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| Stella Oduah, Nigeria's Minister for Aviation (Image Credit: Jaguda) |
Structures of whatever structure are put in place, for things to fall in place; leadership structures are no exception. When people gather to choose and implement their choices to represent their interests, be it in national or international affairs, these choices are expected to function well and with the interest of those who have chosen them in mind. Those who did the choosing can and should always hold these choices accountable.The choices are responsible to those who have chosen them; by choices, I mean ‘leaders’ of any kind and on any platform.
The
choosers or choice-makers if you so please, in Nigeria have mind-bugging
questions on varying issues ranging from societal to developmental to political…and
on JUSTITIA
last week, ‘judges’ gathered to dialogue on one: the 255million naira scandal
involving the Minister for Aviation. Thesejudges were Safiya S. Musa, Japheth Omojuwa, Dayo Williams, Emmanuel Dairo,
ShittuFowora, OyinkansolaMabeko, ShittuSadiq, and YinkaGbadebo. These are
excerpts from the court proceedings.
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| Image Credit: Jaguda |
‘Nigerians
have a way of manoeuvrings when issues border on corruption/diligence....while
we think ourselves smart,the whole world watches on with wild astonishment.
There is a lot of awkward drama we put up that makes the world see us as
unserious.’
‘Nigerians
are looking at cars; those who did the deal were looking at laundering money.
LOL. Life is a pot of beans.’
‘I
truly wish Nigerians would focus on the lies, huge cost and discrepancies in
the documents with regards to chassis and engine nos especially, but we get
easily carried away by drama.’
‘In
Nigeria, everybody knows the truth, but most people would rather jettison the
truth for sentimental reasoning. In an egalitarian society, there wouldn't have
been any ruse about this issue, as all actors involved would have done that
which is Honourable, immediately the cat about the shady deal was let out of
the bag. But THIS IS 9JA.’
ON
FREE ACQUITTAL: Stella is a heroine
‘…all
I can say right now is that it's a lost cause. With what happened yesterday,
the Minister may have let herself off the hook.Saying the DG was told to do the
needful is a very cunning way to let herself off the hook. Sadly, shows how she
runs the ministry. She clearly has no idea about the laws of the land, else she
wouldn't just approve every request sent to her without asking her many SAs and
PAs to cross check against the budget she defended.’
‘I agree
with Safiya...Except the presidency has a change of heart, Stella Oduah will
emerge from the whole saga a heroine. She deftly succeeded in putting the blame
on her aides as well as the DG of NCAA...’
WILL
JUSTICE PREVAIL: JUSTICE…? Oh please!!!
Now
that she has deftly shifted the blame to NCAA,what happens?I doubt if Stella
would be sacked. President Jonathan is not serious about fighting corruption...President
Jonathan's hands are tied; whatever that means.
GENDER
LOYALTY: I’M A WOMAN; I SUPPORT CRIME!
Okay, let
us talk about gender loyalty. Safiya, you are a woman. Perhaps you can relate
better than the men here on this. It was gathered that some women went to the
Federal Secretariat bearing placards with words like, ‘A fight against Stella
Oduah is a fight against women.’ Are you in support of this? Do you share the
same view?
‘Definitely
not Mary. I am totally against women taking advantage of issues. We lie when we
say we are the weaker sex. Those women are clearly jobless and hungry. N500 is
a big deal.
Monetary
inducements aside, it is also quite plausible that siege mentality could have
led the women to march in support of the embattled minister. One tends to
display solidarity with people of one's class, race, or gender irrespective of
wrongdoing.
ON
POLITICAL UNDERTONE: Presidential ‘candy-licious’ dance
‘First of
all...every issue has political undertones. The minister in question - Stella
Oduah - comes with a lot of political capital. She played a very strategic,
effective and productive role in getting the president elected in 2011. The
protests by the ethnic soldiers are of course not representative of the organic
position of the South East. It's the manifestation of poverty in our society
where people are available, willing and ready to be bought at any price to do
anything. If you have the money, you'd be able to get Nigerians to protest
against anything you can imagine under the sun. The minister is wily and she
knows that this battle has been won and lost in the court of logic and justice,
getting to make it a mud fight by using ethnic hues seems her last resort and
politicians no matter how good will always be swayed by the next election. At
the end of the day, Nigerians will pay more for the costs of 2015 ramblings and
of course ironically end up with its least benefits in the coming years.’
