Nyame, Dariye and the lessons of power

lynx eyeFROM grass to grace. From grace to grass. From prison to power and from power to prison. Those are paradoxical sayings that paint fairy tales. But they are real. It happened before our eyes in 1999 when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo actualized one leg of it. He was released from prison and became the first President of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic shortly afterwards.

Many dread to associate with the other leg of that saying-Power to prison. It looks like an impossibility in Nigeria because men of power are mostly untouchables. But on May 30, and again on June 12, 2018, the airwaves featured similar headlines that consign that thinking to the dustbins. Former Governor Jolly Tanko Nyame, a Reverend  and two time Governor of Taraba state was convicted for diverting N1.64 billion during his tenue in that state.

One June 12, the former Governor of Plateau state, Joshua Dariye, a serving Senator of the Federal Republic was jailed for diverting the sum of N1.16 billion.

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, which tried Nyame, found him guilty of fraud, having been dragged before the Court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 41-count charge

The court held that Nyame was guilty of 27 of the 41 charges against him and sentenced him to two, five, seven and 14 years in jail respectively after he was found guilty of offences including receiving gratification, obtaining public funds without due consideration, and criminal breach of trust.

It was another victory for the EFCC on June 12, when the same Abuja High Court imposed another 14 years jail term on Senator Joshua Dariye another former two time Governor of Plateau State. He was found guilty on charges of criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of over N1.16bn.

Dariye was sentenced to two years imprisonment on each of the five counts bordering on criminal misappropriation and 14 years’ jail term on each of the other 11 charges bothering on criminal breach of trust.

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No doubt, it was a humbling season for their erstwhile Excellencies, who must be thinking of filling appeals to the convictions right now.

But whether their appeals succeed or not, the judicial system has given us a lot to ponder about; the Power to Prison story is not just a fairy tale, its real in Nigeria.

The fate of Governors Nyame and Dariye is already sending tongues wagging; so Governors can go to jail here. Yes, then can and on a clean slate too.

A lot of what goes on in our Government Houses baffles the ordinary mind. How would a citizen of a state emerge the Governor of his state and turn around to treat his people like slaves? He shows no regard for the pensioners, the aged, the teachers and the children whom he is supposed to groom as leaders of tomorrow.

Some years back, I was told of a team of concerned elders of a state who visited the Governor on a mission to appeal to him to fix some dilapidating road infrastructure and address the plight of the suffering workers. The Governor told the elders to their chagrin, they should not bother him with tales of suffering people, after all, he paid for the votes.  Largely, those roads remained unattended to till the Governor’s exit. Again, unpaid salaries and pension piled up while the man enjoyed himself away in Government House.

It tells much on the leadership recruitment system of this era. A candidate is seeking office as Governor or whatever just to ensure he does well for himself and family and not necessarily to better the lots of the state. He tells tales of providing water and roads and shares money on Election Day. In recent times it has been tagged ‘vote and cook a pot of soup.’

The Governor gets to the office, discovers the state is already hugely indebted, but the only solution for him is to restructure the debts and acquire more debts. At the end, nothing really is left as evidence of the huge debts.

No one talks about building the financial base of the state through investments and even agriculture. Some states that benefitted from impact of cash crops like cocoa and palm produce in the First Republic are today replete with abandoned farms, while the governor spends eight years preaching about low receipts from federation account.

Much of the ‘meagre’ receipt is wasted as handouts to political jobbers; in the name of security votes and over-inflated contracts. The beneficiaries shower their man with epithets such asShehu, Sheik or Baba Olowo. Let such a Governor know that such praises are paved road to future residency in jail. When the crowd thins down, the jail house promises its loneliness.

When you treat a people with disdain and macabre dance steps in the name of governance, you can’t but jump from pillar to post after office, seeking cover from prosecution. That is why our politicians can’t stand by any party even if that party had brushed them up from the gutter.

Even now, it is an open secret that some serving Governors are already perfecting alliances in readiness to defect to the right side of power as soon as the 2019 election battle is settled.

Does that help? Maybe on a temporary basis. Dariye was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which ended up presiding over his conviction.

The development teaches us something here; just do good in Government House. You can’t be on the right side of power for life, as long as you loot the resources of the state, one day, the long arm of the law will catch up. That is why it is long.