KALU and the naked gods

The title of this piece is not original. It has essentially been borrowed from the work of Chukwuemeka Ike, the author of: ‘The Naked gods’. In that particular novel, there was a focus on some hallowed characters- (academics) who were demystified in the plot of the book. This time around however, courtesy of an explosive letter from Orji Uzor Kalu to the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, we are made to learn that, Olusegun Obasanjo our two time president may not be above board afterall. The point is that, a lot of the revelations by Kalu in that open letter, which were published in the Guardian of August 16, 2015, are not really new. They have been in the rumour mill for a long time. But for the first time perhaps, Kalu courtesy of the platform provided by The Guardian, has decided to take Obasanjo to the market place. In view of the immediate foregoing, we expected some counter currents from the ‘ebora of owu’; but no. All is quiet on the Western front- till date at least.  For those who have not read the revelations of Kalu, I may as well give an insight as revealed by the former Governor of Abia State.

According to Kalu, there are detailed instances of corruption against the former president and these date back to the 2005 letter which he wrote to Obasanjo. In the letter, Kalu accused Obasanjo of handling major oil deals through his cronies, but also preventing the proper auditing of the accounts of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC). Kalu contrasted this record with Obj’s anti-corruption crusade which according to him is characterized by fire, brimstone and a pretentious swagger.  Even then, the former Governor was not done yet. He goes on to assert that, ‘I have repeatedly made the observations that corruption is rife among senior officials of your government, especially those at the Federal level and among your friends and business associates and cronies.  He continues, around you and in your name, have coalesced a few powerful brokers of corrupt practices, who peddle your influence and extract billions of naira in the form of oil and gas and defence contracts’. Equally damning was the revelation that: the budget is manipulated by the National Assembly with the active connivance of your surrogates and a few senators, thereby carting away billions of naira through contract padding or inflation. Kalu went on to detail specifics by his reference to the Abuja National Stadium, which had a five- star Hotel in its original design. Meanwhile, the contract, the report goes, was initially awarded to a Chinese company. But the contract was re-awarded to another company at five times the original price quoted by the Chinese entity. But this time around, according to Kalu, the re-awarded contract at the new and inflated cost was without the Five-Star Hotel. As a clincher, Kalu goes on to detail how the construction of hostels and gigantic sport complex at the Bells Secondary School were financed through tax payers money and the construction giant; STRABAG in 2000.

Certainly, much of the foregoing cannot be reconciled with the crusading anti-corruption zeal of the former president. Moreover, I have read his latest memoirs and in that trilogy ‘My Watch’, Obasanjo details instances of his anti-corruption profile. So, I am really left wondering what to make of Kalu’s assertions. If they are true, then this particular god, far from being above aboard is truly naked. In order to really appreciate what is being said here; in a particular portion of his memoirs, Obj details instances of his probity from his purely military days to his policy days when he held sway in the portals of power. And for good measure, in the book, he regales the reader with details of corruption which surround some of his colleagues. But in the light of Orji Kalu’s disclosures, one is left with the conclusion that this god is indeed naked.   But even then, he, Obj is not the only naked god.

There are certainly other naked gods. Incidentally, the immediate former president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, appeared to have been very conscious of this serial rape of our nation.  On this note, the reader may wish to recall GEJ’s strange request that PMB must not probe him alone. Rather, according to him, such scrutiny must be extended to other regimes. Apparently, there must be other naked gods, apart from him. And GEJ, being a former president must be in the know; hence, his implicit baiting of PMB.

Closely related to the immediate foregoing was another story on the internet. The story which centered on the long-running Halliburton Scandal contended that, all the former Heads of State and Generals contacted PMB and told him to go slow on the Halliburton issue.

Taken together, it is evident that many naked gods abound in the land. The interesting and perverse thing is that they are all holders of that seemingly exalted National Honour: GCFR. But in the light of the murky circumstances recounted above, GCFR, could well mean: Grand Conman of the Federal Republic.

Kayode Soremekun