THE VANITY OF POWER

On Monday, July 6 2020, Ibrahim Magu woke up, took his bath, knotted one of his many fancy ties and dressed up in his usual western suit and set out on the streets of Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. If anyone had told him as he was leaving home that someone born of a woman would have the audacity to block his convoy and order him to change his direction, I am almost certain that Ibrahim Magu would have laughed in the person's face and probably told the person that he was drinking a very bad variant of 'ogogoro'.

When Magu woke up that Monday morning, he was one of the most powerful men in Nigeria. Everyone, big or small, trembled at the mention of his name. He could order the arrest of anyone, detain anyone and using the enormous instruments under his control, send anyone to jail. After all, he was the Czar of President Buhari's anti-corruption fight, the fulcrum of Buhari's presidency.

Ibrahim Magu was powerful, so powerful. The Nigerian senate which has the constitutional powers to confirm or reject his appointment as Chairman of EFCC, twice refused to confirm him but it did not matter. Magu became bigger than the constitution and for five years, based on some twisted logic, bestrode the nation as "Acting Chairman" of the EFCC!

On July 6, in a commando style, Ibrahim Magu was waylaid on his way from the EFCC Formella Street office in Abuja, and forced to go to Aso Rock Villa, to face a previously unknown presidential panel set up to investigate Magu's tenure and an alleged massive 'magu-magu' in the EFCC. In a twist of fate, the hunter became the hunted.

Magu who is reported to live in luxury in a house rented in the incredible sum of N40m and furnished with N43m is said to have spent the night of his arrest sleeping on bare chairs at the Louis Edet Police Headquarters in Abuja.   

In the morning of July 6, Magu was a powerful man. In the evening, he was a powerless man. Those who gave Magu the power have taken it.

At the beginning of June 2020, Adams Oshiomhole was one of the most powerful political players in the land. The former governor of Edo State and former President of the Nigerian Labour Congress wielded power with no apologies to anyone. Upon his election as Chairman of the ruling APC, Oshiomhole was reported to have warned a minister of the Federal Republic that if President Buhari will tolerate the minister's indiscretion, he, Adams Oshiomhole will not take the nonsense.  For most people in the APC, the fear of Oshiomhole was the beginning of wisdom.

Uche Nwosu, son-in-law of former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, will not forget Adams Oshiomhole in a hurry. Together, they danced and made merry at Dan Anyiam Stadium Owerri when Oshiomhole visited Imo State. Nwosu was the crown prince of the Okorocha dynasty, waiting to take over as Governor of Imo State. When push came to shove, Oshiomhole out flanked him, pulled the carpet under his feet and the rest, as they say, is now history.

Adams coordinated the plot that brought Buhari back as President at a time when Atiku Abubakar was seriously flexing his muscles. On every APC campaign stage across Nigeria, Oshiomhole, not the tallest of men, jumped higher than everyone else and spoke louder than everyone else.

In the normal order of things, Adams Oshiomhole, National Chairman of APC would never have considered Stephen Oshawo, Chairman of the APC Etsako Ward 10 in Edo State as a powerful man. But when it was time to cut Adams Oshiomhole to size, the real powers that be did not go to the Supreme Court, they went to Oshiomhole's ward and got his ward Chairman to suspend him.

In the normal order of things, if Adams Oshiomhole was looking behind for who would pull the carpet off his feet, he may have worried about the APC Deputy Chairmen or the Vice Chairman. I doubt that it would have occurred to him that it would be Victor Giadom, an Assistant Secretary of his party that would be used to mess him up so badly.

In the normal order of things, Adams Oshiomhole, the sharp player on the political chess board would never have envisioned that the rules enshrined in the APC constitution would be so badly thrown to the dogs and that an APC National Executive Council Meeting would be held with two days notice at the Aso Rock Villa at the instance of the said Assistant Secretary and the very powerful Adams Oshiomhole would be so emasculated in the public glare. Today, there is no normal order of things in Nigeria. Those who gave Oshiomhole the power, have taken it.

As you read this, Oshiomhole's once political godson, Godwin Obaseki, continues to bestride Edo State as governor and with sharp political horse trading is campaigning as the PDP candidate in the forthcoming governorship election. What platform does the once very powerful Adams Oshiomhole have? I do not know. All I know is that Adams has to warn his driver to make sure that he does not drive on the wrong side of the road in Edo State or run a traffic light in Benin. Things are no longer the same. Adams who used to be the emperor of Edo politics may now be arrested for a simple traffic offence in Benin.

What has happened to the two men mentioned here can happen to any of us whether in the church, the mosque, the market group, a social club, a professional association or even in the family setting. Power is ephemeral and transient. It can disappear in a twinkle of an eye.

In my time, I have met a lot of small men intoxicated by power. They think that the power they wield belongs to them without realizing that the power belongs to the office they occupy, the uniform they wear or the chair they sit on. Many understand power to mean the ability to punish or subjugate others rather than the ability to uplift and put a smile on the faces of as many of God's children as possible. Will we ever understand the vanity of power?

