Nonsense and ingredients

Power is never served a la carte. That is one of the favourite quotes of former Governor of Lagos State and one of the national leaders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. One of the most passionate and consumate political actors of contemporary Nigeria, Tinubu understands all too well that politics is essentially the struggle for the acquisition, utilization and retention of state power either for selfish, pecuniary purposes or for the public good. That inimitably profound and perceptive scholar of Nigeria’s political economy, the late Professor Claude Ake, once noted that the struggle for political power in post-colonial Nigeria tends to be such a vicious, all consuming affair because public office is seen as a veritable means of primitive accumulation. The phenomenal problem of corruption in the country underscores the perception of politics not as an avenue for selfless public service but an opportunity for self enrichment to the detriment of the public good.

Yet, there is also a political tendency in Nigeria that places premium on utilizing public office to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of the people. That tradition dates back to Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s incomparably visionary administration in western Nigeria during the first republic and his equally adroit management of the nation’s finances as federal Commissioner of Finance and Vice Chairman of the Federal Executive Council during the civil war. Those who have kept this tradition of progressive politics alive include the UPN governors in the second republic, the AD governors between 1999 and 2003 and now the ACN /LP governors in Lagos, Edo, Ekiti, Osun and Ondo states.

In his relentless bid to assume power at the centre and achieve for Nigeria what he had accomplished as Premier of western Nigeria, Awo faced the worst imaginable form of political demonisation, victimisation and persecution. He was framed and unjustifiably imprisoned for treasonable felony on the flimsiest of grounds. The Coker Commission of Enquiry was set up to taint his moral integrity. During his political misadventure in the NPN during the second republic, the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola set up the National Concord primarily to combat Awo’s percieved influence in the media and damage the sage’s reputation.

One of the sensational stories published by the Concord, I recall, was Awo’s ownership of 360 plots of land at Maroko. The motive for the story was to portray Awo as a hypocrite who professed to be a socialist while being immensely wealthy. It did not matter to his detractors that the land was legitimately acquired as payment for legal services rendered. Awo, who was abroad when the story broke, returned home to a rousing reception at the Murtala Muhammed Airport. One of the thousands who thronged the airport to welcome their beloved leader had a placard which read “Papa, please buy more land”! Responding to questions from reporters, Awo made the pertinent point that anyone who wanted to effect positive politiical change in Nigeria needed the financial strength to sustain a viable political organization and fight the wealthy elite determined to maintain the decadent and exploitative status quo. While amassing fabulous wealth, largely through dubious means, Awo’s opponents wanted him to commit economic suicide in pursuit of his socialist beliefs!

No politician since Awo has been as harrassed, abused, threatened and villified as Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is effectively the Asiwaju of progressive politics in contemporary Nigeria. This of course is to be expected. Power is not served a la carte. There is a grim political struggle for the soul of Nigeria and Tinubu is a critical actor in the battle. He is as passionate as Awo in his commitment to the progressive transformation of Nigeria through adherence to the principles of federalism, welfarism and democracy. He was a key inspirational figure in the ACN’S successful reclamation of its stolen mandates in Edo, Ekiti and Osun states and the party’s expanding clout beyond the south west. During the duration of the legal battles, Tinubu became an amateur lawyer reading and digesting law reports and joining legal titans in protracted strategy sessions. He was instrumental to the introduction of scientific forensic evidence that played a vital role in the resolution of the judicial disputes. While his opponents are engaged in frivolities or empty ‘power’ sloganeering, Tinubu is busy burning the midnight oil planning, thinking and strategising with his political associates.

Like Awo, he has formidable financial muscle and deploys the power of the media skillfully to actualize his political objectives. If I were in the PDP’s shoes, I would feel jittery about Tinubu. He is a veritable political Jagaban. But if the PDP carries out its reported plan to arrest him in the run up to the elections on trumped up charges, they would help in further lionizing Tinubu just as they did Awo. He would assume a larger than life image. Rather than hurt the ACN electorally, such blatant intimidation will mobilize passionate support for the party particularly in the south west. The PDP strategists should read, once again, the political history of a region famously described by Professor Mackintosh as the ‘cockpit of Nigerian politics’.

But then, how do we place the role of the Nigerian Tribune, the paper established by the great Awo 62 years ago, in all this? How is it that the paper has become one of the most vicious weapons against a man who best exemplifies Awo’s values in contemporary Nigerian politics? The inimitable columnist and scholar, Dr. Olatunji Dare has brilliantly traced the illustrous history of the Tribune in sharp contrast to its present editorial policy. I am however reluctant to believe that the editors and journalists at the Tribune necessarly have anything personal against Tinubu. I know many of them as brilliant and competent professionals. What then has gone wrong? Why should a newspaper founded by the country’s foremost advocate of federalist democracy now become the mouthpiece of a ‘mainstream’ philosophy that has over the last eight years grossly underdeveloped a region that, under Awo, was a beacon of light for Africa?

