The presidential pardon granted
to DSP Alamieyeseigha effectively turned the international community against
the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Bolaji Abdullahi has
asserted in his upcoming book.
Alamieyeseigha, who was the
governor of Bayelsa state from 1999-2005, was arrested in London in 2005 on
suspicion of money laundering.
About £1 million cash was said to
have been found in his London home, and later another £1.8 million in cash and
bank accounts.
He jumped bail and escaped from
the UK but was impeached on his return to Nigeria, with Jonathan, his deputy,
replacing him.
Alamieyeseigha was then convicted
and jailed on corruption charges in 2007 after a plea bargain deal — and
subsequently released.
Jonathan granted him presidential
pardon in March 2013 to obliterate the criminal record.
In his new book,
‘On a Platter of Gold: How Jonathan Won and Lost Nigeria’, Abdullahi —
who served as a minister under Jonathan from 2011-2014 — said that particular
gesture was the turning point for the international community.
In the advance copy, Abdullahi argued that Nigerians had more than enough basis to
conclude that even if Jonathan himself “was not personally corrupt, he had
demonstrated ample tolerance for corruption and corrupt officials”.
‘AMERICA WILL KNOW’
The author also referred to the
case of the billions of dollars the NNPC was accused of failing to remit to the
federation account by then-CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
“In a Presidential Media Chat
soon after Sanusi’s ouster, Jonathan denied that any money was missing and
declared, quite memorably, that: ‘If anyone steals $50 billion or $20 billion
anywhere, America will know. They will tell you where it is; it is their
money.’ Quite possibly, the Americans had no evidence of $50 billion or $20 billion
having gone missing, but Jonathan’s government gave no one the confidence that
no money was being stolen,” Abdullahi wrote.
“Since the Transparency
International started monitoring political corruption in countries across the
world, perception has taken precedence over facts and figures in measuring
where countries stood in corruption rating. The problem with perception however
is that it does not need to be proved beyond reasonable doubts. On this basis
alone, Nigerians, and whoever else was interested, had more than enough basis
to conclude that even if Jonathan himself was not personally corrupt, he had
demonstrated ample tolerance for corruption and corrupt officials – allegations
of missing billions from government oil corporation, legislative inquiries into
mind boggling subsidy scams, a cabinet minister and close confidant of the
president embroiled in hundreds of million naira armoured cars scandal, another
minister’s recruitment ‘racket’ leading to the death of hapless jobseekers,
pension administrator disappearing with billions of naira, an ex-convict’s
presidential pardon – the list seemed endless.
“Put together, these stories
formed an ugly compendium that could make the Obama Administration to feel
justified in supporting a ‘regime change’ in Nigeria, especially if the
substitute was a Muhammadu Buhari, marketed as an ascetic, sandal-wearing old
soldier, who had zero-tolerance for corruption.”
‘NOT HIS IDEA’
He said the Alamieyeseigha pardon
was the tipping point.
“Of all the issues, the one that
perhaps rankled the Americans more than any other was the March 2013 pardon for
Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. The former Governor of Bayelsa State had, in July
2007, pleaded guilty to charges of corruption and money laundering brought
against him by the EFCC; and was subsequently sentenced to two years in prison.
However, because he had already spent two years in custody, he was deemed to
have served his time and was allowed to go,” he wrote.
But he also said it was not
originally Jonathan’s idea to pardon his former boss.
The credit, according to him,
would have gone to former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Abdullahi, who is now the
national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), wrote:
“While Jonathan is often credited or skewered for his former boss’
rehabilitation, the move was actually initiated by late President Yar’Adua who
knew Alamieyeseigha from their time as governors and who also believed that the
former governor’s release would help the amnesty deal that he was putting together
in the Niger Delta. Despite his fall from grace, the former Bayelsa governor
remained hugely popular with the militants.
“Shortly after becoming
president, therefore, Yar’Adua sent word to his former colleague through Vice
President Jonathan that he was worried about Alamieyeseigha’s state of health
and would not like him to die in prison. The president offered a lifeline – if
Alamieyeseigha would agree to plead guilty and forfeit the majority of his
assets and monies to the Federal Government. On 25th July, Alamieyeseigha
pleaded guilty before a Federal High Court Judge on the proposed terms; and was
released from Ikoyi Prisons the following day.
“Jonathan and a number of other
politicians began to push for a presidential pardon for Alamieyeseigha.
Yar’Adua was initially receptive to the idea, until he received information
that the former Bayelsa governor had teamed up with the president’s political
rival, Atiku Abubakar, a behaviour Yar’Adua was disinclined to reward. Fate
would however remove Yar’Adua from the equation and bring Jonathan in as
president. From then on, Alamieyeseigha’s pardon became only a matter of time.
Jonathan was hugely popular at home and abroad before the 2011 election. He was
therefore, advised not to grant the pardon, so as not to damage his brand –
especially in the eyes of the international community which regarded him as
somewhat different from the traditional pack of Nigerian politicians. But the
time would come.
“Jonathan did not have any real
constituency or political structure of his own in Bayelsa. And so, with his
eyes on the 2015 election, granting the pardon to a politician who remained
very popular in the state would be a masterstroke, whether this was the
intention or not. It would also be a good way to generate real support for
himself in Bayelsa, where he faced serious political challenge from his
successor, Timipre Sylva. When Jonathan raised the matter at the National
Council of State, there was not a single dissenting voice. Even if there was,
it was not likely to matter under the circumstance.
“One South-South governor who
spoke strongly in support of the proposal argued that Alamieyeseigha had, more
than anything else, been a victim of political persecution by former President
Obasanjo. The announcement of the pardon was met with wide condemnation, with
former Chairman of EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, declaring it as the ‘final nail’ in the
coffin of the fight against corruption under Jonathan. The president responded
with an uncharacteristic bullheadedness, saying he owed no one any apology for
his action. The Americans condemned the pardon and even threatened to cut aid
to Nigeria. Rather than punish innocent Nigerians by cutting aid, perhaps
America decided to bide its time – until the opportunity presented itself to
hit Jonathan where it hurt.”
WHERE THE BUCK STOPS
The former minister of sport said
nothing that happened under Jonathan’s watch as president could present a more
difficult conundrum in defining his legacy than these allegations of corruption
in the defence sector, “so massive they don’t bear thinking about”.
To argue that he was not aware
that the stealing was going on, the author posited, is to give ammunition to
those who have accused him of incompetence.
“To say he knew about it is to
admit that he either condoned it, or lacked the will to stop it,” he wrote,
offering the example of the war against Boko Haram.
“A senior member of the Turaki
Amnesty Committee posited that, while President Jonathan may not have been
aware of the scale of the looting that went on in the name of fighting Boko
Haram, he could not be entirely ignorant of it. “He knew. But he was in a
precarious situation. He was not sure of his own position. If he moved against
them, they could sabotage the entire war against Boko Haram, or even overthrow
his government. He just had to pretend that he did not know and hope that
whatever they were doing would not be so bad as to compromise the entire
operation,” Abdullahi wrote.
“The committee member told of one
instance when bullet proof vests were procured, only for the soldiers to find
that, instead of the usual ballistic plates, the vests were loaded only with
sand. “You cannot blame Jonathan for this. After approving money for military
equipment, was he to start going round again to ensure that they were actually
bought or that the right caliber of equipment was bought?” Difficult as it may
be to fault this argument, it is impossible to ignore those who insist that as
the Commander-In-Chief, Jonathan must take the final responsibility for
everything that happened under his command. The buck stopped with him.”
The book will go on sale
nationwide from November 30, 2017 after the launch.
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