Great anlysis of this issue by Dr Ola Kassim! He spoke my MIND on several of the wonderments surrounding this issue, especially the following:
1. "In a nation in which close to half of her 150 million citizens live in abject poverty, Nigerians must ask the President about the justification for this kind of largesse and where the money is coming from."
2. "....the fact that the dirty money was promptly returned to the sender completely absolves the SNG of either having committed a criminal offence or a moral sin,......The return of the illicit funds represents the silver lining in the black cloud of this ugly transaction....The SNG is no longer the issue in this matter; I believe that they have absolved themselves of any guilt by returning the brown envelope containing $50,000.00 intact."""
3. ""There is certainly no doubt that any amount, small or large doled out in this manner either as gift or bribe and in whatever currency represents a missed opportunity for fellow Nigerians. These are funds that should have been spent on healthcare and education and in providing other essential services for the citizens of Nigeria."""
As I earlier today in connection with the ECOWAS Court ruling that Nigeria should use her surplus resources to educate her citizens, it is really sad that the minority of Nigerians who currently enjoy the nation’s wealth just want to continue the cronyism, greed and amassing of unneeded riches at the expense of the advancement of society and people. In particular, Nigerian leaders appear to be antipathic to issues, programs and projects that benefit the people and the majority of the Citizens. This psychology may at least partly explain why there is no City in Nigeria with mass transit, public pipe-borne water, regular electricity and infrastructures or projects that benefit the masses. Poor Naija! Daalu Dr. Kassim. Take care all. JUI (Getting ready to go spend QUALITY TIME with Mom at Agenebode!)
From: NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com on behalf of OlaKassimMD@aol.com
Sent: Tue 30-Nov-10 11:53 PM
To: nigeria360@yahoogroups.com; naijapolitics@yahoogroups.com; nigerianworldforum@yahoogroups.com; omoodua@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [NIgerianWorldForum] Jonathan’s Bribe: Eye-Witness Account
Dear Fubara:
I share your frustration on this issue. The Aso Rock incident involving the prinicpals
of the SNG, its aftermath`and our individual and collective reactions to the
incident are symptomatic of what Nigeria has become-- a totally immoral and decadent
society in which both the rulers and the majority of the ruled have lost almost all
sense about what is right or wrong and what is decent or indecent. The legal luminary
Prince Ajibola lamented our moral state in a speech he delivered about one year ago.
I couldn't agree with him more!
Nigeria is now a nation where the citizens are unable to tell the difference between
what is offered as a gift and what is offered as a bribe.
Regardless of the intention of the giver/offerer, the majority
voice in decent communities in most jurisdictions throughout would probably
not have had any difficulties in condemning this act.
Yet, as Nigerians we remain divided about the amoral underpinnings of this
ugly incident. Some are busy rationalizing this indecent transaction-- offering their
support on the basis of their ethnic affliation with the players in the interaction,
whilst others are blaming the SNG for returning the money. Others based on ethinic
and other affiliations can see no evil on the part of the SNG no matter what..
One netter--I believe Eric Ayoola even suggested that the money should have been
kept and receipted by the SNG and deployed
to run its programs. I refuse to accept this idea of the end
justifying the means. Such warped mentality is at the root of the mess we have created
for ourselves in Nigeria.
As Dominic Ogbonna observed yesterday, If the amount of $50,000..00 was meant as a gift
--we need to ask how often this kind of gift is offered
to visitors at Aso Rock not only under the GEJ regime, but under previous
administrations
If this is an official gift from the government of Nigeria and the
President was acting on behalf of the citizens, we must ask under which expense
account this amount and similar ones are being dispensed to visitors to Aso Rock.
If on the other hand it is a personal gift from the President, the Press on behalf of
the citizens of Nigeria should be asking how the President became so rich, that
he could dispense such sums of money from his official salary. But no one is asking!
If on the other this was meant as a bribe, (a scenario already denied by the Presidency)
then a crime has been committed on the part of the Presidency.
As I have pointed out in all my submissions, the fact that the dirty money was promptly returned
to the sender completely absolves the SNG of either having committed a criminal offence or a moral
sin, even if their handling of the aftermath leaves much to be desired. The return of the illicit funds represents the
silver lining in the black cloud of this ugly transaction.
There seems to be just as much confusion about the nature of the transaction even within the leadership
of the SNG. One half of the leadership has insinuated that the offer was a bribe--without really using the word
bribe or graft ( "as they would not ordinarily have wanted to embarrass the Presidency")--
paraphrasing Yinka Odumakin),
while the other half, Pastor Tunde Bakare has publicly declared that the money was a GIFT,
(specifically reimbursement for transportation--bus or air ticket expenses). in Yoruba culture this practice is referred
to as--Owo Irinse as we were reminded by Sister Triple A yesterday. However there exists a reasonable limit] amongst the
Yoruba about what amounts are acceptable as Owo Irinse, regardless of how wealthy the giver is and how needy'the
recipient is respectively. In other words $50,000.00 is too much for Owo Irinse!
In a nation in which close to half of her 150 million citizens live in abject poverty, Nigerians
must ask the President about the justification for this kind of largesse and where the money is
coming from.
If the money is for air transportation alone--it is certainly more than what is required
for the travel expenses of the 20 or so delegates who attended the midnight meeting at Aso Rock.
If it was meant to pay for their time (i.e. compensation for loss of income on the time spent visiting
Aso Rock)--we must ask whether the Presidency has a written policy and a schedule that guides
such payments to visitors.
Either way one looks at this matter --gift or graft--I believe strongly that Aso Rock has a case to answer..
SNG, in all fairness does not have any case to answer.
Even more disappointing is our individual and collective responses to this incident. Just like Nigerians
at home, the netters (if indeed we are an accurate representation of the entire Diaspora) are also equally
divided regarding the nature of this transaction. I sincerely doubt if citizens of many other nations
would be in as much quandary as we have been in telling the difference between a GIFT and a BRIBE
and once this is decided about the appropriateness of such offers in official engagements.
There is certainly no doubt that any amount, small or large doled out in this manner either as gift or bribe
and in whatever currency represents
a missed opportunity for fellow Nigerians. These are funds that should have been
spent on healthcare and education and in providing other essential services for the citizens of Nigeria.
The SNG is no longer the issue in this matter; I believe that they have absolved themselves of
any guilt by returning the brown envelope containing $50,000.00 intact.
Rather the moral burden on this matter remains with the Presidency. The buck stops at the president's
desk!
Bye,
Ola
-----Original Message-----
From: Fubara David-West <davidwest62@yahoo.com>
To: nigeria360@yahoogroups.com; naijapolitics@yahoogroups.com; nigerianworldforum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tue, Nov 30, 2010 9:31 pm
Subject: Re: [Nigeria360::Live] Jonathan’s Bribe: Eye-Witness Account
From: Fubara David-West <davidwest62@yahoo.com>
To: nigeria360@yahoogroups.com; naijapolitics@yahoogroups.com; nigerianworldforum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tue, Nov 30, 2010 9:31 pm
Subject: Re: [Nigeria360::Live] Jonathan’s Bribe: Eye-Witness Account
| I do not know if other readers now understand what this "bribe" was supposed to be buying. This group had a meeting with the president, during which the president's performance in office was discussed. After the meeting, someone passed on some money (the bribe?), to the group. Why would the president's men do that? Is this something that Nigerian presidents do, under normal circumstances? Otherwise, why would the president's assistants think that the Bakare group should be paid some money? Was this an attempt to buy the silence of a vocal critic? I thank you.
|
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