POLICE station don turn to bank, IG na Managing Director” -Fela Anikulapo-Kuti in Overtake Don Overtake Overtake (ODOO)

May the soul of Fela Anikulapo Kuti rest in perfect peace.When he sang the above line over 30 years ago,the Prophet was speaking into the future of Nigeria in 2017 when the state would have been so privatised that a serving Senator would accuse the Inspector General of Police of  illegally collecting N120b yearly without accounting for it and our anti-corruption war would be deaf and dumb.

Nothing ails this accursed land today that Fela did not sing about. In one of his unrecorded works,he called himself  “me onile Orisa of Africa”  who has ” two eyes for front and two  for back”. With these he saw clearly where we were coming from and where we are headed. Till date, Nigeria has not faulted him on any front as our life “dey roll like one yeye ball,we one yeye wind dey blow from one yeye corner”.

The rift between the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Navy, Senator Isah Hamma Misau (APC,Bauchi) and the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has sent tongues wagging as to the sincerity of our anti-graft war with a huge silence on the scandal of the year.

The Senator had reeled out allegations of fraud and nepotism against the top cop who was Commissioner of Police that supervised the electoral heist in Kano  in 2015 where the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) was alleged to have protested the figures churned out.He died in an accident with his entire family in a mysterious fire incident days after the elections.Idris rose from COP to Inspector General of Police of Police(IGP) months after with scores of officers senior to him weeded out of the Force.There has been nothing special in his career record to justify that meteoric rise than our march of impunity.

Misau, a former Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) is standing on the allegations that the police collects N10b monthly from corporate bodies and oil companies that it gives protection without reflecting in the books of the police,that officers pay bribes for postings and and that the man who rose to the peak of his career via nepotism has been promoting the same trade in police deployments. To put the allegations in the words of the Senator:“The incumbent IGP based on available records and series of petitions and reports from insiders, has no capacity to run the police just like the chairman of the Police Service Commission, Rtd IGP Mike Okiro who also lacks similar capacity going by N300million scam and others hanging on his neck since 2011 during the presidential primary election of the People’s Democratic Party,  PDP, where he served as the head of the security committee.

“Specifically, the IGP on good authority from within the Force, collects over N10bn on monthly basis as money for special security provided by men of the Force to corporate bodies and highly placed individuals  including criminals , running to N120billion on yearly basis without any reflection in Police annual budgets or internally generated revenue.

“On nepotism, the IGP is  scoring  high mark   by making almost half of the mobile commanders in the country, people of his Nupe extraction and on favouritism, appointing CP Moses Jitoboh an officer who had been out of field of operational service to that  of  Political service for close to 20 years , as Adamawa State Police Commissioner”.

A Daily Trust correspondent wrote that  Misau  called a serving police officer who confirmed the bribe for special promotion in the police to him in the presence of a serving Senator from Borno State.

The police officer who was place on speaker (phone) said the trend had negatively affected their performance and morale, stating that bribe for promotion was one of the reasons the country was recording increase in crime.

“I’m tired of bribing for promotion. Junior officers are being promoted and deployed to strategic locations. I swear if I had the capital, I would’ve resigned from the Force,’’ he lamented.

In a statement by its spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood, the police said:  “The claims in the story were fabricated lies and unsubstantiated allegations of the shallow imaginations of a personality claiming to be a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The Statement further said that DSP Mohammed Isa Hamman got a suspected forged retirement letter in 2014 but he contested the Bauchi Central Senatorial Election in 2011 General Elections under Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, when he was a Deputy Superintendent of Police and a deserter from the Force.

He said: “This is a clear element of criminal liability of fraud and impersonation, because under the law, you cannot be a police officer and still stand for election. The Nigeria Police Force hereby declares DSP Mohammed Isah Hamman (Senator Isah Haman Misau) a deserter from the Nigeria Police Force.”

