Danger Signals In Defying Nigeria, by Kene Obiezu

Where is the ‘white lion’ ?

Prominent Senior Advocates of Nigeria have barked themselves hoarse at each other over him before Justice Emeka Nwite, but former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello remains on the run from Nigerian authorities in what is a spectacular fall from grace.

The irony which conjures the grim spectacle of the hunter becoming the hunted is made even more dramatic by the fact that for eight years Bello had his political opponents on the run in Kogi State. Indeed, while he ran many of them out of the state, many others were hastened to their graves.

He was never the favorite to be governor of Kogi State in 2015 until fate banged the gavel with incontestable finality. Bello was heavily pounded by Prince Audu Abubakar who was on his way to win the election until his death in mysterious circumstances proved fortuitous for Bello. His unexpected ascent into the government house in Lokoja evoked the parable of the king crowned as an emergency.

If his proverbial chi cracked his nuts for him, Bello was neither prepared to acknowledge nor show it. For eight years, the long-suffering people of Kogi State were to know an iron fist at the hands of a man whose preening arrogance brooked neither dissent nor development, while displaying a ferocious disdain for the rule of law.

Perhaps, the singular most valid criticism of power in Nigeria is its deceptive incorrigibility, especially in the way it lures those who wield it into a costly refusal to learn from history, and its indelible memory of the threat posed to any illusions of longevity by its transience.

Bello finally left office earlier this year, but this was not before pulling out all stops to ensure that Ahmed Ododo, his preferred candidate replaced him. If his post-office plans of quietude and aspiration to higher political office was built around this somewhat smooth succession, he did not factor in the dangerous unpredictability of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The charge sheet unfurled by the Commission before the Federal High Court Abuja has been as damning as it has been …. Including startling allegations of graft. For example, billions of naira were said to have been paid in advance for his children by a governor under whose watch public schools sunk into disrepair in the state.

While his legal team has flailed in futility to frustrate his trial in Abuja, Bello remains on the run. His panicked disappearance from public life continues to generate reactions in the public.

Yahaya Bello’s farcical flight from the law is as fascinating as it is fateful. It indicates that there was nothing to the man all along beyond the bluster of the bloated powers political office confers in Nigeria. The man who had Kogi State in a stranglehold for eight years was painfully insecure, after all.

The entire Yahaya Bello fiasco is an early acid test for President Bola Tinubu. He cannot say he doesn’t want to interfere in the work of the EFCC. He must also ignore the fact that Yahaya Bello is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress. What he is now is a fugitive who is bent on showing would-be fugitives that they can throw a wrench in the works of the EFCC.
The EFCC is a creation of law and as long as it follows due process, it must be supported to prosecute Yahaya Bello who would not be the first to be tried by the commission.

There is nothing special about him, except that in trying too hard to secure the future of his children while he was governor, he ignored millions of poor children in Kogi State. Contrary to what he wants the general public to believe, no one is persecuting him. The least he can do is present himself for trial. In refusing to do so, he is making it appear that he has something to hide.

Nigerians have watched the unfolding drama with morbid fascination. While the buck ultimately stops at the table of whoever is president of the country at any given time, Nigeria could not have been ruined this badly without the active contributions of state governors. With enormous resources at their disposal and very little check, many of them do very little for their states while lining their pockets and terrorising those who voice the slightest objection.

While the financial autonomy of local government councils will go a long way to check the powers of these despotic state governors, Nigerians must demand more from their state governors. Many of them continue to act with impunity. Reports suggest that it is one of them that is currently hiding Yahaya Bello.

Nigeria’s reputation as a country where the rich and powerful get away with just about anything is no doubt emboldening Yahaya Bello to continue his hide-and-seek game with the EFCC. However, there is genuine doubt over how long he can hold on as public pressure continues to build towards a swift resolution.

It is in the interest of every Nigerian that the institutions Yahaya Bello is defying are respected at every time.

As for those gullible Kogi State youths who have chosen to peddle their future on the placards of protests against the EFCC for putting Yahaya Bello on trial: It is not the EFCC’s imaginary impunity that is at stake. It is their future, and the future of their unborn children.

Kene Obiezu,
keneobiezu@gmail.com