Although the presidency has come out strongly to deny it, the allegation that some cabal in the presidency doctored the Arms Procurement Probe Report to shield former Chief of Army Staff and current Interior Minister, Major Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) and former Defence HQ Director of Procurements, and current Chief of Army Staff, Major Gen. Tukur Buratai, is not only embarrassing, it is certainly dejecting. It is also damning as it portrays an atrocious system rooted in arbitrariness; a system that treats due process with disdain and, by so doing harm the public interest. Alas, if, as some say, the history of a society is a history of its leaders, then little surprise that Nigeria has come to this sorry pass.
The third interim report on the arms supply contracts from 2007 to 2015, highlighted failed contracts, fictitious and phantom deals, items not supplied but captured in payments, missing items in inventory, transfers for unascertained purposes without contract documents to explain transactions. Following the report, President Buhari approved a recommendation by the committee to further investigate the officials indicted, who should be prosecuted if found guilty. Among those to be investigated are 18 serving and retired military officers, 12 serving and retired public officials and 24 Chief Executive Officers of companies involved in the procurement. They include Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, Major Gen. Kenneth Minimah, ex-Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Nurudeen Mohammed and three former Permanent Secretaries in the Ministry of Defence – Bukar Goni Aji, Haruna Sanusi and EO Oyemomi.
But frontline Second Republic politician and northern leader, Dr. Junaid Mohammed is claiming that: “the report of the committee was doctored in the Presidency by some cabal after it was submitted, to shield Dambazau and Buratai who were allegedly indicted.” He said: “Nigerians should recall that the three Chiefs of Army Staff who served during the period under review included Major Gen. Dambazau, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, Major Gen. Kenneth Minimah and Major Gen. Buratai, who was Director of Procurement, Defence HQ for years before his appointment as the current Chief of Army Staff.
“Dambazau is a close ally of Alhaji Mamman Daura, who is President Buhari’s nephew, and also head of the cabal in Buhari’s presidency today. Buratai is an ally of Dambazau and President Buhari. So there is no way the Presidency will not shield the duo…there was no way Buratai and Dambazau would not have been indicted in the Report, having served as director of procurement in the Defence Headquarters and Chief of Army Staff under the period reviewed. Why is Ihejirika under any form of detention now? Why is he being harassed? Is it because he is not from the North? Nigerians should know that as far as the cabal holds sway in Aso Rock, nothing will happen to Dambazau and Buratai. President Buhari should publish the original copy of the Report, the way that of Nigerian Air Force mess was made public.”
However, the Federal Government has denied Mohammed’s insinuation that the report was doctored. Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, explained that what has been released so far is the report of the audit covering the period 2011 to 2015, adding that the Committee would commence the audit of procurement from 2007 to 2010 as soon as the necessary documents are available. He assured that the anti-corruption fight is non-discriminatory, and called on Nigerians to keep an open mind as events unfold.
Notwithstanding its interim nature, the report, along with its revelations are indeed disheartening in a country where citizens are being ravaged by excruciating poverty. However, coming from a man of Junaid Mohammed’s standing, these conspiracy theories are grave and every Nigerian must be deeply concerned because of the wide-reaching implications of a country acknowledged as bereft of integrity in all its ramifications. It is not enough, however, to be merely concerned; nor is it useful to lament. This is one more indication of the scandalous level of abuse of office, greed, insensitivity and depravity prevalent among some public officials.
Surely, a nation intending to develop in concrete terms cannot overlook or be pretentious of the danger inherent in such impunity. It is in this regard that Nigerians are genuinely interested in a total unravelling of, not just the arms contract in issue, but all other government transactions presumably done in the public interest without commensurate effects. What is clear now is that there is a need to institute due process in governance and in public dealings; the country has suffered much disrepute because of the activities of unscrupulous public officials who are preoccupied with the mindless graft of public funds.
The President has ordered further investigation and prosecution of the indicted persons. This is the least expected, but he should ensure a comprehensive and transparent inquiry by the agencies saddled with the task. The investigation should be credible and exhaustive; such that it leads naturally to arrests and trials. The anti-graft war should not be seen to be selective but all-encompassing and diligent. Buhari’s promise of a new dawn in public probity formed the plank of his political covenant with the people prior to his election mandate.
Because political leadership is key to the change which the APC and its government promised the electorate, the Nigerian presidency must commit itself to, and be seen to so execute, rectitude and an integrity-driven government. The only effective leadership is by example and the presidency, as the pinnacle of authority and power, must earn and claim without an iota of doubt, the moral high ground from which it can prosecute the war against the hydra-headed corruption monster. The President has a duty to get to the root of the arms procurement contract scandal. There is no reason to suggest he cannot do that. There must be accountability in public service.
The past one year has unveiled many untidy, sordid, mind-bending public financial transactions; showcasing Nigeria as Corruption Inc. The number is simply amazing of high and low government officials currently facing trial, of business persons with cases to answer, of even church leaders involved in shady deals. The situation is so grave that a high-ranking US government official felt no compunction to sweepingly tag Nigeria as “a nation of scammers”. He was not totally right, but he was also not absolutely wrong.
Indeed, the unenviable reputation of Nigeria, or, more correctly, Nigerians, precedes and, rightly or wrongly, defines them outside Nigeria the country. Just as Nigerians within consider public officials guilty of corruption until proven innocent, so too foreigners generally presume Nigerians guilty or capable of acts of corruption until they prove otherwise. If reputation is lost, all is lost. The only thing required is that the political leadership walks its talk and leads by example. History is on Buhari’s side.