Allison-Madueke’s long walk to justice

FIRST a disclaimer: let the reader understand that nothing said in this space this week denies the subject’s claim to protection on that principle that guarantees an accused person’s right to presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

The charges of corruption, bordering on bribery and money laundering, leveled against the immediate past minister of petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke after her arrest in London are exactly what they are: allegations. So until a court of competent jurisdiction finds her guilty of these charges she must be presumed innocent. Otherwise, something in the behaviour of the former minister, particularly her determined effort to have an audience with then President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, in the immediate aftermath of his declaration as winner of the April 2015 presidential polls proclaimed her as guilty. The former minister’s reported efforts to see Buhari even though she was not the only member of the Goodluck Jonathan administration accused of corruption, appeared obsessive.

While some of these reports might have been exaggerated, something about their frequency suggested she must have dispensed quite some energy in that regard. Shortly after these barrage of reports, everything suddenly went quiet about Mrs. Allison-Madueke who, rumour had it, had travelled to the UK for medical reasons in regard of some undisclosed ailment. Reports of Madam Minister suddenly taking ill sounded rather curious as there were no hints of anything wrong with her prior to the ouster from power of the government in which she was a minister. If that report was true, it sounded fishy. But then, Nigerian public officials while still in office are not unknown to have nursed one ailment or another for years without the public ever knowing anything of it.

These reports invariably come after the persons concerned would have left office. Perhaps, this is the reason many of these public officials steal so much from government: just so they can take care of their huge medical expenses. But whatever are the health issues with Mrs. Madueke, we sincerely pray that she gets well fast, not just so she can answer to the corruption charges against her but for her own personal comfort. Ill heath is never a thing of joy. The matter at hand, however, is the arrest and brief detention of the former minister along with four other persons by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency. Even though Mrs. Allison-Madueke, now out on bail, had been the rumoured subject of possible prosecution by the Buhari administration, her arrest was unheralded. After a lull in reports about her in the media, her arrest was sudden and thus unexpected. Yet she had, according to the NCA, been under close investigative watch for nearly three years. Which means there was some element of truth behind the rumoured tale of corruption that had swirled around Mrs. Madueke’s five years reign as petroleum minister.

Nigerians all along appeared to have known this and had grumbled loudly about massive allegations of corruption in the energy sector, especially in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and other parastatals under the Petroleum Minister. But in spite of these loud complaints neither the minister nor the president that appointed her, Goodluck Jonathan, shared the concerns of Nigerians. Mrs. Diezani Madueke was one of four women including the wife of the former president, Patience, whose character defined the Jonathan administration. They undoubtedly had the ears of the president and were practically untouchable even as allegations of massive corruption and abuse of office swirled around them like a foul wind. The unbecoming conduct of these women, especially where issues concerned money and the management of resources under their watch, gave Nigerian women a bad name. Those who said only men are responsible for Nigeria’s problem only need to look at the records of these women to reconsider their position. And no matter what kind thoughts people may have about the Jonathan administration, the conduct of these women would continue to blight the former president’s record.

No single ministry symbolized the egregious level of corruption that went on under the Jonathan administration than the petroleum ministry under Diezani Madueke. She supervised the near destruction of the energy sector into which huge amounts of public funds were sunk in the name of fuel subsidy to marketers, who ensured that the subsidized products were as scarce as a hound’s teeth. The more money Jonathan pumped into the fuel sector the more difficult it was for Nigerians to buy fuel, kerosene and related products, in the open market. Hers was a regime of destructive corruption in the petroleum sector. Yet she could neither be questioned nor called to account. Not even by the National Assembly whose summons she did her best to ignore. She enjoyed the full assurances of her principal’s protection. Is it any wonder then that she is only now about to be called to account over allegations that dates back to 2013? While Nigerians suffered and could barely live from hand to mouth, Mrs. Allison-Madueke and her ilk lived the jet-set life of the rich and famous- even on public purse.

Aloof and unreachable, she had, it seemed, only scorn for anyone or group that asked questions of her. And so it was that she treated with undisguised disdain reports of missing billons of dollars by a former governor of the Central Bank, Lamido Sanusi. Together with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, she poured scorn on Sanusi’s allegation, contesting any claims of missing or unremitted funds. When the audit ordered by their government confirmed that there were indeed shortfalls in the NNPC financial records even if not up to the tune alleged by Sanusi, these women made it looked like the difference was less than a school boy or girl needs to buy kulikuli. So inured were Allison-Madueke and her co-travellers to the groans of the people that they could simply not understand what the ‘noise’ was about. A recent notice by ministers in the Peoples Democratic Party government of Goodluck Jonathan said the ministers were ready to be subjected to investigation, even as they demanded respect from the Buhari government. The joint prosecution of Diezani Allison-Madueke by the NCA and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission would seem a good response to the ministers’ request. Now, Mrs. Allison-Madueke has the opportunity to prove her innocence.

Credit: Vanguard.