A lot have been said, heard, written and read on this subject and they all seem like the gospel truth. I am not here to tell the bribery story afresh or to pass judgment. My mission here is to weigh the issues at stake side-by-side with the basic precincts of human existence and our perpetual struggle for relevance. I have always seen the whole subsidy probe as a power game and I expected the parties involved to use their best weapons and lifelines when necessary. Man by nature is a political animal and as such, his hunger for power is unmatched even among the apolitical. Come with me as we travel through the pages of Robert Greene’s THE 48 LAWS OF POWER and find out the observance transgressions of applicable laws as it relates to FaroukGate. All quotes are courtesy of the reference book by Robert Greene.

LAW 1 - Never Outshine Your Master
Here we are advised to always make those above us feel comfortably in-charge and superior. We must never try so much to please them by flaunting our brilliance or we run the risk of inspiring fear and insecurity in them. They are our masters and as such must appear quite intelligent and brilliant…at least more than we the subordinates are. Farouk Lawan transgressed this law. In fact he has been running afoul of the law from 2003. He is young and smart; always making cheer-provoking contributions on the floor of the House of Representatives. As the chairman of the House Committee on Education, he grilled cabinet ministers and heads of parastatal over allocations and the use of same. The UBEC, NUC, ETF (now TetFund), NERC, etc, all bowed at Hon. Lawan’s feet. He has had a hand in the rise and fall of every speaker of the House from day one of the democratic experiment…ask Buhari, Na’Aba, Masari, Etteh, Bankole…even Tambuwal will bear me witness. He was that influential and his profile just couldn’t stop rising! This must have sent shivers down the spines of both his colleagues and the executive. Yes the executive, both at the centre and in his native Kano State. Many, including the civil society, have started touting his name for the Kano government house come 2015. Little wonder why when there was a need to probe the very powerful, the lot fell on Farouk…was there a set-up? You can also checkout law 21, quite close. “Everyone has insecurities. When you show yourself in the world and display your talents, you naturally stir up all kinds of resentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity…With those above you, however, you must take a different approach: When it comes to power, outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all.”

LAW 3 - Conceal Your Intentions and LAW 4 - Always Say Less Than Necessary
I will fault every public holder in Nigeria on these two laws. Their observance gives you more power and clout than you truly deserve while a transgression will surely bring you flat on the ground, if things don’t go as expected. It is better to be quiet and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubts. We talk too much in this country! Swear-in a president, governor, justice or minister you will hear promises and sometimes, even outright threats oozing from his mouths. What happened to the mantra, action speaks louder than words? Every committee promises more yet ends up delivering less…sometimes nothing at all. In a probity war like this, Robert Greene hints that you “keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense” because “when you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear; and the less in control... when you say less than necessary, you inevitably appear greater and more powerful than you are.” The Lawan Committee became too loud and played to the gallery at some point and thus broke the above laws. Words like-there will be no sacred cows, culprits shall be brought to book, we will leave no stone unturned, and we shall expose and nail the cabal-are just empty word to me. Stop warning them off and nail them let us see!

LAW 5 - So Much Depends On Reputation-Guard It with Your Life
Our dear honorable was held in high esteem within the polity. His name became synonymous with integrity and due process when he shone like a million stars as the leader of the Integrity Group that ousted Hon. Patricia Etteh. He courted and got the right kind of attention. Hear Greene: “Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides… Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen.” Assuming the circulated phone conversation proves true, did Lawan heed this advice when he forgot the class and stooped as low as discussing bribe settlement over the phone with Otedola? Or personally visiting someone he was supposed to be investigating for whatever reason at all? No! He wasn’t vigilant at all…he disregarded his reputation and is now paying for that negligence. He also transgressed by going into a covert operation, according to him, all alone. Otedola may also be fighting to protect his credibility by puncturing that of his accuser and it worked for him. I will love to add law 26 (Keep Your Hands Clean) here; it tells us that Femi Otedola may not be acting alone here. ***just musing sha*** “You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency: Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds.”

LAW 8 - Make Other People Come to You - Use Bait If Necessary
“When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process.” In this very case, Farouk held the aces; he was doing a great job. All oil importers and marketers wanted to befriend and bribe him. He needed to act like the chairman he was and allow the courtiers come and beg/bribe him…in his comfort zone! If he really was into a crime-busting operation, he would get his hotel room wired up and have Otedola’s visit on tape. He didn’t do that and lost it. Again, on the contrary, Otedola the fox outmaneuvered our amiable investigator by dragging him (Lawan) to his (Otedola’s) fully-wired Maitama home to pick up a part-payment of the bribe sum. He let his guard down and handed the power game to his opponent. How on earth did that happen to Farouk with all his intelligence and experience? Let’s move on please.

LAW 12 - Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm Your Victim
The tenet of this law was very greatly observed and the observer(s) is/are today reaping the spoils. Nigerian politicians and businessmen especially the friends of government are held in the lowest esteem. Their image is nothing to write home about due to the wide-spread sleaze in the country. Taking every side of the bribery story as the truth, I make bold to say that when Otedola wanted to bribe Farouk, he wanted some public credibility if things were to go wrong. So, he visited Farouk and (sincerely) offered him a book/report (could be a Trojan horse) that would aid his (Farouk’s) job. Then he offered a bribe that he felt only a mad man could reject. He also ran to some Secret Service friends to claim victimisation and extortion. Then months later, when he could not honour his agreement to pay up the balance, he resorted to blackmail and it paid off. He treated us to an audio track and promised/threatened to entertain us with the video version if we still nurse any element of doubt. Today, Mr. Femi Otedola’s image has transformed from that of a cunningly corrupt businessman to that of a great national crime fighter, to the uninformed. Some people are even calling for national honours for him. “One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open-hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of men the most suspicious people.”

