ECHOES OF ANINI SAGA 26 YEARS AFTER

BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE,

BENIN
For Prince Amen Oyakhire, a former military administrator of Taraba and Oyo states, joining partisan politics after retiring as an Assistant Inspector General of Police was not an option. He speaks, in this interview, on the reasons he chose not to join politics, his views about military and civilian governors, the state of the nation, the roles he played in the arrest of notorious armed robber, Lawrence Anini, and his gang, among other issues. Excerpts:

Unlike many of your colleagues who served as military administrators, it appears partisan politics holds no attraction for you. Why the apathy to partisan politics?

I don’t have apathy to politics. Every human being is a politician. I am not, at the moment, involved in party politics.

Is it that the political parties have never approached you to join them?

Many approached me but I declined. I have decided for now to maintain political neutrality. I am prepared to continue to serve Nigeria when so requested. I am not against politicians. Many patriots will definitely make Nigeria a very good country. Patriots are accountable, disciplined, sincere, have strength of character and fear God in their dealings generally.

So what has happened to our patriots?

Patriots with the ability and capacity to serve are sidelined, ignored and methodically excluded from participation. The desire is not often to serve. Today, most things in Nigeria are quantified in terms of Naira and Kobo. Our political system is currently synonymous with money, fame, wealth and materialism.

Prince Amen Oyakhire, former military administrator of Taraba and Oyo states

Consequently, many good people never reach top positions in the political setting. Some were not groomed for leadership but are currently occupying strategic positions. Charlatans, reprobates and speculators have suddenly become leaders without solid foundation and adequate preparation. Money and patronage have penetrated the system and produced poor leadership.

So how do we get out of the woods?

It is easy. Security reasons preclude me from answering your question directly. It is inappropriate to openly disclose the details involved. People in authority should seek knowledge widely always. Knowledge is not sold in Mr. Biggs (market) but acquired through learning and research. Knowledge is for public good. Well informed, brave, disciplined, patriotic and God- fearing people will take Nigeria out of the woods. There are many capable Nigerians blessed with good qualities that can courageously put things right.

How will you define governance now and when you were a military administrator of Taraba and Oyo states about 14 years ago?

Democracy is dynamic, allows free participation, freedom of choice and the right to seek power by all qualified people. Democracy is a contract. It presupposes that a government in a country must do something for the people so that they can also do theirs for the country. It involves consultations, alliance and consensus-building which are crucial for initiating ideas and implementing successful public policies designed to enhance the level of political acceptability. Regrettably, democracy has been widely abused. It is being used against the interests of many Nigerians. There is no respect for the primacy of merit principle, accountability, transparency, commitment, diligence and honesty in the management of public affairs by many governors. There is indiscipline, greed and insincerity in the ranks of the political class. Politicians behave as if democracy is exclusively their own property. Indeed, democracy is for all citizens regardless of partisanship. The military is disciplined, patriotic and accountable. When a military governor awarded contracts in Taraba and indeed in any state, he would send copies to the Villa (Aso Rock) for perusal. He must be careful, not to inflate costs and protect his career beyond political appointments. No military governor insulted the intelligence of senior officers in the Villa because they were very knowledgeable. Many of them had previously been military governors. Eight senior officers who had governed states were among the Principal Staff Officers in the Villa when I was governor in Taraba and Oyo states. They knew about most things done by governors. I am talking about senior citizens like General Oladipo DIYA, Admiral Mike AKHIGBE and General Lawrence ONOJA. There was virtually nothing we did that they had not seemingly done when they governed states. So, if one disobeyed guidelines, one risked being removed by the GHQ. The guidelines were many and very harsh. For example, non-indigenes were not awarded contracts except otherwise directed by the GHQ in cases where relevant technology was not locally available to execute such job. Governors did not travel outside their states for whatever reasons except with written approval or expressed permission of the GHQ in Abuja. There was order of doing things in governance.

You mean there was more accountability then than now when we have a democratic government?

Yes, there was. When General BABANGIDA celebrated his 70th birthday last year, he told the media that he removed a military governor who could not explain satisfactorily how he spent N300, 000. The governor did not steal the money but he could not provide a reasonable explanation as to how the money was spent. It was not a case of corruption. Today, governors steal in billions. Who has the gut to query or remove them? Is any of them in the prisons in Nigeria for money stolen? No.  Many of them have cases of corruption in courts courtesy of the EFCC and ICPC bordering on questionable integrity.

