Letter To Atiku Abubakar

LETTER TO ATIKU...

BY A DISSATISFIED NIGERIAN...

CHURCHILL OKONKWO

You are a symbol of the past failures and the politically corrupt in Nigeria. With all due respect, therefore, I, on behalf of millions of Nigerians want to remind you that you should shut up when we are discussing anti-corruption challenges and the way forward.

I laughed cynically when I heard you brag that you would “shock everyone because you will fight corruption …if given the opportunity to preside over the affairs of the country.” You challenged Nigerians to either “come forward with a single shred of evidence of [your] misconduct while in office or keep quiet.” Crude arrogance! You subsequently bragged that your stupendous wealth was a result of your “resourcefulness and successful investments.”

What a lie! To use your own words, that display of arrogance was “morally offensive” to millions of Nigerians. Please, sir, accept my apologies, but the issue is not about your “entrepreneurial spirit” but whether you can corroborate the SOURCE of your investments and wealth. Sir, you are not more resourceful than millions of Nigerians, and thousands of investors with hard-earned and traceable source of wealth. So, sir, take your sermon of rooting out corruption in Nigeria to the sedimentary rocks in the valley of Adamawa Highlands. Tell us what happened to the N7.5 B failed Chochi Dam project which u brought the contractor and supervised the project. What happened to the Jada Federal Government communication project awarded by Obasanjo under ur supervision which N4.5 Billion went into a failed project. Tell Nigerians how u took a loan from Bank PHB in 1998 of N300M to run for Governorship of Adamawa, when u were controversially  declared the winner and after becoming the VP the bank cancelled the loan. We have documented evidence of this loan, when you took this loan Bamanga Tukur was one of the richest people in the North East with two shipping vessels on the high seas, but just after 8 years as VP u not only became the richest in Adamawa and one of the richest in Nigeria but u built 158 mansions in the country and 42 mosques in Christian dominated areas of Adamawa State the sitting and construction of some of these mosques created several crisis killing thousands of people and dethroning a First Class king.

As a show of good faith, sir, can you please explain to Nigerians how a retired Customs officer and VP, you, got the millions of Dollars, without a bank loan, you paid to the American University in Washington DC for a direct license to use the franchise of the university? We know that your estimated $25 million worth of University (ABTI American University) in Yola was not just because you were resourceful.

What is the source of the inexplicable reason for your increased wealth after 8 years as VP? Accept my apologies sir, but can you explain to Nigerians the source of hundreds of multi-million Naira mansions, mostly built on what Nigerians believe to be proceeds of corruption?  What of the $125m you diverted from the Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF)? Can you please, sir; explain to Nigerians how you managed to command controlling shares in Bank PHB, controlling shares in Intel, and oil services companies operating in many African countries?

If you are as smart and intelligent as you want Nigerians to believe, then it will not be difficult to break down the source of your wealth. Believe me, there are millions of Nigerians out there that are more resourceful than you that will be turned into billionaires overnight if only you can show us your magic wand. So, without explaining the source of your wealth, it is an insult to ask us to provide evidence that you are chronically corrupt. The burden of proof is on you, sir.

How can Nigeria move forward, when we are hamstrung by symbols of past failures, like you Atiku? Let me remind those still living in the graveyards of yesteryears of what you sir, represents. Your mere presence in Nigerian politics reminds us of the era of fire-breathing monsters that plundered the national wealth. Sir, your administration with Obasanjo represents a government of the ugly and predators. Under you, and Obasanjo, corruption was so sweet and so exquisite that the political class fell over themselves to worship the mini gods in Aso Rock.

Accept my apologies, sir, but Nigerians have not forgotten that under you and Obasanjo, our yesteryears were locust-infested. When you fought corruption with Obasanjo, we had wretched criminals that grew the size of their stomachs and pockets from “Turn Around Maintenance” of our refineries and under-selling of government entities to cronies. Under you, and Obasanjo, we had ministers and thieves that were busy acquiring properties worth billions while our infrastructures decayed.

Sir, you are a woodpecker that feed on the pantry of the poor, but found a way to avoid having boils in your mouth. The same mouth you are now using to insult us and bragging about how clean you are in amassing wealth in the midst of poverty in your backyard.

Atiku, sir, your ambition, therefore, deserves to be killed now. It is time for you to retire from public life, disappear from Twitter, political screens, and sight somewhere far away. Sir, when you drive around the hills and valleys of Adamawa Highland, are you not worried about the difference between your fortunes and that of the poor masses you represented?

Nigerians believe that corruption is a bigger threat than insecurity in your backyard in Northeastern Nigeria. Fighting corruption in good faith will heal the wounds of millions of Nigerians adversely affected over many decades. Unfortunately, sir, until you explain to us how you amassed your wealth, you are not the right man to lead Nigeria.

The stories surrounding the cancellation, the legality or illegality of the contract between Intels and its subsidiaries with Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) is an indication that your greed is finally catching up with you. For me, that deal is like the rest of the dubious investments you are now flaunting, all of which is a textbook example of how crooked bureaucrats like you amass wealth through cronyism and graft.

