Kennedy.
You seem to miss the point. Was an exemption certificate necessary for Kemi Adeosun when she was no longer a youth when she returned after her studies abroad? I just read the link to the Act.
What do you mean she could arrange to do her service when she was no longer eligible to do any service in view of her age by the time she returned to Nigeria?
How can you be so categorical that SHE forged the certificate herself? Provide the proof for your claim!
Because she did not want to provide names of associates in order not to compromise their career or government is that by itself an admission of guilt? ( You have been described as a barrister) I know that government officials DO work through associates in view of their heavy schedules.
You said the NYSC authorities ought to be commended for not following through with Mrs Adeosuns request which they received ( on the premise they did not issue her certificate). How so?
OAA.
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
-------- Original message --------From: 'Kennedy Emetulu' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>Date: 19/09/2018 07:41 (GMT+00:00)Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - On the Resignation of Kemi Adeosunas Finance Minister
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Professor Aluko,
Thank you for your latest response. I didn't spend anytime "crafting" my five questions to you because they're just the natural questions that came to mind after reading your earlier response to me. Answering them would have helped the cause of understanding in this debate. But, I respect the fact that you have chosen to move on, even if in doing so, you've left me with an article by my brother, Tope Popoola. As you know, I've dispassionately addressed some of the issues he's raised in my response to you.
Professor Aluko, for many Nigerians, Diaspora and home-based, serving Nigeria is a labour of love. We know we have many issues, but we must not confuse things. We cannot always be wheeling out our well-known social problems as a fit-all response in defence of persons who've made evidently poor judgment in public service. This whole canonisation of Kemi Adeosun is not in the interest of propriety. Sure, there is room for sympathy, but none for sentiments in analysing the issues involved.
Mr Popoola's many troubles with the Nigerian culture of fakery is everyday stuff, but his problem with the NYSC is a unique one and certainly not comparable to Adeosun's. It does not reflect well on the NYSC that a citizen after service has no Discharge Certificate, but we thank God that they at least gave him a letter of attestation which serves the same purpose as a Discharge Cerificate. Of course, this isn't in any way a defence of the NYSC's handling of his issue, it's just a fact that we need to recognise when attempting a comparison with Adeosun's situation.
Let me now use this opportunity to respond to some of the questions raised by Mr Popoola. I hope my intervention will help us understand the issues better.
"1. If indeed, Kemi applied for an exemption as confirmed by NYSC, how long does it take for NYSC to give a response, positive or negative to such a request? If she hadn't, I would have been worried. But she did! Kemi served as Commissioner for Finance in Ogun State for FOUR years and another THREE as Minister at the Federal level and yet, no official response to her request! I can identify with that. NYSC NEVER replied any of my enquiries on the whereabouts of my Discharge Certificate almost forty years ago till today!"
Mr Popoola's experience with the NYSC is different from Kemi Adeosun's. Mr Popoola actually served and even though he was not given a Discharge Certificate, he got a letter of attestation that serves the same purpose. Kemi Adeodun's letter is not relevant because that is not the way prospective Corps members and persons qualified for exemption are mobilized. What Kemi ought to have done was present her credentials to the NYSC and report for mobilization. The NYSC system would therefrom determine her status and give her a Certificate of Exemption once it is determined from the information provided that she is qualified for exemption.
In her case, she is not qualified for exemption because she finished her degree programme at 22. So, what she ought to have done once she decided to come home was arrange for her NYSC service time, after reporting for orientation, to be served with her company while she was in the private sector. Instead, what she did was ignore it because she saw no need for it at the time. But once she knew she was going to be appointed a Commissioner, which would require a public presentation of her credentials, she chose the ill-advised route of presenting a forged Certificate of Exemption. She was able to get away with it twice when she presented it because she had people covering up for her in the system. It's only come to light now because Premium Times made it their duty to expose her. She was forced to resign because of public outcry.
"2. Could a staff of NYSC have scammed Kemi, taking advantage of her naivety, to produce and present the forged certificate to her, purporting it to be the response of the NYSC to her request, a possible reason why she did not bother to pursue the matter further with NYSC?"
No. In this very case, the NYSC authorities ought to be commended because they rebuffed pressures to cover up for her. I know this as a matter of fact because I have followed the matter closely. No NYSC staff was mentioned or implicated in any way. The forged Certificate of Exemption did not come from the NYSC, so the question of any NYSC staff scamming her does not arise. Kemi Adeosun in her letter of resignation said some associates gave her guidance and advice, but she never mentioned the names of these associates neither did she say they procured the forged Certificate of Exemption for her. The only name mentioned is Kemi Adeosun's. If indeed anyone helped her to forge the Certificate of Exemption or helped procure it, she should mention these persons. She cannot just say she was misled by associates she trusted without mentioning their names or the role they played in the saga. It's not difficult to see why we cannot believe her just like that.
"3. Did Kemi, not having lived or operated in Nigeria before she was headhunted by Governor Ibikunle Amosun, have a way of knowing what an authentic exemption certificate looks like for her to discern that the one she got was fake? I have lived in Nigeria all my life, used several cars, renewed several driver's licenses over a 36-year period, yet, I was scammed by officials of the relevant agencies!"
Kemi knows the Certificate of Exemption in her possession is fake. She procured a fake Certificate of Exemption to clinch the Commissionership and later the ministerial appointment and she did so because those who should be vetting the documents were protecting her. The only reason the rest of us have come to know about it now after years of cover-up is because Premium Times exposed her.
"4. Was it out of place for Kemi to have relied on the certificate she was given, especially when there was no subsequent communication from NYSC granting or refusing her exemption?"
Certificate given by who? As I explained, the NYSC does not mobilize prospective Corps members or those eligible for exemption through letters. She was not given any Exemption Certificate by the NYSC. Unlike, Mr Popoola who actually served and who in the account of his victimhood with fake service providers showed that he would go to any length to get the right thing, Mrs Adeosun did not even visit the NYSC at all. I mean, what does that say? She did not even tell us that anyone procured this forged Certificate of Exemption for her. It's obvious she forged it herself and had hoped to get away with it. She did for sometime because with big political lords as godfathers, she was 'protected'. But excellent investigative journalism from Premium Times exposed her. Mr Popoola was a victim throughout his ordeals, but Mrs Adeosun was not a victim. She was a perpetrator who got away with it for years as Commissioner in Ogun State and Minister of the Federal Republic with everything that comes with that. She has profited immensely from her criminality.
Below is a link to an interview with Anthony Ani, a former Director of Mobilization at the National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) explaining how mobilization is done and how Certificates of Exemption are procured. Also below is a link to the NYSC Act. People should read and understand that what Mrs Adeosun is talking is pure bullshit. I mean, it's obvious that she knew she had to do the one year NYSC programme when she came to the country. But she didn't do it while working in the private sector because while there, she didn't have to submit anything for public scrutiny. But as soon as it became clear she was going to be a Commissioner in Ogun State, she procured a forged one.
https://www.thecable.ng/dont-apply-exemption-certificate-says-ex-nysc-director
http://lawnigeria.com/LawsoftheFederation/NATIONAL-YOUTH-SERVICE-CORPS-ACT.html
"5. Is the NYSC not complicit in the entire process? If you ask me, I think that the NYSC is the real culprit here! That body has a case to answer!"
