Adeniyi Adeyemi and other matters

A certain Adeniyi Adeyemi, the newest albatross hovering around the corridors of power, is our man of the moment. As an agent provocateur that he is, he is unearthing some of the hidden truths about the government of the day. There certainly must be other Adeniyi Adeyemis in the system. But we can only reap from their reservoir of dreary tales when their stories are ripe for release.

But what is the issue at stake? Adeyemi, as we have got to know in recent weeks, has been a powerful member of an amorphous, omnibus arrangement that wears the head of a hydra. As a smart Alec, Adeyemi wormed his way into the undefinable system. He has been sipping his own bowel of milk with relish. But it looks like somebody somewhere has become green-eyed with Adeyemi’s hurriedly contrived paradise. And so the bubble has to burst. Somebody has called Adeyemi out. Interestingly, he is not shying away from the fight. He is dutifully exposing the fragile underbelly of those who dared to dare him.

Just last week or so, Nigerians woke up to a scandalous revelation. Something or some agency called the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) assumed a gargantuan presence. Now, all manner of stories are being woven around it. The man at the centre of the unfolding drama is a certain Nigerian called Adeniyi Adeyemi. This man, from what we hear, said he is the Director General of PFIPC. According to him, this government agency is responsible for attracting foreign investments to Nigeria . It also serves as a resource and coordinating centre for the country’s foreign investment promotion activities. This agency, from what we have come to know, has been operating since 2024. Then suddenly, the office of the Chief of Staff to the President woke up recently to say that the agency does not exist; that it is fake and fictitious. But Adeyemi who claims to have been officially appointed would have none of that. He has said that Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to the President knows everything about his appointment; that Gbajabiamila signed the Letter of Appointment that gave him the job. He is accusing the Chief of Staff of engaging in dangerous duplicity. But Gbajabiamila is not sleeping. He has unleashed his goons on Adeyemi. The Director General of the controversial agency is being accused of being a serial con man. They say he has a history of shady and shadowy engagements. For Gbajabiamila and his clan, the latest controversy surrounding Adeyemi’s appointment is in line with what he is already known for. It is all claims and counterclaims.

As the musical chair goes on, Adeyemi seems to have released a more damning evidence against the system. He tells us now that the office

of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation( SGF) knows about his appointment. He has released official documents from the office that indicate

that the office of the SGF knew a lot about the existence of the agency. In the face of these confusing scenarios, a criminal prosecution of Adeyemi has begun. The presidency has accused him of operating a fictitious government agency, and forging an appointment letter signed by the Chief of Staff to the president. Herein lies the snag. How do we reconcile the Presidency’s claims with the damning evidence that documents from the office of the SGF reveal? That is where we are. Everybody is claiming to be innocent. However, regardless of the claims and counter claims, a serious infraction can be established from what has transpired so far. Some appointees of the President have questions to answer. Adeniyi Adeyemi, who the Presidency describes as self-styled DG of a non-existent agency, also has questions to answer. No matter which side of the divide you are persuaded to have sympathy for, the undeniable fact is that the ongoing show of shame is a pointer to the rot in the system. Already we know that the Tinubu administration has a lot of low sides. There are many issues of governance that need to be straightened and strengthened. The presidential council scandal will do more damage to the crisis of negative perception that the government faces. The scandal is a major blot on the face of the administration. It needs to be dealt with decisively if government still cares about the way it is perceived by the people of this country and beyond. Rather than rushing to court to prosecute Adeyemi, government needs to, first and foremost, look inwards. Who and who within the offices of the Chief of Staff and SGF collaborated or connived with him? If Adeyemi’s appointment is irregular, some people at the Presidency must have a hand in it. The Presidency cannot afford to take a passing interest in this matter. It should ensure that all those that have a hand in this embarrassing situation are brought to book.

But Nigerians will not be surprised if government sweeps this matter under the carpet. The government we are familiar with is not interested in matters like this. Its consuming interest lies in the affairs of 2027. Regardless of this overarching concentration on 2027, Nigerians hardly know what to expect as they transit into the election year. This is because the government of the day is navigating from the serious to the very unserious. Even what could have passed the test of the serious has been handled with such incredible levity to the extent that they have come to assume the toga of the ridiculous.

A matter as serious as the process for the selection of candidates by political parties for the forthcoming general elections is supposed to be treated with the utmost seriousness that it deserves. But the trivia that we witness on a daily basis seems to negate everything that we take serious about elections. Here, it is important to underline the fact that elections constitute the most defining feature of democracy. It is only when the people, through electoral processes, are given the opportunity to choose those that will govern them that we can say that democratic governance is in place. This hallowed essence of democracy is being freely abused and subverted by the present order in Nigeria.

In today’s Nigeria, election and electioneering have been so cheapened that the ruling party and its henchmen, do not want democracy to thrive. Rival political parties are systematically and abrasively being prevented from taking part in the coming elections. The power elite at the commanding heights of the country do not want the unpopular government of the day to face the people’s referendum. This is being done in connivance with the judiciary. Nigerians used to think that their judiciary could boast of incorruptible judges. But they know better now. Our courts have become casual arenas for all manner of rascality and deviancy. They have become centres of despoliation. That is why those who do not want the will of the people to prevail find our courts amenable avenues for their deviant plots. This dangerous disposition of the courts serves the interest of the Presidency. That explains why matters like the Adeniyi Adeyemi scandal will end up like a storm in a teacup. It does not fit into the category of matters that our government would want to deal with decisively.