Aondoakaa: Facing a hilly political future
When Aondoakaa was appointed minister, many did not know where he was coming from. They had never heard his name in the political circle. Though, even as at the time he was appointed a minister, he was a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), he was perceived as one of the surprise appointments by the regime […]
When Aondoakaa was appointed minister, many did not know where he was coming from. They had never heard his name in the political circle. Though, even as at the time he was appointed a minister, he was a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), he was perceived as one of the surprise appointments by the regime of President Umaru Musa Yar’adua.
But it was not too long before he made his signature mark as a man who is not afraid of what others would say about his words and actions. During the trial of the former governor of Abia state, Orji Uzor Kalu for corruption, Aondoakaa sent a Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to take over the case from an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lawyer. This action drew criticisms from those in the civil society organizations, like the late human rights activist, Gani Fawehinmi. But Aondoakaa retorted: “Let them know that I cannot be intimidated by press interviews that they grant all over the place. I will continue to follow the rule of law in everything that I do in the office.”
Aondoakaa would later attract criticisms from his handling of former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori’s trial by a court in London over allegations of money laundering. He faulted the EFCC for providing evidence to the court without the approval of his office.
The most recent controversy over President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s failure to transmit a letter of medical vacation to the National Assembly before he went for treatment to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Saudi Arabia November 23rd last year was what earned Aondoakaa his demotion from the coveted position of attorney general to amorphous Ministry of Special Duties.
He insisted that it was only discretionary for the president to transmit the letter, not compulsory. His insistence that the ailing president did no wrong and that there was no power vacuum was perceived by a section in the political arena as a stumbling block in the path of the ascendance of Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President. When he was removed last Wednesday as justice minister, he said: “I think it is understood. First, I had a discussion with the vice president. I have taken a position and, in this life, when you take a position and there is a change in the position, you allow another person who will have a free atmosphere to defend the new position.
“No single action I have taken that I have regretted. Every single action I took was in the interest of this country. No country would say there was power vacuum. No attorney general worth his salt will go to the pages of papers and say there was a vacuum.”
Having played the role of the chief executor of the rule of law mantra of the Yar’adua administration, and having become an influential figure in Yar’adua’s kitchen cabinet, it was not a surprise that he was the first person to be affected in the cabinet shake-up. Coupled with the fact that ethnic politics plays a key role in the appointment of persons into political positions in Nigeria, it would not be long before he would be removed from the top office, especially as he is from an ethnic minority with obscure political base.
As his kinsman, former commissioner of police in Lagos state, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav would say, the perception that Aondoakaa was bungling was based on ethnic sentiments. He said the Yoruba from the south west region of the country felt that it was their birthright to be attorney general in Nigeria. Abubakar may be vindicated now that Adetokunboh Kayode has replaced Aondoakaa.
His major brush with opinion leaders in Nigeria was during the tenure of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). After several hide-and-seek encounters, Ribadu had accused him of pursuing an agenda that was inimical to the anti-corruption crusade of his agency. Incidentally, Aondoakaa was to fight back by allegedly pruning down the powers of the EFCC, especially as it pertained to its power to prosecute without clearance from the office of the AGF.
He had insisted that the EFCC report to his office, an action for which many in the civil society circle called for his head. Then, there was the controversial removal of Ribadu as EFCC chair. The story was given credence by the joke that was making the round among politicians that the fear of Ribadu was the beginning of wisdom.
How Aondoakaa was ‘discovered’ for such a top job has been a subject of speculation, but some elements close to him told Sunday Trust that Aondoakaa had handled several cases for politicians during the 2007 gubernatorial and presidential elections, and that was how he came to the limelight..
During his tenure as AGF, Aondoakaa gave the impression that he had entered the political scene to play crucial roles, and that he would, probably, remain in the field for a very long time. For giving the Yar’adua government the courage to face any form of legal and constitutional challenge, Aondoakaa was seen as one indispensable minister. Also, in Benue State, his state of origin, his popularity rating so soared that some political element suspected he had a gubernatorial ambition. He consistently denied it, but his detractors did not believe him.
Aondoakaa is still in the cabinet of Acting President Goodluck Jonathan. His political future may depend on how he demonstrate his loyalty to the new regime and what sense he can make out of the colourless ministry called special duties.