The NYSC has discharged itself creditably. They were not involved at any level and they have done well to rebuff the attempts to compromise them over this matter.
"6. Would Kemi, with her pedigree and her exposure, have deliberately committed a fraud over an exemption certificate? I doubt it. She never claimed that she served. Her claim was that she sought an exemption. NYSC confirmed that much".
Kemi knew what she was doing. She wanted the job of Commissioner and the only thing that could have stopped her was the lack of a Discharge Certificate or Certificate of Exemption. She forged the latter to clinch the job and later to also clinch the job of Minister of Finance. She could not have been a Commissioner or Minister without the Exemption Certificate. People should be worried that she was able to scam the nation for more than 7 years.
"7. Why the special focus on Kemi? Why did the story break just shortly after her tiff with the Senate as well as NNPC and its opaque operations? It reminds one very rudely of Lamido Sanusi's travails. He was hailed as the whiz kid of Nigerian banking until he started prying into NNPC issues! He was promptly pilloried and sacrificed. Ditto Nuhu Ribadu, czar of anti-corruption, poster boy of institutional probity, until he started trying to fish in 'sacred' waters! Coincidence? A Presidential aide, Okoi Obono-Obla has allegedly had his Secondary School Leaving Certificate repudiated by WAEC. He continues to be on the roll of Nigerian lawyers and a presidential Special Adviser. It has not generated the same hoopla as Kemi's case has. Yet, thankfully, none of Kemi's academic credentials is suspect".
First, this is a conspiracy theory. Kemi's situation is not comparable to Lamido Sanusi's or Ribadu's. She wasn't exactly a revolutionary figure within the government dreaded by any special interest. She was just there being a conformist, doing the biddings of her godfathers. We have heard reports that during her Senate hearings, there were persons who knew of the forged Certificate of Exemption and who blackmailed her to get confirmation. So, she has friends amongst them and was never at loggerheads with them. I mean, even if she was, it does not justify the fact that she actually used a forged Certificate of Exemption to get two top jobs in the public service. Nobody planted it on her; she procured it and she's used it to benefit herself at the expense of the nation.
People have not focused on her specially. The public have also been calling for the sack of Obono-Obla and Louis Edozien, but Kemi Adeosun is the most high-profile of the lot. To me, what is obvious is that the resignation became necessary, not only because of public outcry, but because it also played nicely into the hands of the hegemonists in the administration. Just imagine the outcome of it all. Zainab Ahmed, Nasir el-Rufai's sister who is the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning has now taken over the Finance ministry and Ogun State has lost its constitutional place in the federal cabinet. Who is the winner now if not the hegemonists?
"8. If indeed Kemi carried a British passport until the age of 34, would it then be right to technically refer to her as a Nigerian until that time when she chose dual citizenship by obtaining a Nigerian passport? Lawyers can help me out here. I want to be educated".
I have responded to this question in my first response to you. Earlier in the evening, I also responded to Feyi Fawehinmi in the link below. Please, note that apart from my initial response to Feyi, several other explanatory posts followed in the course of the discussion. The position is clear. Kemi has always been a Nigerian citizen since birth irrespective of when she chose to collect her passport.
https://www.facebook.com/FeyiF/posts/10160842044400503?__tn__=-UC-R
"Until I have reason to be otherwise convinced, going by my experiences shared in the first and second parts of this write-up, I believe that Kemi Adeosun, like many other Nigerians, including possibly YOU reading this, was just a pawn in a chess game where the Grand Masters have learnt to prey on the intelligence of a people who hardly interrogate issues beyond hype and hoopla, even when they themselves are also mere pawns".
Kemi was no pawn. She's a failed Grandmaster. The truth isn't that complicated.
"It is Kemi today. She is the dog being called a bad name. Technically, she has just been hanged. Perhaps she is culpable and is stewing in her own juice. Maybe she was just a victim of her own "ajebutter" naivety. It may be YOU tomorrow. Did you say it cannot happen to you?"
She's lucky to be getting away without prosecution and without a request for restitution. She illegally earned money and privileges as a Commissioner and Minister. If she's prosecuted, the law will not allow her benefit from her criminality. She's better off lying low. She's got no case.
"Maybe. But before you make that boast, go into your own records and those of your children if they were issued in Nigeria before the chess players do so for you. Every single one of them. Birth certificate. Primary School Leaving Certificate. Secondary school. University. NYSC Discharge Certificate. Marriage certificate. Driver's License. Vehicle particulars. Land purchase documents. Property documents. Certificate of Occupancy. Import Duty certificates. Tax records. Verify that they are all genuine. Maybe then, you can join those who pillory Kemi Adeosun".
No, it's a simple matter of forgery done by Kemi Adeosun herself and nobody else. She did it to get an advantage and she did. That's all there is to this.
"If you are not able to do that and you are currently throwing stones at Kemi, watch your back. Just do not venture into public office. Keep throwing your stones by the sidelines. Otherwise, on the day the wind blows to expose the behind of your own fowl, get ready for arrows and javelins to be hurled in your direction while you wonder what on earth happened!!!"
Why? Not every person in public office or seeking public office is a forger or criminal. If you are a forger and criminal and you are in public office, our prayer is that you should be exposed.
"Kemi Adeosun leaves Nigerian public service space with her head held high. She has my respect for honorably resigning, one of the very few public officials to ever do so instead of being kicked out with ignominy, a sacrificial lamb on the altar of our collective systemic dysfunctionality which should have engaged our attention instead of the largely shallow-minded nitpicking that attended this whole saga. To those who may be clinking glasses tonight at her resignation, your victory is phyrric! You may be the next lamb!"
She did nothing extraordinary by resigning and when she did, she did not honourably resign. She sat there for three months while people were calling for her to resign. She was eventually kicked out when the hegemonists decided that they wanted to put their person there pursuant to their own agenda. She is no lamb.
"Today, Kemi returned to Britain, the first place she knew as home, signposting to foreign-born Nigerian diasporans who would like to return home to serve their fatherland that this is a land that eats up its good inhabitants.
Again, our loss becomes their own gain! Very sad!"
No, she isn't the first from Diaspora to serve Nigeria. She had been working in the Nigerian private sector before she came into public service. We cannot have one rule for her and another rule for others. As I said, there is room for sympathy, but no room for sentiments in analysing the issues, except of course if we want to lie to ourselves.
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--On Tue, Sep 18, 2018 at 8:14 PM Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:
Kennedy Emetulu:
Thanks for yours below....again very looong, even looooonger than previous! But I must move on in this new week, especially knowing that Kemi Adeosun is now peacefully back to where she came - her native country - having served her other country (from age 34 to age 51) in the private sector from 2002 to 2011, and in the public sector (state and federal) from 2011 to 2018.
