ON THOSE TRYING TO JUSTIFY IBORI’S THIEVERY OF DELTA STATE PUBLIC FUNDS, AND SINGING HIS PRAISE AS A FORMER GOVERNOR, WITH A THROWBACK PUNCH ON ABACHA’S LOOT DEFENSE BY BUHARI, BABANGIDA – TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT
March 19, 2021 | News
We are seriously in deep trouble as a people and society, if, especially in this part of the country, leaders in positions of the government of the day, are seen doing everything possible, using all kinds of publicity stunts and arguments, all in a bid to shamelessly defend the evidently bad and evil acts of a former Governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori,
ON THOSE TRYING TO JUSTIFY IBORI’S THIEVERY OF DELTA STATE PUBLIC FUNDS, AND SINGING HIS PRAISE AS A FORMER GOVERNOR, WITH A THROWBACK PUNCH ON ABACHA’S LOOT DEFENSE BY BUHARI, BABANGIDA – TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT
We are seriously in deep trouble as a people and society, if, especially in this part of the country, leaders in positions of the government of the day, are seen doing everything possible, using all kinds of publicity stunts and arguments, all in a bid to shamelessly defend the evidently bad and evil acts of a former Governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori, whose legacy as a political leader has brought nothing but disgrace and shame to the image of the Urhobos of the Delta Central and the entire Delta State. It is simply appalling, ridiculously nauseating, and daily becoming a joke that is yet so annoying, to see the likes of Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe and others, using different media outlets to try and salvage the battered public image of James Ibori. By painting him in good light, and hoping that Nigerians, and indeed the world, would change their minds about Ibori as an ex-convict, who had wrecked the State and its developmental prospects, with his unquenchable appetite for power, wealth, and influence.
Their latest media stunt was an online publication in Delta Pride, dated March 19, 2021, with the caption: “Throwback On Loot: Abacha Never Stole, Says Buhari, Babangida. …Ibori Did Well As Governor, Says PDP Chieftain Oghenesivbe.” In which they tried to explain the fact that two former military Heads of state, General Muhammadu Buhari and President Ibrahim Babangida, as well as other notable Northern leaders, had defended their brother, Sani Abacha, whom they described as an honest leader who never stole a penny during his tenure as a military head of state. And how they later agreed that their Fulani brother, Abacha, actually carted away over £5 billion as head of state, but they never retracted their defense of Abacha, or apologized to Nigerians to date. Rather, “Buhari went further to say that no matter how you look at Abacha, he constructed roads and hospitals during his tenure and did so much for the country, adding that Abacha deserved commendation as a past ruler.”
Juxtaposing this with the case of Ibori, the writers of the said publication went on to insinuate that: “While Buhari, Babangida and some other national figures in the Northern region fought so hard to protect Abacha’s image and wade off his unscrupulous leadership stench, some Deltans and other acculturated political actors from Urhobo nation extraction in Delta State, were busy sponsoring media attacks on Chief James Ibori.” And according to them: “Ibori has been adjudged the most outstanding prominent Deltan and illustrious son of Urhobo nation, who broke the jinx in national politics, a man who did so much for his people and Delta state during his tenure as governor, from 1999 to 2007.” As they also went on to state that: “Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, said, “Chief Ibori did well as a governor of Delta state, during his tenure; built solid roads, hospitals, schools, and so many other achievements, saying some of the key players in Okowa administration served in Ibori’s cabinet, and today they are all performing excellently well in their individual assigned responsibilities.”
In other words, they are indirectly telling Deltans, particularly those of Urhobo extraction, to stop criticizing Ibori, and publicly defend him as their brother, just as Buhari and Babangida did for Abacha, and also sing Ibori’s praise as a supposed outstanding former Governor of Delta State, regardless of whether Ibori stole the State’s public funds or not. We can imagine such audacity by these people, carried out without shame! Asking Deltans to defend evil, just because others did so in the past. Haven’t they heard that two wrongs can never make a right? The fact that someone has done something unjust or dishonest, is no justification for acting in a similar way.
