March 6, 2010
Raj Bhojwani is trapped in Jersey and fighting to save his name and freedom whilst the primary accused in the same deal sits in Johannesburg free from any problem or persecution. In fact he was nominated by the President of Nigeria in 2008 as Nigeria's ambassador to the Republic of South Africa ! He is Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd.)articleadslinks
It is ironic that in an interview to the Sunday Trust newspaper - H.E. Amb. Marwa said.... "that there is a perception that Nigerians are generally unlawful, dishonest people, scammers and all the negative attributes. .and that he wanted to demonstrate that Nigerians are essentially solid people, good, trusting, law abiding, hard working and decent people"
Yet his own track record in public office during the regime of Gen. Abacha has now come to light during the ongoing trial of Mr. Bhojwani in Jersey, Channel Islands, where in the court it was alleged by the prosecution that:
Mr. Bhojwani entered into 2 contracts for the supply of TATA vehicles with the Nigerian Govt. for a total sum of approx. US$178m from which almost US$100m was paid in 'bribes' to Gen. Abacha and Gen. Marwa, who had both been in on the plan from the start.
Sahara Reporters, a well known anti-corruption website established through available documents that apart from the proceeds from the above TATA contracts, Gen. Marwa also helped the Abacha's to transfer the sum of US$17m from the account of the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the U.N. to the Trans-national bank, Nairobi, Kenya in 1996.
Gen. Marwa confessed to his misdeeds of helping Abacha and himself to stealing after he was arrested, detained and interrogated by the EFCC in a letter he wrote to President Obasanjo dated 18th May, 2006 - captioned ''LETTER OF PROFOUND APOLOGY AND REMORSE'' In the letter Gen. Marwa apologized to President Obasanjo pledging his allegiance to the former president and insisting that he was commanded by the former Head of State as a military officer to carry out the acts of stealing, under duress, pleading that he could not have disobeyed the late dictator because he never thought the transfers to be illegitimate as they were ordered by the Head of State !
Reports said that he must have known too well that the money went to Abacha's cronies and their private accounts for their personal benefits. It became more obvious and incriminating when it was discovered that Gen. Marwa himself benefited substantially from the movement of all these funds.
Marwa was the leading candidate for the Presidential elections in 2007, but his big plans came to an abrupt and embarrassing end when Obasanjo achieved his political kill and nailed him with the exposure this confession and apology. He was out manouvered in the Presidential primaries by the wily Obasanjo who rigged them to produce his hand picked candidate - Umaru Yar Adua as the nominee of the ruling party - PDP. Bhojwani's efforts to resolve his own problems in Jersey were again frustrated by the political games of Obasanjo.
Since Marwa hails from the north of Nigeria - Fulani Hausa, the ruling elite of Nigeria and because of his connections to the high and mighty in Nigeria, he was never charged for any offences nor any money recovered from him. The investigation against him was quietly dropped and his passport returned. The new administration of Umaru Yar Adua, with its shaky start, for political expediency, rehabilitated Marwa and used him to consolidate their hold in Adamawa and counter the power base of the former Vice President - Atiku Abubakar. Soon they rewarded him with his current diplomatic position of His Excellency the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, although not without some serious hiccups during his confirmation hearings in the Nigerian Senate. All this whilst, the 'pawn' in the whole game - Bhojwani, was arrested and brought to Jersey where he has been incarcerated for 3 years and is now facing trial. Well as they say all men are not equal...some are more equal.
To add more irony to the whole saga - in an interview as recently as 30th Nov 2009, Col. Marwa projects himself as a 'reformed man', and asked every Nigerian to ''look past the negative stereotypes.'' He said that ''with consistency this can be changed, from the president down to the office worker. Iit is a collective thing. All people whether leaders or followers must do their part. That's how countries move.''
If Marwa really feels this way, then why has he as a primary offender / accused, refused to give crucial evidence at Mr. Bhojwani's trial to prove his innocence, despite several requests for him to do so by the Royal Court of Jersey and Bhojwani's defence team. Marwa has maintained a telling silence and is sitting pretty in South Africa, planning his bid for a ministerial position and even the presidency in 2011.
Bhojwani is suffering and trapped because he is not a Nigerian like Marwa and so many others involved with the Abacha regime like - Ani, Bagudu, Dalhatu, Useni, Bamaiyi, Arisekola etc. Bhojwani is also suffering because he is not a European citizen and is perceived as a 'soft target' by the Jersey authorities. Could they have treated him in this manner if he were American or German or French ?
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