She now has her scars to show, just as I have scars to show in working also in my native country Nigeria in the public sector from 2011 to 2016, and in the private sector from 2016 to 2017,, having worked in my other country USA from 1980 to 2011 (between ages 25 and 56 in the USA, ages 56 and 62 in Nigeria).
Nigeria is an exceptionally difficult environment to work in, especially coming from abroad and INSISTENT on not participating in the many weird acts that yoi see daily, yet hoping to make whatever impsct you can. It is like Abraham in the days of Lot or Joseph in Portiiphar's court. Ordinary Citizens are also so brutalized by their leaders that they see every well,-dressed, English,-speaking official as an OPPRESDOR whose downfall they pray for and gloat about when it happens. It sometimes appears even wicked those wishes, which ate justified as the price to pay for opptession, real or imaginef. Even that mentally has seeped into Didpora Commentators, whose "bloodthirstinrss" can be sometimes quite chilling.
So please I beg off responding to your five questions below, even though you must have spent a lot on time crafting them. But I leave you below with this long piece penned by one Tope Popoola who I have no idea who he is. But as I read it, I shook my head at it' authenticity of the Nigerian condition, many of which I experienced mydelf
And here you have it.
Best wishes.
Bolaji Aluko
Quote
KEMI ADEOSUN: THE SAGA OF THE DOG AND A BAD NAME
by Tope Popoola
I have no NYSC Discharge certificate. Yes, you read that right. And I graduated long before I was thirty. Before you reach out for your whistle or recommend me for trial, hold your peace. I served. I was originally posted to Bauchi state but later redeployed to the then University of Ife in the old Oyo state because Prof. Wole Soyinka requested for my services. Through no fault of mine, I was never issued a discharge certificate. I wrote several letters to NYSC and paid follow-up visits but nobody knew what happened to my certificate between Bauchi and Ibadan. All I got was a letter of attestation to confirm that I actually served! That is almost forty years ago! I still carry the crumpled piece of paper around!
In 2007, I applied for the renewal of my Driver's License. For close to two years, I was paying visits to the Oyo State Secretariat office of FRSC for photo capture without success. In all that period, all I had was the duplicate of the form I filled to show proof that I had actually applied for a renewal. The story throughout the period was either no light to operate the generator or when there was light, the relevant officer was not on seat. But I knew that my dilemma was because I refused to play ball by going through a third party, tout or FRSC official.
In 2009, I relocated to Lagos. One of the first things I did was to go to the headquarters of the Local Government in Agege where I lived to see if I could process the renewal there. I went through all the required processes and eventually got my "license". Or did I? Three years later when I needed to do a renewal, I went to the FRSC office in Ekiti where I moved to in 2012. Shock of my life; I was told that the license I was holding which had all the watermarks and imprint of an authentic license was FAKE!!! The system had NO RECORD of it! Yet, I did not obtain it through a third party. So, through no fault of mine, I who obtained my first Driver's License in 1982, was now being treated as a fresh applicant for a license in 2012, thirty years later! In the period that I used that license, I would have boldly tendered it to any officer of the law on demand, not knowing that it could have landed me in trouble!
Sometime in 2009, I got a car. The former owner, a respectable member of the society, took the pains to complete its registration in my name and sent me the documents. Upon expiration of the particulars, as is my custom, I PERSONALLY went to the Licensing office in Lagos to renew them. To my utter chagrin, it turned out that the documents I was carrying were fake, even though the person who gave me the car, being a person of integrity had processed the papers through what he believed to be legitimate channels! He was scandalized upon hearing what happened. But we had to go through the process afresh to legitimize ownership. Had I had an issue with the law before then, the car could have been impounded!
When the IG of police issued the directive on permit for tinted windows, I took my car to the Police Headquarters in Ado-Ekiti to process the application. A few months before then, I changed from the old number plate to a new one. So I went with the "valid" documents. To my utter amazement, when the officer keyed in my car details with the new number, it said that my number had not been allocated to any vehicle, meaning that I was technically driving a car with a fake plate number! But for the goodwill I enjoy in the society, my car would have been impounded as a stolen vehicle while I could have been arrested as a receiver of stolen goods. The officer explained to me why. It turned out that my insurance certificate was not genuine and so was not captured in the system. Yet, I remember telling them at the Licensing office that I wanted a genuine certificate with a reputable insurance company when they offered me options that could have meant paying half the statutory amount to get a certificate. I insisted on paying FULL VALUE and still got a fake certificate in the name of a registered insurance company! In rage, I immediately headed for the licensing office. The supervising officer apologized but of course, no one was willing to take responsibility for the gaffe. I had to pay again for another certificate but this time around, I practically stood on their neck until I was shown proof that the details were captured in the FRSC system that would interface with their own transactions. Thereafter, I went back to the Police Headquarters to process my permit and with one click, the officer was able to access my information. Yet, not once in all of the narratives above did I patronize touts or a third party/agent! I went to those offices personally because I wanted to do what I believed to be right!
I am sure many of you reading this may not even know that it is possible that the Customs Papers or other documentation of your vehicles may not be genuine even though you were charged full value and perhaps more for their processing! Imagine the shock that would envelope you when, on a routine stop and search by any of Customs, Police or FRSC, you are pointedly told that the documents you so confidently threw at them on demand were fake! Assume that they follow due process and charge you to court. You are either made to pay a fine or sent to jail for forgery. Even if it is only for a week, you have become an ex-convict, unfit to hold public office for life except by a judicial pardon. For no fault of yours, you become persona non grata, an institutional untouchable! This is the precarious situation that pervasive institutional corruption exposes ALL of us to!
That is the kind of experience I am sure Kemi Adeosun, immediate past Finance Minister must have fallen victim to.
When the story of the 'forged' NYSC Exemption Certificate first broke, I, like many people, was totally flabbergasted and outraged that someone of her caliber would ever do such a thing. But I felt a restraint in me and so did not immediately make any comment because I felt that to do so would be highly prejudicial. My position was further justified when NYSC issued a public statement to the effect that Kemi actually applied for an exemption certificate. I am glad I obeyed my instincts.
Reading the context and content of her resignation letter, I felt sorry for Kemi, an unwitting victim of a system rigged for incompetence and wired to serve the greed of some miscreants who ensure that the system never experiences seamless operations.Anyone listening to Kemi speak would know that she did not grow up here in Nigeria. That much she confirmed in her letter. She had her first Nigerian passport at the age of 34! What this means is that as at 22 when she graduated, she was technically NOT a bona fide Nigerian citizen! She was BRITISH! I am not a lawyer and hold no brief for her but if she technically did not become a Nigerian citizen until 34, should the law on compulsory service for anyone under 30 have been retroactively applied? I would like to believe that this was the basis of her applying for an exemption!
A few questions emerge here:
1. If indeed, Kemi applied for an exemption as confirmed by NYSC, how long does it take for NYSC to give a response, positive or negative to such a request? If she hadn't, I would have been worried. But she did! Kemi served as Commissioner for Finance in Ogun State for FOUR years and another THREE as Minister at the Federal level and yet, no official response to her request! I can identify with that. NYSC NEVER replied any of my enquiries on the whereabouts of my Discharge Certificate almost forty years ago till today!
