Dialogues: USA Africa Dialogue Series - RE: Jonathan's Bribe: Eye-Witness Account

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

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.

Fubara David-West.

--- On Tue, 11/30/10, Mr. Seyi Olu Awofeso <awofeso@mwebafrica.com> wrote:

From: Mr. Seyi Olu Awofeso <awofeso@mwebafrica.com>
Subject: [Nigeria360::Live] Jonathan’s Bribe: Eye-Witness Account
To: nigeria360@yahoogroups.com, NewnaijaPolitics@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, November 30, 2010, 3:11 PM

Jonathan’s Bribe: Eye-Witness Account

By Yinka Odumakin

“After the meeting with the President, he left the wing where we met for another [wing] and said ‘please don't go yet I'm coming’. Sensing what that could [mean] we headed for our cars…We would have left before Orubebe emerged from the president with a brown envelope but for the fact that the drivers were not allowed to stay in the cars.”

Odumakin further explained: “Before we could drive off he [Orubebe] brought the ‘gift’ from the President and he said so. We rejected the money instantly but he was persistent. Wisdom dictated we couldn't be creating scene at the [Aso Rock] villa gate after midnight.”
“We headed to our hotel and called Mr. Tony Uranta to come up with us. We then called Orubebe and put him on speaker to let him know that we are returning the money through Uranta back to him and to the president. Mr. Uranta then said that he appreciated our integrity.”
Mr. Odumakin revealed that the $50,000 came in “five bundles and all $100”. He added that, in order to guarantee that the money was returned to source, they also called Oronto Douglas, a senior adviser to Jonathan, to inform him of their action.

“We had moved on and we ordinarily would not have embarrassed the Presidency on this matter,” Mr. Odumakin further wrote, adding, “But 48 hours after the visit Saharareporters called to inquire if we visited Jonathan, which we confirmed. We then learnt that the meeting leaked through the other party. At that point, it became clear that some people were out to do some dirty job. It was later revealed to us that the story that was actually sold was that we collected money from the Presidency.”

----- Original Message -----
From: Mr. Seyi Olu Awofeso

To: nigeria360@yahoogroups.com ; NewnaijaPolitics@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Monday, November 29, 2010 10:08 AM

Subject: President Jonathan Offered $50,000 Bribe, But We Returned It - Pastor Tunde Bakare Confirms

President Jonathan Offered Us $50,000 Bribe, But We Returned It - Pastor Tunde Bakare Confirms

Posted: November 29, 2010 - 00:42

Posted by siteadmin

By SaharaReporters, New York
Fiery Lagos-based pastor, Tunde Bakare, has confirmed to Saharareporters that President Goodluck Jonathan provided a $50,000 cash bribe to a delegation of the Save Nigeria Group that visited him last Monday, but that the group sent back the money.
Pastor Bakare’s confirmation came in the midst of a tepid denial of our earlier report by Tony Uranta, one of Mr. Jonathan's political operatives. Uranta had claimed on his Facebook page yesterday that Saharareporters misrepresented the crux of the meeting between the president and the Pastor Bakare-led delegation.
Specifically, Uranta denied that Jonathan discussed his ambition to run for office with the SNG delegation. He also stated that no money was offered to the SNG team and claimed that, contrary to our earlier report, the Bakare group had not asked him to return the bribe money to Jonathan.
But in a telephone interview with Saharareporters on Sunday evening, Pastor Bakare confirmed that the details of our earlier exclusive report were factual and unimpeachable.
Bakare, who has a reputation for speaking out fearlessly on current political issues, affirmed that the Minister of the Niger Delta, Godsday Orubebe, had offered the SNG delegation the sum of $50,000 on behalf of President Jonathan. The SNG had met with Jonathan to review his performance in office.
In the phone interview, Pastor Bakare stated categorically that his team was indeed offered money after it submitted a position paper on why it was opposed to the president's ambition to be re-elected. He confirmed that the cash was immediately returned to sender through Uranta, shortly after it was presented to the SNG delegation.
The SNG convener told Saharareporters that his team felt terribly embarrassed and offended by the orchestrated attempt by Jonathan and his team to buy the SNG’s support through illicit means.
An obviously angry Bakare said, “You can quote me. I don't do deals and I don't lie. Tony [Uranta] could be saving his own face. Tony lied that he didn't collect the money from us. There are living witnesses. Orubebe has confirmed to me that the money was returned. Mr. President is aware through Oronto Douglas that we returned his money through Tony.”

Bakare said he, Yinka Odumakin and other SNG officials went to the meeting with Jonathan with a written document that explained why the SNG would not support his candidacy.
“We submitted a document regarding the culture of impunity in which he (Jonathan) continues to swim," he said.
As Saharareporters had exclusively reported, Jonathan sought a meeting with the Save Nigeria Group to discuss his ambition to run for office after it dawned on him that former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, the consensus candidate chosen by the so-called Northern Political Elders Forum, was going to present a stiff political challenge.
A close aide to Mr. Jonathan told Saharareporters that, whilst Atiku is steeped in corruption, the president was also aware that the Atiku group had a dossier on corrupt deals by both Jonathan, his wife and his close associates and advisors, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
After Bakare made his presentation and accused Jonathan of having abused the goodwill offered him by Nigerians, the president tried to buy the group’s loyalty by giving its officials $50,000 through Orubebe.
An Abuja-based democratic activist told Saharareporters that, by attempting to buy the SNG's support, Mr. Jonathan had “exposed himself to charges of hypocrisy and doing the opposite of what he preaches.”
In a speech on Saturday, Mr. Jonathan had urged Nigerians to ignore politicians who seek to win elections by offering money to groups and individuals.
The president gave the do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do sermon at the 2010 graduation ceremony of the Senior Executive Course 32 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) in Kuru, Plateau State. Vice President Namadi Sambo represented the president at the event and read the speech on Jonathan’s behalf.