ACCOUNTABILITY & STEWARDSHIP

Saturday, 23 February 2019 03:09

ALHAJI ATIKU ‘DUBAI’ ABUBAKAR: THE NOTORIOUS ROBBER-AUCTIONEER WHO WILL SELL NIGERIA TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER Featured

Written by JOHN ODEY ADUMA, PUBLISHER AND BRITISH CHEVENING SCHOLAR, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
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Embarrassing Choices...

PART 10

“Of a truth, the two choices open to Nigerians today is that between a notorious murderer and a notorious robber-auctioneer as they troop out to vote once more, to elect the next person to captain SHIP NIGERIA, these choices of theirs are unenviable to me – but choose they must, as nature abhors a vacuum!

Despite these embarrassing choices left for Nigerians today, I say God bless our Nigeria still; and can I here say to Mother Nigeria: I LOVE THEE STILL, DESPITE ALL THY FAULTS!”

PART TWO

The reason why rents keep sky-rocketing in that country; the reason why the cost of transportation - commuting both intra and inter-state is so prohibitive is because police are the landlords and transporters, both junior and senior ranks in addition to being the ignominious owners of hotels, motels, travelers’ lodges and restaurants which offer hideouts for hardened criminals in Nigeria - this cuts across the police, the military and para-military - the customs are there to seize all goods, both legally imported and contraband, using deceptive strategies to sell them, just as that opportunistic latter day Apostle of restructuring, Atiku Abubakar used to do in his days as a customs and excise officer - Atiku would announce the sale of seized cars that there would be sold in say, Kano on a given day, but would later come up with public announcement, the sales had been postponed, whilst asking members of the public to be on the lookout for a new date, Atiku would move with his gang to another city, where all his gang members would buy virtually all the cars on his behalf!

I was just two weeks back from the one-year national service, which I had served at the then Bendel Newspapers Corporation, publishers of The Observer when I was entrusted with the investigation of the fraud ongoing at the Nigeria Customs and Excise involving Atiku Abubakar, who had resigned or should I say kicked out of the Customs and Exercise (Service) in 1989.

Although Atiku was kicked out of the Custom Service in April of 1989, my investigation took place in 1990 as a Staff Reporter with The Guardian, attached to The Guardian on Sunday, specifically on the Magazine Desk of The Guardian on Sunday under one of the finest professional journalists, mark that phrase – “professional journalists”, Mr Obasi Ogbonnaya, that Nigeria has ever produced. The paper at this time was edited by Eluem Emeka Izeze.

When a kinsman of Atiku, an equally Customs officer from Adamawa (name withheld) breezed into Rutam House with the story and an avalanche of documents to prove his case against Atiku Abubakar, after its deliberation by the Magazine team, which then boasted of a generation of the brightest of the brightest young men/writer that that nation has ever produced, I was entrusted with the task of investigating this story regarded at Rutam as “a very dangerous story” because of the caliber of Nigerians that were involved alongside Abubakar Atiku.

Having been so assigned with the story, I plunged myself into it with the keenest of enthusiasm, which was characteristic of this galaxy of stars that Rutam House and the nation then paraded and boasted of.

Looking back, it was as if these stars were running after Noah’s Ark the way and manner in which they were in a hurry to clear the mess of the Republic, for these stars were not just the brightest in Nigerian journalism, but they were very idealistic, ultra-idealistic, ultra-radical, ultra-Marxist/Socialist, profoundly intelligent and bright – and took their seats in the front rank of a new generation of global intellectuals!

I began liaising with this Atiku’s kinsman for more information and his residence on Marine Road, Apapa became my Rutam House Annex.

In fact, at a point, the Desk editor, Mr Ogbonnaya after my daily briefing with him for weeks, advised it would be better if I could just resumed there straight from my house to Marine Road, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria – and I began doing just that and whenever it was not convenient for me to return to Rutam House, I would go home straight from Marine Road, Apapa.

The first greeting I received from this Atiku’s kinsman after I had entered his living room were two big black brief cases full of new Naira notes!