2. Could a staff of NYSC have scammed Kemi, taking advantage of her naivety, to produce and present the forged certificate to her, purporting it to be the response of the NYSC to her request, a possible reason why she did not bother to pursue the matter further with NYSC?
3. Did Kemi, not having lived or operated in Nigeria before she was headhunted by Governor Ibikunle Amosun, have a way of knowing what an authentic exemption certificate looks like for her to discern that the one she got was fake? I have lived in Nigeria all my life, used several cars, renewed several driver's licenses over a 36-year period, yet, I was scammed by officials of the relevant agencies!
4. Was it out of place for Kemi to have relied on the certificate she was given, especially when there was no subsequent communication from NYSC granting or refusing her exemption?
5. Is the NYSC not complicit in the entire process? If you ask me, I think that the NYSC is the real culprit here! That body has a case to answer!
6. Would Kemi, with her pedigree and her exposure, have deliberately committed a fraud over an exemption certificate? I doubt it. She never claimed that she served. Her claim was that she sought an exemption. NYSC confirmed that much.
7. Why the special focus on Kemi? Why did the story break just shortly after her tiff with the Senate as well as NNPC and its opaque operations? It reminds one very rudely of Lamido Sanusi's travails. He was hailed as the whiz kid of Nigerian banking until he started prying into NNPC issues! He was promptly pilloried and sacrificed. Ditto Nuhu Ribadu, czar of anti-corruption, poster boy of institutional probity, until he started trying to fish in 'sacred' waters! Coincidence? A Presidential aide, Okoi Obono-Obla has allegedly had his Secondary School Leaving Certificate repudiated by WAEC. He continues to be on the roll of Nigerian lawyers and a presidential Special Adviser. It has not generated the same hoopla as Kemi's case has. Yet, thankfully, none of Kemi's academic credentials is suspect.
8. If indeed Kemi carried a British passport until the age of 34, would it then be right to technically refer to her as a Nigerian until that time when she chose dual citizenship by obtaining a Nigerian passport? Lawyers can help me out here. I want to be educated.
Until I have reason to be otherwise convinced, going by my experiences shared in the first and second parts of this write-up, I believe that Kemi Adeosun, like many other Nigerians, including possibly YOU reading this, was just a pawn in a chess game where the Grand Masters have learnt to prey on the intelligence of a people who hardly interrogate issues beyond hype and hoopla, even when they themselves are also mere pawns.
It is Kemi today. She is the dog being called a bad name. Technically, she has just been hanged. Perhaps she is culpable and is stewing in her own juice. Maybe she was just a victim of her own "ajebutter" naivety. It may be YOU tomorrow. Did you say it cannot happen to you?
Maybe. But before you make that boast, go into your own records and those of your children if they were issued in Nigeria before the chess players do so for you. Every single one of them. Birth certificate. Primary School Leaving Certificate. Secondary school. University. NYSC Discharge Certificate. Marriage certificate. Driver's License. Vehicle particulars. Land purchase documents. Property documents. Certificate of Occupancy. Import Duty certificates. Tax records. Verify that they are all genuine. Maybe then, you can join those who pillory Kemi Adeosun.
If you are not able to do that and you are currently throwing stones at Kemi, watch your back. Just do not venture into public office. Keep throwing your stones by the sidelines. Otherwise, on the day the wind blows to expose the behind of your own fowl, get ready for arrows and javelins to be hurled in your direction while you wonder what on earth happened!!!
Kemi Adeosun leaves Nigerian public service space with her head held high. She has my respect for honorably resigning, one of the very few public officials to ever do so instead of being kicked out with ignominy, a sacrificial lamb on the altar of our collective systemic dysfunctionality which should have engaged our attention instead of the largely shallow-minded nitpicking that attended this whole saga. To those who may be clinking glasses tonight at her resignation, your victory is phyrric! You may be the next lamb!
Today, Kemi returned to Britain, the first place she knew as home, signposting to foreign-born Nigerian diasporans who would like to return home to serve their fatherland that this is a land that eats up its good inhabitants.Again, our loss becomes their own gain! Very sad!
UNQUOTE--
On Tuesday, September 18, 2018, 'Kennedy Emetulu' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:
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Hehehehehe! Professor Aluko, you know I love you. I love you because you are a principled scholar, even though I believe you are a bad politician. Hahahaha! Okay, seriously, when you look at the law in every jurisdiction, you do so from the perspective of academics and practice, but more from the perspective of practice. Here is what I said:
"The truth is if we really want to get justice, Kemi and whoever she sent to get the certificate for her and whoever helped her with the forged certificate should be facing charges of conspiracy and forgery. If that happens, the court will determine her guilt or innocence. But I am quite certain that if she's arraigned today, she would be easily convicted based on her own statement alone. I mean, there are courts that treat forgery as a strict liability offence while still imposing the full sentence under the Criminal and Penal Codes. The fact that she claims not to be aware that it's a forgery will not absolve her of guilt and the fact that she has been using it before now to get public office positions can only make her case worse".
https://web.facebook.com/kennedy.emetulu/posts/10212355596700343
So, clearly, I have not said the Criminal Code does not apply (where it applies). I am talking of the practices of courts where irrespective of the provisions of the Criminal or Penal Code, they treat the offence of forgery as a strict liability offence while still imposing the full sentence under the Codes. I chose my words carefully. I am referring to practices of lower courts (where the trials take place) where the mental element of the accused is not made part of the charge, that is where the prosecution is only required to prove the ingredients of the offence as charged. In such circumstances, the burden on the prosecution is not to prove mens rea, but simply to prove the ingredients of the offence as charged. Obviously, this is where we can say that the court is treating the matter as a strict liability offence, but even if the lower court gives incorrect reasons for treating it as a strict liability offence, appellate courts have been known to uphold the decision as correct because what they are really concerned with is whether the decision is the correct decision and not whether the reason adduced for the decision is correct. In other words, once the prosecution has proved the ingredients of the offence charged beyond reasonable doubt, irrespective of the fact that they did not prove mens rea, the appellate courts will always uphold the decision as correct.
But, let me once again point out the absurdity of this whole exchange. If you read me well, the key thing I was trying to convey to you is that this whole legal thing you are doing is precipitate. This lady has not been charged to any court, so any discussion about her being not guilty in law, talking mens rea, actus reus and so on is just plainly non sequitur, so to speak. It's a wild goose chase that adds nothing of value to the issue as it is! Okay, here you are again quoting the Criminal Code Act for me and challenging me to look at this or that section, but for what purpose? I Mean, if Kemi Adeosun is going to be charged, she's very likely to be charged under the Penal Code Law or/and ICPC Act. So, what's the whole point of discussing the Criminal Code Act when it is not likely to be the applicable law?
I'm not saying the above to indicate that there's a whole lot of difference between the various criminal laws or codes that apply in different parts of the country, I'm just pointing out the futility of this legal jujitsu that will take us nowhere because this matter is not a fable; it's real even if not in court at the moment. If we therefore choose to go on any legal adventure, we must not lose touch with the facts of the case as we know them so far.