See you next week.

NCC DG, JOHN ASEIN SHOULD ANSWER HIS QUESTIONS AND LEAVE ME ALONE.

Let me make it clear that I do not celebrate the misfortune of anyone. I indeed pray for the success of everyone I know. If I believe that a person is engaged in an enterprise that is to the glory of the Almighty and the service of God's children, he will receive my 100% support. On the other hand, I also believe that it is the sacred duty of every child of God not to let the manifestation of evil triumph even if that evil is not targeted at us directly.

I have been told that Mr. John Asein, the Director-General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) who is currently being investigated with respect to allegations of corruption, conflict of interest and abuse of power, is telling everybody he knows that Chief Tony Okoroji is responsible for his travails and that I have always tried to bring down every DG of the NCC.

Mr. Asein is wrong, very wrong. He knows that I am not responsible for the scandal surrounding him. If he looks in the mirror, he will see the guy responsible. He brought whatever is happening to him to himself. If he is certain that he has done nothing wrong, he should not lose any sleep. He should just answer the questions asked him truthfully and go back to do his work.

Mr. Asein is very wrong to say that I have tried to bring down every DG of the NCC. The boundless Moses Ekpo who is today the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State was the first DG of the NCC. Over the years, I have maintained the warmest of relationships with Mr. Moses Ekpo. I have written in this column how the Deputy Governor once threw protocol to the winds and paid me a surprise visit in the modest hotel I once stayed in Uyo.  On learning that I was visiting his state, he came to visit without any warning. I have maintained a good relationship with Ekpo because as DG, he was creative, energetic and was committed to building a great NCC. Who did we invite to commission the COSON House in 2017? It was the same former DG of the NCC, Moses Frank Ekpo.

Moses Ekpo was succeeded as DG by Dr. Shola Williams who passed on while in office. I maintained a very good relationship with S.O. Williams till his death. After his passing, I developed and promoted the "S.O. Williams Memorial Lecture" series which was held annually to honour the memory of the late NCC DG. The series was held without any cost to the NCC or the Williams family.

S.O. Williams was succeeded for a short while by Mrs. Loretta Njoku who acted in an interim capacity. Mrs. Njoku called me just a few days ago and we chatted about this and that as we do quite often. She has visited me repeatedly at COSON House and we continue to have the warmest of relationships.

Professor Eyinna Nwauche took over as DG of NCC. The down to earth Eyinna Nwauche remains my friend. Presently in South Africa, I speak with him when I can.

I campaigned vigorously for the establishment of the organization called the NCC. To get the government to set up the NCC, I carried placards and led dangerous demonstrations in which I could have lost my life. I was in the committee that drafted the law setting up the important national institution. Our vision was to have a vibrant organization that fights the infringement of the works of Nigeria's musicians, film makers, authors, publishers, content producers, broadcasters, computer programmers, architects, photographers and other creative minds. The NCC was set up to help in launching Nigeria into the mainstream of the world creative and knowledge economy.

I served twice as a member of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Copyright Council (NCC) renamed the Nigerian Copyright Commission. I am presently Chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), the biggest copyright organization in the country. If the NCC does well, the thousands of members of COSON will earn a decent livelihood. If the NCC is badly led, my members pay a heavy price. I am therefore a stakeholder and not a meddlesome interloper in the affairs of the NCC.

I had before seen John Asein as a brilliant Nigerian. When as a young officer at the NCC, he was prematurely retired from service about 14 years ago, I believed that he was treated unjustly and I came fully to his defence. I travelled to Abuja several times at no cost to him to plead his case until the sanctions against him were lifted and he was reabsorbed into the service. When he was appointed DG, I was very happy and congratulated him and prayed for his success.

Unfortunately, one by one, the scandals began to emerge and the great hope I had in the reinvigoration of the NCC simply collapsed.

 

The tragedy in what is happening at the NCC is that while Nigeria's great creative minds are suffering, rather than fight the piracy of Nigeria's creative works for which the organization has been set up, the NCC is embroiled in scandals and lies with a serious leadership vacuum.

Since January 2020 when Mr. Asein was confronted with the serial corrupt activities he is alleged to be involved in, rather than come clean and answer the questions, he has been running around trying to manufacture evidence to cover up his wrong doings. Maybe he does not know that until the questions are satisfactorily answered, they will not go away.

One of the many questions he must answer is this: Did he continue to collect salaries from the Federal Government several months into 2016 after retiring as staff of the NCC on December 31, 2015? If he did, it is bare faced stealing, a criminal offence for which he ought to go to jail. I know that some people will say that the money involved is not in billions. Many Nigerians are presently in jail for much less.

