Akin Osuntokun’s Vituperation On The State Of Corruption In Nigeria

By Professor Itse Sagay (SAN)

My attention has just been drawn to a rabid article written by Akin Osuntokun and published in This Day Newspaper on 31st July 2020. Since I did not see the hard copy of the Newspaper itself, I merely rely on the online copy forwarded to me.

Altogether, Akin Osuntokun indulged in making, abusive, insulting, derogatory and unpalatable remarks against the President and myself with regard to the Anti-corruption War.

Obviously, Mr. Osuntokun woke up one morning, looking for victims to express his frustrations upon and the President and myself happened to be the unfortunate objects of that whimsical and unreasonable rage.

I will only select a few of the outrageous points raised in that article to illustrate his hate filled vituperations. For example, he suddenly stumbled across a so-called “social production theory”. According to him, it means the tendency of entities to significantly reproduce the quality they represent. He further explained that the theory meant that an incorruptible President would appoint people of integrity as Ministers and a corrupt President would otherwise reproduce himself in the appointment of corrupt individuals as public individuals. Based on the fact that issues of corruption against the Acting Chairman of EFCC and the NDDC have come up in recent times, the implication was that by appointing, so-called, corrupt Ministers and Officials into his government, Buhari was merely reproducing himself by this type of appointment. In other words, according to Mr. Akin Osuntokun, the President is a corrupt person and the anti-corruption programme of the government is a sham. He crowns his covid presentation by proclaiming that the Fundamental Objective and Directive Principles of State Policy of this Administration is Corruption!

There is no gain saying the fact that there is corruption in every society in this world. The Nigerian phenomenon is not unique. The difference between societies in this regard is just a question of degree. It is therefore extremely infantile and vernal to conclude that because there is suspicion of corruption among government officials, the head of that government must be corrupt and the anti-corruption programme of that government must be a sham. If that is the case, how do we characterize the following Anti-Corruption achievements of the Buhari Administration?

1. Conviction of about 3000 corrupt persons, including high profile politicians within the last 5 years under Buhari.

2. Recovery of enormous amounts of assets from corrupt persons to the value of almost to One Trillion Naira.

3. Recovery of Abacha loot from USA, Switzerland, U.K., Jersey Island almost to the tune of One Billion Dollars.

4. The enforcement and operationalization of T.S.A. (Treasury Single Account) which has saved this country Trillions of Naira annually, that was previously being embezzled.

5. The introduction and enforcement of BVN which has struck at the heart of elite corruption resulting in the recovery of Billions of Naira and the elimination of banks being used as a heaven for looted funds.

6. The introduction of I.P.P.I.S. which has streamlined and digitalized the payment of salaries and has rooted out ghost workers, saving Nigeria hundreds of billions of naira every year.

7. What about the elimination of Petroleum subsidy scam which was costing this country 380 billion naira a year before the Buhari Administration came into power?

In the light of the above, can any reasonable and fair minded Nigerian describe the Anti-corruption War of this government as a sham; or declare corruption as being the Fundamental Objective and Directive Principle of State Policy of this Government? This is pure, implacable hate speech.

Let me now move to Akin Osuntokun’s personal attack on me. He accused me that “rather than affect a tough anti-corruption posture and “rhetoric”, Sagay has repeatedly chosen to rationalize corruption.” That statement by itself, is even unworthy of an illiterate person. No serious official should engage in rhetoric, i.e., sound bites. It is a sign of insincerity, the type of which is typical of Osuntokun’s favourite Governments. This was just the tip of the iceberg. Osuntokun continued to descend into his abyss of infamy with the following comments: “In conformity with the favourable disposition of the President towards one of the most egregious instance of corruption in Nigerian life, Sagay found himself acting the shadow defence counsel to Governor Ganduje of Kano State. Recall that, in full knowledge of the raging Ganduje scandal, President Buhari went to Kano to go and raise his hands in undiluted commendation of the Governor for his second term in office. And there is no way of minimizing the damage Buhari and Sagay had done on this occasion. Rather than hold the feet of Ganduje to fire with brisling moral indignation and the determination to exploit all legal avenues to go after the Governor, Sagay was providing extenuating points of contrived helplessness for the Federal Government inclusive of tying the hands of the Kano State House of Assembly.”

After repeating what I had said during a Newspaper interview on the Ganduje incident, Osuntokun concludes thus: “Does this confessed disinterestedness and emphasis on impossibility of bringing Ganduje to justice, sound like someone interested in grappling with corruption?”

Now, Ganduje is a Governor in Nigeria. By Section 308 of the Nigerian Constitution, all Governors are completely immune from Criminal and Civil Actions whilst in Office. That means that even if the allegations against Ganduje had enough substance, no action could be brought against him before May 30th 2023. On the issue of investigation, a governor is susceptible to investigation by the Anti-Corruption Agencies whilst he is in Office, but he cannot be charged or prosecuted even if there is a substantial case against him, as long as he is in office.

Regarding the powers of the House of Assembly to investigate any one including a sitting governor, the power is limited to the administration of funds appropriated for the use of an Agency or person in the budget. It is part of the oversight responsibilities of the legislature to ensure that funds appropriated for governmental purposes are expended judiciously and appropriately by the executive. I repeat, a House of Assembly has no authority to cause a governor to be investigated on matters outside the above parameters. To be specific, alleged bribery of a governor by a private person does not come within the realms of Legislative investigative power. It does not come within legislative oversight responsibilities.

How can this view which is an objective interpretation of the law constitute my acting as a shadow defence counsel to Governor Ganduje? Is it myself or is it the Constitution that is tying the hands of the Kano State House of Assembly? If the members of the House were so outraged by the allegation, they could have made it a subject of impeachment proceedings. That has nothing to do with investigation and prosecution for corruption. The first is political and the other is criminal in nature. But in order to satisfy Akin Osuntokun’s hatred for Ganduje, I must hold the Governor’s feet to fire with “brisling” moral indignation with determination to exploit all legal avenues to go after him. For not violating the Constitution, by instigating Ganduje’s prosecution whilst he is in office as a Governor, I stand condemned as someone not interested in grappling with corruption. How irrational and vindictive can a person be?

In conclusion, I notice that many Nigerian elites will condemn you if you do not hate the people they hate. Their enemy must be your enemy otherwise you will be treated with contempt and disdain. Their views must be your views. Their politics must be your politics. You must share their whims and prejudices, otherwise you must be subjected to a modern Spanish inquisition. I do not ask Osuntokun not to hate this Government and its officials, but he will be very foolish to think that he can drag me down with him into his abyss of hatred and bitterness. I will leave him there alone, to be consumed by his own venom.

Sagay is the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC).