Between wisdom and fear of Ribadu

TOO many things happen every day that sometimes confound us little mortals. They make us lose track of developments. In the course of another day, we sometimes forget acts of great men and touching events in history. What about the deeds of mean or genuinely evil minded persons who are privileged to be in positions of authority? Is it true that human memory is short? It goes without saying that man, no matter how insignificant he may be in the society, is a part of history. We were almost forgetting that there was a harmless looking man called Mallam Nuhu Ribadu - a tough police officer who took his job of policing money launderers and economic saboteurs seriously. If many Nigerians had their way, he would have retained his seat as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for his efforts in bringing to justice some persons he had to deal with among the lot.

Ribadu's name almost became synonymous with fear. But his employers knew better and insisted he just had to move on in his career by attending a course at the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru. The mantle has since fallen on Ibrahim Lamorde who also for good reasons is trying to keep hopes alive (he has no choice because we the people are watching and will soon be making comparisons between him and his predecessor).

Nuhu Ribadu resurfaced again this week as he and his course mates at NIPSS went round key government formations on a study visit. I was particularly fascinated by a photograph inside page of the Tuesday edition of ThisDay as Governor Babatunde Fashola received Ribadu and his course mates at Alausa secretariat. One wonders what was going on in the minds of many officials in the photograph who smiled admiringly and watched Ribadu with some consternation as he shook hands with deputy governor Adebisi Sosan, a princess. From the expression on one or two faces, obviously they must have been thinking aloud and wondering whether that truly is the much feared anti-graft policeman they've heard so much about. Only that none was expressly asking him if indeed he was that 'troubler of Israel'. The kicker written for the photograph proclaimed: " From Kuru with love..." as if to reassure everybody that Mallam Nuhu was not making any sinister move. Before now, a visit of Ribadu (or even his agents) would most likely be ominous. Ribadu surely is enjoying all the attention and publicity his studentship at Kuru brings to him.

Interestingly till today, for many Nigerians, the fear of Ribadu remains the beginning of wisdom. An analogy may suffice here. As a young boy, wisdom began with the fear of my old man. His was a very strict regime, all because he wanted the best for us. Sometimes, we got wrongly punished. He was always the accuser, the judge and the executor of punishment. Thank God the law does not make provision for the EFCC (or Ribadu) to hold such power.

Last week, it became imperative for some public officials to exhibit that time tested wisdom in Jalingo, Taraba State when Mallam Nuhu visited a couple of days ago. (That was before the man's visit to Lagos). In Jalingo, a mild drama was recorded. Before anyone had time for any ceremony, panicky government officials and political office holders in the state were on the run as the presence of the anti-graft agency's top officer became public knowledge. And to think the fleeing officials were scheduled to receive Ribadu and his study group! How did Ribadu himself feel? Embarrassed? Amused? He is yet to tell us. One day he may have to write his memoirs.

Who would blame the public or elected officials for doing the Ben Johnson stuff? They cared less whether Mallam Nuhu was still in charge at EFCC or not. It is better to be on the safe side, they reasoned. That is the crux of the matter. If a man does not have any skeleton in his cabinet, why would he take to his heels because an ordinary student at Kuru was on a study visit? It took the institute's director-general Prof. Akin Akindoyemi to reassure the uncomfortable officials about Ribadu's presence in the team. But come to think of it, are they surprised that EFCC officials would find it an uphill task to come up the Gembu hills to investigate their misdeeds? They now know it's a mission possible. It's just a matter of time before the bubble bursts.

The country is into another season of probes - justifiably. It is a never-ending exercise in this country. How does a serious country defend before the international community the monumental waste of billions of dollars in the power sector in the last eight years or so and we still live in darkness? What manner of leaders have we been blessed with or are we blessed with in this great country? Leaders who are only good at pontificating? This is agonising. How do we explain the disappearance daily of millions of barrels of crude oil from the high sea without trace. Or the sharing of unspent votes by a group of people, ably assisted by some unscrupulous civil servants who know the a-z of the processes of taking the funds out. How can we forget in a hurry how people in positions of trust mismanage state funds and make plea bargains later? A serious society does not sit by and watch when billions of naira police equipment fund cannot be accounted for while armed robbers freely roam the streets and maim and kill the citizens at will.

Nigerians earnestly wait for that day when political corruption, a more serious form of graft, would be tackled. It's a form of corruption that has for long made this country a laughing stock when democracy is being discussed and Nigeria also boasts of democratic credentials. It won't be a bad idea after all if the EFCC (or other anti-corruption agencies) included political corruption as one of their briefs. That is the root of most of this country's problems. The desperation to get into a public office must be checked. Such offices must be made less attractive to make room for people who are genuinely interested in service of the people. President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has promised Nigerians a reform of the electoral process. We pray he succeeds for that may signal the beginning of true democracy here, to make Nigeria a place where the right calibre of people get into public offices and think first as servant leaders and not a place where people will get wind of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu's presence and will be making for the next exit.

This is a challenge to Ibrahim Lamorde, the current boss of the EFCC. We are by no means campaigning that Lamorde should turn himself into a terror machine. But he would do well to keep the agency on a pedestal that Nigerians would be proud to identify with in bringing sanity into the rotten system. So far, he has not done badly. But it is still morning yet for him.

Nigeria is the only country we have. We can only make it better if a few greedy ones among us in positions of trust would not see the treasury as an extension of their mansions.