Oyakhire

Corruption weakens democracy, causes major failure in development, subverts formal process, makes economic planning difficult, stifles the implementation of infrastructural projects and ruins a country. The best part of Nigeria’s prosperity has been lost to corruption. We have consistently earned money in billions and trillions of naira from the sale of crude since 1999. There are basic things a good government in charge of the people’s huge resources provides to enhance the well-being of citizens generally. In fourteen years, we should have advanced beyond the position we are now from the Federal Government down to the local councils if we were disciplined, honest, sincere and patriotic.

Some people seem to agree that the military administrators lacked accountability since they were only answerable to the military presidents who appointed them?

It is not true. People who assume or have such opinions are not properly informed. The military system is accountable and takes responsibility for anything done rightly or wrongly. The military removed some governors from office. In the military, officers are groomed for leadership and among the best some are usually tasked with adhoc assignments or appointed to serve in public administration. Today, to become a governor or a local government chairman, a candidate pays huge money to a political party in order to be favourably considered. The military did not do such ugly things. Where is transparency today? Our actions are seriously at variance with the philosophy and practice of honesty, decency and accountability. Financial inhibition is a major factor why good people don’t get to top positions in politics. A professor who has earned N10 million will be careful and may not stake it in politics but a fraudster, a drug baron or one who is involved in illegal oil bunkering  or drug trafficking may not find it difficult to raise huge sums of money and become politically eligible for a position. Indeed, he is not suitable by any standard. Many people today occupy positions of high visibility and great responsibility for which they lack ability and capacity for performance,

Are these problems not a feature of the fact that our democracy is still evolving?

No, they are not. Life is evolving but our democracy has not progressed to expectation. Democracy has not completely failed but our desperate politicians have not fared well. Fourteen years in office, we are still saying that we are learning. How long shall we learn before we begin to perform? Performance is the best form of advertisement. Every year, within fourteen years, our budgets have remained controversial. The failure of a budget in an organisation, moreso in an administration is per se analogous to its failure. Right now, corruption is evident everywhere in Nigeria even in places of worship. Corruption injures society, weakens democracy, impedes developmental growth and undermines the rule of law. The unholy trinity of corruption, cupidity and indiscipline routinely pervades and rules Nigeria.

What are your fond memories when you were a military administrator?

My fond memories are brilliant and fantastic. I have many reasons to be grateful to God. I joined the police prepared to lose my life in defence of Nigeria and in the protection of mankind. It is not an ambition for a senior police Officer to become a Governor. It is not in the Career prospects. I became a governor only as a fulfillment of destiny. When I was leaving office, I was honoured by Nigeria with an award of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) even though I did not apply for it. Today, people send applications to the Presidency to be nationally honoured. Many people in Oyo State wept at the time of my departure. They wished I could continue to stay as their governor not mindful of the fact that the transition had ended. Nine former governors of Oyo State came to the stadium to bid me farewell during the handing and taking over ceremony. They shook my hand passionately with satisfaction and prayed for me because of my impressive performance in governance. I could remember Uncle Bola IGE saying, “It is already good for you but it will be better for you and family”.  Royal fathers and many citizens including IKU BABA YEYE, the Alaafin of Oyo, escorted me to Ile-Ife. It was a great privilege and very rare experience. If I have another opportunity again, I will replicate more diligent acts of patriotism. We conducted governorship election in Oyo State, freely, fairly, peacefully and transparently. There was no violence. No single house was burnt. Nobody was injured or killed. There was deep understanding and absolute tolerance. There was no anarchy during campaigns. The election was unique because previous elections in Oyo State were rancorous. At the end of the election, Alhaji Lam ADESINA won convincingly because the results were credible. Nobody disputed his victory. Later, Governors LADOJA and AKALA came and there is Governor AJIMOBI there now. Royal fathers, good people, journalists and colleagues in Oyo and Taraba still regularly send me greetings with cordiality. Taraba is another home for me. Up till now, royal fathers and many citizens there send messages regularly to me. Taraba is an agrarian state but very volatile because nearly all the tribes in the country are present in the state. Taraba is at the threshold of seriously acquiring Western education. It is not like Oyo that is already highly educationally advanced. Progressively, development is being made by creative, disciplined, resourceful, selfless, patriotic and visionary leaders. Many governors today have not performed well in democracy even though they have huge sums of money at their disposal. They have seriously and corruptly enriched themselves to the detriment of Nigerians. Corruption is the only gargantuan factor that easily unites unpatriotic Nigerians. It destroys democracy and development.