Hmmmm
Japheth, 'this battle has been won and lost in the court of logic and justice'.
That's a real serious matter. Do you all think Mr President will dance around
this whole thing because of the 2015 elections? Has he not danced around it
yet?
The
president is dancing around it as he is known to do around issues like these.
Sources close to him say he'd have removed her but for the risk of making a
supposed opposition platform (Sahara Reporters) get one over one of his own.
That's how the president thinks, like a school child who sees the candy in his
hands and the beginning and end of the world without the ability to understand
the world is not about him and his candy alone. Plus
even if he finally sacks Stella, it'd only be to greater things for Stella. She
cannot be dispensed with by Jonathan. He knows it. She knows it. I don't know
if Nigerians know it.
IF I WERE THE PRESIDENT: the cap may be tight but I’d wear it right all the same!
‘The
easiest thing is to assume the position; the hardest thing is to be in the
position. You'd never know how tough the job of a president is no matter how
much you want to cinematize it. Having said that what would I do given what I
know?
Stella
Oduah would at least be suspended. The top guys in NCAA will get suspended too.
There'd be no need for a committee because there are established organs of the
state in place to investigate such matters…If the relevant bodies finally
establish her guilt then the law of course takes its course…My job is just to
relieve her of her job which is in my control. I'd certainly not waste time in
making an example of my ally to make others see the cost of crossing my values.’
REPRESENTING
THE CITIZENS: Power belongs to us; we take it back…
‘Sadly,many
aren't aware of the whole thing; and a lot of those who are aware don't care
because the issue doesn't affect the price of bread - or petrol. That's the
problem here - apathy. And of those of us that both know and care, this I can
say with a great deal of certainty: there is little we can do about it; for,
make no mistake, we do not have the power to sack her. We robbed ourselves of
the power long ago - at successive polls.
First,
as citizens, the whole saga is a reminder that we have to progressively claw
back the power we so
chickenly surrendered to the ruling cabal. Power ought to
belong to the people; and it is when we get back the power that our
representatives would begin to be wary of public backlash if they indulge in
unbridled corruption.
SOLUTIONS:
Who will bell this Lion?
‘The
solutions are two of possible options…The president has to take tough decisions.
He knows it. The fight against corruption died under his watch, this would be a
good place to restart it. At least suspend Ms.Oduah (if not outright sack) and
get the right agencies to swoop in.
The people
must make demand on the system to do the right thing. As long as we keep quiet, next year
they will buy 4 cars for $3 million. And so it'd go. We have work to do.’
MY DREAM
FOR NIGERIA: I dare to dream…still
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| Image Credit: prnigeria |
‘My dream
is for us to have a society where everyone is interested in what their
representatives are up to, a clime where state of residence is more important than
state of origin, a place where federal character is binned in favour of Moral
character, a place where the law is actually worth the paper used to print it,
a developed economy where all sectors are properly funded and managed, thriving
on IT and proper resource management,a land whose people actually get to taste
the milk and honey produced here.’
‘A
Nigeria that works for the majority,a country where justice is the norm;
and prosperity the order.’
‘My
dream for Nigeria can be encapsulated into just one word "REVOLUTION"’.
My
dream for Nigeria is to see a country, where the citizens come first,
in all decisions and actions of those in government.
For
Nigeria to be the real giant it should be in the comity of nations...We
are endowed,both material and human, to actually be the great. We only have to
do the needful.
A
Nigeria where Accountability, Equity & Justice, Good Governance reigns
supreme, a Nigeria where all Nigerians will take Anti-Corruption serious.
There is not much to say; just
plenty to chew. With these views, is this the Nigeria YOU want? Are your dreams
for this country selfless? Situations are obviously red but there are workable
solutions. Dream some up, work on them diligently; contribute your quota to
national growth.
To ‘the chosen’ this is the verdict:
that the issue is investigated thoroughly, with all diligence, sincerity, and
honesty and justice, true justice be done. In this way, accountability is
demanded of you; be responsible enough to be accountable. Lex non cogitimpossibilia (the law does not command the doing of
what is humanly impossible. You have not been asked to do something impossible.
Let justice be done though the heavens fall. Do right by the citizens of this
great country who have entrusted their lives to you. May justice prevail, now
and always.
Mary Ajayi (@megadoxa)
Nice,
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