Thursday, 17 May 2012
Now That Farida Has Been Fired By Sonala Olumhense
Farida Waziri
Columnist:
Sonala Olumhense Ibrahim Lamorde, the former head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has returned to the post where he was last seen to be handing-over the position to the woman he succeeded last week, Mrs. Farida Waziri.
Mrs. Waziri’s sacking was conducted in something of a whimper, almost like an apology. Since her contract had not expired, it was obvious she was being sacked. An explanation would therefore have been appropriate, but none reason was given.
I congratulate President Goodluck Jonathan for finally finding the courage to remove Mrs. Waziri, a step he all but promised 19 months ago, in April 2010.
Now what?
Leadership of the EFCC is of interest because the Commission’s work is tied to most of Nigeria’s major troubles and personalities. As a result, there is no way to conduct its affairs in the dark. That is why Mrs. Waziri should have turned down the offer.
Mrs. Waziri is genetically indisposed to battling corruption. That is why her acceptance of the job was a worse crime than the offer. The problem is that when most Nigerians are offered a position in the government, greed takes over. Mrs. Waziri is the most prominent contemporary demonstration of this.
Numerous reports following her appointment in 2008 indicated her unsuitability to serve the public interest because of a clash of interest. For instance, how could a person who had represented the former Benue State governor, George Akume, when the Nuhu Ribadu-era EFCC was investigating him, sashay into the EFCC and be expected to prosecute him?
The moment she got through the EFCC doors, Waziri’s first task was to dismantle the EFCC as we knew it. She immediately kicked aside the top 10 officers who had been responsible for such high profile cases as those of Bukola Saraki and James Ibori. Does anyone remember Ibrahim Mustafa Magu who headed the Economic Governance Section and Presidential Task Force of the EFCC? He was reputed to be thorough and professional, but Mrs. Waziri wanted no such men, and so she had him arrested, detained for 17 days, suspended from the police, and exiled to Ekiti State.
How could Magu have been such a star in one week and the devil himself the next? In Mrs. Waziri’s well-manicured fingers it was easy: she said she was looking for “vital documents” concerning sensitive EFCC cases. She claimed that the files of the governors facing prosecution were either missing or distorted. But while I had criticized Mr. Ribadu for his inconsistencies, one of his true achievements was that EFCC records were much more than scruffy old-school police folders, and the Commission had copies in offshore locations.
She also lied that there were no petitions against former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Not true: in November 2007, the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), publicly filed one, accompanied with a public demonstration at the EFCC’s Ikoyi office, where the Head of General Investigation, Mr. Umaru Sanda, received the petition. On December 10, the Conference of National Political Parties (CNPP) also publicly filed another petition against Obasanjo, acknowledged in writing by the EFCC on December 24.
On the job, petitions against her ethics and performance multiplied, many of them alleging that she accepted bribes and extorted suspects.
One petition sent to Acting President Jonathan in May 2009 by The Public Accountability League (PAL) alleged that Mrs. Waziri had engaged in negotiating commissions on cases before her. It said she had taken advantage of the banking reform and had since February that year collected monthly tolls of—among others—N50 million from Intercontinental Bank; N20 million from Access Bank; and NI0 million from Skye Bank.
Mr. Jonathan, I am sure, will remember that PAL also alleged that Mrs. Waziri had illegally used her office to acquire property in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and Dubai. It offered to present information and title deeds of the properties she had acquired in London.
There were other allegations, stories and petitions, including Mrs. Waziri’s giant scheme known as the Anti-Corruption Revolution Campaign (ANCOR). According to the PAL petition, she spent over N700 million on each of the launchings in Lagos and Abuja. “All the items used in the events never passed through due process as they were never advertised,” the petitioners claimed.
Mrs. Waziri was incompetent, she lied, and she misrepresented, but she was also something else: a gamer. In order to cover her tracks, she never sent to the National Assembly the annual report required by Section 37 of the EFCC Act 2004. It says, “The Commission shall, not later than 30th September in each year, submit to the National Assembly, a report of its activities during the immediately preceding year and shall include in such report the audited accounts of the Commission.”
