By Jerome-Mario Utomi
After reading through, via the social media, a report, or is it a letter, by the Chief Executive Officer of Panic Alert Security Systems, Dr. George Uboh, published on March 31, 2021, and entitled: ‘Fayemi: Stop Your Pontification and Demagoguery; You Demanded 10% From Us,’ two separate, but related feelings, naturally come flooding.
For all intents and purposes, while the first of such feeling focused on the age-long saying that once an individual assumes a public office, he/she forfeits his right to private life, the second is from Gordon S. Black of the University of Rochester, in his theory of political ambition; ‘Career Choices and Role of Structural Incentives’,’ where he posited that as a politician rises to new positions of power and prominence, his motives for seeking political advancement becomes subjected to intense public scrutiny.
Without going into specifics, the report was constructed around a corruption allegation by Uboh against Governor Kayode Fayemi. The cracked report, among other things alleged that Fayemi, as the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, demanded 10 per cent of a contract sum through some personalities, people that the report referred to as proxy X and Y.
Adding context to the discourse, it is globally recognized that in discussing what constitutes corruption, it matters not whether the exchange is initiated by the person with the money or the person with the power; it is the exchange itself that is the essence of the corruption. It matters not if the private enrichment is with cash or with its equivalent in influence, prestige, status, or power; the harm is done by the fraudulent substitution of wealth for reason in the determination of how the power is used. It is the dishonesty of the transaction that carries the poison.
However, as someone that will not spill his guts easily, or allow sentiment to guide his judgments, a further peep into the particulars of claim by the report, reveals something new, strange and different.
Essentially, the argument just does not hold water and faces a number of embarrassing facts. The report’s claim is riddled with gaps and ungraspable agreements. And more than anything else, it is laced with connotations that raises more questions than answers. It presents the report more as a fiction than reality.
As subsequent paragraphs will make known, Fayemi, in the opinion of this piece, is exposed to the present attack, not because there is an established link, but primarily because, the accuser feels that he occupies a public office and therefore, lacks the right to private living as noted above. It was indeed an assault on reason!
There are reasons to believe that the accusations against the governor are lacking in merits. The content, for instance, exonerated the governor of wrong doing, while eliciting self-defeating arguments
To copiously quote the report, it reads in parts, “For sake of precision, I visited Fayemi through a mutual friend at his Guzape residence at 8am on Saturday, February 6, 2021, during which time Fayemi emphatically told him that he did not send anyone as a proxy to negotiate on his behalf nor is he aware of the purported MoU. I left Fayemi home, called the DG Governors’ Forum, Okauru, narrated what transpired at the meeting to him, then sent a message, blasting the person who brought the purported proxy, accusing him of playing 419 on us.”
Going by the above statement, culled from the report, the question may be asked: what other evidence indicates that he (Uboh) needs to be convinced that Governor Fayemi was not part of any shady business as painted? The truth, they say, speaks for itself. Having heard from him, while still holding on to the statements/claim by the so-called Proxy X and Y?
At the moment, let’s expound the argument further.
Looking at his resume, Fayemi attained global reckoning in the development/civil society world; will it not be a contradiction of the sort that such an enlightened mind stoops to the derogatory level of demanding bribes? This is a key fact the accuser failed to remember. Once more, have we forgotten that Fayemi, before occupying public office positions, selflessly and impeccably served on numerous reputable boards? Some of these organizations include, but are not limited to: the Governing Board of the Open Society Justice Institute; Baobab for Women’s Human Rights, among others.
Another point the author of the report failed to remember is that during the late General Abacha’s days, when many were singing Abacha’s praise for pecuniary gain, Fayemi fought for the re-emergence of democracy. He placed his life on the line as a member of the National Colaition for Democracy, NADECO, in order to see democracy/good governance cultivated in our land. He successfully, to the admiration of all, used the famous Radio Kudirat to render the then military junta uncomfortable.
Now, if corruption enrichment was his primary concern and motive, I guess he would have saved himself the stress/heat he went through by joining the then government of the day.
Why has the author of the report recently become reputed for using the media to generate and spread false accusations, altercations and intimidation against those in public offices? Making the whole episode a crisis is that the lists of public holders that have suffered such fate in the hands of Dr. Uboh are getting lengthy. They include, but are not limited to: current governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami; the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki; and of course the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
While answers to the above questions are being awaited, there are in fact, more reasons the present allegation against Governor Fayemi may not be given serious concentration, but considered as a familiar music hall fame from its source. It is the fact that if Fayemi wants to run for the highest position in the land, he is eminently qualified. And one thing is sure; he will not source for funds from illicit sources.
The reason is not far fetched. Apart from being a national leader, well respected by all, Fayemi is among the few public office holders who has played politics in the country using global rules and dictates.
