Let my Ribadu go
By R.O. Ajao
Saturday, January 5,
2008
To say that EFCC Chairman Nuhu Ribadu’s tenure has
not been controversial is an understatement. What surprises
me however is the clamor from some quarters against his removal.
You would wonder if this guy is indispensable after all. Let
us face it, this guy will not be there for ever; if he had
become incapacitated for any reason, would he not have been
replaced immediately?
I had enjoyed EFCC’s achievements, even if the methods
were sometimes questionable, but in the end, I had to admit
that Ribadu was too good for his own good. To be honest, I
did not expect any serious government to keep this guy in
that sensitive office for any appreciable length of time.
My reasons may be too uncompromising, but let me air them.
First, I believe any high-ranking member of the last administration
who looked Third Term (TT) in the eyes and did not resign
is probably not principled enough. One could argue that in
some cases, it would have been suicidal to resign publicly
over that issue on matter of principles. But then, it only
goes to show how cowardly whoever did not resign had acted.
Such people had sacrificed our collective good on the altar
of personal gains and Baba’s ego.
If Ribadu did not support TT and did not resign, then he is
not fit for the EFCC seat he has been occupying. Furthermore,
here is a man who admitted that Baba did not consult him on
the N6 billion-Library project, or that he did not support
the project, or things to that effect. In a civilized world,
that alone would have been enough reason for him to hand in
his resignation. Obviously too, Baba did nothing wrong during
his tenure, and members of Baba’s family did not breach
any financial law. This would explain why EFCC has exonerated
them up till now; at least it explains why a petition against
Iyabo was not acted upon for a whole year! Meanwhile, exhibiting
double standards is something the Yar’Adua’s administration
can ill afford.
As a hatchet man, Ribadu had been excellent, striking fear
into even the unborn child. God help you if you were perceived
as Baba’s enemy. Modus operandi seemed to be intimidation
first, fact-finding later. I was surprised when EFCC did not
detain Mimiko, Labour Party’s gubernatorial candidate
in Ondo State in the last elections, before admitting that
they did not find incriminating evidence against him. You
will recollect that Baba had publicly boasted that EFCC would
do just that, but then Baba had completed all the intimidation
that was required in that particular case. In other parts
of the world, the average man would never know who heads,
or gives orders, in a department as sensitive as EFCC.
But not in Nigeria, where the EFCC Chairman never saw a newspaper
he did not like; nor did he ever shy away from making public
statements that he had not backed up with action. Mr. Chairman
Sir, six months after many of the more than thirty corrupt
governors (by your own assessment) left office, how come your
department has not made significant achievement by way of
prosecution? By EFCC pronouncements before May 29, 2007, nearly
all ex-governors should have been jailed by now! Let us admit
it, Nuhu Ribadu’s EFCC has been full of sound and fury,
delivering nothing. The average Nigerian expected far more
than what we have seen so far.
So before we beg the President to spare Ribadu, let us honestly
answer a salient question: if Ribadu has been truly partisan,
should we let him stay? Even a suspicion of partisanship or
bias is enough to make him go on an indefinite leave, because
that office is too sensitive for us to allow any bias or double
standards. Then, we have to admit that Nigeria has enough
hands that can do a better job with less noise and flamboyancy.
Furthermore, we would be insulting the person and office of
the President if we assume that the President does not have
enough reason to ask someone to step down when he does so;
or that he would not be able to find a replacement that is
capable out of the millions in the country. If a Chief Gani
Fawehinmi or an Adams Oshiomole or a Rev. Fr. Kukah had accepted
to head EFCC, would it not be insulting to these men of integrity
if we still begged the President to let Ribadu stay? Enough
of these insults please.
As I was writing this piece, I saw a story that Col Abubakar
Umar (rtd) was tipped to take over. Even if Ribadu had been
one hundred per cent efficient, an Umar alone is enough reason
to let Ribadu go. In the absence of a Gani in that office,
the least the President owes us is an Umar. So Ribadu go,
Ribadu come, as long as the EFCC remains focused, who cares?
• R.O. Ajao wrote
in from Lagos
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