By Ochereome Nnanna

THE ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wanted to turn Chief Olabode George’s return from prison to a great political opportunity. They chose to portray it as the “heroic triumph” of the former Deputy National Chairman of the Party over his travails.

They decided to give him a fitting hero’s welcome. Though President Goodluck Jonathan who visited Lagos refrained from showing up at the various venues of the Bode George reception, there were speculations that both men met nocturnally.

Besides, many federal ministers, party high chiefs and PDP governors graced the thanksgiving service after George was conveyed there in a motorcade flashing the victory sign. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the great fighter against corruption, was there in person. As far as they were concerned (and wanted the world to believe), Bode George’s incarceration was a “political conspiracy”. It probably was.

But the game was against the ex-convict and his party. George was jailed for corruption. There is nothing that he did which other top political officeholders, including his most vociferous opponents in rival parties that spearheaded his travails, have not done many times over. But the difference between him and them is that he had been caught, tried and jailed while we can only speculate the cases of his opponents.

The strategy to turn Bode George’s release from prison into a political launch pad was an error of judgement taken to a ridiculous level. The plotters counted the “gains” but not the losses. To them, a celebrated return of Bode George was the impetus the PDP needed to take over the nation’s economic hub from the rival Action Party of Nigeria (ACN).

But the scheme started backfiring almost from the moment George stepped out of Kirikiri Maximum Prisons. Journalists were brutalised for daring to capture him leaving the gates of gaol. His parish priest, the Venerable Tayo Aduloju, reminded him he was supposed to be sobre not exultant: “As from today, you are expected to represent Christ. You are an ambassador of Christ. Never again will the name of God be soiled through you”. Many newspapers correctly interpreted the sermon as: Go and sin no more.

The question is: Did Bode George and the PDP see the politician as the felon that the law now says he is? Quite obviously, the answer is no. George in all his reactions was never contrite. He captured it all in four takes: (a) I have collected my certificate from the school of life; (b) It was a politically-motivated conspiracy, (c) I bear no one any grudges, (d) I am heaving-ho into the political fray to show Nigerians who the real leaders of the people are. He never asked God or man for forgiveness nor did he offer any regrets.

The PDP acted in the same vein. It did not shrink from him as you would avoid one who has mortgaged his integrity. Two factors must have accounted for this. Number one is that in the light of the revelations involving the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloysius Katsina-Alu and the President of the Court of Appeal, Ayo Salami, the Party believes that George was a victim of Senator Bola Tinubu’s judicial ambushes that earlier on won three governorship seats for his ACN. Secondly, it believes that with Bode George leading the charge, its chances to win in Lagos State were brighter.

The PDP gambit may misfire, just as the Tinubu camp, which also planned elaborately for the Bode George’s return, had known it would. Right now, Bode George has become un-sellable. A man who just returned from prison after being convicted of corruption will not be part of any serious political party’s campaign train, let alone being allowed to speak. He is liable to alienate decent, non-partisan voters. Bode George on the governorship or presidential campaigns of the PDP could cost Goodluck Jonathan his chances of being elected. He is a moral burden Jonathan will carry to his greatest regret.

For many Nigerians, it does not matter whether Bode George’s conviction was “politically motivated” or not. What matters is that he has joined the motley band of felonious Nigerian leaders who were sent to jail for corruption. Many would be concerned that the PDP celebration of the return of Olabode George will not impact positively on the youth, and has nothing to deter future offenders.

However, it should not surprise anyone if tomorrow Bode George’s saga would be all forgotten or dumped in the scrapheap of history. Let us stay reminded that George was not the only ex-con “his people” celebrated.

In Kano , Alhaji Aminu Dabo, one of those jailed along with him, was received as if he was Jesus Christ making His triumphal entry into Jerusalem . Remember also that Mohammed Sani Abacha is one of the front runners for the governorship of Kano State , despite the fact that his late father stole directly from the national treasury, and he was mentioned in many of the cases when Obasanjo was chasing the “Abacha loot”. If Mohammed Abacha is allowed to stand for the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) he can easily win in Kano. He is that popular, as his father still is over there.

Let us also remind ourselves that the likes of Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, Chief Solomon Lar, Chief Jim Nwobodo, Dr Samuel Ogbemudia and the late governor of Ogun State , Chief Bisi Onabanjo, were once convicted by military tribunals for corruption. Also, Chief Orji Kalu, Chief Ayo Fayose, Alhaji Saminu Turaki, Malam Nasir el Rufai, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode and others are still standing trial for corruption, and yet they are all vying for elective offices. Corruption is celebrated in every corner of Nigeria .

If all these leaders bounced back, what will stop Bode George from doing so? That is the kind of country we live in.