Ribadu Fired!

Let us examine some of the choices by OBJ and see that at least he tried even though he didn't succeed completely. El-Rufai for FCT, SOLUDO for CBN, Iwenja-okonla for Finance, Akinyuli for NAFDAC, RIBADU for EFCC etc

One more point, when NNADI Usman became Finance minister nobody complain, and her husband took over from her even though he is competent and merit it but that is nepotism, what are they trying to cover up. There are so many things and question one can ask which we may never get an answer?

@vigasimple & co

By the Way: Okonjo Iweala not Iwenja Okonla; Akunyili not Akinyuli

Nenandi usman is not Shamsudeen usman's wife nor is Allison Madueke Ojo Maduekwe's wife.

Please get you facts right in the future before you castigate other people due to mis-information.

If you can't get simple facts right, how do you you call the President Yar'adull and cry nepotism. Think about it! who has exhibited 'dullness' here now.

Somebody wrote that Ribadu was not allowed into the Aso Villa - another misinformation!
Ribadu indeed saw the President this afternoon (ref: PM News)

If people like you can not get simple, verifiable, everyday facts right, how do you call other peoples names for taking difficult decisions esp when it doesn't go along with your un-informed or rather mis-informed personal expectations.

We LOVE Ribadu. And he has said that guys like you muddle things up for him everytime you insinuate that the President has compromised! You wittingly or un-wittingly help his enemies - our enemies.

the president is trying his best. he was us to be the most corrupt nation in the world rather than our current 4th position. rule of law indeed

I would say that the subtle removal of Nuhu Ribadu is a sign of bad omen for the present  gorvernment.
But on the other hand let us hope in God, in every disappointmen there is blessing so to say, believing that the
next "Ribadu" will not be a rubber stamp - zonbie - evil - programmed - Robbot, let us wait and see and as well hope for
the best for NIgeria our beloved country.

@poster :

Is Yar'Adua serious about fighting corruption in Nigeria ? Why is he removing the structures which his predecessor (Obasanjo) has put in place ?

Will the government of Yar'Adua usher a more democratic dispensation that would finally heed the clamoring of the people for good roads, reliable electricity supply, potable water and security of life and property ?

Yar’Adua had a reputation as a man of integrity who had ruled Katsina State with probity and accountability. Why Ribadu removed under dubious excuse of sending him on a compulsory course ? Why can't the so called compulsory course wait after Ribadu tenure ?

I hailed the appointment of Nuhu Ribadu as EFCC chairman and the unprecedented onslaught he unleashed on corrupt governors.

Thanks to Ribadu’s single-minded pursuit of the thieving governors, Nigerians’ faith in the corrective power of law enforcement was rekindled. We began once again to believe in the possibility of economic take-off which had hitherto eluded us.

Ribadu have achieve a lot of things within a very short time, the question is : Why not leave Ribadu to finish what he has started ? Or least let him set the EFCC on a solid footing, before someone else can take over ?

Although, Ribadu’s EFCC did not investigate Obasanjo’s shenanigans or those of his cronies, Or could it be because he investigated Obasanjo's duaghter, that was why he was removed ??

Does Yar'Adua have any tangible plan for Nigeria ? It has been more than 6 months since the May 29 handover, and President Yar’Adua is yet to score a notable policy implementation achievement to his credit. Rather, he has been busy undoing Obasanjo’s legacy.

He nixed Soludo’s Naira redenomination policy reversed the civil service monetization reforms, and is now stealthily easing out Nuhu Ribadu, arguably the most enduring bastion of Obasanjo’s reign.

Whether or not Ribadu is retained as EFCC chairman and his purported excesses and bias notwithstanding, he remains a heroic figure in the minds of Nigeria, and hopefully can still enjoy a productive career in or out of government. Yar’Adua, however, still has to prove himself worthy of the confidence we reposed in him.

I personally still believe that Yar’Adua’s heart is in the right place and that he still may turn out to be the great leader we’ve been yearning for.

He however must hold firm to the reins of power and start ruling from the heart. His obsession with undoing Obasanjo’s legacy is counterproductive. 

When he was sworn in as the president, he said he would be a servant leader, so I would like him to show us that he is a servant leader in action. So far, he has not achieve anything.

Bigb1 - over to you and your friends. Ribadu has given you and co. his permission
to sell any property belonging to him that is yet to be declared.  The beauty of it is
that you don't even to inform him.  Oya - you guys can quickly sell the Dubai house!

d guy asked for it.ask the IG, he'D tell you.

each of us has to imbibe the spirit if Ribaduism

Much ado about Ribadu
By Lai Olurode
I HAVE followed with keen interest, the debates about whether or not the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (the EFCC) should proceed on study leave as recommended by his immediate boss, the Inspector General of Police. As would be expected, substantial emotional considerations became evident in the debates. How are we to summarise the arguments on both sides of the debates?

