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The Niger-Delta And Politics In Nigeria: TheObasanjo In Our Confusion - Part 2continued from http://www.dawodu.com/oduyela24.htm
By
Seyi Oduyela
December 18, 2005
The impeachment of
the Mr. DSP Alamieyeseigha, former Governor of Bayelsa State did not
come as a surprise and it has attracted mixed reactions. Some have
commended the Bayelsa House of Assembly members, while some believe that
the Federal government had forced Assembly men to impeach their
erstwhile benefactor.
Was the Federal
government involved in the removal of Alamie? Why was the government of
Obasanjo interested in the removal of Alamie? Of what and whose interest
will this serve?
I will try and
answer these questions as we go along.
Was Obasanjo
government involved?
The answer is yes.
We all know that the escape of Alamie from house detention in London was
not only a shock to Obasanjo, but also an embarrassment. The Attorney
General and Justice Minister of Nigeria had gone to London to tell the
court that Obasanjo’s government cannot guarantee the return of Alamie
for trial if he was granted bail to leave London. This showed the clear
hand of Obasanjo’s government in the case. So many people have argued
that it was right for the government to do so as to show that the
federal government is serious about fighting corruption, but it is not
clear to us if Obasanjo’s government had done its homework in verifying
some of what we read in the newspapers on Alamie as regards the money
found in his house. We did not know if there was any correspondence
between the Presidency and the Governor.
This is not to say
that Alamie is innocent, I know he is not, he can never be! His arrest
did not come to me as surprise at all. In one of my articles, I have
reported a case of a Niger delta governor who was duped by some Arabs to
the tune of $72m for the purchase of a private refinery. Alamie was
approached by two Arabs, who flew into Nigeria in a private jet to offer
him the sale of a private oil refinery for $144m. He was to pay 50% of
the money and come to London two weeks after to pay the balance and get
the papers. Alamie, according to my source paid the 50% but when he got
to London, he could not locate the Arabs. It was Alamie who ensured that
the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly in 1999 contested and
won the election even when he was 2 years younger than the legal age to
contest election. He said this in an interview he granted to a reporter
published in Source Magazine back in 2002. Alamie removed the Speaker
when he was becoming too powerful and boasted about it. But he mentioned
something then that has been a thing of interest to me. He accused the
Governor of Rivers State of sponsoring crisis in Bayelsa. Before the
creation of Bayelsa State, the people of Bayelsa were part of Rivers
State.
Alamie once served
in the military, Nigeria AirForce to be specific. He was caught cheating
during a promotion examination. He was court martialed and later
dismissed. He left the Air Force as a Squadron Leader. One thing that
showed that Alamie is guilty of the money laundering charge is the fact
that since he came back, he has refused to address the fact that 1.9m
pounds was found in his house in London, rather, he resorted to
propaganda.
Why is Obasanjo
after Alamie?
You do not need a
rocket scientist to tell you that the issue is politically motivated.
Most of those that have been indicted in any case of corruption so far
are people who do not belong to Obasanjo side of the People’s Democratic
Party (PDP). While everyone supports the fight against corruption, no
one sees any sense in selective fight targeted towards a certain group.
DSP Alamieyeseigha is a friend of the Vice President Atiku, which is
clear. They both live in Potomac, Maryland here in the US. When Jennifer
Atiku, in 2003 did the launching for her Gede Foundation here in the US,
Alamieyeseigha was among the three Governors, along with Bonnie Haruna
and James Ibori who came from Nigeria to grace the launching. The late
Owambe First Lady was here too. This show the link between the former
Governor of Bayelsa and Atiku. Since the open war between Obasanjo and
Atiku, some of his friends and political associates have been bruised by
Obasanjo. Some members of the Adamawa State government are been
investigated now.
Of what and whose
interest is it?
The removal of
Alamie does not serve anybody’s interest except for the people who
orchestrated it. This is done not with a genuine reason but as a
face-saving mechanism. I remain unimpressed by this government. It has
done nothing to alleviate the poverty of the people. It has not told the
country, how much it has recovered from the Abacha family and how the
loot recovered so far has been spent. President Obasanjo owns the Block
of flat (Sky Scrappers) at the junction of Garki Village in Area 11
Abuja. It was difficult for people to have access to his assets and
liability declarations at the Code of Conduct Bureau, but it does not
take his government time to use the same Code of Conduct Bureau against
Alamieyeseigha.
On the members of
the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, I will tell the story of Jesus.
Jesus was standing
preaching to the people when the Pharisees came to him with a woman
accused of adultery. They told Jesus of her offence and quoted the
Mosaic Law that whoever does that should be stoned to death. They wanted
Jesus to give them the go-ahead to do that. Jesus looked at them and
said: “He that has not sinned before should cast the first stone.” They
left the woman. No one in the Bayelsa House of Assembly can claim that
what he has today is legitimately acquired. They are a product of the
same system instituted by Obasanjo’s Political party- government of
“chop-i-chop.” We all know that the Assembly men were blackmailed into
impeaching their governor, while some who have been sidelined in the
scheme of things saw that as an opportunity to get back at Alamie.
Where do we place
the Bayelsa people here? They are still at the receiving end. They are
still the losers. A people ruled by Kleptomaniacs, ruthless, insensitive
and inconsiderate leaders. While they were ravaged by Obasanjo in 2000,
with the attack on Odi, they had a governor who is taking away their
sweat abroad to help improve western economy and yet when he came back
home from London, they organized a welcome rally for him. What a
people?! Let us how Obasanjo government is going to recover all the
loots from US and London and the ones in Nigeria.
In a speech read on
his behalf at an occasion in Niger delta, President Obasanjo said that
Resource control is greed, he argued that rather than fight for resource
control, the people should think of how we can manage the resources.
Whose resources? I do not know if the black was discovered in the West
or north if they will be talking of resource control now. I am sure the
north would have left Nigeria and I doubt if the west (Yoruba) will
allow the derivative formula. I regard Obasanjo’s statement as rude and
insultive to the people of Niger delta but unfortunately many of them
did not see it that way. We know that their leader are not sincere, we
know they are corrupt, but we have corrupt leaders in the West, East and
North too. No single governor in the West will pass the corruption test
if it is carried out, not even the Ogun State governor or his
counterpart in Lagos State, who has resorted into Abracadabra system of
government. Obasanjo knows this, he sees it but not interested.
To
be continued….
Posers:
James Ibori,
Lucky Igbinedion coming up in part III
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