Another question is this: Did he continue to act on behalf of REPRONIG, the CMO for Nigerian authors and publishers and act as sole signatory to the REPRONIG bank account long after assuming office as NCC DG? Has he signed REPRONIG funds in dollars to himself? If he did, it is a bewildering example of conflict of interest and fraud with extensive consequences which might lead to jail time. It is my humble opinion that Mr. Asein's recent claims that he worked for REPRONIG 'pro -bono' is hogwash and his claims raise many new questions.

Mr. Asein has a lot of questions to answer on the controversial NCC/AFD/PUNUKA/KPMG deal on the so-called Diagnostic Study of Collective Management System In Nigeria which questions we have asked repeatedly with no answer. He needs to answer questions on his directorship of a company called Books & Gavel Ltd. He also needs to answer questions on whether he has contravened the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.

Let me repeat that I am not responsible for John Asein's travails. Somebody should tell Mr. Asein that he is not above the law. Like every other public officer, he must be accountable. He should answer his questions and leave me alone.

See you next week.

I DRIVE ON A FULL TANK OF FAITH AND LOVE IS MY ENGINE OIL

I know that during the recent disagreement in COSON of which I am Chairman, some people were sure that their pay day had finally come. "Yes! This man that behaves as if he is beyond destruction has been squashed at last! Let's celebrate!"

As their big guns targeted at COSON and this writer boomed, all the smaller people with one issue or another lined up to fire their own pot shots.

The laughable thing is that a good number of the people who talk about me and beat their chests with so much certainty do not know me. They probably have never spoken to me and know nothing about the issues for which they are losing so much sleep.

They have just inherited other people's hatred, covetousness, jealousy or envy. If their guy does not like me, then, they too must not like me. It does not matter if their guy has told them a big lie. They will join a fight they do not understand and break a head that has done nothing to them Afterall, how do they prove to their guy that they are loyal?

Those who do not know my values talk as if I were them and would think like them or act like them. That's how they justify what they do.

I know one young lady who I truly like because I have always thought she is brilliant and ought to be part of Nigeria's future. A few months ago, she was all over Twitter and Instagram heaping insults on me and telling so many half truths about me. I understand her.

About a year ago, I went to court against her principal who had published blatant lies against me. I went to court because I want her principal to come to court with his facts and establish the truth for the benefit of the young people whom we lead and whom we must not mislead. I understand that she is doing what she is doing in what she considers loyalty to her principal. If I was her principal, she would be saying exactly the opposite of what she is saying now.

In fact, I worked very closely with her principal for over seven and half years and for much of that period, I was a very good man. Now, I disagree with her principal and overnight I have become evil. The truth is that I neither hate her nor her principal. They are just behaving like average Nigerians.

Not long ago, I was asked by a lady journalist what my reaction was to the relentless attack on me. The lady seemed shocked when I said that my real focus is on the work we must do for the progress of the Nigerian creative community.

I have learnt that hatred of anyone is like the coronavirus. It can easily kill! If you hate someone, you will probably find it difficult to breath well, eat well or sleep well at night so I wear a mask against hatred and socially distance myself from anyone whom I suspect will transmit the hatred virus to me. As you nurse the virus called hate, unknown to you, the object of your hate may indeed be snoozing away and living a good life. Who is the loser?

I have trained myself to stay away from hating anyone. We carry too much burden as it is; why do I want to add another heavy burden on my shoulders? There are some of my friends who think that I am too tolerant of people they think have openly betrayed me. I tolerate them because I do not want to hate them. I am not perfect, so rather than hate a man for what he has done, I give him another chance to redeem himself.

When you think of it, a lot of people should be pitied and not hated. When you analyse them, they are driven by ignorance or fear of some sort, lack of self-esteem; religious or tribal bigotry; mental poverty, jealousy or envy, etc.

Because of the passion I express for what I do, I have found myself being the victim of hate by some people who really do not know me. I am aware that there are those who pray all the time that I fail in what I do. The fact that the Almighty has not allowed me to fail drives them even more mad and makes them to even hate the more.

I have met many in Nigeria who are driven by love and the desire to do good for the greatest number. The problem is that some people believe that everyone is like them. They cannot understand how someone can sit down and think of how to better the lives of people he does not know. They believe that when we announce that COSON is distributing millions of naira to thousands of musicians, it is a scam. In their heads, they cannot imagine how anyone can give away millions of naira to people who were not there when the money was made. 'How can someone give away that much money without pocketing some?', they ask.

I find that with such people, no explanation is good enough. No evidence will satisfy them. Crooked people believe that everyone else is crooked. The fact that you are driven by other values than lust for money makes no sense to them. They shoot at you from every corner expecting you to crumble. When you don't crumble, they conclude that you must have a very strong juju man working 24 hours a day for you.

When you are driven by hate, you can never experience true happiness because there is always something new to hate. Every day, I try to create some new and beautiful purpose to keep me busy. I make sure that love and the good of the greatest number are central to what I do each day of my life.

Yes, I drive on a full tank of faith and love is my engine oil.

See you next week.