Very soon, the stuff of President Muhammadu Buhari’s war against corruption will be put to test. For now, it is mere grandstanding, as opposition elements say it was all fury and no substance.
When former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) and others indicted in the interim report of the 13-man committee set up by the audit on procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces and Defence sector from 2007 to date, are put to trial, it will be a battle beyond the noise.
The judiciary will also be on trial as President Muhammadu Buhari’s conviction last month of Dasuki and some unnamed protégés of the former President Goodluck Jonathan must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Politicisation has also not done any good to the alleged diversion of $2 billion in bogus deals for fighter jets, helicopters, weapons and ammunition any good. The fact remains that the procurement never materialised and Nigeria lost almost a generation to the dastardly acts of violent extremists in the North East as well as in Kano, Kaduna and Abuja.
Last month, Boko Haram was named in the latest Global Terrorism Index as “the most deadly terrorist group in the world”, having killed 6,633 people last year. The index was published by the Institute for Economics and Peace think-tank.
Although both the former NSA and Jonathan denied the charges, their exchanges put a lie to their defence. While Dasuki claimed all contracts and payments were sanctioned by Jonathan as president and commander-in-chief, the former president denied giving such approvals.
The characters named in the procurement ring, on the face value are hardly equipped for the equipment allegedly procured in shady circumstances.
Dasuki, already facing money laundering and illegal possession of weapons charges has 16 of his associates in the State Security Service net. Former minister of State for finance Bashir Yuguda, former governor of Sokoto State Attahiru Bafarawa and media magnate Raymond Dokpesi are unknown in security circles like Francis Arthur Nzeribe who sold arms? If Dokpesi was briefed to get gunships it may be understandable. It may be the trade he took to after stepping aside as chairman of DAAR Communications Plc, after all he trained as a marine engineer
Nigerians are sick and tired of prevarications to try those accused. Many do not understand why it is taking a life time since the president believed and had ordered that anyone involved in the corrupt multi-billion dollar deals for weapons and equipment be “brought to book” after receiving a report from a committee set up to probe the issue.
Is it true that Bafarawa’s son took N4.6bn as the father’s front? Did Yuguda also take N1.5bn? Where was Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala when all these approvals and withdrawals were being made? What manner of a government banker is Godwin Emefiele that would allow unappropriated funds to leave the national treasury unquestioned?
PDP, APC and Buhari’s EFCC and SSS should unbundle the web of slush funds or disprove in a just manner and open court how and who initiated, approved or looked away, withdrew and laundered the humongous trillions from our common vaults. We must move away from these media convictions and alibis to the court room.
Paper tigeritude and motionless bravado, where a whopping $2bn was taken away in secrecy cannot be a war to win the war against corruption.
Already the accused have been found guilty in the court of public opinion. The swathes of territorial and human losses on the battlefield against Boko Haram due to complaints of lack the weapons cannot be excused. That it took the involvement of armies from neighbouring countries to halt the senseless killing of 17,000 people since 2009 and rendering more than 2.6 million people homeless cannot end with recriminations. Investigation must not take eternity. Indeed, prosecution, is already delayed. Time is ticking away and Nigerians are becoming impatient.