The poor security situation of the country is something that should be of grave concern to you as a top security expert. How do you think the situation can be improved, most especially how can Nigeria handle the Boko Haram insurgency?

Government must be very serious in handling security matters and should fund security agencies adequately. Currently, government is not doing enough. Federal, state and local governments have different but collective roles to play in security matters. Security is a costly commodity. It is the essence of nations. Insecurity renders mankind useless. Security is a key responsibility of government but when it fails, its legitimacy diminishes particularly in a democracy. Money on security is wisely spent because without law and order, peace and security, there can be no sustainable development. Government has a duty to protect citizens effectively as its constitutionally bound duty. Federal Government must deal decisively and militarily with deviant Boko Haramists. The insurgents are enemies of Nigeria. They are ignorant of Islam which regards life as sacred. They kill even in holy places. Security has overriding consideration over all other necessities. Is it that Nigeria has no money anymore? Is it that the treasury is empty or is Nigeria broke? A governor in Imo State frowned at his excessive security vote of N4 billion. This amount is outrageous. He did not ask how it came and who approved it. He did not reduce it. Instead, he decided to use the money to fund education exclusively. Education is very important. Security is equally important and should also be given serious attention far beyond what it is at the moment. As a governor, my security vote was N100, 000. It was the same amount for each of the 36 military governors. Each local government chairman’s security vote was N50,000. It was fixed by the Supreme Military Council. My pedigree respects accountability, honesty, dignity and sincerity in private and public life. The State Treasury in Oyo was not healthy when I took over but I left over N300, 000, 000 after nine months in office for Governor Lam ADESINA, my immediate successor. My Accountant-General, Jonah OTUNLA, in Oyo State, has in the last few years become the Accountant-General of the Federation in Abuja.

As a former military administrator, how do you rate the performance of governors today?

Democratic governors have money far beyond fifty times what military governors had. The performance of many is abysmally poor and unimpressive. Misrule by many governors has greatly consigned a vast majority of Nigerians to a parlous life of despondency, misery and poverty (penury). The tenure of some is an anathema being vastly unsuitable and grossly incompetent. Some constitute outposts of Nigeria’s political decay. Many were not groomed for leadership. Many governors have misruled Nigerians. They have not performed well. They have robbed us of development and growth. Good governors, secure, unite and develop their states like Governor Babatunde Raji FASHOLA (SAN) in Lagos State and Governor Godswill AKPABIO (lawyer) in Akwa Ibom State.

What can you say about the present administration in Edo State?

We had poor outing in the past. It was as if there was no governor here for a long time. Governor OSHIOMHOLE is actually performing well when compared with what happened here in the past. His activities in governance are reasonably impressive. He has done well with the resources available to Edo State. This is his second tenure. He must continue with the same zeal and must not derail.   He should not take loan. He must not put the state in debt. He should prudently manage the state resources and do what he wants to do properly. He would be excellent in governance. Prosperity would greet his integrity. No military governor took loan or borrowed one Kobo during my tenure as a military administrator (1996 to 1999).

Exactly what role did you play in the arrest of the notorious armed robber, Lawrence Anini, and members of his gang?

I was a Principal Staff Officer at the Supreme Headquarters when five Commissioners of Police and myself, a Detective Assistant Commissioner, were drafted to Bendel State in 1986 on a rescue mission (operation). Actually, I was the Head of General Investigation Department at Force CID, Alagbon Close, Ikoyi in Lagos but temporarily deployed to Supreme Headquarters, Dodan Barracks, Lagos. At the peak of the Anini crisis, General BABANGIDA allowed me to proceed to Benin because the then Inspector General of Police, Chief Etim INYANG, had made a request for me to join others in the national assignment. He knew the officers who would do the job expeditiously and satisfactorily.

In Bendel State, I was the Assistant Commissioner in charge of the state CID. My office was the memory and clearing house of the Command. I was the co-ordinator of the entire operations. We did the job carefully and, by the grace of God, none of us died in the process. Within three months, guided by God, intelligence, loyalty and patriotism, we arrested all the violent criminals.

