The cash, the jet and my experience as minister

As a former Minister of Aviation I wish to assure the general public that the flying of large sums of cash by security and intelligence agencies for the purchase of arms in a time of war and conflict is something that is quite normal; it happens quite often. As a matter of fact, it has […]

As a former Minister of Aviation I wish to assure the general public that the flying of large sums of cash by security and intelligence agencies for the purchase of arms in a time of war and conflict is something that is quite normal; it happens quite often. As a matter of fact, it has happened under successive Nigerian governments, both military and civilian.
Obviously, in the case of the jet that flew to South Africa with $9.3 million, there must have been a breakdown of communication between the South African authorities and ours and a few lapses in procedure here and there, which is what led to the seizure of the money and all the ensuing suspicion and confusion. However, the idea that there was anything untoward or sinister about the whole transaction has no basis in logic, sense or rationality. Perhaps the only failing was the fact that the cash was not declared to South African Customs as is required by law.
The fact that our intelligence agencies have said that they were the ones that sent the money and that they have told us what it was for is good enough for me. It appears to me that this was a lawful and legitimate exercise and that there is nothing for anyone to worry about. I am aware of the fact that the British, the French, the American, the Chinese, the Israeli, the Saudi Arabian and the Russian intelligence and security agencies, amongst many others, have indulged in such covert ‘’cash for arms’’ transactions on numerous occasions in different parts of the world.
They either sell such arms at short notice and off the cuff, or they procure them for themselves or for unknown third parties. Even the South Africans themselves have done so on numerous occasions in the past. These are legitimate transactions that are covert and secret in nature, but they are certainly not illegal.
Such is the murky and dark world of intelligence and security worldwide. There is plenty that we do not know about their day to day operations and they have their own unique way of doing things. We should not assume the worse or constantly denigrate them simply because we are not familiar or comfortable with their modus operandi. Suffice it to say that anyone that is in the process of getting arms to help our boys at the war front to fight Boko Haram and protect our citizens and our country ought to be regarded as heroes and not villains.
The attempt by certain elements in the opposition and the Nigerian media to stigmatise all those involved in this transaction and make the whole thing appear like something that is out of the ordinary or sordid and criminal in nature really does nauseate me. Those that know no better ought to appreciate the fact that this is how the real world operates and they should learn to live with it.
The Nigerian intelligence services operate in no different way to their colleagues in the international community, and they do so with as much patriotism, professionalism and commitment as their counterparts from other parts of the world.
Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has been vilified, maligned and treated with the utmost disdain and contempt in this and other matters by elements within the leading opposition party in our country.
The truth is that, contrary to what some of the leading lights in the opposition would have us believe, he is not an arms smuggler, a money launderer, a murderer or a Boko Haram sponsor. Going to a foreign land and telling the parliament of that country that the president of CAN in Nigeria is the head of Boko Haram, as one or two of them have just done, is not only a pernicious and vicious lie, it is also utterly shameful and disgraceful. Worst of all, it is an affront to the Christian community in Nigeria and a reckless provocation.  
It is clear that Pastor Oritsejafor was not the owner of the $9.3 million USD, neither was he aware that the cash was being flown on the plane. Though he has confirmed that he is the owner of the plane, he has also pointed out the fact that he had leased it out to a company on a long term basis, who were themselves subleasing it to other companies for regular trips.
He has also said that he had no idea about who they were subleasing it to, where they were flying it to or who or what they were carrying in it in any of their operations. The two companies that were involved, both the one that leased it from Oritsejafor and the one that subleased it from them for the journey to South Africa have since confirmed and corroborated what he has said. In my view, that ought to settle the matter, yet some people, fuelled and egged on by a ravenous and desperate opposition with a dark and sinister hidden agenda, have refused to let go of the matter and allow sleeping dogs to lie.
Those in our land that are trying to divide our ranks and denigrate us by alleging that Oritsejafor is involved in gun-running and money-laundering
need deep intercession and deliverance. The truth is that it is a grave insult to the Christian community for anyone to suggest that the leader of the umbrella organisation of the over 80 million-strong Christian faithful in Nigeria is a sponsor of a vicious and barbaric Islamist sect that has killed and abducted more Christians and burnt more churches than any other terrorist organisation in the history of the African continent.
Calling the president of CAN a money-launderer and arms-smuggler and accusing him of murder and sponsoring terror will not help to create religious harmony in our country. He deserves to be accorded respect.  A word is enough for the wise.
Fani-Kayode is former Minister of Aviation.