Final month noticed the unceremonious bowing of energy of former President Muhammadu Buhari and his legal enablers and looters of Nigeria’s frequent patrimony. Whereas the previous President’s penchant for failure, incompetence, and nepotism didn’t shock many, his proclivity to harbouring thieves got here as a impolite shock to many who noticed the President earn the anti-corruption title of Mai Gaskiya in Northern Nigeria.
Below Buhari, senseless looting grew to become so frequent that the previous man from Daura noticed him gasping for air below the burden of the outrageous stealing which went down below his watch. At some extent, he noticed himself asserting that he couldn’t wait to depart workplace. Simply earlier than he handed over energy to a different patron of corruption, Buhari shocked everybody when he introduced that he couldn’t wait to return to his cows which had been simpler to regulate than human beings.
On the day he left Aso Rock, Buhari knew he was a spectacular failure. He was a witness to how corruption and senseless stealing continuously gnawed at his authorities from inception to the final day. He had pledged to demystify and cripple corruption through the 2015 electioneering marketing campaign together with his well-known chorus: ‘If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.’ Sadly, fairly than killing corruption, he allowed it to fester and grow to be shockingly contagious to the purpose that coming throughout non-corrupt components below his maladministration grew to become a rarity.
Buhari’s failure in workplace was tragic, but, self-inflicted. From his very first day in workplace, cronyism and nepotism reared their ugly heads and that was sufficient to go the message of looting galore to anybody who was favoured to be on the desk.
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The blatant graft which was supervised by Buhari was devastating to the Nigerian financial system. It’s the purpose why the nation is now on a fiscal cliff with the present administration attempting all the things attainable to save lots of the nation from a calamitous implosion. Buhari and his goons stole a lot from the nation that it elevated the debt profile from a bit over N30 Trillion to nicely over N77 Trillion with little or nothing to point out for it. Below Buhari’s watch, revenues that had been presupposed to go to authorities coffers missed their methods and went into personal pockets, dodgy accounts of ministries, departments and businesses of presidency and collusive banks as an alternative.
It was a free for all looting bazaar. Anyone that refused to take part was tagged the odd one. With the extremely ineffective authorities grossly missing in political will to push insurance policies via and the MDAs working at cross functions, bureaucrats and political appointees merely noticed their places of work as huge acres of diamonds to be mined for private advantages.
It was a penal maladministration that allowed a former Comptroller of Nigeria Customs Service, NCS who stole a mind-boggling 40 billion naira, to return simply 1.5 billion naira in a plea discount thereby making a whole mockery of President Buhari’s anti-corruption marketing campaign.
Buhari’s model of fiscal governance was the odious one which allowed an Accountant-Common of the Federation a possibility to allegedly siphon 109 billion naira and went away with out penalties.
Buhari fully ignored the truth that he got here into workplace with the profile of somebody with zero tolerance for corruption. Out there data clearly point out that he not solely tolerated corruption, he additionally embraced and romanced it. We’ll briefly have a look at an inventory of 10 of essentially the most corrupt personalities who stole a lot from Nigeria below Buhari’s watch.
1. Abubakar Malami
For eight years, Malami tried to keep away from controversies and failed at each try. Like a compass pointing north, each finger of controversy involving the federal authorities nearly at all times result in him. It is going to be handy to conclude that he holds the prize for essentially the most controversial attorney-general within the historical past of Nigeria.
The senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) has been muddled in some unsavoury conditions, too filthy for the pristine gown and wig of the bench. He was severally fingered in high-profile circumstances of graft and his makes an attempt to whitewash himself from them solely led to futility.
Someday in 2018, Malami was alleged to have spuriously employed legal professionals at a price to the Federal Authorities of 6 billion naira, to deal with the repatriation of looted Abacha funds of $321 million. Quite than deny the story or supply his personal aspect of the story, what Nigerians bought from the Kebbi State-born quota system lawyer was outrageous silence.
He overtly admitted to withdrawing corruption circumstances of high-profile people. After all this was at all times completed in trade for mouth-watering sums of cash.
Because the primary regulation officer within the nation, he supervised the auctioning of sea vessels holding crude oil seized by the Federal Authorities, saying it violated Part 31(2) and (4) of the EFCC Act 2004.
