First off, I want to start by saying that it is high time we Nigerians (esp youths) woke up saw our world as it really is. That being said I will like to satrt from the top. [img]Alamieyeseigha-.jpg[/img]
Mr. Alamieyeseigha was democratically elected into power as the executive governor of Bayelsa state, Nigeria during the 1999 elections and reelected during the 2003 elections under the umbrella of the PDP (said to be the largest collection of corrupt people in Nigeria).

Two years after being reelected (september 2005 to be precise), he was detained in the United Kingdom for charges of corruption and money laundering with l of One Million Pounds (£1m) found in his London home and £1.8m or $3.2m found in cash and his bank account. He was also found to own real estate worth abou Ten Million pounds. After being granted bail for which he was asked not to leave the UK (all these happening while he was still the executive governor of Bayelsa state) he jumped said bail in December 2005 by allegedly disguising himself as a woman. Although he debunked this allegation, he allegedly blasphemed by saying that God transported him from the UK to Nigeria. I remember vividly the heroic welcome he was given by the people of Bayelsa state on his arrival back to Nigeria.

On getting to Nigeria, the Bayelsa state house of assembly impeached him on allegations of corruption, and his deputy Goodluck Jonathan was promoted to the governorship status. The following actions were funny at best.

On July 26, 2007, Alamieyeseigha pleaded guilty before a Nigerian court to six charges and was sentenced to two years in prison on each charge; however, because the sentences were set to run concurrently and the time was counted from the point of his arrest nearly two years before the sentences, his actual sentence was relatively short. Many of his assets were ordered to be forfeited to the Bayelsa state government. According to Alamieyeseigha, he only pled guilty due to his age and would have fought the charges had he been younger. On July 27, just hours after being taken to prison, he was released due to time already served.

What baffled me the most was that even with his convictions, sentences and whatnot, he (Alamieyeseigha) and his friends, wellwishers and people of Bayelsa state all maintained his innocence and treated him like a saint ans saviour of the state, even when he JUMPED BAIL!!! which was one of the most embarrassing things a governor can do to damage the standing and political intergity of his country. Even when in december 2009, the federal government hired a British law firm to help dispose of four expensive properties acquired by Alamieyeseigha in London. He had bought one of these properties for £1,750,000.00 in July 2003, paying in cash and used it as his London residence, and as the registered office of Solomon and Peters Inc.
In June 28, 2012, the United States Department of Justice announced that it had executed an asset forfeiture order on $401,931 in a Massachusetts brokerage fund, traceable to Alamieyeseigha. US prosecutors filed court papers in April 2011 targeting the Massachusetts brokerage fund and a $600,000 Maryland home, which they alleged were the proceeds of corruption. A motion for default judgement and civil forfeiture was granted by a Massachusetts federal district judge in early June 2012.

It came as no suprise when in March 2013 President Goodluck Jonathan granted Mr. Alamieyeseigha a presidential pardon, thus acquitting him of all corruption charges.

Just this week, a few days after his death, arising from complications due to high blood pressure and Diabetes which led to renal failure, the governor of Bayelsa state, Governor Seriake Dickson alleged that "his death was due to harassment from the UK and the Federal Government amid calls for his extradition to the UK to face corruption charges" and described Him as a man of peace. He (Alamieyeseigha) was said to have fled from Dubai in order to avoid being arrested.

All these now bring me to my questions:

1. If he (Alamieyeseigha) was innocent as claimed by himself and a host of Bayelsa people, why did he jump bail?

2. As an elder statesman, who claims "to want the best for Nigeria" why didn't he give himslef up to the UK authorities to be acquitted so as to have the extradition orders lifted in order for him to be able to seek quality medical health care.

3. If he was indeed well meaning to his people, how come he couldn't have built a hospital(s) which could cater for such needs as his medical issues, thus ensuring that he will not have to be flown out of the country for medical treatment.(This question is general and also applies to senator Akpabio who had to be flown out of the country in order to be treated for being involved in a car collision even after claiming to build a world class hospital during his tenure as a governor of Akwa Ibom state)

It pains me that even after seeing the writings on the wall, we Nigerians still tend to tout corrupt politicians as being matyrs, as seen in Governor Seriake Dickson's statement on the death of the ex. governor. It makes me wonder if there is ever going to be hope of ever being free of corruption in Nigeria.

PS: This article is not meant to be derogatory of insultive of any tribal faction or group and I will be happy if it is not treated as such.

Written with excerpts from the Wikipedia page on Diepreye Alamieyeseigha

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diepreye_Alamieyeseigha

Ok

Please you guys should allow the the man rest in peace

Good questions!

I reserve my comment

I am not even focusing on the corruption charges against him rather l would focus what affects each one of us-health care.

Alamieyeseigha was the governor of his home state for 6 years and with the billions accruing to the state as revenue why didn't he consider it important to provide quality health care system for his people which subsequent governors after him from GEJ, Timipre Sylva to Dickson should have consolidated upon, one can imagine the countless lives lost to avoidable deaths because for every single kobo misappropriated, a health centre somewhere has no basic provision. Does the life of a poor Nigerian who can not afford to travel to Dubai to access health care for the same ailment Alamieyeseigha suffered, not count? No life is more precious than the other before our Creator.

Just like in other states across the Country, dilapidated health facilities is what overwhelming majority of Nigerians are resigned to on a daily basis. This is way beyond partisan politics because how we take care of the vulnerable among us determines our own humanity.