Please, I would appeal to these people to stop all these justifications of what is unjust in the eyes of the world. It only makes us (Urhobos and other Deltans) be seen as a people without values, integrity, and moral principles. Agreed that Sani Abacha, and others before and after him looted the nation’s treasury heavily, even though that of Abacha still surpasses many, but the undeniable fact still remains that, there is no level of argument that one can put up to justify what is wrong – especially in this case of public office holders, who were entrusted with State/National Wealth, but stole/misappropriated same with reckless abandon and impunity.
In other words, there is no argument, no justification that one can muster to amend Ibori’s name on this issue. In fact, the more one defends Ibori, the more disgrace and the harder it is. No amount of commendation or praise-singing would help. But most importantly is the fact that an attempt to try and defend Ibori, is to admit his actions were objectively right and should be encouraged in the polity. And that is absolute madness.
It is important to note that Ibori’s thievery did not start today. Ibori moved to the UK in the 1980s; was convicted of stealing from DIY Shop Wickes in 1991; Convicted of credit card fraud in 1992; allied himself to Nigeria's then military ruler Sani Abacha's administration in 1993 to 94; became Delta State Governor between 1999 to 2007, during which he committed the mother-of-all-thievery; in 2007, his UK assets worth $35m were frozen; Arrested in Nigeria on corruption charges in December 2007, but a Nigerian court suspiciously dismissed all the charges in 2009; and in April 2010, Ibori's supporters attacked police (EFCC) as they tried to arrest him in Oghara Town in Ethiope West LGA of Delta State. Ibori left Nigeria shortly afterward. Ibori went to Dubai thereafter, where he was arrested in 2010 by the Government and transferred/extradited to the UK to face trial in May 2011; before he finally pleaded guilty to money-laundering in the said London court in 2012.
We had to recall this summary of Ibori’s escapades, as reiterated in a BBC report some years ago, to sort of reminding Deltans and Nigerians of the kind of man Ibori has been, and obviously will always be. It is that same Ibori, that the likes of Latimore Oghenesivbe and others, expect Nigerians in Delta State and those from the Urhobo nation, to defend and sing his praises.
Like I have always advised, the best thing for Ibori and his media propaganda team, is to go low profile and dump the public glare for now. There is no amount of write-ups that can do anything right now, especially with the whole ‘Ibori Loot Recovery Brouhaha’ from the UK Government. The timing is bad. There is no amount of write-ups that can change the fact that: Ibori was convicted and jailed by the UK South Wark Crown Court, Ibori’s lawyer, wife, mistress, and sister were also jailed in the UK. Can you clean these criminal records of Ibori? They were not convicted in Nigeria, where anything can happen and the issue swept under the carpet. In fact, the more write-ups by Latimore Oghenesivbe and others, the more exposed is Ibori.
Ibori is an ex-convict and he remains so. But rather for him to be remorseful and repentant, he has continued to act as if he did nothing wrong. That is the main issue here, and the reason why many are not ready to say anything good in his defense. Those managing Ibori’s image are apparently without common knowledge and wisdom, hence they are still writing and arguing to justify the looting of their pay master. But no reasonable person will take these commendations/praises of Ibori seriously. There is no commonsense in it. This is the time for Ibori and his loyal boys to be sober, if they are reasonable, and have commonsense. It is shameful for any sensible person to commend Ibori, who was caught looting Delta State treasury and convicted by the UK court. The same loot is still being recovered and sent to the Nigeria Government. In a matter of some weeks, another of his loots recovered by the UK Government will be repatriated to Nigeria. Yet, someone wants Deltans to defend Ibori. What a shame!
If anything, Ibori and his boys should call themselves to order for his own good. The said Latimore Oghenesivbe is not helping Ibori one bit with all these publicity stunts. Latimore should restrain himself from this rascality propaganda on the ‘image laundering of Ibori.’ No amount of commendation and honorary titles (that are bought), given to Ibori, will launder Ibori’s dented image in the eyes of Nigerian public and in the world. All that Ibori needs to do now, is to avoid the political appearance and maintain a low profile. The more anyone writes to commend Ibori, the more his name will further be dented. Agreed that Ibori is my Urhobo brother and South-South brother, but the stealing of public money meant to develop his own State and improve the living standards of the common Deltans was brazenly looted by him. That is something one cannot just overlook and pretend that it never happened. Latimore Oghenesivbe is not doing Ibori any good with this rascality propaganda.
