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If you attempt an analogy of unsuccessful coup-plotters in Nigeria and disgraced officers of crime-fighting agencies, you may not be wrong. They follow the same pattern: being consumed by the very same action they had condemned at some point.
In his well-received book, “Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria’s Military Coup Culture (1966 – 1976)”, celebrated author and essayist, Max Siollun, made a brilliant presentation of the tragic end of some coup-plotters in Nigeria. According to him, many of the officers that failed in the act and were subsequently killed or subjected to various ranges of punishment, had at some point participated in trying those who had attempted the act earlier. Irony of sorts, or nemesis, you may say!
Take the same comparison to the discredited heads of crime or corruption-fighting bodies in the country, you may arrive at a similar conclusion. They had started on a good note, vowing to uproot corruption from the land, but often ended in ignominy, accused of being more corrupt or involved in the crimes they were supposed to burst.
In Igbo society, the saying is that a dog does not eat the bone yoked on it. For the Yoruba, an elephant does not eat the grass under it. Both illustrate the weight attached to offices and the responsibilities that come with them. Simply put, to whom much is given, much is expected. But that does not seem the case with Nigerian officials.
The sudden eclipse of Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari, erstwhile commander of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) at the Force Intelligence Bureau of the Nigerian Police Force, captures the situation succinctly.
Since he stole himself into the media as head of Lagos State Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Kyari had not looked back in garnering public acclaim. At a time, he was seen as the poster boy of the Nigeria Police, a rare officer-gentleman in a system commonly associated with odium.
When he stood before lawmakers in the House of Representatives for commendation for his exploits in dealing with kidnappers, cyber fraudsters and other classes of criminals, many had pictured him as the Inspector-General of Police in the making.
But little did Nigerians know that, while he sold the dummy of a super cop and appropriated accolades from the unsuspecting public, he was neck-deep in the monster he pretended to fight. As it turned out, he merely shone with small fries, while hobnobbing with the big fishes in the underworld.
Kyari’s sordid sides began to be exposed last year when he was linked to deals with confessed Internet fraudster, Ramon Abba, also known as Hushpuppi, currently held in the United States. Pronto, allegations began to fly around on his involvement in other kinds of crime, including, even, murder.
The latest in the charges against him is cocaine trafficking and attempting to compromise an officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
According to the NDLEA, the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) intercepted 25kg of cocaine en route Nigeria from Ethiopia. Kyari then proposed a deal to a narcotics agent that he would replace 20kg of the cocaine with a dummy, while the remaining 5kg would be used for prosecution.
He was actually caught in a video doling out $61,400 (N35m) in bribe to a narcotics agent. The bribe was to under-declare a seized cocaine that he claimed his men of (IRT) intercepted from cocaine couriers. By his account, a kilogramme of cocaine sells for N7 million, which means the 20kg would go for N140 million.
The allegation against Kyari sounds weighty. But that is the Nigerian system, one in which a dog eats the bone on its yoke. He merely symbolizes the character of the Nigerian society. Some of those that had held similar strategic positions had also abused their positions.
Fidelis Oyakhilome, retired police officer, who was chairman of NDLEA between 1988 and1991, was dismissed after being accused of having a relationship with a Lagos businesswoman and socialite, Jennifer Madike, who had been arrested for drug-related offences.
Some heads of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had also gone down in disgrace. The controversial exit of the pioneer chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, remains a topic of discussion. But his successors were worse for it.
Farida Waziri, who took over from Ribadu in May 2008, was removed from her position by President Goodluck Jonathan on November 23, 2011. Her dismissal was linked to accusations that the EFCC had been selective in its investigations.
Waziri was replaced by Ibrahim Lamorde on November 28, 2011, as acting chairman. He was confirmed as chairman by the Senate on February 15, 2012. Lamorde was sacked on November 9, 2015, by President Muhammadu Buhari in hazy circumstances.
He was replaced with Ibrahim Magu. On July 6, 2020, Magu was arrested for corruption charges related to finances he allegedly embezzled for, among other among things, supporting his lavish living and travelling expenses; 22 corruption allegations were reported against him.
He was later suspended from office on account of the charges. A special panel to investigate him found him guilty of the allegations. His case is still in court.
Former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa (Mustapha) Balogun, suffered humiliation to the point of being forced out of office due to widespread charges of corruption in January 2005. Seventy charges were brought against him, covering the period from 2002 to 2004. He made a plea bargain with the court in exchange for returning much of the property and money. He was sentenced to six months in jail and was released on February 9, 2006, after serving his sentence.
These are just snippets of why Nigeria’s claim of fighting corruption and graft is dismissed by serious minds. While the officers in charge of anti-crime agencies are more in the act than suspects, the country continues to go down. Except in a few instances, most of the former governors have cases to answer on account of embezzling resources of their states.
So, when Transparency International, in its 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, indicated that Nigeria scored 24 out of 100 points and was ranked 154 out of 180 countries surveyed, pushing it back five places from the rank of 149 in 2020, it was not an attempt to blackmail the country. It rather showed that the claim by the Federal Government of reducing corruption in the system was a ruse. We still have a long way to go.
Getting it right requires a comprehensive overhaul of the society, especially the political system, to get the right leadership.