And he then said to me: “John, these are all yours.”

I immediately said a big “NO!

But started becoming uncoordinated, nervous and sweating afterwards at the sight of the money, for I hadn’t seen such a sight in the whole of my lifebefore!

The reality of the inherent temptations of the journalism profession in Nigeria finally sunk into my innocent soul, for I had run away from the Business Desk of the Guardian under Mr Jide Ogundele, (whom we used to call Egbon Jide) because of what I saw as a Business Reporter.

Serious conflicts were now setting in – for I was and still a Born Again Christian and a Conscientious activist out to clear the mess of the Nigerian, nation.

Should I join them or decide to keep my testimonies?

How many times before then had people told me:

“If you cannot beat them, join them”,

“Na you kill Jesus?”,

“If you continue like this you will suffer in this country, “a pregnant woman had said to me as was in the office of Mr. S.A. Adeyemi, then a senior level civil servant at the NYSC, Bendel State to bid him good bye, preparatory to my leaving for Lagos after the completion of the one-year service. Up till the very present, I have lost count of the advice of such ‘concerned’ people about the path of life I have chosen.

Atiku’s kinsman was shocked, for according to him, many of my colleagues who had been involved in this very case had become millionaires and jumped out of the newsroom!

“What type of a young man are you? He queried.

In fact, he was so bitter with a fellow who according to him, after having made his millions from the case left journalism and later was appointed a Press Secretary to a former Military Governor of Kwara State, Air Commodore Ibrahim Alkali. He kept bemoaning: “What that fellow did to me, only God will judge him.”

After I had refused the money, he went upstairs, to bring drinks – soft drinks and I rejected all of his offer, including water.

He was again to later worsen my nervous state by asking me to go to Matori and pick a brand new car at SCOA – many readers know that SCOA Motors Ltd is not far away from Rutam House and to his surprise, I again refused this offer of a car - a sort of ‘blessing’ that any journalist together with their prosperity-preaching pastor will jump at today terming it as “God’s blessing”, and would hurriedly fix a special time for a special THANKS GIVING!

Each time I was at his residence, he would come up with all these temptations again and again!

He told me that because of this very case the camp of Atiku encouraged his wife to kill him by attempting to poison his food, a situation which led to their divorce, after he discovered the satanic plot!

He also disclosed to me that when the going was good between him, Atiku and other heavy weights involved, he told me his residence on Marine Road, Apapa was like a 5-Star Hotel, with very pretty and very beautiful girls flooding his residence from all over the country and beyond.

Every Friday, weekend, he said there was a party in his residence, with some of the military guys who later became Heads of State, being regulars at these weekend parties! He showed me a longish truck which they then used as freezer – and many of such at each party and topping up with barbecue – suya prepared by hired mallams.

This man having fallen out of the Atiku camp and out of favour with all of them was considered as a traitor in their midst, so was treated like an outcast, and to put it succinctly, like a leper!

And he became paranoid, fearing any rat and cockroach he saw from afar, near him or in his house. His fear of the Atiku camp was such that he would not venture beyond his gate when escorting me and would be frightfully looking left and right, suspecting everybody that looked towards him. Indeed, he was a caged man and did say they had set people all about him to exterminate him.

Once I had got all the facts about the story from him, I now set out to police stations on Lagos Island, and whichever one I had visited, I would be greeted right at the gate: “Young man, keep off that case, you are too young to die”!

From Kam Salem House to Adeniji Adele and Alagbon Close, the police were just directing me here and there, aimlessly and mischievously with the same threat of death in order to frustrate my efforts/investigation so as to give up the case! But I refused to give up.

At Alagbon, I saw how many a Nigerian who had committed no offence were being made to languish in detention having been picked up by the police on the streets, asking for bribes from them, and with no one to bail them, were thrown and forgotten in the deep dungeon!