I believe it is high time Nigerians and Africans should stop this immoral culture of claiming ownership of ‘public thieves’ just because they are your brother/sister/kinsmen. That mindset of: “He is our brother, so it does not matter if he stole or not, we should defend him,” must stop! If we really want development in our State, the society and the entire country, just like we see in Dubai of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and other developed places, then this mindset and attitude has to change.
Zik Gbemre.
March 19, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
We are seriously in deep trouble as a people and society, if, especially in this part of the country, leaders in positions of the government of the day, are seen doing everything possible, using all kinds of publicity stunts and arguments, all in a bid to shamelessly defend the evidently bad and evil acts of a former Governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori, whose legacy as a political leader has brought nothing but disgrace and shame to the image of the Urhobos of the Delta Central and the entire Delta State. It is simply appalling, ridiculously nauseating, and daily becoming a joke that is yet so annoying, to see the likes of Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe and others, using different media outlets to try and salvage the battered public image of James Ibori. By painting him in good light, and hoping that Nigerians, and indeed the world, would change their minds about Ibori as an ex-convict, who had wrecked the State and its developmental prospects, with his unquenchable appetite for power, wealth, and influence.
Their latest media stunt was an online publication in Delta Pride, dated March 19, 2021, with the caption: “Throwback On Loot: Abacha Never Stole, Says Buhari, Babangida. …Ibori Did Well As Governor, Says PDP Chieftain Oghenesivbe.” In which they tried to explain the fact that two former military Heads of state, General Muhammadu Buhari and President Ibrahim Babangida, as well as other notable Northern leaders, had defended their brother, Sani Abacha, whom they described as an honest leader who never stole a penny during his tenure as a military head of state. And how they later agreed that their Fulani brother, Abacha, actually carted away over £5 billion as head of state, but they never retracted their defense of Abacha, or apologized to Nigerians to date. Rather, “Buhari went further to say that no matter how you look at Abacha, he constructed roads and hospitals during his tenure and did so much for the country, adding that Abacha deserved commendation as a past ruler.”
Juxtaposing this with the case of Ibori, the writers of the said publication went on to insinuate that: “While Buhari, Babangida and some other national figures in the Northern region fought so hard to protect Abacha’s image and wade off his unscrupulous leadership stench, some Deltans and other acculturated political actors from Urhobo nation extraction in Delta State, were busy sponsoring media attacks on Chief James Ibori.” And according to them: “Ibori has been adjudged the most outstanding prominent Deltan and illustrious son of Urhobo nation, who broke the jinx in national politics, a man who did so much for his people and Delta state during his tenure as governor, from 1999 to 2007.” As they also went on to state that: “Fred Latimore Oghenesivbe, said, “Chief Ibori did well as a governor of Delta state, during his tenure; built solid roads, hospitals, schools, and so many other achievements, saying some of the key players in Okowa administration served in Ibori’s cabinet, and today they are all performing excellently well in their individual assigned responsibilities.”
In other words, they are indirectly telling Deltans, particularly those of Urhobo extraction, to stop criticizing Ibori, and publicly defend him as their brother, just as Buhari and Babangida did for Abacha, and also sing Ibori’s praise as a supposed outstanding former Governor of Delta State, regardless of whether Ibori stole the State’s public funds or not. We can imagine such audacity by these people, carried out without shame! Asking Deltans to defend evil, just because others did so in the past. Haven’t they heard that two wrongs can never make a right? The fact that someone has done something unjust or dishonest, is no justification for acting in a similar way.
Please, I would appeal to these people to stop all these justifications of what is unjust in the eyes of the world. It only makes us (Urhobos and other Deltans) be seen as a people without values, integrity, and moral principles. Agreed that Sani Abacha, and others before and after him looted the nation’s treasury heavily, even though that of Abacha still surpasses many, but the undeniable fact still remains that, there is no level of argument that one can put up to justify what is wrong – especially in this case of public office holders, who were entrusted with State/National Wealth, but stole/misappropriated same with reckless abandon and impunity.