The circumstances under which Misau left the police have to be investigated but it is no defence for the weighty allegations against the IGP which the police is disabled from investigating as it cannot be a judge in its own cause. The EFCC or DSS is more suitable in the circumstance.It is rather curious though that the police just woke up to realise that Misau is a “deserter” after six years and in public life.He even alleged that the IGP paid for his ticket on an official trip weeks back!

Another scandalous allegation that came up during Misau and Moshood’s face-off on “Politics Today” anchored by Seun Okinbaloye of Channels TV was the claim by Misau that while he served as ADC to FCT Minister, the police came with a long list for land allocations which he got to them.He said he refused to use his position for further corruption when they brought another long list.

Knowledgeable sources said it was because of this refusal that the High Command asked  him to proceed on a course that would have taken Misau out of his lucrative posting. He  reportedly shunned the course just as he was said to have declined his promotion in the Police which would have taken him outside the ranks that can serve as ADC.

Authorities in the land cannot pretend that the allegations in this saga are not embarrassing enough.This column has it on good authority that a prominent businessman had once approached the seat of power to complain about the exorbitant amounts police authorities are collecting from business concerns. They have to be investigated.

There have been so much celebration of the “whistle blowing”  policy of this administration and it cannot afford to be deaf to this  blown whistle. I don’t think the Senator will be asking for any percentage of the N120b which he is entitled to if the allegations are true .To ignore this would only expose our anti-graft war to the charge of being a one-eyed magistrate.

Re: On the road to perdition

DEAR  Bro Odumakin,

Thanks a great deal for the relentless efforts you and some others have so far put into the “better Nigeria project”.

Precisely on the 15/08/2017, you wrote the piece titled “On the road to perdition”. In earnest, the expelled Abuja Law school student, Mr. Kayode Bello, EFCC-Ibrahim Magu saga and Nigerian Army/UN building unauthorised search, were the contentious issues contained therein.

Well, as a matter of fact, I wanted to express my candid opinion that the issues you raised were quite important and timely, but then, they are a tip of the ice berg. This is considering the numerous and damning gravity of some other ailing parameters clearly showing that our Nigeria indeed may not be far from perdition. Only those without conscience and some others paid to assassinate Nigeria will disagree with you.

Just then something happened. The sudden arrival of “Lion king” who had been away! The roar, the bomb shell and the looming attacks.

PMB’s first speech/broadcast upon his return from Britain was laden with a number of anti democratic land mines, visible potent and dangerous plots, which if pursued in his characteristic military style could spell doom for the already terribly fragmented Nigeria.

At any rate, in addition to other pertinent issues, let us consider some of these anti democratic plots(past and present) which are daily sliding/placing our country “on the road to perdition”.

The Command Style/Praise Singers-

Hmmmnn. The President did spit fire, so to say. He was so applauded by some. Even the very articulate and well respected activist cum later day “Lion king exponent” Senator Shehu Sani was among those whose clapping/ovation(s) took the centre stage.

Alright, I was not really expecting the President to immediately invite the exponents of Secession and Quit order notices for an “owambe” dance/tea party. No. But then, I totally detest and disagree with the typical military template that was adopted. Painfully, the misleading actions and bad influence of political jobbers/praise singers which on their own are deadly cancerous component of corruption have come to stay with us again, even in PMB’s government, the Incorruptible. And when you now consider his excessive baggage of tribalism/nepotism among others, the job and venture of derailing our country is made much easier for the haters and enemies of Nigeria.

It is a well known fact that rulers/bosses make what look like, not too serious mistakes, but later on turn out to be very fatal errors of judgement, especially when certain powerful and selfish stake holders are loosing out. Guess what follows next? The use of face saving and fire brigade methodology. An African adage/proverb has it that “no wise man ever smashes/kills the harmful insect that perched on his scrotum with excessive force”.

Please, PMB, his government and deceitful sympathisers must watch it. They made IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu the seeming “hero” he is today. These are indeed preludes to avoidable disaster.