So, accept my apologies. You, like your boy the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, represent the dangerously corrupt political elites in Nigeria. As you make an attempt at the Nigerian Presidency for the umpteenth time, know it that your reckless shame has expired. The period from 1999 to 2017 is gone, even though the mess you and Obasanjo left behind is still hunting Nigerians.

Sir, I love you, but, until we begin to challenge serving and former civil servants and public office holders like you that cannot explain how they acquired so much wealth, we cannot really claim to be fighting corruption. Shed some light on the source of every Kobo of your shadowed investments and businesses and shame the people you refer to as “political enemies”.

While I wait for your explanation, know it that I will be the first to raise my hand and campaign for you if you will satisfactorily demonstrate the source of your wealth the way you explain to a 3-year old that 1 + 1 = 2. I say this with as a much respect as I can muster, hoping that you will disgrace me with verifiable proof.

Until you do that, sir, you should shut up and bow your head in shame, if there is still any left, when Nigerians are talking about the serious business of fighting corruption.

Nigeria Before And After 2015

If prior to 2015 all you do is fly to Abuja with your company letter- head in your briefcase and buy/ get contracts which you later sell to professionals at a margin.Then you will want the opposition party to come back.
Definitely your only source of livelihood had been stopped. Therefore Buhari hasn't done anything good . If you're the wife of such a 'businessman" , then Buhari should go. Same for his children and every member of his family who depend on him .

To our ladies who are professional 'escort' . Whose profession is to tag along these businessmen,politicians to Abuja, definitely its obvious business has slowed down. Economy is very bad. These men are thinking of how to pay there children school fees abroad . You are no longer priority.  Of course everyone on your payroll.. your parents ( that you lied to about your status in Abuja), your siblings that you are supporting ,your Brazilian hair seller, etc will complain about the economy.

If all you know how to do is go on high sea and bunker our OIL. As it was in the niger delta prior to 2015, then you have every reason to complain about the economy because I know its not business as usual again. Of course ,everybody that is in the chain of your loot will definitely say the economy is bad.

On the other hand you were a bank worker and you had access to the big men of then. Your rapid promotion was because you brought in huge deposits and accounts of government  agencies. BVN and TSA  is active now. You will definitely complain. No more handouts to you , so living large is no more possible. You no longer travel on Friday and return on Sunday. Your wife and children now fly economy . Economy is definitely bad.

We are all affected. As a school owner I am feeling the pinch . Fees are now paid in instalments, cost of business is high. But we are hanging in there. All entrepreneurs are looking inward and creating wonderful ideas on how to survive in these trying times and I must confess a lot of them are coming up with wonderful ,creative ideas. A lot of collaboration and networking in various sectors of the economy. Farms are springing up everywhere..

We Nigerians need to learn ,unlearn and relearn ways we do things. Its said that A lot of the jobs we have around and study in the universities will be extinct very soon. We need a change of our values and pursuits.

Nigeria is at that time where as a people we rearrange our priorities. Don't complain so much about the bad economy. The lesson to pick up is how to position positively now. Learn something different  and  new. Network more and leverage on relationship.

The future is very bright for only those who are positive and can see it.

Credit: TITILAYOMI ADENIRAN
2018

Oga Sam Omatseye Skinned Alive And Roasted Atiku & OBJ!!!

Sons of malice - In Touch, The Nation newspaper, 15/10/2018

It was a mockery of a familiar scripture. “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.” So Atiku Abubakar and Olusegun Obasanjo could sit together, after the firestorm of laughter a few years ago. They now see themselves as sons of God because they sat together to fulfil Atiku’s ancient ambition and pursue Obasanjo’s grudge. Both grudge and ambition embrace in the enmity of Muhammadu Buhari. In pidgin English, we call it jiga belle. Where is God here but bad blood, a coalescence of the sons of malice.

So one said “I dey laugh o” and the other lashed back with “I dey laugh too o.” It was exciting headline fair for newspapers. When both foes folded into friendship, one thing was especially missing in the Abeokuta setting: laughter. Both miens bowed in frowns as though it was no happy moment, except Bishop Oyedepo, whose face kindled with a doubtful holy halo.

Others present were Bishop Kukah, Gumi and, of course, the familiar Obj acolytes of Bode George, Ayo Adebanjo, et al. Adebanjo, the expiring politician as fuddy-duddy, once called Obj a whited sepulchre. So, what a necromantic hug he had with Obj. An Adebanjo, a nonagenarian, embracing Obj the corpse?

Obasanjo clearly needed Atiku to save him from his self-spun scorn, from the disaster of his political party, the ADC. Its first litmus test was Osun, and Obj’s party was a yawning no-show. The Owu chief has collapsed into silence since he boasted he would craft an alliance into a party that would faze Buhari out of the throne. He needed Atiku as a prop, so he won’t fall facedown. His face is already down. The Owu chief has crashed, his body parts all over the floor like glass shards. Atiku is pretending to help him put them back together.