First and foremost, Mama HID Awolowo is incapacitated by age, Chief Wole Awolowo is largely a-political and no member of the family has taken an active interest in politics since Dr. (Mrs.) Olatokunboh Awolowo-Dosumu’s brief foray into the turbulent terrain in the aborted Third Republic. Secondly, the newspaper was affected by the crack within the progressive fold that resulted in the late Chief Bola Ige joining OBJ’s administration and ultimately the PDP Tsunami that swept through the south west in 2003. Not only did the wily OBJ give some of Awo’s children political appointments, even the most reactionary of the PDP governors became emergency Awoists and courted the family at every turn. Thirdly was the political economy of media survival. The PDP-controlled states in the south west naturally effectively utilized the weapon of advert patronage.

Now that the spirit of Awoism is resurgent in the south west, the temptation to antagonize the Tribune must be resisted. Whatever may be its current lapses, the newspaper still symbolizes Awo’s enduring vision. It is part and parcel of the history of the south west and cannot be allowed to wither. Asiwaju Tinubu and the progressive governors of Lagos, Ekiti, Osun, Edo and Ondo states must constructively engage both the Awo family and the Tribune management. They must be shown the absurdity of lending their illustrous family name to the same political forces that tried to erase Awo’s imperishable legacy in the south west. The Tribune must be helped to re-discover its true voice. It must be helped to thrive as a living testament to Awo’s



http://www.ghanamma.com/2011/03/19/tribune-needs-help/

Ystranger:

Agreeing to forfeit half a million dollars is admission of guilt by itself.


He was charged with a felony. He paid, which is the same thing as admission of guilt under Chicago law.

The case can be used in the future if he ever had any reason to be in court,

Tacitly admitting to a felony makes him a felon.

~Bluetooth:

I'm sure Awo will be regreting why he married that shameless woman who no wan die.[/b]when she has finished dining with notorious armed robbers like Akala,Oni and oyinlola who were disgraced out of office and gbenga daniel;the biggest thief in yorubaland. . . .? How are these people better than Tinubu or the woman wants Bankole as the next Asiwaju of yorubaland.E ma gbami o

~Bluetooth:

I'm sure Awo will be regreting why he married that shameless woman who no wan die.when she has finished dining with notorious armed robbers like Akala,Oni and oyinlola who were disgraced out of office and gbenga daniel;the biggest thief in yorubaland. . . .? How are these people better than Tinubu or the woman wants Bankole as the next Asiwaju of yorubaland.E ma gbami o

aribisala0:

i have a lot of time for bola tinubu.

i admire his political sagacity but this article is libellous and is a direct challenge requiring him to take ation.

it is now established in our jurisprudence  that in order to claim damages for libel one must hae a good name to start with.

tinubu the ball is in your court

emmatok:

@Eko Ile,  dayokanu and all Tinubu folower,

I am shock that you OMO ODUAS are bring this disgrace on the Yourba people all because of politics.

So Awolowo's name can now rubbished, just to please Tinubu.  

Apart from winning most of the SW states to ACN, what has he contributed to the Yoruba People .

Look no Youruba leader from Shoyinka to Gani(RIP) to Ajasin (RIP) will dare disrespect anybody in Awolowo's family.

If Tinubu and his bunch of followers continue this trend i bet their fall is near.

Pride goes before a fall.

dayokanu:

Actually the Awolowos were the ones who invited stones to their abode

You dont hide under the name of Awolowo and attack anyone even if his name is Ajayi, Tinubu or Okonkwo.

Omo osan ni o mu kondo ba iya re. Its the Orange fruit that invited sticks and stone to the mother tree.

Mrs HIV Awolowo and family invited the attacks on the name and they should deal with it.

If there name was precious to them they should watch how they thread, if you have a name like mandela, Nkrumah, Clinton etc you shouldnt be found acting irresponsibly

Tinubu’s past haunts him
By Abdullahi Tasiu Abubakar
Monday, February 3, 2003

Fresh charges of fraud, forgery and money laun-dering are threatening the re-election bid of Lagos State Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the coming April polls.

Daily Trust gathered that these charges–and many more–have already been sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the anti-corruption commission and security agencies, seeking for his disqualification and prosecution.

An Alliance for Democracy (AD) governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Olowu, has deposed to an affidavit at the Federal High Court, Abuja, affirming his beliefs on the charges.

Daily Trust has in its possession both the affidavit and a 97–page petition specifying the charges, with documents, against the governor.

Although the petition restates past forgery allegations that had earlier been the subject of legal tussle between Governor Tinubu and Lagos lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, it also brings fresh allegations against the governor.

Top among them are drug and money laundering–related charges which Olowu said had led to the confiscation of Tinubu’s 460,000 US dollars (about N62 million) by a US court in 1993.

Citing the court’s records, Olowu alleged that Tinubu was docked at the US District Court in the Northern District of Illinois State in relation to the charges.

According to the petition, the records show that an American Special Agent, Kevin Moss, had deposed to an affidavit, alleging that Tinubu was probably involved in illicit drug and money laundering activities in violation of US laws 18 USC SS 1956 and 1957.