The non negotiable deceptive unity theory, equity & patriotism-

Our PMB and his handlers must realise that the so called/usual non-negotiable unity theory has become rather too ordinary, elementary and brazenly fraudulent, especially of late. The tyrannical deployment of this phrase sometimes in trying to foster national “cohesion” in Nigeria of today has become rather too timid and UNACCEPTABLE. The President and his “special” advisers must be reminded that LOVE, UNITY and PATRIOTISM are all fundamentally matters of the mind and spirit. These are attributes which of course, can NEVER be imbibed or enforced through the use of stern/arrogant statements, blatant insincerity or via the crude use of AK 47s. The persistent/hostile deployments of our “over flogged” military to needless areas should stop and give way to genuine and sincere dialogues and engagements. Only through Love, good performance and genuine concern for all subjects can a president like PMB easily win election(s) in areas he previously lost. Thereby entrusting enduring unity and patriotism in the citizenry. This of course, is if, he and some of his genuine/fake supporters will not resort to election rigging and other unwholesome practices on the long run.

The NCEF intervention, anti restructuring elements and others-

The silence and body language of Mr PMB and his government over a number of critical national issues have fallen dangerously far below expectations of numerous  Nigerians. Notably and recently, it must be recalled that the National Christian Elders Forum, NCEF, under the able chairmanship of Chief S. Asemota (SAN), in July this year 2017, gave what could be termed a damning verdict cum warning to the Federal Government and all Nigerians about issues bothering on cronic bias, selective treatments and the criminally insensitive posture of PMB’s government towards the plight of certain groups in the country. Well, it is my candid opinion that it might just be only Nigerians who are presently below the ages of say, 40-45 years that will just relax(“sipping coffee, soft drinks/wine”), feeling so care free over statements that truly emanated from a body with such members/personalities like Lt Generals T Y Danjuma, Joshua Dogonyaro (retd), Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife among others(notably high ranking retired military officers). Reason. Apart from the issues of grave concern that were raised, these are very serious minded Nigerians/elders who have little or no time for frivolities. Lt Gen T Y Danjuma(retd) just has no time for idle talks. Of course worthy of note, even with the prevailing tensed uncertainties in the country, very few of the “Arewa hawks” have shown the slightest genuine sense of remorse. These are the same “fantastic” elders who were at a time voicing it out loud and clear, with all their might, that PMB did not owe the South East any damn thing..!! Oh yes, were these “Hawks” truly expecting a sitting president GEJ to score zero vote in the entire six geopolitical zones just for PMB to score/amass 100% in a valid democracy..??. The greatest enemies of Nigeria know in their heart of hearts that, this is not just possible. Very tragically, these are mainly the same set of Nigerians that are ruthlessly kicking against restructuring while surreptitiously supporting the rampaging “Fulani Herdsmen”- the pseudo name for today’s “approved” terrorists. Well, General IBB (retd) who was one of those that almost and terminally destroyed the peace and unity of Nigeria has rightly come out supporting the restructuring of the country recently. Better be late than to be the late..?. Of a truth, this commentator was somehow “worried” when former Vice president Atiku reportedly rushed to Minna for an alleged “closed door” meeting with IBB’s barely few days after the surprise package to most Nigerians.

Certainly, a brand new constitution(true federalism/restructuring) will be needed to guarantee the peaceful future of Nigeria and our children. No doubt about it, every Nigerian has the right to go for or against restructuring. However, the Tanko Yakassais, OBJs, Prof Ango Abdullahis ..etc should STOP continuing to play gods over national issues. Warning. Now that we are still having around some of our Elders that command the respect of some of these restive youths nationwide, further delay on talks about holistic restructuring will be an invitation to inevitable CALAMITY, or at best, a delayed CATASTROPHE. A time will come when the Federal Government may not see the reasonable number of these influential and patriotic Elders to talk to.