Continues...

LAW 15 - Crush Your Enemy Totally
“…a feared enemy must be crushed completely…if one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, fire will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than through total annihilation.” I must submit here that Hon Lawan was very naïve to have failed to take advantage of the wisdom in this law. He had three of Otedola’s companies in his books and the man was pestering him. Why did Farouk not record any of their calls? Why didn’t he launch a sting operation with the help of security agents? Why did he not kill off his enemy by reporting the incident on the floor of the House, instead of playing into his enemy’s very hands? In contrast, his adversary did or claim to have done all the above, thus turning the table and making the hunter to become the hunted. Again Otedola outwitted Lawan. Chei! Bush meat done catch hunter and believe me the hunter is getting devoured.

LAW 29 - Plan All the Way to the End
“The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will know when to stop.” I want to believe that Hon Lawan and co knew exactly what they were up against when they accepted to probe the subsidy regime - the super-rich; the high and mighty in the society. It is regrettable that they never weighed in details, the possible forms of obstacles coming the way of the investigation. They didn’t plan with the end in sight. They allowed the circumstances to shape outcome of their labour thus their failure…handing their glory to their enemy.

LAW 31 - Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards You Deal
If we are to go with another line of conspiracy theories then the trials of brother Lawan is part of a grand executive plan to rubbish the image of the legislature. In this case, I will give kudos to Mr President for observing laws 26 and 31 to the letter. GEJ has thus masterfully fooled the lawmakers into thinking they were in-charge and probing the friends of government while actually, they were destroying themselves. According to Greene, “…Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your puppets. Give people options that come out in your favour whichever one they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a dilemma…” With the aid of Otedola and others, the executive is now about to tear the “powerful” legislature apart via Lawan. Little wonder why Obasanjo made that audacious statement about rogues and armed robbers in the national assembly. He must have watched some nollywood clips.

LAW 33 – Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew
Every man has a price and as such can be bought...ask Reuben Abati. “Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is usually insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also be a small secret pleasure.” It is our work to know what appeals to, tickles or agitates our opponents. While Otedola and his people studied understood politicians’ avarice and craving for relevance, Lawan and co failed to carry out any kind of background study on their targets. The result? Otedola threw his bait and his snare caught a most priced game. It still boils down to reputation and starting with the end in sight.

On to d next one....

LAW 39 – Master the Art of Timing
There is time for everything under the sun; a time to sow and a time to reap, a time to investigate and a time to report findings, a time for sting operations and a time for blackmail. “Become a detective of the right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will carry you to power: Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe, and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.” Farouk blatantly neglected the teachings of this law. He collected some money from Otedola (as evidence of an attempt to bribe and obstruct the course of justice); as much as six hundred and twenty thousand US dollars in cash yet he did not know the right time to report it to his superiors and colleagues who have now washed their hands off him. Guess he never really trusted them and didn’t know how to use his enemies (LAW 2). The latest press conference by Hon Adams Jagaba speaks a lot here. Silence was a grand blunder by a lawmaker of Lawan’s standing. Otedola, on the other hand stung Farouk, waited to find out if his companies were still in the report and then struck as the report was about being implemented. His aim may have been to cast doubt on the report and kill it off. If you ask me, it worked like magic.

LAW 40 - Despise the Free Lunch
There is no free lunch anywhere in the world, not even in Freetown. One problem with Nigerians is our penchant for cheap and free things. Awoof! This law is very apt in the Hembe vs Oteh case. While Arunma Oteh grilled Heman Hembe, I was secretly missing Farouk. I felt that the woman could not dare mess around with my man not knowing that he would soon be in a hotter soup. Most times we commit crimes because we owe some people a favour; we have received their Greek gifts and must pay back. We should always bear in mind that “what has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit… What is offered for free or at bargain rates often comes with a psychological price tag-complicated feelings of obligation, compromises with quality, the insecurity those compromises bring, on and on.” Lawan moved a motion-in the House; before television cameras- to remove Zenon Oil from an already concluded report. This may be the return leg of bribery or simply to pay for a free lunch.

LAW 42 – Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep will Scatter
Again if the executive angle is to be considered, then the appointment of Hon Lawan to head the probe committee must have been pre-meditated. In that case, the mission was destined to fail from the beginning. How else will that be achieved than to soak the most respected House member, Mr Integrity himself in the mud? Immediately Farouk admitted he collected money from Otedola, the integrity of his committee’s report was questioned and that drilled the final nail into the coffin. Mr. Otedola may be the cat’s purr used by powerful individuals to kill off any attempt at sanitising the petroleum sector of the economy. Now one that their most outspoken member has been felled, others will have to keep mum or...

LAW 46 – Never Appear Too Perfect
Hon Farouk had been unofficially rated among the best lawmakers in Nigeria especially to the youth population. To us, he represented the future and we had high hopes. He towered above his colleagues by the depth of his presentation on the floor of the House. He was near blameless and this tinge of perfection just like in law one above, can cause a bit of jealousy and backstabbing. “Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses… It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy…” Again, I ask; was there a kind of set-up? I like smelling rats, I just don’t know why.

In all, we should not write Hon Lawan off because of this. I submit that investigation be sped up and that both the “briber” and the “bribee” be thoroughly investigated. Nigerians should just get ready for the coming Pandora box. I rest my pen!

Donmeca