The Bode George conviction

Bode George, former Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority, and one of the regional capos-da-tutti-capi of godfathers during the Obasanjo years, has been convicted of corruption. The new EFCC, led by Farida Waziri, brought a long list of charges against him and four other members of the 2001/2003 NPA Board based on the alleged fraudulent award off contracts worth =N=84 billion or US$562 million.

I suppose the five were unaware then-President Obasanjo was waging a "war on corruption" while they were looting. Bode George remained one of Obasanjo's most senior lieutenants all the way up to the "do-or-die" politics of 2007, which makes it amusing that Nuhu Ribadu has tried to inject his presence into the Bode George conviction. Unsurprisingly the "investigation" only gathered pace in July of 2008, after 2007, after Obasanjo, after Ribadu. The blunt fact is the EFCC investigations in the Ribadu era were mostly used (in the aftermath of the failure of the Third Term bid) not for prosecutions, but to threaten and blackmail political figures/networks into supporting the "do or die" politics of 2007 (the Third Term by other means through the installation of a man they believed would be a stooge). The most interesting victim of the arm-twisting has to be Sani Ahmed Yerima, who gained fame as the "Sharia Governor" of Zamfara, but who rather hastily ended his campaign for the presidency and discovered a newfound support for Yar'Adua after hints emerged that the EFCC was thinking about exposing him for who he really was (i.e. just another corrupt governor).

But I digress.

Depending on which source you find most trustworthy, Bode George and his four co-defendants were convicted on 35 (i.e. 28+7) of 68 counts (Daily Trust), 28 of 47 counts (NEXT), or 47 of 68 counts (Guardian).

Media accuracy aside, the men were convicted of 35 counts, and sentenced to six months for each of 28 counts, and two years for each of 7 counts. This adds up to 28 years in jail ....

.... however, this being Nigeria, the sentences are to run concurrently, which means they will actually be in prison for only two years total.

If they were in jail awaiting trial, or in jail during trial, the "time spent" will count against the two years, and they could be out in less than two.

The slap on the wrist serves its political purpose I suppose. We the citizens are treated to a spectacle, much like the Alamieseyegha and Tafa Balogun prosecutions, a big jamboree to "show" the government is serious about corruption (even if the sentences are a joke, as they always are). It is also a warning to the "Obsanjo Boys" to take heed, or else this could be them.

The more sensible Tony Anenih has already transitioned from being an "Obasanjo Boy" to being a "Yar'Adua Boy"; his hand was present in the anti-democratic elevation of Charles Soludo to the PDP Anambra gubernatorial ticket, a move President Yar'Adua has been silently championing for months. Making Soludo the gubernatorial candidate was intended in part to crush the political ambitions of Andy Uba, another "Obsanjo Boy" (and someone who should probably be charged with corruption as well).

A couple of flowers have been plucked, but the forest of misgovernment is still as thick and lush as ever. The manner in which Soludo was "chosen" to inherit the Anambra crown is a pointer to the continued sickness in the system. Charles Soludo has a personality cult, just like Ribadu, but if the system is so dirty that he can not win a candidature nomination or an election without manipulation and rigging, then it is by definition too dirty for anyone to expect him to govern effectively since he will be governing through the same system. And as Ribadu before him, Soludo is now a PARTICIPANT and BENEFICIARY of the system, not an outsider, not a critic, not a reformer; to reform the system is to rob himself of his privileges, status and standard of living. Going forward, Soludo will be as attached to Yar'Adua as Ribadu was to Obasanjo; his job will be to use the governor's office as a bully platform to get the political machines (led by godfathers large and small) in the state to "deliver" Anambra for Yar'Adua's reelection in 2011.

If you are looking for true reform/restructuring/transformation .... don't expect to find it. It is not on Yar'Adua's agenda, nor will it be on Soludo's.