N billion ban on Mu’azu: What is it worth?

The new development climaxes Mu’azu’s long chain of travails and sets Nigerians raising questions on the genuineness of Yuguda’s investigation. Mu’azu had much going for him while he ruled Bauchi State from 1999 to 2007. He was energetic, generally admired, and widely believed to be doing well for the state. He had the favour of […]

The new development climaxes Mu’azu’s long chain of travails and sets Nigerians raising questions on the genuineness of Yuguda’s investigation.

Mu’azu had much going for him while he ruled Bauchi State from 1999 to 2007. He was energetic, generally admired, and widely believed to be doing well for the state. He had the favour of the all-powerful president at the time, Olusegun Obasanjo. His name in Obasanjo’s book was written in gold and was believed to be under consideration to become the nation’s next president.

The bubble was to burst latter for him as Obasanjo went for Umaru Yar’adua who was the Katsina State governor and who subsequently became the president on May 29, 2007. The role reversal was believed to be difficult for Mu’azu who reportedly had little regard for Yar’adua. It would understandably be tough on him that Yar’adua should leave for the State House in Abuja while he, Mu’azu, could not even go to the Senate that he wanted after failing at the shot for the presidency.

It was not only Yar’adua that Mu’azu found himself envying. He, indeed, fought many battles. Sadly for him, he lost most of them. He dettested the idea of his party mate Isa Yugada succeeding him. He placed obstacles in the way. Yiguda jumped the hurdles and arrived at the Bauchi State House while he, Mu’azu, became just another ordinary citizen.

Little wonder that he would pack his bag and head for Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, where he resides at present.

Victory has been sweet for the incumbent governor, Yuguda.  He is not only the state chief executive, he has long become Mr. President’s son-in-law, enjoying express access to the country’s apex power house.

Mu’azu must be worrying now about how he is going to tackle Yuguda’s intent to make him render account of his eight years in office. This is evident against the apparent resolve by Yuguda to fix him without mercy. On their part, people who have been following the Mu’azu-Yuguda political war are raising the question of whether Yuguda’s intention is selfless, considering the fight Mu’azu gave him before he could see Government House from the inside.

Not many were surprised when Yuguda instituted the commission of inquiry to examine Mu’azu’a financial dealings during his days in office. Yuguda is said to have set out to kill two birds with one stone: to avenge what Mu’azu did to him, and to stop him from becoming a threat to his second term dream and his father-in-law’s own plan for re-election. It’s the committee so established that submitted its report on which the government based its White Paper that has banned Mu’azu from holding any public office.

Reading the report of the White Paper to newsmen at the Government House, Bauchi on Thursday, the state Acting Commissioner of Information Bala Jibrin said Mu’azu’s deputy, Abdulmalik Mahmoud is to refund over N74 million. He is however not affected by the ban. Bala Jibrin who specified that N18,8 Billion is expected to be refunded to the state government from those involved, added that Mu’azu’s former Commissioner for Finance, Haruna Alfa Ahmed, is banned for 10 years in addition to the recommendation that he should refund N2 billion to the state government.

Giving further breakdown of monies to be refunded to the government, Bala Jibrin said contractors who executed projects under the state ministries of Culture and Tourism were to refund to the state government the sum of N2.362 billion while construction giant, Julius Berger is to refund N3.147 billion, Triacta: N339 million, Moulds Nigeria Ltd: N25, 939 million, among others.

The White Paper stated that the construction firms were used as conduit pipe to tap state funds as money value of some of the contracts awarded to them were inflated while many other contracts were poorly done or not done at all.  

Bala said government will prosecute all that have been indicted, that absence of the former governor will not make any difference as relevant national and international security organizations may be used to make them answer for their deeds.   

But an aid of the former governor who responded to the charge against his boss on condition of anonymity said the charge does not reflect what transpired in Mu’azu’s eight years as the Bauchi State governor.

“It’s laughable that Yuguda should find Mu’azu wanting. At least the former governor has a lot to show for his eight years. Go to Bauchi and you will find that nothing has been done after Mu’azu left. Yuguda can never equal Mu’azu’s superlative performance even if he were to govern the state for 100 years. I also think the committee’s work has been overtaken by events. They are now both members of the same party and are expected to sheath their swords,” the aide said.

But that last bit, about Muaza and Yuguda sheathing their swords, is something Yuguda cannot afford, in the view of a leading politician, Abdullahi Jimoh. Jimoh, the National Director of Operations of the political party, Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), told Sunday Trust in a telephone interview yesterday, “It’s more of a political action. Maybe it has to do with 2011. Mu’azu is in the PDP and Yuguda is now also in the PDP. Maybe he is worrying that Mu’azu could want to come back into active politics and sponsor somebody under the PDP against him. I think Yugudu wants to make the future more certain for himself by neutralizing whatever influence Mu’azu still wields.”

However, Abdullahi Jimoh who declared that corruption should not be condoned for whatever reason said Mu’azu should be made to refund the money his government is alleged to have misappropriated if his government actually misappropriated it.

“There should be no room for corruption. If Mu’azu is guilty as charged, he should face the punishment. If he feels, on the other hand, that he has been victimized, he should go to court and exonerate himself. I respect him due to his admirable performance while he was governor. I also respect Yuguda, but the record should be set straight,” the CDC executive said.

To Stephen Dawat, a political analyst, the White Paper indicting Mu’azu is a product of  witch-hunting.

“Remember that Yuguda had to leave the PDP because Mu’azu would not give him room in the PDP. The committee which Yuguda set up to scrutinize Mu’azu’s record did Yuguda’s bidding. It’s sad because democracy shouldn’t be rooted in witch-hunting. I feel so strongly about this because Mu’azu wasn’t given the opportunity to defend himself. The money that Yuguda spent in the probe of Mu’azu should have been used to develop the state,” Mr Stephen said.

He added, however, that he would not support Mu’azu if he truly allowed the financial misappropriation that Yuguda’s committee has alleged: “If Mu’azu misused money belonging to the state, he should return it. The government should recover whatever money he or any other person may have squandered. It is not in the public interest for any individual to divert the people’s money from where government itself said the money would go.”

Did Mu’azu’s government waste N19 Billion of Bauchi State’s money? Can Yuguda establish a court, employ judges of his choice, accept their verdict, and punish his predecessor over a case in which he, Yuguda, is an interested party?

These are the questions which cast a shadow on the Yuguda probe as they have done to similar probes before it.