That is the call that Mr. Ribadu was answering, on 27 September 2006, when he went to the Senate and established corruption cases against 18 serving and former governors. Among others, on that date, Ribadu announced that the Edo State Governor, Lucky Igbinedion, was being investigated for diversion of statutory allocations and 13 per cent oil revenue; that the investigation of Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu was of an international nature; and that the wife of the Governor of Bayelsa State, Patience Jonathan, was involved in money-laundering.
Mrs. Waziri wanted to avoid that legal obligation, which was made more urgent because the Commission acknowledged it on its website. It said, among others: “The EFCC Annual Report presented yearly to the National Assembly, is a compendium of all activities of all units of the Commission including Operations, Administration, Legal & Prosecution, Media, Accounts, Training School, etc.”
Upon arrival, Mrs. Waziri excised that acknowledgement from its prominent location on the website.
All of this, and much, much more, is why firing Mrs. Waziri quietly just won’t do: the woman must be probed.
But Mrs. Waziri is only part of the conundrum. The country is loaded with Waziris, many of them feared by well-placed people who befriend them in order to neutralize them. I suspect that when you have headed an organization as powerful as the EFCC, you know where all the bodies are buried, and by whom. In order to avoid the Waziris opening their mouths, they are desired and courted and protected—when they should be prosecuted.
However, if there is to be genuine progress, we must move beyond simply remove an erring Michael Aondoakaa or a Farida Waziri from office. Such people must provide a full account of their tenure, and face the law if need be.
Of greater importance, Mr. Jonathan must provide the leadership necessary to combat corruption and greed in Nigeria. A war against corruption cannot, by definition, be subleased or sub-tenanted. In the absence of a robust, combative leadership, corruption rides the horse of hypocrisy.
One of the areas Jonathan must look at, in addition to strengthening the judiciary, is amending the EFCC Act to make the Commission an independent body. He should fortify the Commission by restructuring it into two divisions, each headed by a Deputy Chairman. The ‘new’ division will focus on crimes with a foreign dimension, such as Advance Fee Fraud, money-laundering, Nigerian missions abroad, and the Okiro Panel.
I also suggest an independent Ombudsman, who will have responsibility for receiving and collating anti-corruption petitions from the public and the press for transmission to the appropriate agencies, and publishing a quarterly report on the war against corruption. Currently, nobody bothers about those stories or petitions.
Who will bell the cat? Mr. Jonathan, of course. But first, he must declare his assets, and thereby confront his credibility deficit.
Comments
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words of encouragement to good people of Nigeria
Submitted by Mtom Terungwa (not verified) on December 10, 2011 - 09:43.
Please i want to know who is really good for leadership in this country because if you take a look at federal, state and local government; the whole system is not functioning effectively. What is the Problem my brothers and sisters? My President,Goodluck Jonathan you have to seek an answer to this question without looking at people's faces, without political affiliation, anything that would hinder you from performing your duty effectively.
We seriously need to check our attitude towards governance starting from the lowest to the peak.
Whether new or old EFCC chairman. The Evil of corruption is established in the whole system. Now we want to remove subsidy but let also know that recycled corrupt politicians are people still in the system. In summary, this would open another avenue for stealing more wealth of this nation.
Finally, let us tell ourselve the truth.
egeda
Submitted by Anonymousasd (not verified) on December 10, 2011 - 07:52.
Ribadu was a thief-tinubu na ole
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 10, 2011 - 03:03.
