A Few Good Men

No, I'm not referring to the 1992 multi-award winning epic movie starring Tom Cruise and Demi Moore.

Character and reputation were described by Abraham Lincoln as a tree and a shadow. He submits that the shadow is what we think of the real thing, while the character is the real thing itself. Character is the inherent complex of attributes that determine a person's moral or ethical actions. A man can only hide his character for so long, it eventually finds a means of expression.

Enter Honorable Farouk Lawan, a serving Member of Parliament since 1999 from Kano State. The diminutive legislator has in the last few months received glowing accolades from Nigerians due to his role as the Chairman of the Subsidy probe committee. Hon. Lawan first hinted on his upright character in 2001 when he led the 'Integrity Group' against the then embattled seasoned hairdresser-cum-Speaker, Mrs Patricia Etteh. Five years on and Lawan shows Nigerians he still holds the same core values that have made him stand out in the midst of decay. In a country where the value placed on character is as flimsy as desert vegetation.

During the course of the hearings on the subsidy probe, Hon. Lawan said his committee was offered everything comprehensible by high powered miscreants to derail the process. He claims they got cash offers to business deals as stakes in the companies implicated in the subsidy fraud. He however put his conscience above material wealth and publicly denounced taking such offers. A few days ago, the report of the subsidy probe was submitted to the House for examination and excerpts from that report have circulated in the news. I was alarmed and flummoxed by the kind of figures i read in sections of that report. It  again reminded me I was living in a terminally ill nation and our future as a nation remains eerily bleak.

Nigerians are looting Nigeria and they are ready to steam roll men like Lawan who try to get in the way of their gross larceny and plundering. Shortly before the final report was submitted Lawan again claimed he was under immense pressure form both government and private corridors to doctor the reports and cover up the names of the culprits in the monumental fraud called subsidy. He somehow refused and went on to release the report. I have nothing but unrefined admiration for the character of the man called Farouk Lawan.

He displayed selflessness and bravery in stepping on toes and publishing the names of these felons. I am also surprised that as a card carrying PDP member , he went ahead to finger the erstwhile Chairman of PDP, Ahmadu Ali as an accomplice in the subsidy scam. Ali was the boss at the PPPRA at the time when this unrivaled and unparalleled looting was going on in the oil sector. He also implicated Diezani Allison-Madueke, the current Minister of Petroleum who oversees the payment of subsidy on virtual petroluem products imported into Nigeria. She still remains a sitting Minister and is assured that NO Jupiter can unseat her. Diezani is arguably Nigeria's most wealthy female at the moment and I strongly suspect she'll remain so for a few more decades.

Another person implicated is Austin Oniwon, the GMD of NNPC. The organization has been shown to be the most corruption riddled one ever in the history of this country. I am made to understand NNPC is not accountable to any authority or ministry in Nigeria, it is a fully autonomous organization where the looting orgy continues unfettered. We even continued paying a whooping 314 billion naira for subsidy on kerosene two years after the President had ordered the removal of such subsidy. Interesting, isn't it?

The current Governor of Gombe, Ibrahim Dankwambo is also a key member of this cartel of robbers. As the Accountant General, Dankwambo was said to have credited 128 bank accounts each with the sum of 999 milllion naira within 24hours even though there were only 36 importing companies. Strange to say the very least. 36 companies were listed yet 128 accounts were credited with the same amounts. Did the 26 companies import the same quantity of products? How come each then got the same installment of 999million in 24hours. I even hear a waste disposal company was paid 1.9 billion naira for also importing petroleum products. We were certainly running a lottery it seems.

Even the marketers we hitherto believed were the main culprits turned out to be mild crooks, the real criminals are in the Ministry of Petroleum-PPPRA-NNPC-Office of Accountant General axis. The private firms turned out to be mere 'I.T students' in this den of organized crime. The figures are staggering! Yet, Diezani remains in office clutching her $25,000 Hermes Alligator handbags, Dankwambo remains the Governor of Gombe State and Austin Oniwon still oversees the affairs of the NNPC as its GMD. Don't we have a fundamental problem as human beings in this country?

Farouk Lawan has left an indelible mark on me as a person. I did not believe we still had this calibre of men in this nation. He could have taken the easy route and be made rich beyond his wildest dreams, he could have accepted stupendous bribes in cash and kind from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, NNPC, PPPRA, Government of Gombe State and the erring private fuel importers. These organizations do not bribe with modesty, they bribe in billions in a wide array of currencies. Lawan could have simply compromised and walked away smiling and whistling, but he didn't. He thought of his own legacy and what he would be remembered for, he thought of his children and the tenets of the religion he practices. He thought of the millions of Nigeria who continue to suffer from soaring costs of living from fuel price hike. He thought of his own conscience and reminded himself the words of Benjamin Franklin who said 'A good conscience is a continual Christmas'. He did something our incumbent President has refused to do. Remember that he who must come to equity must come with clean hands.

The Lawan-led committee has made its recommendations to bring the implicated crooks to book. We will wait to see if our spineless President will take punitive measures against his cohorts. Ali is a one time PDP Chairman, I am sure he has immunity. Dankwanmbo is a sitting PDP Governor, he also will certainly have immunity. Diezani does not need to tell me her party affiliations, by her continued presence in Federal Executive Council, we can assume she nurtures a deeply passionate romance with the PDP and its corps of past Nigerian Presidents. As for Austin Oniwon, we will wait till he retires from the NNPC to be certain where his allegiances lie but do not be surprised if he also has an affinity for 'umbellerras'.

If Jonathan is not sure of what to do in dealing with his friends and family, I suggest he outsources the prosecution of those implicated to the UK. They seem like our only hope in bringing pilfering public officers to book these days. They will certainly prosecute them successfully and put them away for a few years at least.

Again, my appreciation to Farouk Lawan for his sterling performance. I was almost tempted to believe again in this country but I will choose to err on the side of caution. I still remain cynical, unrepentantly so.

Nigeria certainly still has a few good men.

My only reservation is his association with the bandwagon of robbers in the PDP. He has, however, somehow managed to remain flea-free even though he lies with dogs.

Kudos Sir.