But if you are keen on really having this debate, even with this obvious handicap, if you are interested in talking the law involved at least based on what you and I have been debating so far, I can oblige you. However, if this is what you want to do, considering that our purpose here is to learn from each other; let's help the process of elucidation by taking the debate a bit at a time. I also don't want you to accuse me of writing "looooong", so, we take it bit by bit and I can assure you that we will still arrive our destination at the end of it all. That destination is the opportunity for both of us to clarify every legal issue we have raised to our satisfaction and in a manner that both of us would be clear as to what we are saying and with those reading us to also understand it clearly as well.
To that end, I'm proposing that I start this stage of the debate by just asking you FIVE questions based on the claims you have made so far. I believe your response will ultimately prove what I have stated. Once you have adequately addressed my questions, you can then do the same with me. That way, we make sense to each other and to others following this debate. I have looked at your response and of everything I have said, you seem to have picked issues with only two:
My claim that there are courts that treat forgery as a strict liability offence while still imposing the full sentence under the Criminal and Penal Codes.
The citizenship of Kemi by birth.
NOTE 1:
You have said so many indefensible things so far, but we are not going to ignore them and neither am I asking you to ignore anything I've said that you think I cannot defend. My proposal is simply for us to have some kind of structure to this debate, so we don't talk over each other. I'm not interested in name-calling or personal attacks. As I said, I respect you and have no reason to call you names, even if you choose to insult me. Honestly, I just find the dimension you're taking the whole thing really funny. My focus here is strictly on the issue and the approach I'm suggesting now will help immensely in that regard. Answer my questions based on the claims you have made here and once you've done so, ask me your questions based on the claims I've made. You can ask as many questions and many more questions as many times as you like as far as we keep to this format I've proposed. This is the way to avoid a circular debate.
Now, going with your logic as expressed in relation to the two issues I've identified as your grouses above, please answer these FIVE questions:
You assert that Kemi Adeosun cannot be guilty of forgery because she did not have mens rea. Can you mention any caselaw, just any case at any level of the judicial system where an accused person was charged with forgery and the defence of the lack of mens rea succeeded? In other words, can you show us any case where the sole charge was forgery and a defence of lack of mens rea was successfully canvassed on behalf of the accused?
Can you mention any caselaw, just any case at any level of the judicial system where an accused person was charged with forgery and other offences and the defence of the lack of mens rea was successfully canvassed on behalf of the accused person in relation to the charge of forgery?
Show an example of any person in the world whose citizenship by birth was confirmed by a passport or show any country's passport in the world that confers citizenship by birth on any person.
When the authorities of your country withdraw or withhold your passport (for whatever reason) because it is the property of the government, following your logic, does that mean they are withdrawing your citizenship by birth?
If Kemi Adeosun only thought of herself as a citizen when she was 34, why did she apply for exemption from the NYSC programme when she clearly did not need it because she wasn't graduating at that point? Or did she actually apply or forge an Exemption Certificate or got one forged on her behalf (whether she was aware it was forged or not) only because she knew she graduated at 22 as a Nigerian citizen and that at the age of above 30 she needs an Exemption Certificate, even though her approach is quite irregular?
NOTE II:
What I am doing here is (i) asking you to show proof that your claim that Kemi will not be guilty of forgery in a Nigerian court because she has no mens rea is actually possible in practice and (ii) asking you to show proof that Kemi Adeosun only became a citizen of Nigeria when she got her Nigerian passport at the age of 34.
NOTE III:
"Nobody has claimed that Nike Adeosun forged the NYSC exemption document herself. So this Section does not apply to her". Professor Bolaji
You stated the above somewhere in your last response to me, but I need to tell you here and now that this is not the case because you have chosen to argue the law. I explained earlier that you were being precipitate with your analysis because this matter is not before any court of law yet and even when it comes before the courts, it is not the law you are quoting that will apply. But, you insist on arguing the law. So, that being the case, you cannot make a categorical statement like the one above when the claim has not been tested in a court of law and when neither of us know this for a fact. Here is what Kemi Adeosun said in her letter of resignation:
"Your Excellency, kindly permit me to outline some of the background to this matter. I was born and raised in the United Kingdom, indeed my parental family home remains in London. My visits to Nigeria up until the age of thirty-four (34) were holidays, with visas obtained in my UK passport. I obtained my first Nigerian passport at the age of thirty-four (34) and when I relocated there was debate as to whether NYSC Law applied to me. Upon enquiry as to my status relating to NYSC, I was informed that due to my residency history and having exceeded the age of thirty (30), I was exempted from the requirement to serve. Until recent events, that remained my understanding.
"On the basis of that advice and with the guidance and assistance of those, I thought were trusted associates, NYSC were approached for documentary proof of status. I then received the certificate in question. Having never worked in NYSC, visited the premises, been privy to nor familiar with their operations, I had no reason to suspect that the certificate was anything but genuine. Indeed, I presented that certificate at the 2011 Ogun State House of Assembly and in 2015 for Directorate of State Services (DSS) Clearance as well as to the National Assembly for screening. Be that as it may, as someone totally committed to a culture of probity and accountability I have decided to resign with effect from Friday, 14th September, 2018".
Here are things to note from the above:
There is nothing she stated there that indicates clearly that someone else helped her forge the document. She only said she followed the guidance of and took advice from associates she thought were trusted. She did not say if these associates were the people who procured the forged document for her. She only said based on the advice and guidance of these unnamed associates, "NYSC were approached for documentary proof of status" (whatever that means). NYSC said she made an application, but the forged Certificate of Exemption she has in her possession is not from the NYSC. So, what happened to her application, which itself is not the proper way to seek an exemption? Who forged the Exemption Certificate she has been using to unlawfully occupy public offices against the laws of Nigeria, including earning the money and privileges associated with these positions? Who gave the forged Exemption Certificate to her? The only person in all this, the only person mentioned in all this is Kemi Adeosun. Kemi Adeosun has not told us the role played by those she thought were trusted associates. Did they forge the Exemption Certificate? If so, who are these persons? Did they just give her wrong advice? If so, of what relevance are they in her account? They can only be relevant if they have something to do with the forgery and if they do, Kemi Adeosun should be naming them now. Failure to name any person as part of the forgery squarely makes Kemi Adeosun the forger. In fact, everything about the forged Exemption Certificate indicates it could only have been forged by a person very ignorant of the NYSC programme. The forged Exemption Certificate does not look at all like the standard ones issued by the NYSC and it was 'signed' by a Director-General that had left office eight months before. The NYSC has categorically denied it came from them in any way. No staff of the NYSC has been mentioned or implicated in this forgery. The fact that such an obviously fraudulent document passed security screening twice for high office indicates that there was most likely a syndicated effort to protect her until the Premium Times decided to blow the whistle, which implies that she has always known that it was a forgery. Indeed, we have reports in the press indicating she's been repeatedly blackmailed over it.