And as I looked down on the plight of these innocent Nigerians, who on learning I was a journalist, started crying out: OGA, ME I NO DO ANYTHING, DEM JUST ARREST ME ON THE STREET, PUT ME INSIDE VAN; AND WHEN WE COME REACH HERE, THEY SAY THEY CHARGE ME FOR ARMED ROBBERY!

That dribbling continued from one station to another, and what surprised me was that before I had got to a particular police station, they had already learned about me and my coming, and I would be greeted with the same death threat: YOUNG, YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO DIE! KEEP OFF THAT CASE!

Once I could not allow myself to be kicked about by the police any longer, I decided to book an appointment with the then Inspector General of Police Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim Attah, which took eternity to get a word from him.

On the actual day I would say, my patience had totally run out, I got to the front gate of the then Police Headquarters in Lagos, KAM SALEM HOUSE at Obalende, and on getting to the gate the police one of them fierce-looking and excitedly gun-toting police man barked out an order, aiming his gun at me, as if he was going to shoot me: “ ADVANCE AND IDENTIFY YOURSELF”!

I laughed and this got him the angrier as he did not see me shaking in any least way. And when he wanted to over step his bounds, I said to him: “I’m an ex-barracks boy.”

His ego having been thoroughly bruised, he shouted: “Commot for road, go there!”

When I went to the reception, I was asked to go to the third floor, whereupon, I was directed to meet some senior police officers, who after having waited for some time, brought a message from the IGP to me to go to the Police Crime Monitoring Unit, Milverton Road, Ikoyi to meet the then Assistant Commissioner of Police, John Atawodi.

On getting to Milverton, I was directed to meet two police officers – the then Inspector Joseph Aborishade and a Sergeant, whose name I cannot immediately remember now.

Inspector Aborishade afterwards went to inform Atawodi of my presence and I was later taken to him by Aborishade.

As soon as I entered his office, Atawodi barked out an order: “Young man, you are too young to die, keep off that case! I say keep off that case, young man. You are too young to die.”

Seeing I remained unmoved, Atawodi sent for a senior lady police officer, I think she later became a DIG or so. I was asked to excuse them and Aborishade was told to take me to the reception.

Atawodi and the lady called me back into his office after they had had a meeting between themselves and handed me over to Aborishade and the Sergeant as the ones I would be liaising with.

In the case I was investigating, the soul of the fraud was that Atiku Abubakar would announce the sale of seized cars and other high value goods so seized by the Customs Services that there would be sold in say, Kano on a given day, but would later come up with public announcements, the sales had been postponed, whilst asking members of the public to be on the lookout for a new date, Atiku would move with his gang to another city, where all his gang members would buy virtually all the cars on his behalf!

This was how Abubakar Atiku now asking for Nigerians to vote for him made his money but lied that he procured a loan and used it to build houses and rent them out. This bloody liar and crook served in the Customs for 20 years, but see how much bonanza he has at his command today.

HOW ATIKU SOLD PUBLIC UTILITIES TO HIMSELF AS VICE PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF ECONOMY AND PRIVATIZATION

Nigerians going out to vote later must be aware that Atiku adopted the same method he had used to enrich himself as a Customs Deputy Director to corner our commonwealth to himself. And Phil Izioma Asiodu then Chief Economic Adviser to former President Olusegun caught him whilst this fraud lasted and reported Atiku to Obasanjo, but Obasanjo ignored Asiodu.

Amongst other unethical things then ongoing in the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo, coupled with his KNOW-ALL mentality made Asiodu to jump out of the Olusegun Obasanjo boat.

Chief Asiodu is still alive, my colleague journalists should leave brown envelope journalism and go and ask him.

Now that Atiku is warming up for 2019, can someone whisper into his ears that JOHN ODEY ADUMA will like to record for posterity what the Waziri Adamawa did with the privatization of the national utilities...or should I say: what did Turaki and Olusegun Obasanjo do with the privatization of our national commons, regarding who bought what, when, where, why and how much?