The Senate has formally named Nigerians who have stolen and benefitted from the oil subsidy, causing pains and hardship to ordinary Nigerian citizens with Oando, owned by Wale Tinubu, younger brother of former Lagos Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Sayyud Dantata MRS oil topping the list.Mike Adenuga’s CONOIL and construction companies, one of them suspected to be Julius Berger were named as the culprits.Among the names reeled out by the Senator Abe led Committee are; Oando Nigerian Plc. – N228.506 b, MRS – N224.818 billion, Enak Oil & Gas – N19.684 billion, CONOIl – N37.960 billion, Bovas & Co. Nig. Ltd. – N5.685 billion, Obat N85 billion and AP; N104.5billion
ribadu was a thief-he was not promoted by the PSC
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 10, 2011 - 03:01.
The Senate has formally named Nigerians who have stolen and benefitted from the oil subsidy, causing pains and hardship to ordinary Nigerian citizens with Oando, owned by Wale Tinubu, younger brother of former Lagos Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Sayyud Dantata MRS oil topping the list.
Mike Adenuga’s CONOIL and construction companies, one of them suspected to be Julius Berger were named as the culprits. Among the names reeled out by the Senator Abe led Committee are; Oando Nigerian Plc. – N228.506 b, MRS – N224.818 billion, Enak Oil & Gas – N19.684 billion, CONOIl – N37.960 billion, Bovas & Co. Nig. Ltd. – N5.685 billion, Obat N85 billion and AP; N104.5billion
Are we getting close to the epic Nigerian class battle?
Submitted by FiReClOuD OfGoD (not verified) on December 6, 2011 - 08:34.
Nigerians, Fat cats, the battle line will soon be drawn unless Goodluck can be called to order soon. Unlike Gadafi, where it was a matter of life or death for him, Goodluck needs to know that Nigerians stood with the blacks in south Africa; a life or death battle for them.
Apartheid was fought and won.
Once Nigerians see through the dividing tribal and religious lies these fat cats have spun over the years, to keep us disjointed and disoriented, and we eventually come together; that will spell the death knell for ALL the fat cats in Nigeria once and for all.
I would hate to see this epic battle triggered by removing the fuel subsidy; for out of our despondency, will arise a strong and united, detribalised, disenfranchised and long-suffering Nigerian lot, to confront our oppressors, come January 2012.
What is in this January in our history?
The Sacking of Farida Waziri
Submitted by Muhammad NaIya (not verified) on December 5, 2011 - 19:29.
Thanks Mr. Olumhense for the illuminating opinion. However, I am more worried by the actions or inaction of the Police Service Commission. The PSC was complicit in the disgrace and dismissal of Nuhu Ribadu, now the PSC apparently played second fiddle to Mrs Waziri in disgracing Ibrahim Mustafa Magu at the behest Farida.
The first effort to rivitalise the EFCC is to dissolve the PSCs' incompetent Commission, especially when considered against the background of the Police's inexcusable incompetence of recent! The nation can do without such a fumbling incompetent Commission.
JONATHAN IS PLAYING GAMES
Submitted by Drudge (not verified) on December 5, 2011 - 15:01.
Mr. Sonala, how dare you congratulate an accomplice, the president? Hear you, “I congratulate President Goodluck Jonathan for finally finding the courage to remove Mrs. Waziri, a step he all but promised 19 months ago, in April 2010. Now what?" I challenge the President to be bold enough to come out and state to the Nigerian people the real reasons behind the sack. As a President in a democracy, you don’t just sack an officer without letting the people who elected you to the office know why. I am very disappointed in Jonathan; we want to know from him why Waziri was sacked not from Mr. Sonala.
THE LOWDOWN.
Submitted by Da_Fix. (not verified) on December 5, 2011 - 14:39.
All these public officials stealing our money are worse than traitors. Their actions/inactions while in office impact on the lives of tens of millions of Nigerians. We, the Nigerian public, entrust and empower these individuals to work to the best of their ability in their service to us. We expect and demand nothing less. Economic sabotage perpetrated by servants, I repeat, SERVANTS(and that includes our President), of the public through corrupt practices while in office for self-aggrandisement should be a capital offence, end of. Like in China.
Correct talk right here, or what say you all?