So, Professor Aluko, you can get on with your analysis without making a categorical statement about who the forger is and who is not. At the moment only Kemi Adeosun's name is out there over this forgery. If there is a suspect forger, it's Kemi Adeosun until the contrary is proven.
Below is a link to an interview with Anthony Ani, a former Director of Mobilization at the National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) explaining how mobilization is done and how Certificates of Exemption are procured. Also below is a link to the NYSC Act. Read and understand that what Mrs Adeosun is talking is pure bullshit. I mean, it's obvious that she knew she had to do the one year NYSC programme when she came to the country. But she didn't do it while working in the private sector because while there, she didn't have to submit anything for public scrutiny. But as soon as it became clear she was going to be a Commissioner in Ogun State, she procured a forged one. Everything she's said and done over this does not indicate innocence.
https://www.thecable.ng/dont-apply-exemption-certificate-says-ex-nysc-director
http://lawnigeria.com/LawsoftheFederation/NATIONAL-YOUTH-SERVICE-CORPS-ACT.html
………………
--On Mon, Sep 17, 2018 at 1:17 AM Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:
Kenneth Emetulu:
Please review Sections 465-468 of Nigeria's Criminal Code ACT, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990, and tell this court what you really find.--
I am sure that you will find on Part 6, Sections 465-468 that there is a distinction made between a forger and an utterer of forgery.
(1) making a forged document, the actual forger of. Here in Section 465,strict liabilty is implied because the court does not want to waste time with mens rea. Since the forger is not the official issuing agent, of the document and knows it, he has no business making the document, so mens rea has already been established in initiio.
Quote
465. Definition of forgery
A person who makes a false document or writing knowing it to be false and with intent that it may in any way be used or acted upon as genuine, whether in the State or elsewhere, to the prejudice of any person, or with the intent that any person may be in the belief that it is genuine, be induced to do or refrain from doing any act in the State or elsewhere, is said to forge the document.........
The term "make a false do ument or writing" includes altering a genuine document or writing, in any material part either by erasiure, obliteration, removal or otherwise, and making any additional material to the body ....
UNQUOTE
Nobody has claimed that Nike Adeosun forged the NYSC exemption document herself. So this Section does not apply to her.
But even with the forger, mens rea of knowledge and intent must be proven. A man may for example like copying documents as a hobby, , and he puts them in his unlocked cabinet. Then it gets stolen and someone who KNOWS that they are fake uses them fraudulently- utters them The hobbyist is reckless but not guilty of forgery. The utterer is guilty as Section 468 now says.....
(2) uttering a forged document, that is using, propagating a forged document for advantage of yourself or a third party. Section 468 of Nigeria's Criminal Code says as follows
Quote
Anybody who knowingly and fraudulently utters a false document or writing, or a counterfeit seal , is guilty of an offence of the same kind, and is lisble to the same punishment as if he had forged the thing in question
Unquote
..."....which knowing and fraudulently....". Thus, mens rea must be proven for uttering, as well as the forger.
So where did you get your "strict liabilty" definition for forgery in Nigeria's Criminal Code, and in any case why are you not making a distinction between forgery and uttering of forgery?
As to the citizenship controversy of Kemi Adeosun, she was born in 1967, when automatic UK citizenship was afforded her, and long before 1983 when that privilege was terminated.
QuoteIf you were born in the UK or a British colony before 1 January 1983
You became a British citizen on 1 January 1983 if both of the following apply:
- you were a citizen of the UK and Colonies (CUKC) on 31 December 1982
- you had the 'right of abode' in the UK
This includes people who were born in a British colony and had the 'right of abode' in the UK.
It also includes people who:
- were born in the UK
- have been naturalised in the UK
- had registered as a citizen of the UK and Colonies (CUKC)
- could prove legitimate descent from a father to whom one of these applies
'Right of abode' means you:
- are entirely free from UK Immigration Control and don't need permission from an Immigration Officer to enter the UK
- can live and work in the UK without restriction
If you were born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983
You don't automatically get British citizenship if you were born in the UK......
UNQUOTE
Now being born in the UK, she was seen as a UK citizen, whether she had a UK passport or not. Being born to Nigerian parents, the 1960, 1963 and subsequent Constitutions saw her also as a Nigerian citizen, whether she had a Nigerian passport or not. However once she travelled to Nigeria on a. UK passport with a Nigerian visas embossed, Nigeria technically ceased to view her as a Nigerian citizen, since during those periods - until the early Ninertes at least - dual citizenship was not permitted in Nigeria. Otherwise why not insist that she travel on a Nigerisn passport to her own country? (For example, the US insists that American citizens travel on US passports into the US, whether you like it or not. My wife and I learnt that the hard way with one of our infant children whille once returning to the US from Nigeria.). It was therefore when she acquired her Nigerian passport at age 34 in 2001 that she technically became a dual citizens of Nigeria and the UK.
The fact of the matter is that the Nigerian Government did not consider her as a Nigerian citizen until age 34 when she was issued a Nigerian passport, and should not have grandfsthered any NYSC responsibilities back to age 22 when Kemi first graduated for her Bachelor's degree. She should not have needed to apply for any waiver mery with respect to age, but with respect to nationality AND age She was misadvised by associates and probably NYSC officials, and duped probably by one of the NYSC officials who forged or caused to be forged an NYSC certificate, offered it to Kemi, and who uttered the document not knowing it was forged.
There was no conspiracy here. The forger and/or inspirer of the forgery is GUILTY. The
And there you have it.
Bolaji Aluko
On Sunday, September 16, 2018, Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:
Kenneth Emetulu:
Man, you write looooong....But after all the diatribe below, you wrote that
QUOTE
For me, Mrs Adeosun should be allowed to leave in peace,UNQUOTE
with the direct blackmail that any continued expressed support for her will be met with removing that generosity.
It would therefore appear then that deep down you don't really believe that Kemi Adeosun committed a criminal offence, otherwise you would be baying for her blood, like your co-anti-Buharideen Fsrooq Kperogi. In fact, any one reading you below would believe that it is I that should be paraded for acting fake lawyerliness, and that if I have not already forged a lawyer's cerificate, I am most probably already of a guilty mind to forge one, that you merely omitted to write that
For me, Prof. Aluko should NOT be allowed to leave in peace,...
Ngwanu! Where do I report to?
And there you have it!
Bolaji AlukoShaking his head
On Sunday, September 16, 2018, 'Kennedy Emetulu' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:
…
I respect Professor Bolaji Aluko, but this is the kind of analysis that gets me worried. His argument here is so perverse, I don't know where to begin. Okay, let's put our thinking hats on and consider this issue clearly.
First, we do not know Professor Aluko as a lawyer and this matter is not in a court of law. Even if Professor Aluko is the biggest and most brilliant SAN or QC, what he's doing here is precipitate. Sure, anybody in public space can make an analysis of a case before the court and reach any conclusion, but you cannot just sit out here and be acting judge and jury, declaring someone not guilty over a case that is not in court with some half-baked knowledge of the law. When you do that, you invite others to quickly correct you. And that, with all humility, is exactly what I intend to do here.
