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Halliburton: Jonathan’s Ambition And Fallacy Of Scapegoats

November 1, 2010

There is no better place to fetch the definition of politics in Nigeria than the devil’s dictionary which says it is: “Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles; the conduct of public affairs for private advantage.”

There is no better place to fetch the definition of politics in Nigeria than the devil’s dictionary which says it is: “Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles; the conduct of public affairs for private advantage.”

No Nigerian needs any convincing to agree that the connection between power and hypocrisy is obvious. And that corruption and hypocrisy are the prices a society pays for succumbing to leadership by wimps.

Shortly after the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), linked 80 names, including those of prominent Nigerians to the infamous Halliburton bribery scandal, the Umaru Yar"Adua-led administration set up a Presidential panel to investigate the matter. The panel was headed by former Police Chief, Mike Okiro and had the EFCC boss, Farida Waziri, and officials from the offices of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), and Nigeria Intelligence agency (NIA).

According to court records of the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) and as confirmed from the website of the Nigerian LNG, the 6 billion dollar LNG contracts secured by the TSKJ were awarded in six stages called trains. The contracts were issued in the following steps; trains 1 and 2 were awarded in December 1995 during the tenure of Gen Sani Abacha, train 3 in February 1999 during the tenure of Abdusalam Abubakar as head of state; trains 4 and 5 in March 2002 during Chief Olusegun Obasanjo's tenure as President; and train 6 in July 2004, also during his tenure.

While $180 million was earmarked and agreed as bribe payments upon signing of contracts for trains 1 and 2 which was awarded during the regime of Abacha; $32.2 million dollars was agreed for train 3 and this was delivered under Abdulsalam’s government; $51 million for trains 4 and 5; and the remaining upon signing the contract for train 6. Contracts for trains 4, 5, and 6 were signed by the Obasanjo’s adminstration.

The report duly established that Obasanjo and top officials of his party and government including chief executives of the NNPC among other captains of industry got $74 Million (N1.77 Billion) from Halliburton between 2001 and 2003.

It was also concluded that Bodunde Adeyanju, a personal aide of Obasanjo received $5 million in three tranches from agents of Albert Stanley, chief executive officer of Kellog Brown and Roots, a subsidiary of Halliburton.

Adeyanju though had consistently maintained that he collected the money on behalf of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but it was obvious he acted on behalf of his boss.

The curious question is: why should he, a former personal assistant to the ex-  President, decide to act as the fall guy in the $180 Million Halliburton scandal, when it is clear he took orders from someone or maybe people of higher callings?

It would be recalled that Gen. T.Y Danjuma, the then chairman of Jonathan’s advisory committee had in strong terms told Jonathan, then acting president that he should use the findings of the Okiro Panel to assert himself as an anti-corruption crusader. Of course this was actually a vengeance scheme by Danjuma intended to use the report to nail Obasanjo and pay him in his own coin.

Surprising, Danjuma, after being “properly brief” of the implications of his stern position on Jonathan’s presidential ambition suddenly made an about-turn and till today has preferred to be mute on it.

Also, the report of the Okiro Presidential Panel and another report sent by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to President Goodluck Jonathan on the same Halliburton scandal have allegedly disappeared in circumstances that could best be described as mysterious and nothing is being said about it.

Bodunde, in his written confessional statement to the police agreed that he received the monies in three installments on behalf of the ruling PDP which was facing financial difficulties, owing to the rift between the former president Olusegun Obasanjo and his deputy, Atiku Abubakar, that affected the funding of the party.

Bodunde was neither a national officer nor financier of the party that required his intervention in sourcing for funds for an insolvent party. However, he has insisted that he collected the monies for the survival of the party and for the purpose of prosecuting the 2003 election campaigns.

How could a personal assistant collect over $5m cash and say he did it on behalf of the party? This is the question that has baffled many Nigerians. Either Bodunde was being smart or an outright daft by his confessional statement that PDP was broke and he embarked on fund raising for the party. What was he in the PDP’s National Working Committee or even its National Executive Council to start going to Halliburton, Julius Berger and NNPC to source for funds for the party? Did he remit the monies he collected from Obaseki/NNPC to the party? If yes, there must be records of such receipts at the PDP headquarters and if there are no records, then, then. then……

It was not enough for bodunde to claim (in a statement to the Police dated 23/6/09) that there was no witness between him and Batagarawa when he (Batagarawa) collected the money from him (Bodunde) since it was based on trust. According to him, Alhaji Batagarawa was a trusted and loyal party member during the crisis period.

Could it be that Boudunde was schooled by his boss and some top PDP officials on the implication of admitting he acted on behalf of Obasanjo as the former president is the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the PDP, and one of the pillars for the Jonathan’s 20011 presidential project? Haven considered the political implications it became expedient to allow Boudunde- a messenger take the fall on behalf of several prominent politicians particularly his former boss who owned the message.

The Yar’Adua government didn’t expect such from the Okiro panel, so when it was sent they sat on it. Then came Jonathan as acting president. He too had no choice but to ignore the report until external pressures forced him to arrange the ongoing mock trial. If they decide to go after Obasanjo, the chairman BOT will go down as well as so many top party men who are currently supporting Jonathan’s ambition. So they decided to front scapegoats in the likes of Adeyanju, Aliyu and Bello, who will eventually get soft landings since they are being made to pay for the ‘sins of the fathers,’ which is contrary to the stipulation in the Holy Scripture that ‘a soul that sins must die.’

Two other messengers who are also taking the fall for the big names are former managing director of defunct Nigeria Airways, Air Marshall A.D Bello (Rtd), and former permanent Secretary, Ibrahim Aliyu. While the former’s account was used to disburse $150 Million, the foreign account of Aliyu was used to move $11 Million of the Halliburton bribes.

How long can we continue like this as a nation and as a people? United States of America not only prosecuted her nationals involved in this same Halliburton scandal but the country made huge sums of money either by plea bargain or outright refund. But look at how we have turned the case into child’s play in Nigeria where the crime was actually committed just because some people think they have to be in government.

Whether Jonathan likes it or not, if justice is not done today on this and other corruption cases, it will be done tomorrow and in God’s court and then there will be no appeal because “God case no appeal. Abi no be so?

SENIOR FYNEFACE, ELELEWON STREET, GRA II PORT HARCOURT ([email protected])




 

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