EFCC AND FARIDA
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 5, 2011 - 12:40.
The issue is not who is in and who is out.Nigeria has been fighting Corruption for a very long time but it is yet to start punishing corruption.IT IS HIGHER TIME TIME WE FIGHT AND PUNISH CORRUPTION ONLY THEN CAN WE MAKE PROGRESS.
Passionate Leadership
Submitted by Felix (not verified) on December 5, 2011 - 12:05.
The problem is that we do not have the type of leaders who can genuinely lead. We hardly know the people we call leaders. How can they be passionate? Put differently how can we expect them to have a strong burden to move us forward as a people, when the only credential we know they posses is that they are politicians. And we all know what politics has done to our lives so far in Africa.
BlaqEagle: Nigerian Stabbed
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 15:13.
BlaqEagle: Nigerian Stabbed To Death In Moscow j.mp/s0i5w8
Farida's Conscience
Submitted by Ferri (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 13:21.
I think Mrs Farida Waziri will have time to reflect, while enjoying her stupendous wealth whether she could have sincerely helped the poor to fight the corrupt to a standstill. What will be written on her cenotaph? Let's all reflect on this.
PROBE FARIDA WAZIRI EFCC
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 13:20.
Mr. President should set up a panel of inquiry to probe the tenure of Farida Waziri and the allegation by This Public league. They should also probe what happened between her and one Victor Uwajeh she engaged as a private investigator. That issue made seriuos headline news and should be thoroughly investigated by security agencies to know the truth of the matter. The senate or house of reps should also probe this woman and call for memos
Who will bell the cat?
Submitted by Kool (original) (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 12:58.
Who will bell the cat? hahaha !!! Sonola wants GEJ to bell the cat for publishing reports on corruption investigation and at the same time declare his assets. I am really laughing my head off.
It is very obvious that GEJ has no intention of declaring his assets. Deri has always given us a clue as to why GEJ needs not do so. GEJ assets come from the oil which flows from his Balyesa backyard. Why should he therefore declare what is his personal fortune according to Deri?
Perhaps GEJ would have been forced to declare his assets if Rueben Abati was still at Rutam House and troubling GEJ's conscience and sleep on Fridays and Sundays with reminders. Sonola has already belled the cat and should not relent with his constant reminders to GEJ. It is a matter of time before GEJ buckles to this pressure.
removal of waziri
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 12:24.
detailed and clear anaysis, as usual. Well done
You are a gift to Nigeria.
Submitted by habbey2080 (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 11:56.
You are a gift to Nigeria. Besides, I have been considering writing a personal email to you. Since you have been around for quite a long time, writing a book on Nigeria political scene with statistics on economy will be good for upcoming generations like ours. In Nigeria, it is difficult to obtain facts about government spending and true position on our economy. This is one of the reason why corruption thrives. If we can access facts about the true position of our government, it will be a little easier to fight corruption at all level. You are raising army with writings. May you live long to see Nigeria of your dream.
Now that Mrs Farida Waziri
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 10:43.
Now that Mrs Farida Waziri has been sacked, GEJ should consider giving a job to Sonala Olumhense as the spokesperson of EFCC. He would do a good job keeping tabs on petitions written, and perhaps keep the nation abreast with the performances of his genetically disposed brethren that spend 300 billions doing no roads, one government after the other, one generation after the other.
Now that Mrs Farida Waziri
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 10:42.
Now that Mrs Farida Waziri has been sacked, GEJ should consider giving a job to Sonala Olumhense as the spokesperson of EFCC. He would do a good job keeping tabs on petitions written, and perhaps keep the nation abreast with the performances of his genetically disposed brethren that spend 300 billions doing no roads, one government after the other, one generation after the other.
ALLEGATION AGAINST FARIDA WAZIRI
Submitted by Public Accountability League (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 10:41.