When this news broke, I made the post below as part of some ongoing discussion about the matter:
https://web.facebook.com/kennedy.emetulu/posts/10212355596700343
In the first paragraph, I said that Nigerian courts have been known to treat forgery as a "strict liability offence". If Professor Aluko had any idea what this means, he wouldn't have come up with all this talk about mens rea, actus rea, negligence, recklessness and all whatnot. Let me explain.
If we look at the whole argument Professor Aluko is putting up in support of Kemi Adeosun, all he's saying is based on the idea or supposition that Kemi Adeosun did not intend to commit the offence. In other words, he believes that she had no mens rea or intention or the 'guilty mind' to commit the offence. He said typically there has to be intent behind the crime and appropriately noted in the quote he provided that "this is not required in every situation". But, curiously, he's jumped to conclude that it is needed in this Kemi Adeosun situation without telling us why or how.
Now, without getting into the ditches with Professor Aluko, what I am saying is that forgery as an offence in law has been treated by the courts as a strict liability offence, that is an offence where mens rea is not needed before guilt is pronounced. It's a strict liability offence because you are liable just by the mere fact of the offence, not by proof of your intent. In layman's terms, it means an offence for which you are guilty, whether you have an intention of committing it or not, as far as the offence has been committed by you or in your name. It means an offence where mens rea is not an issue because no one is considering your intention. No one wants to know if you know about it or not because the fact of the offence is all that is needed for your conviction. For instance, you cannot plead innocence in a traffic offence when the offence has been committed. You cannot say: "Oh, I didn't have an intention of breaching the traffic light" or "It is not my intention to hit the parked car". The law is not interested in your state of mind, only in the fact of your guilt based solely on the outcome of your action. That is what we are talking about here. A document that you have presented in your name is forged; you might not know how the forgery came about, but you are guilty because the offence of forgery has been established in your name.
So far, if you get the meaning of a strict liability offence as I've explained it above, then you should by now know that all the legal jargoning that Professor Aluko is engaged in is unnecessary. Of course, anyone charged with forgery would most likely be charged with conspiracy as well. I mean, forgery does not just happen on its own. It happens because people conspire to make it happen. Now, it might transpire that in the course of trial and the taking of evidence, proof is tendered to show that the beneficiary of the forgery has no idea that the document in question is a forgery. If the court accepts such a finding, it will only mean the person might not be guilty of conspiracy. Yet, that does not absolve them of liability from forgery because as I said that would be treated as a strict liability offence. The fact that they have no idea it's forged or that others they trust conspired to do it without their knowledge might help with mitigation, but it is not a defence.
Professor Aluko thinks Mrs Adeosun's presentation of this forged Exemption Certificate twice without consequences in 2011 and to DSS in 2015 "showed the lack of some elements of mens rea on her part". Apart from the point I've made about mens rea not being the issue, what Professor Aluko does not know is that the court would more likely see her action of repeated presentation of this forged certificate as a sign that she became more confident to use it after she passed the first presentation without a hitch. We should also not forget that there are stories making the rounds that she's been blackmailed about this those two times she had to present it. What that means is that if this comes to trial, we might get more information and more damaging evidence against her that would make her case worse.
Also, Professor Aluko's attempt to create Nigerian citizenship for Kemi Adeosun only after she got her passport at the age of 34 is laughable. The passport does not create a right, it is only evidence of a right for the purposes of travelling and other things. Kemi Adeosun did not become a Nigerian citizen at 34. She was born Nigerian because she was born by parents who themselves are Nigerian citizens. In other words, she is citizen by birth, not be naturalisation. It doesn't matter that she was born abroad or have citizenship of another country. Section 25(1)(c) specifically refers to the case of someone like Kemi Adeosun who is "born outside Nigeria either of whose parents is a citizen of Nigeria." It doesn't say she has to have a Nigerian passport first because the passport does not grant you citizenship if you are already a citizen by birth. I mean, there are many Nigerians who have no need for an international passport because they have not travelled outside the country and have no intention to do so. That does not make any such Nigeria a non-citizen until he/she gets a passport. Such a person without the passport is a citizen already from the moment he or she was born. That is the case of Mrs Adeosun. She became a citizen from the moment she was born, not when she acquired a Nigerian passport.
Honestly, for some of us, Kemi Adeosun is getting away lightly because other citizens in her position are not. Recently, Professor Farooq Kperogi brought us the case of a civil servant by the name of James Ayodele Lebi who has been jailed for using a fake ICAN certificate.
https://web.facebook.com/kennedy.emetulu/posts/10212342155724327:112
Mr James Ayodele Lebi used a fake certificate to rise from Executive Officer to Senior Auditor while working in the office of the Auditor General of the Federation. He did not only lose his job in the civil service, he is now serving time. The case was brought against Mr Lebi by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the court was so worried about it that the Justice Y. Halilu who presided over the case of the Jabi High Court had this to say: "Government should scrutinize all employees on its payroll to ensure that people like the convict do not take advantage of the system because the convict would have risen to the prestigious position of AGF if he had not been caught." But here we are with the case of Mrs Adeosun who has used a fake certificate to rise to the position of Minister of Finance and some are here declaring her not guilty as she walks away free.
From all I've said so far, it's obvious that Professor Aluko's resort to legalese is not the way to go, not only because this case is not in court, but also because to do so smacks of hypocrisy and double standard at worst and ignorance at best. He has no right to declare Kemi Adeosun not guilty in the court of public opinion on the strength of only what she has stated. I mean, why is he talking mens rea, actus rea and all that at this point? Is he now the court to determine if indeed Kemi Adeosun has mens rea or not? In what forum has her statement been tested? Where is the evidence he and his court have considered to know if she's saying the truth or not? Or he's just fine basing his conclusions on the single story of Mrs Adeosun, a story that in itself is a self indictment? Yes, we all may have different ways of looking at issues and we are free to do that in public space, but where crime is the issue, the only forum that determines the guilt or innocence of anyone is the court of law, not the court of Professor Bolajo Aluko or the court of public opinion.
If Professor Aluko is so sure of his position, he should not just sit there and be declaring Kemi Adeosun not guilty, quoting law he knows nothing about. He's not a court, he's not a judge, he's not a lawyer. Let him, like a true citizen seeking justice, begin a campaign to try Adeosun in a proper court of law with a view to restoring her good name since he's so damn sure of her innocence. Let him do so and we will fully support him.
For me, Mrs Adeosun should be allowed to leave in peace, but people must not provoke citizens with this precipitate declaration of innocence. Her ill-advised letter of resignation is insulting enough, let no one push the Nigerian people to start another round of campaigning to get her prosecuted like any other citizen in her position. If that happens, she has no chance in hell because her own letter of resignation alone is enough to convict her. If she goes to trial, she wouldn't only be going to jail, she would be refunding every public money she has been paid from the time she became a Commissioner in Ogun State up till the last day she was Minister of Finance because the court will make it clear that she cannot be allowed to benefit from her criminality.