It must be stressed and repeated without any sense/guilt of exaggeration or over-emphasis that inspite of restructuring/true federalism, we still need genuine Love, Justice/Equity, Unity and Patriotism to ultimately hold Nigeria and Nigerians together, but certainly not the AK-47s or subtle use of state sponsored treachery under any guise.

The endless bad “fruits” of the oppressive/nepotic roles of past military rulers-

Virtually, all our past military rulers, PMB inclusive, and especially those of them who directly or indirectly tinkered with our federal constitution(s), before and all along after the civil war, did approach the vital issues of enduring Unity, Love, Equity and Patriotism with naked and shameless deceits embedded in acute NEPOTISM. This started with the late General J A T Ironsi

It is tragic and very unimaginable that the present metro line project Lagos state government is battling with today was maliciously stopped by the Federal Military Government of PMB in 1984. Generals Yakubu Gowon and OBJ(retd) tried their hands on some relevant elements of fair play, but these men could not be the true men to themselves in most cases that mattered most then. This was  basically as a result of the overriding influence(s) of the strong characters of some of those that brought them to power.

Outlandishly and ruthlessly, without mincing words, the rest northern military rulers and the erstwhile Kaduna Mafia, very erroneously thought and may be, believed gullibly that the true unity of Nigeria can be enforced through AK 47s. They did whatever pleased them with the destiny of Nigeria and subsequently grossly abused the so called “federalism” constitution(s) times without number.

These fundamentally, are some of the reasons why a state like Lagos and others up till date are so maliciously and grossly short changed comparatively in the areas of local government creation/federal resource allocation among others. Broadly speaking, our past military rulers could be forgiven in the true spirit of forgiveness to this end.., but right now like IBB, the rest should be Godly enough to come out to sincerely support all moves that can halt this perdition voyage of our dear country. Col A. Umar(retd) did speak on certain national issues recently as published in Vanguard Newspaper of 31/08/2017. Oh…what a rare breed he is !!. May God Almighty continue to bless and preserve this man for us. God forbids, if Nigeria continuous slides on the road to perdition can not be halted.., not minding the genuine efforts of some genuine patriotic individuals in addition to the mind bugging numbers of souls lost in the past civil war/crises.., then it is indeed most unfortunate. Just imagine what some of our gallant soldiers, DSS operatives have been going through to keep most of us safe and alive from evil of Boko Haram and other vices in Nigeria of today. Nigerians whose confidence in our Military capability are on the downward trend should please remember that there is always a prize to pay for every crucial decision/initiative adopted in governance and life generally. Painfully, going by the recent upsurge in the daring attacks by Boko Haram.., who knows whether we are not paying the price of exchanging Chibok girls with deadly well trained Boko Haram commanders, allegedly with some solid cash in addition. Boko Haram fighters/fire power may have been given a serious boost with the release of some of these hardened criminals and hard currency to go with. We should please continue to doff our hats for our Military.., but certainly, not to those who diverted money meant to strengthen our arsenals to their personal bank accounts.

PMB, should please know and realise that a lot of Nigerians(Southerners and Easterners not excluded) are quite glad and grateful to God Almighty for his healing and eventual safe return. He should dump and forget about the reckless use of threats and intimidation by his security operatives. Compassionately, he should strive to lead all citizens with Love, while at same time correcting and punishing the deviants/criminals constitutionally. We do not need our soldiers to “crush” hapless/armless youths/communities because of their legitimate and lawful agitation(s), no matter how “senseless” they may appear.

Elections are very much over for now, the concept and use of the inglorious/awkward theory (97%, 5%) should be buried and forgotten completely. PMB must remember that he is the father of all. This time of his fresh recovery/return from medical vacation should obviously be a good time for genuine reflection, hope/confidence building and unbiased nationalistic strides for PMB and his kitchen cabinet.

Time indeed will tell.

May God show us mercy.

IKPERITE, Godwin – Lagos