Additionally, Malami owned property price billions far forward of what he owned earlier than his appointment because the nation’s AGF. Among the properties listed in his identify had been a multimillion naira Rayhaan Motels price about 500 million naira, positioned at reverse Aminu Kano Instructing Hospital, Zaria Street, Kano State, a property price about 600 million naira positioned at Ahmadu Bello Means, Nasarawa GRA, Kano, a newly constructed college behind Nitel at Gesse Section 1, Birni Kebbi price about 700 million naira, a multi-million naira property constructed by Mr. Malami for his son positioned at Gesse Section II in Birni Kabbi price over 400 million naira, a mansion referred to as Azbir Enviornment allegedly constructed by Mr. Malami for his second son. Azbir Enviornment an leisure centre price over 3 Billion naira, with an enormous plaza and children enjoying centre, and resort all mixed in a single expansive property.
On many events, Malami was caught pants down, twisting the regulation to protect his relations, corrupt officers, and establishments in essentially the most brazen manners.
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2. Abdulrasheed Bawa
One other appointee of Buhari who stole a lot from Nigeria was the suspended EFCC Chairman. Earlier than reaching the summit of his profession within the anti-graft workplace, Bawa had a baggage of weighty allegations that would have precluded him from any consideration for the place however Buhari was Buhari and he was appointed.
Earlier than his elevation as EFCC Chairman, he was indicted for promoting no fewer than 244 confiscated petrol vehicles to his cronies in 2020. The automobiles had been seized from crime perpetrators when he was heading the Port-Harcourt Zonal workplace of the EFCC.
The now suspended EFCC helmsman supervised the auctioning of the vehicles price between 20-30 million naira every to his proxies at N100,000, or barely extra, per unit.
The 43-year-old allegedly handed over the dear vehicles to his acolytes at a time the automobiles had been topic of forfeiture litigation earlier than a federal excessive court docket.
It will be recalled that even Ibrahim Magu, the then EFCC performing chairman was so disturbed in regards to the sleaze that he ordered the detention of Bawa in Port-Harcourt, the place he spent days being questioned over the allegations.
Satisfied {that a} man of Bawa’s conduct was unfit to uphold the foundational ideas of the fee, some employees members of the fee in Rivers State revolted towards him and requested increased authorities to take acceptable actions. Their revolt, nevertheless, led to futility.
Throughout his quick stint as EFCC Chairman below Buhari, Bawa couldn’t even cover his looting urge for food.
The previous few days of his keep in workplace witnessed a situation that performed out between Bello Matawalle, a former Governor of Zamfara State, and Bawa. The previous accused the latter of requesting $2 million bribe.
Though the previous governor didn’t deny the allegations of public funds diversion towards him, he mentioned he had proof that Bawa requested him to pay the bribe to cease him from being questioned after exiting workplace.
Matawalle advised BBC Hausa that the EFCC was solely occupied with investigating former governors, leaving federal officers unchecked.
The EFCC alleged that Matawalle diverted 70 billion naira from the state’s purse earlier than leaving workplace. Following the allegation, the fee seized a few unique automobiles from his residence.
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3. Pauline Tallen
The rapid former Minister for Ladies Affairs and Social Growth, Pauline Tallen, was invited by the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) just some days after leaving workplace, over allegations of cash laundering.
Tallen was invited primarily based on allegations of corrupt enrichment to the tune of two billion naira.
In accordance with the anti-graft company, the cash was diverted from the African First Girl Peace Mission Venture.
The ladies affairs minister stole a lot below Buhari that in 2022, she resigned from her place to contest for Plateau State Governorship.
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4. Senator Hadi Sirika
The obstinate minister had defied a subsisting restraining court docket order and unveiled the controversial airline on Friday, Could 26, the final working day of the eight-year tenure of the administration.
Each well-meaning voice in Nigeria is yelling for Hadi Sirika’s arrest and questioning over the Nigeria Air affair which he single-handedly perpetrated in cahoots with Ethiopian Airline officers and different actors. Sirika presupposed to have floated the airline as a ‘nationwide provider’ when, in fact, the only plane that was ‘unveiled’ on Could 26, 2023 was a hurriedly repainted, chartered plane nonetheless carrying Ethiopian registration marks.
The Nigeria Air rip-off was solely one of many main scandals related to Sirika’s identify. Means again in 2017 it was rumoured that the minister spent $600,000 on emblem design contracted to a Bahraini firm earlier than the mission, then referred to as Air Nigeria, was suspended. Sirika denied the quantity however did not say how a lot was spent. Later the Federal Authorities budgeted as much as 800 million naira between 2017 and 2018 when the blind pursuit of the mission was resumed.
Sirika was additionally below fireplace for spending 12 billion naira to buy 10 fireplace vehicles, that means that every truck price 1.2 billion naira! Hadi Sirika, who was as soon as rumoured to be eyeing the governorship of his native Katsina State, was caught on a video on December 16, 2022 boasting that his social gathering, the All Progressives Congress, APC, had ‘all the cash and different assets…I swear we have now the cash to get the job completed’.
To be continued..
