N300m Health Scam and the ‘Sad’ News of Aduku’s Acquittal

By Atayi Babs Opaluwah

atayibabs@yahoo.com

The notion that Nigeria is a country of wild paradoxes and sweeping contradictions has, at least for now, become rather stale and banal in view of the fresh dosage of paradoxes we exude each day. Just last week, news filtered in that an Abuja High Court sitting in Maitama had discharged former Minister of State for Health, Arc. Gabriel Aduku and two others of complicity in the expenditure of the N300 million unspent budget of the Ministry which sent him and his senior Minister, Prof. Adenike Grange out of office. Nigerians, in their legendary streak of swift adaptability to stranger than fiction scenarios, took it calmly as one of those judicial stunts which they now welcome with detached aloofness and tepid nonchalance.

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But in certain quarters particularly the state that produced the acquitted former Minister, where celebrations were expected to gush out in frenzy, the reverse was amazingly the case as dark clouds of despair and despondency with luminous consequences appeared suddenly on Kogi’s political firmament, all foreboding with hasty and harsh realignments and re-strategising in quarters that were hitherto positioned to benefit from the misfortune that befell the ex minister. While in the intellectual plane, the scenario was remarkably different as t he interesting paradox was further underlined in various online journals and discussion groups peopled by Kogi indigenes particularly Igalas who saw the acquittal as a welcome development as well as an impetus to the sounded alarm of Igala renaissance.

In the midst of all these, camps loyal to Ahmadu Ali, former PDP chairman who had been propping up himself or his son as worthy replacements to Aduku in the Health Ministry and Senator Alex Kadiri who had the backing of the Governor were all rendered distraught by the court judgment and expectedly began a frenetic crisscross between Lokoja and Abuja. The inane logic now is that Idah division as represented by Ahmadu Ali, his wife & son (as if old idah division cannot boast of saner persons anymore) has no major political office allotted to it in the present arrangement as the Governor represents old Ankpa division while the Senator representing Kogi-East in the Senate comes from old Dekina division and so idah should be compensated with the ministerial position instead of adding it to Dekina's kitty where the acquitted Minister also comes from. 

On the hand, Alex Kadiri, after the repentance of his AC misadventure and the forgiveness poured on him by Kogi PDP dealers following his "ogbaniko-like" retreat to the self-acclaimed nest of invaders that recently captured all the Local Governments in Kogi state during the last LG elections, believes tenaciously that the ministerial slot is his as a compensation for his long-standing contributions to the growth of the invading army in the state (as if he did not decamp from ANPP to it) as well as in recognition of his new-found love relationship with Governor Ibro.

Still in the heavily divided old Dekina division, is a virulent opposition against Aduku's comeback bid to the cabinet coming from the camps of the Senator and the Honourable Member of the House of Representatives who have already positioned themselves for Lugard House come 2012, since every Igala seems to agree that it is now time for Dekina to produce Kogi Governor. One of them actually declared drinks for all at a joint in celebration of Aduku's fall some months ago. It is believed that a ministerial empowered Aduku from the old Dekina division remains a very potent threat to their ambitions to be the first Dekina man to breast the gubernatorial tape.

The nub of the matter is that these unrepentant and incurable power mongers with their avalanche of ex-this, ex-that, laced with a legendary capacity to disseminate widespread poverty and underdevelopment in Kogi almost to epidemic proportions, cannot subsist outside public office and will continue to do anything within their devious means to keep Kogites under their subjugation in perpetuity, even if it entails whipping up dead and primordial sentiments of division or manipulating cozy access to the powers that be in Lugard House.

Another signification of the sad news of the acquittal is the fear of Arc. Aduku's untainted professional exploits and near 98% integrity even though this is not unconnected with the fact that he has not held any major public office like them in the past. Aduku has always been an 'aspirant for life' with a string of painful but expected defeats in the hand of less saner political players since his decision to venture into politics in the old Benue state after taking Archcon, his architectural firm, to the zenith of glory in the old Northern Nigeria. Why he should not be given the chance to perform or disappoint Kogites remains hidden, albeit conspicuously in the labyrinths of unconscionable political  mélodrame that has held, and is still holding Kogi people down today.

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Also responsible for this sorry pass that Kogi now locates itself is the continued deification of its Lugard House power-players who are implacably besotted with their proximity to the levers of power and uses same to foist dour and unexciting elements on the state in accordance to their unexposed and unlettered whims. This of course strikingly translates into having as political leaders, persons whose physiognomy and psychological disposition befit a geriatric asylum, persons who share no affinity, no focal commitment to the commonwealth of the confluence state!

To further drive home the sadness about the acquittal Kogi Elders and Youths are already busy along the aforementioned unholy divides, forming unflattering and putrefying associations, coalitions, forums, contacting mercenary writers to juggle their jumbled and inane arguments into articles and advertorials in the media, all in the mindless defence of the ambition of their principals, who they now deface the public space with rote regularity, describing them in borrowed robes as founders of modern Kogi! The media will soon be awash with their fireworks.

Taking the paradox of sadness beyond Kogi to the national plane, Aduku’s travails in the midst of a celebratory happenstance seems to be unending as the leadership of EFCC is reportedly fuming over the withdrawal of the corruption case against the former Minister of State for Health and two others. According to published reports the EFCC Chairman, Mrs. Farida Waziri, has ordered that all those who took part in the act, which is now being referred to as a “scandal” within the anti-graft agency, be arrested and detained. The assistant detective commandant, Mr. James Binang, who had deposed to an affidavit in support of the motion to drop the charges against Aduku and co is being accused of taking a unilateral decision without recourse to the leadership of the commission. It was also gathered that the commission, which did not take kindly to the striking out of the case against the accused persons on Tuesday, might request the transfer of the case to another judge.

And so for a number of reasons and to several persons, this acquittal indeed portends sadness after all.

 

Atâyi Babs

Media Practictioner

Ikoyi – Lagos