The leader of the vicious group was a young man called Lawrence Anini, aged-24 years and a driver of average intelligence. Others, who included Monday OSUNBOR, the armourer of the team, IHEBELUA, Godwin OSEMWENKHIAN and a police driver IYAMU were active in the syndicate. One striking thing about Osunbor was his dexterity for guns. He had no military or police training and was never regimented.  He did not even complete his Benin Technical College course but could dismantle an SMG or a rifle and recouple it. I can still recall these details very vividly after 27 years because I was the principal investigator of the case.

Oyakhire

Besides, I am a trained forensic detective of the New Scotland Yard fame. We were exposed to the best training within and outside Nigeria. For example, we trained in Bramishill, Wakefield and Hendon in the UK, New Scotland Yard of the Metropolitan Police in London and elsewhere in the world. We had the capacity to learn, learnt very well and do not easily forget.

The Nigeria Police in which I served performed conventional police functions and was generally responsible for internal security. It supported the Prisons, Immigration and Customs Services as well as performed military duties within and outside Nigeria. Nine policemen and 18 civilians were murdered by ANINI’S armed gang who successfully robbed 12 banks before the rescue team of six senior police officers led by DIG Parry OSAYANDE arrived in Bendel State.

The syndicate confidently robbed banks in day light and threw money at women in crowded markets as a show of bravery to earn sympathy and popularity. Our mission was to carefully, professionally and methodically apprehend and remove the outlaws from criminal circulation. We did exactly that without killing them. We arrested them because we knew that if killed in the process and their dead bodies put on the TV, people might not be convinced that such dead bodies were those of Anini and his cohorts. When arrested, they didn’t hesitate to disclose their escapades during interrogation.

They were allowed to speak and indeed they spoke to Nigerians. We put them in the Military Hospital, Benin and we invited journalists who interviewed them from time to time for public consumption.

The success of the operation was impressive.  It was after then that people said publicly, “so, ANINI is a weak human being after all”. We interrogated them thoroughly, completed investigation and DPP in the Ministry of Justice, Benin prosecuted the case in the tribunal. They were found guilty having been successfully prosecuted to conviction. They were sentenced to death by firing.  I returned to Lagos after the saga long before they were publicly executed. All the six of us who participated in the operation returned to our stations except the leader of the team, DIG Parry OSAYANDE, who was redeployed to Calabar as Commissioner of Police. He was the Benue State Command Commissioner before he came for the Anini saga. The operations were massively carried out along clearly defined lines, mutatis mutandis (with necessary changes) in the spirit of patriotism. We apprehended the outlaws carefully in different places without hindrance or tragic loss of any of the operatives. The overwhelming success of the operation brought peace, security, stability and development to Bendel State.

Are you in support of autonomy for local government councils?

Absolutely.  The governors of today did not create local government councils; the Federal Military Government did and ensured their autonomy. Even, those of us who were governors under the military did not touch money meant for local government councils, but we monitored how they spent the money in such a way that there was accountability and there was patriotism because officers who are patriotic will be accountable. Today, it is a different story. The policies of some governors are harsh and are not in the best interest of the masses. There is no reason why the money for a local government chairman from Abuja will go into the pocket of a governor of a state. The governor of a state has a duty to monitor how a chairman of a local government spends the money in public interest. Today that is absent, many things are wrongly done; corruption is the order of the day and corruption harms the society, destroys a nation, undermines the rule of law and weakens democracy.

But many blamed this on the presidential system of government run in Nigeria which they said is very costly. There has been the clamour for a return to the parliamentary system of government which was in vogue in the First Republic. Do you support the clamour?

I am in support of the parliamentary system of governance; the British type is less costly, better, it is accountable, it is friendly, simpler and does not create room for caucus where there is corruption and collective roguery. The presidential system is expensive. Even in America, there is corruption, large scale corruption. Many people who should be advised have become advisers because it is about patronage, political patronage; it is not about merit principles. It is regrettable; we are suffering the effect of misrule.

Several years after you dropped the police uniform, you still remain well trimmed, athletic and as articulated as ever. What is the secret?

The fear of God is the secret. We are grateful to God that He has kept us the same shape twenty-five years after. First, in King’s College, Lagos, where I studied, we were taught that bad citizens smoke and drink. I have never taken alcohol in my life; I have never smoked cigarette in my life, I eat sparingly. I do my exercise and as a scholar I write a lot. I try as much as possible to stay away from many things that would make me obese and that is why you can see me seemingly dehydrated as it were, slim-built, athletic.