NDDC Probe: If This Must Be The Right Time
BLACK SPOT
It is too early to applaud or mock anybody in the name of solidarity or indifference. That is because, even with the steady noise and commotion in town, it is still risky to be too sure of anything at this point. This is Nigeria.
For good or bad reasons as some might choose to reckon, it however cannot be argued to the contrary that the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, has set up an inferno which flames are bound to burn, roast and alter the foundations of things at the Niger Delta Development Commission.
As it stands today, the issue is not about whether he has been able to courageously respond to the lawmakers’ challenge to name legislators who at one time or another have been awarded NDDC contracts. It is rather about an open situation where a pregnant woman has been forced into labour in a market. The simple potential summary is that, like it has always been the case in typical Nigerian scenarios like this, those who wanted to probe may end up being probed, prima facie. And that is one ugly and transmissible way we perpetuate our national history and template of leadership.
Even as some of those to whom the filthy saga may initially and ultimately concern have already come up with what looks like needless and belated rebuttals and denials, there is still need for caution about the names already pencilled or awkwardly thrown into the curious social media space as alleged culprits. In situations like this, anything can happen, as not a few are ready to play dirty in desperate sweeps to wash themselves clean in what promises to be an interesting battle of titans.
Related: NDDC’S Interim Management Committee: The Expectations, Fears, Possibilities
But what has history shown? Can the National Assembly be trusted to handle this delicate matter with patriotism and fairness in all ramifications of the words? Or, could this be but an entertaining comedy of errors and absurdities that shall lead nowhere? Should it be true that some honourables have sabotaged the law and soiled their hands with fictitious or real contracts at the NDDC? What will the leadership of the Hallowed Chambers do to save their faces and convince Nigerians that nobody in this country, as they would tell us, is above the law and that the law, indeed, is no respecter of anybody?
The NDDC, arguably, has produced a cupful of over-night billionaires over the years. While we easily blame the profiteers for kleptomania, a slice of the blame can easily be placed at the doorstep of politics and leadership deposition of the country. Using the NDDC as a political palliative and compensation for political loyalists and jobbers at the expense of meritocracy is one obnoxious tradition that must be reviewed.
Of course, if President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly are not ready or lack the liver to unroll the ropes to the bottom of the pit, they should out of concern for the suffering masses not waste time in acting ugly dramas that may only lead to catharsis and bad memories. But they will be celebrated if they can hold the bull by the horns and see this moment as momentous in the kick-and-start war against corruption, especially in and beginning with the NDDC. They should know that Nigerians who support them are certainly more than those who are crying wolf.
Again, if this probe must work, it would be laughable if principals of the NDDC or the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs are allowed to appoint a forensic auditor of their choice and from among Nigerians for any reason. It is my personal position that no indigenous Nigerian auditing firm of any global pedigree can clean the Aegean Stable without a tinge of sentiments, except they were made to undergo a scientific process of biological born-again. If this must be the right time, let’s do it right!