We know there are more forgers in the administration and we know Kemi Adeosun did not resign to protect some integrity, whether hers or President Buhari's. She resigned because public pressure was brought to bear on the administration to act on the matter and they know there is nowhere to hide. The administration knows no one in the world will take them seriously if they stick with a Minister of Finance with such a baggage, so they had to let her go. But if justice must really be served, she should be in court facing charges for forgery and conspiracy like any other citizen in her position. Let no one push Nigerians to begin to demand that. Let her just quietly slink away as she has. Enough of this nonsense!
…..
--On Sat, Sep 15, 2018 at 6:21 AM Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:
My People:
"Mens rea is the intent a person has behind committing a crime. Typically, there has to be intent behind the crime, but this is not required in every situation. ... Actus reus is the action the person takes to perform the criminal act. This is the physical action behind the crime."
Reading through former Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun's letter relating how she got her non-genuine NYSC exemption certificate after age 34 when she obtained her Nigerian passport for the first time, I declare her NOT GUILTY of the offence because of the non-concurrence of the "actus reus" (the illegal acts of procuring, possessing and presenting the certificate in question) and all the four elements of "mens rea" (the purposeful, knowledgeable, reckless and negligent intention of committing a crime).
Quote
**Purpose: A person acts purposefully (intentionally) if he acts with the intent that his action causes a certain result. In other words, the defendant undertakes his action either intending for, or hoping that, a certain result will follow.....
**Knowledge: A person acts knowingly if he is aware that his conduct will result in certain consequences. In other words, a person acts knowingly if he is aware that it is practically certain that his conduct will cause a specific result.......
**Recklessness: A person acts recklessly if he is aware of a substantial risk that a certain result will occur as a result of his actions. The risk must be substantial enough that the action represents a gross deviation from what a reasonable law abiding person would do.......
**Negligence: A person acts negligently if they should have been aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a certain consequence would result from their actions. Although the level of risk is the same for both recklessness and negligence, the difference between the two is that with recklessness, the actor must be aware of the risk involved with her actions, whereas, for negligence, the actor is not aware of the risks but should have known what those risks were.......
Unquote
Adeosun's presentation of an Exemption Certificate twice without consequence in 2011 and to DSS in 2015 showed the lack of some elements of mens rea on her part.
Even though Kemi was born in the UK in 1967 to Nigerian parents, she was a British citizen only using Nigerian visas embossed on her UK passport until age 34 during s period much of which dual citizenship was not enabled in Nigeria.. She received her Bachelor's degree at age 22, beyond the adult age of 18 when she did not declare Nigerian citizenship. She might as well have been Greek! Technically, she should not have been required to do NYSC at all, and should not have even needed to get a waiver certificate. But to be doubly sure, she got an agent - who turned out to be unscrupulous - to process her NYSC exemption certificate, which turned out either to be entirely fake (not issued by NYSC at all, at "Oluwole") or issued from the NYSC but bypassing certain due processes (through "wuruwuru") we are not sure which one really. She certainly was negligent, but was not reckless, purposive and she lacked knowledge about all the processes involved. It is most unlikely that she is the only Diaspors Minister or top Government official similarly "victimized* over this NYSC matter, whose rules must now be better clarified.
I commend her for this resignation and wish her well in all her future endeavors. I am happy that I was able to convey my admiration of her effort as Finance Minister to her personally in Abuja in May 2018 before this sordid and teachable-moment affair broke. She is bloodied but not bowed.
And there you have it.
Bolaji Aluko
See:.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STATE HOUSE PRESS STATEMENT
PRESIDENT BUHARI ACCEPTS RESIGNATION OF FINANCE MINISTER, KEMI ADEOSUN
President Muhammadu Buhari Friday accepted the resignation of the Hon. Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun. The President thanked the Minister for her services to the nation and wished her well in her future pursuits.
The President also approved that the Minister of State Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, should oversee the Ministry of Finance with effect from today.
Below is the full text of Mrs Adeosun's resignation letter.
FEMI ADESINA
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
September 14, 2018.
----------------------------------------------------
14th September, 2018
His Excellency
Muhammadu Buhari
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria
State House
Aso Villa
Abuja
Dear Excellency,
Let me commence by thanking you profusely for the honour and privilege of serving under your inspirational leadership. It has been a truly rewarding experience to learn from you and to observe at close quarters your integrity and sense of duty.
I have, today, become privy to the findings of the investigation into the allegation made in an online medium that the Certificate of Exemption from National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) that I had presented was not genuine. This has come as a shock to me and I believe that in line with this administration's focus on integrity, I must do the honourable thing and resign.
Your Excellency, kindly permit me to outline some of the background to this matter. I was born and raised in the United Kingdom, indeed my parental family home remains in London. My visits to Nigeria up until the age of thirty-four (34) were holidays, with visas obtained in my UK passport. I obtained my first Nigerian passport at the age of thirty-four (34) and when I relocated there was debate as to whether NYSC Law applied to me. Upon enquiry as to my status relating to NYSC, I was informed that due to my residency history and having exceeded the age of thirty (30), I was exempted from the requirement to serve. Until recent events, that remained my understanding.
On the basis of that advice and with the guidance and assistance of those, I thought were trusted associates, NYSC were approached for documentary proof of status. I then received the certificate in question. Having never worked in NYSC, visited the premises, been privy to nor familiar with their operations, I had no reason to suspect that the certificate was anything but genuine. Indeed, I presented that certificate at the 2011 Ogun State House of Assembly and in 2015 for Directorate of State Services (DSS) Clearance as well as to the National Assembly for screening. Be that as it may, as someone totally committed to a culture of probity and accountability I have decided to resign with effect from Friday, 14th September, 2018.
Your Excellency, It has been an exceptional privilege to have served our nation under your leadership and to have played a role in steering our economy at a very challenging time. I am proud that Nigeria has brought discipline into its finances, has identified and is pursuing a path to long term sustainable growth that will unlock the potential in this great economy. Under your leadership, Nigeria was able to exit recession and has now started to lay the foundations for lasting growth and wealth creation. Repositioning this huge economy is not a short term task and there are no short cuts, indeed there are tough decisions still to be made but I have no doubt that your focus on infrastructural investment, revenue mobilisation and value for money in public expenditure will deliver growth, wealth and opportunity for all Nigerians.
I thank His Excellency, the Vice President and my colleagues in the Federal Executive Council for the huge pleasure and honour of working with them. I also thank most specially, the team in the 'Finance Family' of advisers and heads of agencies under the Ministry of Finance. Your Excellency, this group of committed Nigerians represent a range of backgrounds, ethnicities and ages. They have worked well above and beyond the call of duty to support me in the tasks assigned. The diversity in my team and their ability to work cohesively to deliver reforms, convinces me that Nigeria has the human capital required to succeed.
Your Excellency, let me conclude by commending your patience and support, during the long search for the truth in this matter. I thank you again for giving me the honour of serving under your leadership, it is a rare privilege, which I do not take for granted. As a Nigerian and committed progressive, I appreciate you for your dogged commitment to improving this nation.
Please be assured, as always, of my highest regards and best wishes
Kemi Adeosun (Mrs)
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