And to prove to Nigerians, the world and posterity that the PRIVATIZATION EXERCISE was transparent all through and through, from the beginning to the end, and to stop the doubting THOMASES from peeping over Atiku's bedroom windows, so he can have a good sleep and store up a great deal of energy for the 2019 race, which the Turaki has kicked off in style through his gambit restructuring theology, it may not be a bad idea for Atiku to cause the list of all the public utilities sold to be published publicly - put in the public domain by way of having a website devoted to it, taking cognizance of the 5Ws+H above.

But why should Mallam Daura beam his searchlight on a fellow General and former boss, and a former para-military topnotch and a kinsman of his? Aren't the thieves and the rogues and the crooks and the corrupt the OPPOSITE PEOPLE!

THE NIGERIAN DILEMMA – BETWEEN A MURDERER AND A ROBBER

Of a truth, the two choices open to Nigerians today is that between a notorious murderer and a notorious robber-auctioneer as they troop out to vote once more, to elect the next person to captain SHIP NIGERIA, these choices of theirs are unenviable to me – but choose they must, as nature abhors a vacuum!

Despite these embarrassing choices left for Nigerians today, I say God bless our Nigeria still; and can I here say to Mother Nigeria: I LOVE THEE STILL, DESPITE ALL THY FAULTS!

 

 

Johnny Boy

ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM.

 

** *The Voice of One crying in the Diaspora…proudly leading the NATIONALISTS UNITY MOVEMENT OF NIGERIA (NUMON).

 

CHIEF LEADER WRITER, THE NIGERIAN ELECTIONS INTELLIGENCE SERVICES BUREAU, EUROPE & THE AMERICAS.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Odey Aduma was formerly Executive Secretary, Foundry Association of Nigeria; Southern Coordinator and the Public Affairs Manager of President Muhammadu Buhari's pastoralists NGO - THE PASTORAL RESOLVE; Chairman, Editorial Board of the Daily Times of Nigeria Plc; member, National Committee for the Nigerian Youth Festival, 1993; Core Committee, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF)/Ford Foundation, Kano Eastern Bypass Roadside Tree Planting Exercise, 1997; member, core Committee of the National Technology Summit and was the Summit's chairman for two of its sub-committees - Publicity and Exhibition, 1998; member of the Administrative Panel of Inquiry set up by President Olusegun Obasanjo to investigate the illegal trade in and smuggling of endangered species of wild fauna and flora into and out of Nigeria, 2003.

He was the Chairman, Planning Committee of the General Murtala Muhammed Memorial Lecture for two consecutive years, 2001 and 2002 before it attained a Foundation status in 2002, having first been upgraded to that status in 2001.

General Murtala Muhammed was one of Nigeria's former Heads of State and was killed in the abortive coup led by the then Colonel Buka Suka Dimka on February 13, 1976.

That same capacity saw Mr Aduma delivering huge successes during the Daily Times of Nigeria's 75th Anniversary (in which he raked in N6, 000, 000 into the coffers of the Daily Times of Nigeria Plc) and also, playing a similar role in a similar capacity during Dr Isma'il Babatunde Jose's 75th Birth Day. Dr Jose, doyen of Nigerian journalism was Mr Aduma's personal mentor. That relationship was so close and solid such that whilst Aduma was leaving the shores of Nigeria for Britain in 2003, Dr Jose gave him N10, 000.00.

In 1992, Mr Aduma's contributions to journalism was recognised with the awards of the Nigeria Media Merit Award as the Investigative Reporter of the Year and the Diamond Awards for Media Excellence as the Reporter of the Year, and the British Chevening Scholarship, which saw him studying International Journalism with Specialism in Environment at City, University of London in 2003-2004.

Aduma is the author of the inspirational best-seller, THE DIAMONDS ARE HERE and the founder of Vigilance, the World's Leading Security Magazine and Scorpion News Corp, in addition to founding the Nationalists Unity Movement of Nigeria (NUMON).

He is also, involved in professional mentoring at Post Graduate level in the City, University of London’s Post Graduate Professional Mentoring Strand.

Read 1130 times Last modified on Saturday, 23 February 2019 03:12

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