We all know that Umaru Musa Yar’Adua is a sickly and ineffective President of Nigeria who spends most of his time in his bed in Aso Rock, however what is much less well known is that Yar’Adua is not actually in charge of his own government and that all sorts of criminals are acting in his name and making fools of ordinary Nigerians. Yar’Adua is a President in name only, whilst the real people in charge decide who gets which important job, where rich contracts are awarded and make sure that their own interests are well protected. Baba Go-Slow is really a puppet president whose strings are being pulled by others.
Governor of Kwara State Bukola Saraki is also Chairman of the ‘Governors Forum’, but someone just looking at these official roles would not understand the high amount of influence that Saraki has over everything to do with Aso Rock. Saraki has placed his boys in key positions throughout the Presidency so that he always knows what is going on and is able to interfere with it. He has been heard to boast that nothing goes on in the Villa without him being involved and recently he secured his brother a central job in Aso Rock to increase his own influence further. EFCC Head Ferida Waziri was well-known for working on behalf of the Saraki family before she was put in charge of the EFCC to make sure that this important anti-corruption organisation was under the strong control of Saraki and his criminal friends. Saraki has also made sure that his boys are in key positions in the ruling PDP to make sure that his influence extends beyond the Presidency into the party that puts people into the Villa itself. Because Yar’Adua needs Saraki’s help to get reelected in 2011 he allows this man to do whatever he wants.
‘First Lady’ Turai Yar’Adua is referred to by some as the real ruler of Nigeria due to her determination and ability to get her own way. Late into the night after President yar’Adua has gone to bed Turai holds court in the Presidential Villa, receiving guests including ministers, businessmen and senior officials who are all petitioning her to act for them. She receives large sums of money in exchange for favourable consideration of their requests and nobody is prepared to challenge her decisions because she is so very powerful. One example of her influence is how Turai secured the appointment of her blood-brother Bashir Abdullahi as Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) in order to ensure family control over the massive sums of money involved. Turai’s obsession with money is enormously bigger than just the PHRC and she is known to be the recipient of millions of dollars of kickbacks from oil lifting deals, something she has taken a direct personal interest in since her husband came to power. However Turai did recently suffer one setback when Lamido Sanusi was appointed CBN Governor instead of her new son-in-law Isa Yuguda who she had propositioned for the position.
It is common knowledge that corrupt former Delta State Governor James Obanefe Ibori bankrolled Yar’Adua’s 2007 election victory and also appointed many of the people responsible for running Yar’Adua’s campaign. Despite not holding any official position, the sums of money provided by Ibori give him influence over almost all the different parts of Yar’Adua’s government because Yar’Adua cannot afford to lose his big financial support. After the election Ibori made sure that his people were appointed to key positions that could protect him from the prosecution he was facing and any further investigation. One of these individuals, Attorney-General Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, is deeply obstructing justice on Ibori’s behalf and another, Waziri, is ensuring that the EFCC no longer prosecutes him or his associates. Ibori is known to regularly go to see Ministers or other important people to tell them which of his boys they should be appointing to powerful positions within their departments and they agree because they are really afraid of him. Yar’Adua lets this wanted criminal continue to take decisions in his name and operate with complete freedom.
Baba Go-Slow has achieved very little during his more than two years as President but then this is not surprising when he is not in control of his own Presidency and government. With all these selfish and corrupt people controlling what happens it can only be expected that nothing good will happen during the rest of Yar’Adua’s Presidency. If he is not too unwell to take control then Yar’Adua should start acting like a President and making some decisions not letting others run the show, otherwise Baba Go-Slow should really be called Baba No-Control.
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