Thanks sonala for this great piece. We stand by our Petition to President Goodluck Jonathan and have uncovered more of Farida Waziri corrupt enrichment. We call for a complete probe of Farida Waziri tenure by the Senate or house of representative and will make representation when called upon. We will release all evidence when called upon. Email:publicleague@aol.com
LET EFCC BE FAIR IN ITS WORK.
Submitted by Yaradua (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 09:53.
It doesnt matter who is heading EFCC provided the game will be fair. Firstly, let them arrest Obasanjo and his daughter. Then they should arrest Mrs. Jonathan for money laundering. If EFCC can't do that then they should forget about fighting corruption. We, Nigerians, know the corrupt among us, therefore we cannot be fooled.
An excellent commentary
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 09:07.
As usual, an excellent commentary from Sonala Olumhense.
now that farida has been fired
Submitted by piro (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 07:51.
Tissues of lies and propaganda, cheap information and bad reasoning, d lady wants a special court 4 corrupt politicians no she did not get, how can u function without been empowered, 4get this info about her sack, there is more than they want us to know, let's wait n
Who will bell the cat indeed!
Submitted by Elmango Meat (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 07:29.
'Who will bell the cat? Mr. Jonathan, of course. But first, he must declare his assets, and thereby confront his credibility deficit.'
My answer is, no not one. Why?
Cicero, in 42 B.C.said "A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly. But the traitor moves among those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not traitor, he speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their garments, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared."
EFCC
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 07:23.
EFCC: Another one (organization) bites the dust, thanks to politicians and their aspirations
Credibility deficit
Submitted by Onas Baba (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 07:17.
A president who is not comfortable declaring his assets,loses the moral right to attempt to fight corruption and should not make attempts at it, as such efforts will be greeted with tremendous cynicism.Mr Sonala,I commend your brilliant writings,although regretably,those pieces of advice you have relentlessly been giving to Jonathan are falling on deaf ears. He has enough advisers .At this critical time of our nation ,we needed an anti-corruption president to lead us out of the woods in order to begin nation building.It has pleased the Almighty God to appoint Jonathan as our leader.He represents our collective punishment from the one true God.Nigerians should stop expecting too much from Jonathan.A corrupt and hypocritical followership breeds a more corrupt leadership.We have a long way to go.
GEJ - DECLARE YOUR ASSETS
Submitted by Declare_Your _Assets (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 07:10.
Why can't Nigerians start a facebok group to be called Jnathan, DYA? It's deceptful of Mr. President to claim to be fighting corruption while no one knows what he has before coming to office - and we can only be guessing about what he must have acquired after leaving. Besides, it'll send a strong message to ministers and other public officers that GEJ is serious this time around - and that it's no more business as usual!!! Reuben Abati, over to you!!!
set a good example
Submitted by rhomax (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 06:37.
like you pointed out, 'Who will bell the cat? Mr. Jonathan, of course. But first, he must declare his assets, and thereby confront his credibility deficit'. the fact that the president refuses to declare his assets is enough to tell you that an orange may appear okay from the outside but the inside may be totally spoilt. jonathan may appear innocent but all the same, this assets declaration business proves that he could be as shady as obj, ibb and the likes of them. besides will jonathan put someone who can go after his godfathers as the efcc boss, i seriously doubt it. therefore, hope less that lamorde will make all forgotten cases resurface and as i rest assured that lamorde is just a male version of waziri, i consider the efcc a toothless bulldog.
corruption in Nigeria
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 05:55.
If Mr President is serious about combatting corruption,why has he not declare his asset to date.where is d public accountability?Leadership must always be d role model otherwise no seriousness will be attached to mere statements which does not carry weight.what a country of contadictions?
Interesting report
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 05:45.
Interesting report
Waziri Versus Akume
Submitted by K.T Abubakar (not verified) on December 4, 2011 - 05:03.
If not because Nigeria is a country where leaders are not worth the leadership, how on earth could she have represented who was suppose to be on trial and called her eventually to head such organisation?