The agent also averred that the money held in Tinubu’s and his company’s accounts at the US First Heritage Bank, N.A. and Citibank International "represents the proceeds of drug trafficking, making the fund in the accounts forfeitable to the United States, pursuant to 18 USC S981 and 21 USC S881."

Olowu said: "Any doubt as to the veracity of the depositions of Special Agent Kevin Moss in terms of the forgoing is erased by the fact that Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu engaged the US procedure of Plea bargain which resulted in the US court confiscating the $460,000 in the foregoing terms on September 15, 1993 by US District Judge John A. Nordberg," (see Document A on page 4).

But reacting to this particular allegation through his Information Commissioner, Governor Tinubu denied ever facing charges on drug trafficking and money laundering activities.

He did, however, admit that he forfeited the 460,000 US dollars in question to the US government in a negotiated settlement after a civil case was brought against the funds in his accounts in the US banks.

But, he said, he did that only to avoid substantial legal costs which would have followed in the absence of a compromise.

Tinubu’s defence was contained in a statement issued by Information Commissioner, Mr. Dele Alake, and published by yesterday’s edition of Sunday Punch and ThisDay on Sunday.

Alake said the civil suit was brought against Tinubu’s funds (and not Tinubu in person) in 1993 based on the Special Agent Kevin Moss’s suspicious that the funds were involved in financial transactions in violation of US laws.

"No criminal charge was ever brought or considered in conjunction with this lawsuit. It was a forfeiture action only and as no charges had arisen against anyone, no conviction or resulting sentence could possibly flow from such a civil law proceeding," he said.

"As the proceedings dragged on, Bola Tinubu incurred huge legal expenses and was later advised, in view of the time, effort and expense required for long drawn out legal proceedings in the US, to enter into negotiations with the US Attorney for a compromise settlement of claims to the funds," he added.

"The terms of the settlement actually reflected the Tinubu’s position that he was the rightful owner of the funds at issue and disputed the plaintiff’s allegation that any of the account funds represented the proceeds of illegal or wrongful activities," the statement added.

"It was only to avoid substantial legal costs, which would have followed in the absence of a compromise that he (Tinubu) agreed to withdraw his claim of entitlement to (the) $460,000 USAD.

"The amount was never proven to be the proceeds of any illegal acts and there was never any legal proceeding held to determine anything more than the funds would (be forfeited) to the government without contest as part of the settlement Agreement," he added. (See Tinubu Defence on Pg. 5).

However, the petition against Tinubu was not only restricted to drug and money laundering allegations.

The petitioner also accused Tinubu of forgery and falsification of claims relating to his educational and professional qualifications.

Olowu alleged that Tinubu neither obtained a bachelors degree from the University of Chicago nor was he a Certified Public Accountant as he (Tinubu) claimed in the screening form he submitted to INEC in 1998.

"Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu never attended either the University of Chicago or the Chicago State University at anytime contrary to his claims. Neither did he obtain any B. Sc degree in Economics or Business Administration from any university. Indeed, he never qualified as a certified public accountant," he said.

Also, citing the contents of Tinubu’s passport and INEC’s screening form CF 001, Olowu further accused Tinubu of falsification of age.

"On Form CF 001, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu claimed to have been born in Lagos on March 29, 1952 whilst by passport No. A158399 issued by the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 16th February 1988, he was entered to have been born on 29th March, 1954 in Iragbiji, a place in Osun State of Nigeria," Olowu said (see Documents B and C on page 4).

An act of forgery alone, Olowu said, had clearly disqualified Tinubu from contesting elections as provided by Section (i) (j) of the 1999 constitution.

Similarly, Olowu alleged that Tinubu contravened Section 183 of the same constitution by being the Governor of Lagos and simultaneously remaining as a director of Compass Finance and Investment Company Limited.

He said "records of the CAC (Corporate Affairs Commission) in Nigeria confirms that as at 23rd July 2002, Bola Tinubu remains a director of Compass Finance and Investment Company Limited in addition to both Abiodun Agbele and Mueez Akande, identified as his long standing drug and money laundering associates in the Affidavit of Agent Kevin Moss." (see Document D on page 4).

In the petition, Olowu called on INEC to disqualify Tinubu from participating in the coming elections, and pleaded with the Inspector-General of Police to prosecute him.

He said the petition has shown "with compelling finality" that Tinubu "is not fit to be accepted as an aspirant" for the office of Lagos State Governor by INEC in the 2003 elections.

On the whole, we invite each of the authorities to commence their respective investigations into the above activities with a view to involving relevant and appropriate procedures," he added.

Daily Trust

dayokanu:

Actually the Awolowos were the ones who invited stones to their abode
Its the Orange fruit that invited sticks and stone to the mother tree.

Mrs HIV Awolowo and family invited the attacks on the name and they should deal with it.

footreja:

@ Dayokanu, you better don't fight the battle which can land you into regrets. I hope that HIV before mama's name is not deliberate?