The Owu chief also wants to pay back Buhari for snubbing him. He the Owu chief, the ebora. He who, in an air of remorseful royalty, tore his party card to enthrone him. He who campaigned and teamed up with his enemies, including his nemesis like Asiwaju Tinubu, in order to earn him a furry path to victory. Yet, Buhari dared to toss him aside. That is the megalomania of the Owu chief. He forgets two things. One, Buhari would have won without him. He came on board when victory flashed in the horizon. He has little electoral value. They made him a superfine passenger in the campaign, a flattery he could not know. Two, that his pedigree as kingmaker has always made him a little lower than an angel. Under Jonathan, he felt pooh-poohed. Yar’Adua never played servile to him. Buhari, a junior in the army, forgot to inflate him with the deserved salute.

Atiku, the man he foreswore in the name of the Almighty to never forgive, suddenly turned Obj into a tender soul. This is Obj born again indeed. The man who never forgave anybody unless they lost their offices. Ask Okadigbo in his grave. Ask Wabara about his disgrace. Ask Audu Ogbe, who is back to grace as minister. The same Obj is now rewarding an arch foe by promising him the biggest office in the land. He called Atiku our next president. This is malice as desperado.

This is no forgiveness. It is opportunism. The presence of clerics did not even give it the air of a divine blessing. All three were not there on behalf of the Ancient of Days but to settle ancient scores. Gumi comes from an old, even atavistic warfare with the Buhari clan. So, cancel the love of the people from his so-called reconciliation. Bishop Kukah has not hidden his regret over the sacking of his beloved Jonathan and his abhorrence of the probe of that era. He once asked the government to “move on.” Bishop Oyedepo loved Jonathan and he hardly accused his regime even on the pulpit of corruption while drumming up support for him and welcoming him to Canaanland. He loved his time as the president’s pastor.

There is a wistfulness to these holy presences. Holy men in scripture have never been known to be perfect, and they have made mistakes from Abraham to Jonah, even Peter and self-confessed Paul. Hence Paul warned us not to heed even if they or an angel teaches what was not written. “Brethren, pray for us,” he once pleaded. So, in that gathering, we had the cleric, the money bag, and the politician. Where is the hope? I don’t know how they want to manage the optics if they say to their faithful that they are not partisan.

Hence Bertolt Brecht, in his play Mother Courage, wrote, “Here they sit, one with his faith and the other with his cash box. Dunno which is more dangerous.”

Obj also highlighted the virtue of Atiku as a business man. Some are saying that he will do well there because he is one of the great men of business today in the land. I like more elaboration on this. I want those who make this claim to explain to us if he made his money the same way business men like Gates, Fajemirokun, Dangote, Odutola, Ojukwu (the rebel’s father) or Dantata made their money. We want to know if he doubled money with a cutting-edge imagination or by taking advantage of the footloose rules in corporate Nigeria. Is he a racketeer as the Buhari crowd calls him, or a manager? Or are they just tarring him as the candidate of corruption fighting back? It will be instructive to hear Atiku speak on how he will curb corruption. Waiting!

Again, Atiku will have to free himself from all the scandals: Siemens, PTDF, Haliburton, et al. Not just the scandal but the perception, which is even more potent. He might be innocent, but the public has its arbitrary court where judges and jury are on the street. If he does not want to brandish his mercantile credentials as his virtues, we can drop those and look elsewhere for his strength in 2019. Is there a correlation between those scandals and his wealth? This is election season and we need to scrutinise and let no one bamboozle us. Many Nigerian wealthy men are not classic geniuses of commerce but carpet baggers and opportunists. It is no qualification for turning a poor country into a commercial behemoth.

Few business men have done well as presidents anywhere. Trump is riding on the steam of Obama economy. Even Trump has just been exposed as a carpet bagger who defrauded his way into his billions by tax subterfuges. He is being investigated. The other businessman as US president, Herbert Hoover, presided over The Great Depression leaking jobs and joy. Roosevelt, a soldier, succeeded him and brought back the boom. Clearly Buhari has not shown himself to be a Roosevelt in turning the economy around. But being a businessman is no sure-fire ticket to success. The US founding fathers ignored the wealthy man John Jay, who thought his wealth would win over his peers and make him the country’s pioneer president. They picked George Washington, the soldier-statesman.

Atiku has also defined himself, probably partly in response to my column last week, by saying he is a living candidate while Buhari is dull. Buhari is anaemic for sure, especially on camera. But in camera, those who know him say he turns the ribs with his jokes. But Atiku is no better. His face is like what Americans called their Soviet counterparts in the Cold War era: doll within doll. His face, even his gait, is like an ignited mannequin. Like the character in Jerzy Kosinsky’s novel, Being There.

Peter Obi, for all his feminine voice, gives character to the pair. The choice is curious though. Obi brings nothing to the ticket in a geopolitical sense. If Atiku picked an anonymous Obi from the street of Aba, he was going to sweep the southeast anyway. Again, this is Obi, who could not deliver his governor candidate in the last poll in Anambra State. Hence, I called him a statesman without a state. Atiku has ceded the Southwest. With Northwest and Southwest off his plate, he may not have a prayer for victory. Unless, that is, an earthquake event tilts it for him. Nigeria does not have earthquakes though. Just tremors. And tremors do not bring down the house.