Ribadu’s un- winnable word fight

After reading Alamieyeseigha’s interview about his ordeal in the hands of Ribadu, in his so-called onslaught on corruption, my earlier opinion about him became even more reinforced. And that is: that he, Ribadu, was neither the most influential nor powerful figure in Obasanjo’s kitchen cabinet. No. he was simply, the most indiscreet. According to stories, Andy saw the then President first and last, everyday, consequently, his closet confidant but he the most anonymous. And for this, I respect him, somehow.
In the heady days of his reign as the head of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, he harassed state governors to no end, and in one fell swoop, told Nigerians on the floor of the senate that thirty of the thirty six governors were corrupt; and as usual with him, with documentary evidence to prosecute them. And to have the so-called corrupt governors’ answer to charges without the encumbrances of immunity, he stretched every word and sentence in the Nigerian constitution to their elastic limit while employing intimidation and blackmail to conscript both state chief judges and legislatures, to subscribe.
And when he was not fully occupied with attempting to cancel one illegality with another, he was to be seen deploying his attack dogs after the heir of the Babangida dynasty, for the sins of the father: daring to show interest in the office of the president or, after one the priceless human resource gift form nature, to the country—Dr. Mike Adenuga—or Otunba Fasewe for intimately knowing the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar whom he had promised to prosecute at the expiration of his vice presidency for corruption based on PTDF report which in all honesty, would have catalysed his principal return to jail from whence, he assumed ruler-ship of the country.
But in all his fight against “corruption” in the camp of anti-third term politicians and business executives, none was as long drawn and messy as that with the former governor of Delta state, James Ibori. From the blues, some facilitators were procured from Delta state in an ex-convict case that involved the thief of some roofing sheet, in the past. While that was going on, Ribadu’s commission was on a dossier building sojourn on his activities, in Delta state. When the ex-convict case failed to achieve it objective, which was to ease him out of office as governor, the money laundering case was the launched culminating in his arrest, detention and subsequent bail, after leaving office. In the midst of the squabble, the effort to elongate Obasanjo hold on power was truncated by the Ken Nnamani led senate, effectively, bringing Obasanjo regime to an end on the constitutionally recognized date but deprive Ribadu of a very vital support and motivation.
Yaradua came in as president and after a while despatched him to Kuru for studies and while still there, his promotion by Obasanjo whom that he had served diligently was reversed for not following due process. A fact that he as the head of a crime commission ought to have acknowledged ab initio and promptly rejected the promotion for want of legal effect. This he did not do most probably because it met his price tag for the services he had rendered to the ex-president.
In his reaction, he threw decorum to the wind and abused government officials including the president. The police force to which he belong rightly took action and dismissed him for insubordination while the code of conduct bureau discovered that he had not declared his assets before assuming duty at the commission. His reaction this time was to relocate to London from whence he has launched a word fight on the government and the person of president Yaradua.
The government reaction all the while was to address issues at hand and refrain from mudslinging. But his return to the Ibori’s case with the London metropolitan police recently, did see Ibori, whose image and personality amongst most Nigerians he had succeeded in tarnishing, responding in kind after two years of stoic silence.
At the expense of others, he had before now, maintained a seemingly corruption free record which Ibori has now placed a big question mark on recently, with his expose that Ribadu, engaged in bribing of the members of the national assemble for the purpose of allowing the third term to sail through. He also said Ribadu stayed in an expensive hotel in London on his way the US. The most outlandish of his revelations being that he, Ribadu went about extorting money from those under instigation for a non-existent EFCC football club and inferred that that may have been the reason for his making away with some files of the commission to cover his track on those dubious transactions.
Further more, he accused Ribadu of acquiring shares in a company owned by his friend through proxy in excess of what his legal salary as a police officer could support amongst many other accusations. Thankfully, he has promised to reveal more whenever the London case gets off the ground. We pray fervently that he keep his promise and for Ribadu to speedily cancel his claims out with documentary evidence.
Whichever way, this current word war is Ibori’s to loose as virtually everything about his activities—untruth and otherwise—is already in the public domain but for Ribadu, it is morning yet—and very early one at that—on the shifting sand of his reputation and integrity.

I have never for once humoured myself about Ribadu being whistle clean as he has being playacting. Not when he was doing the personal wish of a president that indiscriminately sold off Nigeria’s patrimony to self and cronies and acquired millions of shares through blind trust.
It was just a matter of time before somebody privy to some of the deals came forward to tell. One hopes that more Ibori’s would tell. It’s about time. Dubious crusaders must not get away with their trickery.

Ilobi Austin ilobidominic@gmail.com writes from Warri. www.twitter.com, www.facebook.com, www.nigeriavillagesquare.com and www.vibratingaustin.blogspot.com