In other words, there is no argument, no justification that one can muster to amend Ibori’s name on this issue. In fact, the more one defends Ibori, the more disgrace and the harder it is. No amount of commendation or praise-singing would help. But most importantly is the fact that an attempt to try and defend Ibori, is to admit his actions were objectively right and should be encouraged in the polity. And that is absolute madness.
It is important to note that Ibori’s thievery did not start today. Ibori moved to the UK in the 1980s; was convicted of stealing from DIY Shop Wickes in 1991; Convicted of credit card fraud in 1992; allied himself to Nigeria's then military ruler Sani Abacha's administration in 1993 to 94; became Delta State Governor between 1999 to 2007, during which he committed the mother-of-all-thievery; in 2007, his UK assets worth $35m were frozen; Arrested in Nigeria on corruption charges in December 2007, but a Nigerian court suspiciously dismissed all the charges in 2009; and in April 2010, Ibori's supporters attacked police (EFCC) as they tried to arrest him in Oghara Town in Ethiope West LGA of Delta State. Ibori left Nigeria shortly afterward. Ibori went to Dubai thereafter, where he was arrested in 2010 by the Government and transferred/extradited to the UK to face trial in May 2011; before he finally pleaded guilty to money-laundering in the said London court in 2012.
We had to recall this summary of Ibori’s escapades, as reiterated in a BBC report some years ago, to sort of reminding Deltans and Nigerians of the kind of man Ibori has been, and obviously will always be. It is that same Ibori, that the likes of Latimore Oghenesivbe and others, expect Nigerians in Delta State and those from the Urhobo nation, to defend and sing his praises.
Like I have always advised, the best thing for Ibori and his media propaganda team, is to go low profile and dump the public glare for now. There is no amount of write-ups that can do anything right now, especially with the whole ‘Ibori Loot Recovery Brouhaha’ from the UK Government. The timing is bad. There is no amount of write-ups that can change the fact that: Ibori was convicted and jailed by the UK South Wark Crown Court, Ibori’s lawyer, wife, mistress, and sister were also jailed in the UK. Can you clean these criminal records of Ibori? They were not convicted in Nigeria, where anything can happen and the issue swept under the carpet. In fact, the more write-ups by Latimore Oghenesivbe and others, the more exposed is Ibori.
Ibori is an ex-convict and he remains so. But rather for him to be remorseful and repentant, he has continued to act as if he did nothing wrong. That is the main issue here, and the reason why many are not ready to say anything good in his defense. Those managing Ibori’s image are apparently without common knowledge and wisdom, hence they are still writing and arguing to justify the looting of their pay master. But no reasonable person will take these commendations/praises of Ibori seriously. There is no commonsense in it. This is the time for Ibori and his loyal boys to be sober, if they are reasonable, and have commonsense. It is shameful for any sensible person to commend Ibori, who was caught looting Delta State treasury and convicted by the UK court. The same loot is still being recovered and sent to the Nigeria Government. In a matter of some weeks, another of his loots recovered by the UK Government will be repatriated to Nigeria. Yet, someone wants Deltans to defend Ibori. What a shame!
If anything, Ibori and his boys should call themselves to order for his own good. The said Latimore Oghenesivbe is not helping Ibori one bit with all these publicity stunts. Latimore should restrain himself from this rascality propaganda on the ‘image laundering of Ibori.’ No amount of commendation and honorary titles (that are bought), given to Ibori, will launder Ibori’s dented image in the eyes of Nigerian public and in the world. All that Ibori needs to do now, is to avoid the political appearance and maintain a low profile. The more anyone writes to commend Ibori, the more his name will further be dented. Agreed that Ibori is my Urhobo brother and South-South brother, but the stealing of public money meant to develop his own State and improve the living standards of the common Deltans was brazenly looted by him. That is something one cannot just overlook and pretend that it never happened. Latimore Oghenesivbe is not doing Ibori any good with this rascality propaganda.
I believe it is high time Nigerians and Africans should stop this immoral culture of claiming ownership of ‘public thieves’ just because they are your brother/sister/kinsmen. That mindset of: “He is our brother, so it does not matter if he stole or not, we should defend him,” must stop! If we really want development in our State, the society and the entire country, just like we see in Dubai of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and other developed places, then this mindset and attitude has to change.
Zik Gbemre.
March 19, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes