It defies any reasonable logic that Dr. Jonathan has remained studiously silent on the allegations. Could it be that he is taking his time to study the situation before coming out with explanations. Or could it be that he is waiting for invitation by the EFCC before he can be able to speak to the people especially his esteemed supporters who in their widest imaginations will think he cannot be party to such betrayal of trust?
ARMSGATE: TIME FOR JONATHAN TO BREAK SILENCE
By Stanley Ibeku
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Gradually, the monumental betrayal of trust, looting and financial recklessness in some dealings of the immediate past administration is becoming clearer vindicating some Nigerians who consistently raised alarm that PDP-led federal government were only out for the selfish interests of their members. With unrestrained passion, privileged men who had access to our common patrimony shared funds meant for the fight against insurgency that has left us in tears, pains and unforgettable memories.
Though, no one has been convicted in the prosecution of the case on misappropriation of about N32 billion meant for procurement of arms involving the immediate past National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki; a former director of Finance and Administration in the Office of the NSA, Shuaibu Salisu; and a former Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Aminu Baba-Kusa and his two companies, Acacia Holdings Limited and Reliance Referral Hospital Limited. Others include former Minister of State for Finance Bashir Yuguda, a former Governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa; his son, Sagir Attahiru; and their firm –Dalhatu Investment.
With the rather incongruous, unfathomable and outright ridiculous revelations coming from saga, it is trite to say that a lot more may have happened. It is rather regrettable that at a time the nation was battling and is still battling with terrorism, funds meant for procurement of arms were being diverted to mundane, selfish, and the rather ridiculous purposes. At a time, when bloods were being spilled daily and properties destroyed in the land, some men who were entrusted in providing leadership were busy scheming on ways of benefitting from the ‘blood money’.
On the battle front, soldiers were complaining that the insurgents had superior weapons; some persons had the impression that they were merely making excuses judging by the huge budgetary provisions for security. At the end, the soldiers were slammed with various charges and convicted for mutiny. The manner and purposes for which the funds were disbursed calls for serious concerns. The Office of the National Security Adviser has become so powerful and influential that any matter is considered a threat to the security of the nation. Save for latest moves, the soldiers would have been summarily executed.
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Besides, by the way these slush funds were disbursed clearly violates public procurement act. With the allegations, it seemed that whoever was close to the office could come up with one proposal or the other and get his slice of the cake. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) allege that Raymond Dokpesi, ex-while Chairman of Daar Communications got a hefty N2.1 ostensibly to convince Nigerians through media and publicity on the need to re-elect President Goodluck Jonathan. Nduka Obaigbena, publisher of Thisday Newspapers collected N120 million for some newspapers for damage to their vehicles and newspapers by some security agents.
We are told that about N10 billion were shared to PDP delegates during the last presidential primaries in which former President Goodluck Jonathan was unanimously chosen. Some funds were said to have been doled out to ‘spiritualists’, some to acquire choice properties. At the moment, the EFCC it was learnt is still investigating.
In all these revelations, though Sambo Dasuki seems to be at the centre of the scandal. But he has been quoted as saying that he couldn’t have released those funds without the approval of the big boss. Even if President Goodluck Jonathan’s name is not mentioned in the saga, it will still make sense that he come out and tell Nigerians why under his supervision such monumental scandal occurred. Sambo Dasuki certainly worked under the president. It will be unthinkable that such disbursements were made without the authorization of the president. If at all this is the case, then certainly, there may have been more sordid deals.
It defies any reasonable logic that Dr. Jonathan has remained studiously silent on the allegations. Could it be that he is taking his time to study the situation before coming out with explanations. Or could it be that he is waiting for invitation by the EFCC before he can be able to speak to the people especially his esteemed supporters who in their widest imaginations will think he cannot be party to such betrayal of trust?
On the other hand, since some persons have been invited by the EFCC for clarifications on their roles in the scandal, will extending the invitation to Dr. Jonathan be against their operations? Some say that the EFCC may have to get clearance from President Muhammadu Buhari before such an action can be undertaken. If this is the case, then President Buhari’s courage will certainly be under watch.
The sharing of the arms money is clearly a betrayal of trust and violation of human rights in a way. While the nation was earnestly seeking for an end to the massacre in the land, those entrusted in the onerous task of motivating our troops were busy devising means of diverting funds. Unfortunately, their ambition was to stay onto power for another four years. Perhaps, the change of government was timely to stop further acts of misdeeds.
At a time when the government plans to borrow hugely to finance the 2016 budget, it is trite that some looted funds are recovered and used for developmental purposes. And President Jonathan needs to help out in the conclusion of this case.
Stanley is a public affairs commentator.
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