the Vice President, Chief, Hon. Alaibe was among the first set of people to take up congratulatory messages advertorials in national dailies, pledging their support for “my brother.” Such is the spirit of ‘sportsmanship.’ Alaibe, according to sources close to these newsmakers, stepped aside from his governorship ambition when he was assured that he would be compensated with the office of the Managing Director of the NDDC. Finding this offer juicy enough, he laid to rest his fiery quest to govern the “Glory of All Lands.”
Another criticism against Alaibe is this fact that he is fingered to be one of those who championed the fall of the Olotu of Olotus, aka Chief Diepreye Solomon Peter Alaimieyeseigha. Convinced sources say that he funded part of the blackmail, by hiring some of those who testified falsely over the television against the former governor. In the heat of the controversies surrounding the removal of the former NDDC Chairman, Amb. Sam Edem, Alaibe was described as a strong man whom nothing can touch. Whatever this description entails, only Amb. Edem’s alleged juju priest to whom this statement is credited can tell.
Examining the NDDC prior to, and during Alaibe’s tenure as MD, one would immediately say without fear of contradiction that NDDC has a woefully poor score sheet. The greatest achievement of the commission had been in the area of the execution of poor quality jobs, and higher rates of personality clashes and undue quest for power. Those who are conversant with the Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State will know a town called Bodo. In this town, there is a St. Patrick Catholic Church. Directly opposite this church, there is a Primary school that was built by Missionaries. As we speak, NDDC had gone to that school, showered some water paint on the school building and boldly inscribed on it: “Built by NDDC.” These, among others, are the kind of “good jobs” NDDC had been doing during the tenure of the board that has just been dissolved.
It would be no surprise to hear that this same Alaibe may have set in place machineries that would ensure his come back to the commission in a different capacity since it is obvious that he is ready for a life-time of “service” to the “good people of Bayelsa.”
In any case, the Action Congress in Bayelsa, speaking through its publicity secretary, Mr. Miriki Ebikina, says it is on the watch to see who Gov. Timipre Sylva would appoint to fill the vacancy Alaibe has just left. So, be prepared for another round of serious lobbying. It’s only your connections, and perhaps your affiliation to a potent medicine man that can win this race.
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