"I am taking over the mantle of leadership at a very difficult time. But these are hard times, we need to build confidence again and assure the populace that we are still their representatives. I want an independent House that Nigerians will be proud of, this is my first task." Dimeji Bankole, 2007 on assuming the Speakership of the House of Representatives.
"I am taking over the mantle of leadership at a very difficult time. But these are hard times, we need to build confidence again and assure the populace that we are still their representatives. I want an independent House that Nigerians will be proud of, this is my first task." Dimeji Bankole, 2007 on assuming the Speakership of the House of Representatives.
When ex Speaker Bankole was eventually arrested last weekend for a number of financial crimes he is alleged to have committed while he was the Speaker of the House of Reps, it began the end of a once heralded chapter in the history of Nigeria. Dimeji Bankole was under 40 years old when he became the Speaker, and with it came the hope that a newbreed of young and enterprising politicians have finally started the process of taking over from the old guard. The expectation was that with young minds at the helm, the time to take Nigeria to the next level with fresh ideas for nation-building was finally here. Recent events have however, proved that all of the expectations were misplaced and unfortunately goes to validate the statement made by a former Military Dictator, to the effect that young people in Nigeria were not ready or prepared to take over the reins of political leadership.
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The question we need to ask ourselves, especially young Nigerians is, how did this happen? As unfortunate as recent events have turned out, I saw it coming. I met then Speaker Bankole in August 2008 through a mutual friend. We had a one-on-one on how best to leverage his position to bring about the socio-political and economic development Nigerians yearned for. At the end of the meeting, we agreed on three main strategic objectives and he promised to stay in touch. Needless to say this was the last time I had audience with him. We spoke on the phone a number of times and at some point, it became apparent to me that matters of State have completely overridden the plan for change that was discussed earlier. After a while, I got bumped to one of his PAs, who coincidentally was named as one of the individuals allegedly running the account where $1billion was found recently. I spoke with this guy a number of times, but soon realized that whatever advice or plan I thought I had, had been overtaken by other events. I calmly stepped back, but kept watching events unfold.
It is important to note that at the point I struck up this friendship with then Speaker Bankole, fellow progressive minded individuals were skeptical of this my new found likeness for Mr. Bankole. I spoke to everybody that cared to listen about how I believed he was a bright guy who understood what needed to be done, and that he deserved our support, encouragement and advice. At every point, folks warned me. They turned out to be right!
About a year after my initial meeting with him, a story broke on Saharareporters, regarding a controversy surrounding the ownership of a guest house in Abuja, where then Speaker Bankole resided, while he allegedly abandoned his official Apo Village residence. Though, the story eventually faded away, I saw the handwriting on the wall. I reached out to some of his people I knew and impressed on them, the need for the Speaker to stay above the fray, while ensuring that he effectively communicates with Nigerians, not through some semi-illiterate Spokesperson. I was really disappointed with the responses I was getting, so I fired an article in January 2010, titled: “Speaker Bankole, Time To Up Your Game Or You will Become Irrelevant”. See link to the article - http://www.saharareporters.com/article/speaker-bankole-time-your-game-or-you-will-become-irrelevant - So, to those Nigerians who always want to trivialize issues like this, by suggesting that anyone in Dimeji Bankole’s position would have done the same, I say to them “Speak for yourself”.
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Is now the time to despair and lose hope in Nigeria? I say no. We have to continue to reach out. Some, if not, most visitors to this site know of one person or the other holding public office. Engage them, ask questions, organize around public policy issues, and while you at it, bring up Dimeji’s case as an example of what awaits people who steal from the commonwealth. My people, if the good guys don’t engage them, the bad guys will.
Now that the damage has been done, what do I think will happen next? While I don’t claim to know tomorrow, I really think the odds are stacked against Mr. Bankole in this one. He is a widely despised man in the Jonathan administration. This is due largely to the active role he played in blocking GEJ from becoming Acting President. Even at the point when everyone else was on board. Then Speaker Bankole was used by the so called “Katsina Mafia” to thwart any move to transfer Presidential powers to GEJ. His blind loyalty to Late President Yar’Adua put him at odds with a lot of PDP politicians, especially, those loyal to GEJ. There is no doubt in my mind that the Jonathan administration will not only hang him out to dry, but also use him as a scapegoat in the war against public corruption.
Whichever way you look at this, whether he is a culprit, scapegoat or a pawn, I think Ex Speaker Bankole deserves whatever he gets out of this. I also hope it serves as a lesson to other politicians that when people provide advice on doing the right thing, it’s not because they want government contracts, but because they want to see Nigeria move forward and in the process save them from themselves.
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