Column No.6: Now that the EFCC has a new boss

Now, I’ve never met Bawa before. We have quite a number of mutual friends, and I’ve had him suggested by Facebook algorithms as one of ‘people you may know’.

The internet went nuts recently, after the nomination of Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Comments ranged from happy ones citing a coming of youth to take over the helm of affairs in Nigeria, and angry ones who were alleging nepotism and claiming Bawa is related to a powerful person in the current administration. Some websites even published stories with screaming headlines that were saying Bawa did this or that while serving at the EFCC’s Lagos office. But everything later died down, and the dust settled. Or so I thought. Days ago, the Senate cleared Bawa to be the fifth chairman of the EFCC. This is after the controversies around his age – a robust 40, by the way – and other frankly frivolous ones.

For me, however – and many other people I’ve spoken to about it – Bawa’s appointment is a good thing, no matter how one looks at it. The tired point of his ‘young’ age is a solid one, and I only describe it as ‘tired’ because I’ve seen many an argument that it will hinder his efficiency. Even the Senate, that large gathering of lawmakers which hardly ever agrees, gave a vote of confidence based on just that, his age. So that, if anything, is a plus. Also, there is the fact that he is one of the pioneer cadets that were specifically recruited and trained as detectives for the EFCC. Another plus for him, according to a source who spoke to me, is that he is not in danger of being influenced by senior police officers.

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Now, I’ve never met Bawa before. We have quite a number of mutual friends, and I’ve had him suggested by Facebook algorithms as one of ‘people you may know’. I’ve also seen congratulations and well-wishes and all kinds of positive things written about him on my timeline, courtesy of our mutual friends. But, like I said, I’ve not met him before, at least not yet. I make this a point, as I have met all the other EFCC bosses in the past, every single one of them. But so far, all I have seen from people who know him are positive things. While I wait to be proven wrong, here are snippets of my encounters with past EFCC chairmen, and (clears throat) chairlady.

Malam Nuhu Ribadu, before his foray into politics, was a fiery EFCC boss, its pioneer one. After a barrage of reportage in the then Weekly Trust, he asked to come over to the office to see the Editorial Board. Now, being one of the reporters whose work caught his attention, I was asked to join. I asked tough questions, and he responded angrily, with his now-infamous table-bashing. He would later on become gentler and friendlier, and we even took photos. I interviewed him a couple of times after that, and he was always a good subject, guaranteed to give you so many headlines that you’d be spoilt for choice.

The EFCC’s second boss, Mrs. Farida Waziri, was also a bit of a media darling, even though she wasn’t so given to interviews. But that didn’t stop her when she visited the offices of Daily Trust while I edited the Saturday edition, and she proved to be quite a good sport, answering every single question eloquently and without pause. Her trademark jewellery and designer sunshades would ordinarily be a distraction, but I asked questions on her work and its impact, and saved the entire portion talking about her personal life – and trinkets – for a later edition. I remember recently seeing a biography on her at a bookstore, but I passed as my reading list is already heavily populated by plus-sized books.

Of all EFCC ‘chairpeople’, the one I had the least face-to-face encounters with, has got to be Lamorde. I had met him briefly when Ribadu held sway, and we exchanged numbers. We spoke a number of times on the phone, till he became chairman, and he would still pick calls with no airs of ‘busy-ness’. He had a gentle-yet-firm demeanour I found quite appropriate for his position and the nature of the job at hand.

The immediate-past EFCC boss, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, was all fireworks, either on the pages of newspapers in news stories or at public appearances. While he painted the picture of a no-nonsense workhorse much like Ribadu, he curiously ended up becoming a bit of a cautionary tale. I met him only twice, once at his office pursuing an interview, which he postponed and eventually cancelled. He would later come to my office, during my second tenure as editor of Daily Trust Saturday, and we would interview him. Or at least we tried to, as he gave stiff answers that made follow-up questions difficult to impossible. But we still squeezed a passable chat out of him.

While I wonder what the past EFCC bosses are currently up to, I would like to wish Bawa a successful tenure, as his victory is one for all of us Nigerians, young or old. I also wish him zero drama by way of his predecessors (I’d need a book to write them all down). But there’s one thing I won’t do, and that’s going as far as advising him. There was a deluge of such ‘advice’ in national dailies, so much so that the EFCC had to issue a statement requesting they stop. I can’t help but wonder if a reverse form of ageism was being deployed, where anyone even a couple years older than Bawa would deploy listicles of advice for him. Don’t get me wrong: While there were some golden ones, there mostly was trash. I pray he’s able to separate the wheat from the chaff.