The case of those who insist that Ribadu should not proceed on study leave at the Nigerian Institute of Strategic Studies in Kuru, Jos, was first, that the proposed course was merely a smokescreen to shove aside the boisterous, versatile and most resourceful anti-corruption wizard. Probably without an inkling of the course contents, the course was adjudged as irrelevant. Secondly and in furtherance of this position, it was argued that some of the former governors and other ex-government functionaries who are being prosecuted and those to be are behind the plot to see to the exit of Ribadu.

Thirdly, the group canvassed the view that with Ribadu out of the EFCC, the body would become a toothless bulldog, and Nigeria and the Yar'Adua administration in particularly would be perceived globally as being unserious in the fight against corruption and the elevation of the slavish conditions of the generality of Nigerians. The thrust of their argument was that without Ribadu , Nigeria 's anti-corruption war would have reached its cul de sac. The platform on which the logic of the pro-Ribadu camp rested was not so much on legality but on morality. And as persuasive as moral reasoning may be, it may not have the force of law.

The other camp was simply irritated by the exaggeration of the role of the individual in social history as being marshaled by the first group. It therefore jettisoned the insinuation of the indispensability of Ribadu who in spite of his apparent invincibility remains a mere agent of social forces. I am here reminded of the 1940 work of G.P. Plekhanovv on The Role of Individual in History. The portrayal of the individual as having the power of a magician who makes things happen and thus become capable of making and unmaking social history is unacceptable to social historians. Thus the social forces under which the individual operate are not to be regarded as inconsequential.

It was reasoned that part of the social forces that create the Ribadu phenomenon were the press, the Nigerian publics including the non-governmental organisations, the security apparatuses of the state and other similar paraphernalia and without these, Ribadu would probably have been a forgotten individual - perhaps ordinary commissioner of police somewhere in the remotest part of Nigeria. It was not that Ribadu as an individual did not stamp his peculiar personal characteristics on the EFCC as an institution but, the limits are to be recognised.

Moreover, it was maintained that Ribadu's effectiveness was being exaggerated as he allowed himself and the EFCC under him to be willing tools of the Obasanjo's regime. His dogs could neither back nor bite members of Obasanjo's entourage nor Obasanjo himself even when it appeared that the then President was not as white as snow in the Senate Committee probe of the Petroleum Technology and Development Fund.

The anti-Ribadu group was of the view that the logic which was driving the pro-Ribadu lobbyists was cheap. Yes, the group knows the stuff of which Ribadu was made. But is the group sure that there are not better people outside there who could do better than Ribadu? This even speaks nothing of institution building. How can we simply believe that the institution already in place at the EFCC or that Nigerians would tolerate a feeble and fickle-minded EFCC executive?

More importantly is the question of the effectiveness of the EFCC. Has any evaluation been carried out? What were the criteria? Who were the evaluators? We should not forget that popular perceptions may in fact be unreal. This same EFCC never granted Chief Fasawe any breathing space and for no other reason other than his refusal to be Obasanjo's lackey in his desperation to implicate Atiku Abubakar. The same EFCC saw no wrongdoing in Obasanjo's executive recklessness in his abuse of executive power when he extorted money for his presidential library project and in granting licence to himself to own a university. And yet there are many more. Indeed, there has been too much ado about Ribadu. He better shapes up or ship out.

In all, the position of the anti-Ribadu group is unassailable. Really, but for the occasional sensations, it could not be readily concluded that Nigeria is better today in the struggle against corruption than say in the pre-Obasanjo's era when none pretended to be waging a crusade against corruption. The fact remains however that no Nigerian president has ever abused executive power the way Obasanjo did. Yet, he was popularly and globally perceived as fighting corruption. This general perception is however deficient in substance.

Obasanjo and his men had wanted to foist the third term agenda on us all under the guise of Obasanjo's miraculous performance and that God is not a god of abandoned project. We are now able to see through this propaganda. And most of us knew better however. Nigerians should allow Yar'Adua to free himself of Obasanjo's trappings.

Ladoja's description of Obasanjo as an emperor would be difficult to fault. He was a thorough dictator and Ribadu may never be able to muster enough strength to move either near Obasanjo or members of his entourage. Nigeria is greater than both Obasanjo and Ribadu combined.


Professor Olurode is of the Department of Sociology
University of Lagos

Culled from the Guardian.