Date: 2012-05-14

It was one of the most celebrated cases of fraud in Nigerian history. Mysteriously, it died the way it came.

Before 2006, millions of Nigerians, including yours truly, didn't know anything or didn't hear anything about an endowment called the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

It is one of those agencies hidden from Nigerians but which deal with billions of naira on their behalf.

Even in 2012, Nigerians would not have heard anything about the PTDF if not because of the crisis between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his deputy, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku.

Before the crisis, everything appeared well between them from 1999 when the duo became the two most powerful Nigerians. They managed the economy they way they thought was the best.

Between September, 2000 and July 2005, Atiku ran the PTDF and created an Interim Management Committee to manage the body, of course, with the approval of Obasanjo who was effectively in charge of  the petroleum portfolio for eight years (1999 to 2007).

The Obasanjo Nigerians know would never have allowed Atiku to run the body the way he liked without his approval.

In 2006, Obasanjo, as we say in Yoruba, started showing his hand about having a Third Term in office. Atiku naturally wanted to succeed his boss. Then, the crisis started.
Of all the scandals then, PTDF was arguably the biggest, given the names of those associated with the largesse.

To nail his deputy, Obasanjo added the more damaging charge of corruption to that of disloyalty against Atiku who presided over the financial affairs of PTDF, the buoyant and much sought-after parastatal.

Nigeria was almost brought to its knees, economically and politically as the two gladiators engaged in a vicious battle.

The then Information Minister, Frank Nweke (jnr), in an advertisement placed in some newspapers, said: "Between September 2000 to July 2005, Vice-President Atiku Abubakar arrogated to himself the supervisory role of the PTDF, contrary to the extant regulations.

The Vice-President created the Interim Management Committee under his control to manage the PTDF, and the then Minister of Finance, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, in a letter with ref: OAGF/MOF1/023/iii/243 dated April 10th 2001, cautioned against this contraption, which the Vice-President disregarded."

Why did Obasanjo wait until Atiku, through body language, declared his presidential interest, before coming out with the PTDF scandal, which affected him more than his deputy?

Going by Nweke's statement, in 2001, Ciroma, the custodian of Nigeria's treasury, had accused Atiku of breaking the law establishing the PTDF but the President refused to act on the breach until 2006 when it was convenient for him.

Meanwhile, meetings on how money was to be disbursed were held and without Obasanjo's approval, nothing would have been executed because we have a system in which powers and responsibilities devolve from the President.

During the scandal, it got to a stage that Obasanjo even sacked Atiku, based on an investigation into his deputy's supervision of PTDF by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), under Malam Nuhu Ribadu on August 24, 2006.

After the sack, Obasanjo quickly  presented the EFCC report to the Federal Executive Council (FEC), which promptly endorsed it and sent it to the National Assembly as a basis for initiating impeachment proceedings against Atiku.

At the National Assembly, reason prevailed and the move died a natural death.

But, trust Atiku. He counter-attacked, shouting that it was Obasanjo, not himself, that used the PTDF to patronise his relations, friends and loyalists in total disregard of all the rules of transparency and accountability. He also released  cheques that were issued in several of the said presidential patronages.

The revelations were mind-boggling: The release of $20 million from the PTDF without  necessary approvals from the Federal Executive Council (FEC); another $125 million without FEC approval; $115 million, $30 million and $2 million lodged in three accounts without FEC approval; N400 million cash given to a Personal Assistant working in the Presidency; N400 million, $10 million, N420 million, N300 million, N730 million loans without collateral.

Cars, houses and others were bought for wives, mistresses of some big shots in government. Three popular businessmen,  wife of a former Head of State, schools, associations and politicians were mentioned prominently in the scam.

Atiku accused the EFCC of being a willing pawn in the hands of Obasanjo to deal with perceived political enemies.

Obviously, Obasanjo used the EFCC under Ribadu and his fight against corruption as a tool to narrow the field of candidates for the 2007 Presidency.

When Obasanjo's loyalists saw the way Atiku came out smoking, they decided it was in Obasanjo's interest to allow the matter die a natural death.

With the PTDF, Obasanjo picked the wrong weapon to fight his deputy and he emerged more battered than Atiku.

The truth is that  Atiku's crime is not corruption but for daring to think of succeeding his boss in 2007 when Obasanjo was plotting a tenure elongation agenda.

Today, another wrong weapon has been picked to fight former governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki. The Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) is the Tormentor-in-Chief.

When, a few months ago, Saraki alleged that there was fraud in the fuel subsidy regime, it was obvious that those benefiting from it would fight back.

With revelations coming from the Farouk Lawan-led House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the matter, it is no longer hidden that something was wrong with the way we   managed our oil resources for years.

My quarrel with the Lawan Committee, which is a column for another day, is why the probe should not start from 1999 when Obasanjo was in charge of the oil portfolio.

Now, everybody is running helter skelter because of one indictment or the other highlighted by the committee.

Suddenly, Saraki has become the target of some forces alleging that three years ago, something went wrong with some accounts linked with companies associated with him.

Interestingly, the same allegation came up when Saraki declared his interest in the 2011 presidential race but the moment he withdrew, all those making the allegations became deaf and dumb.

In summary, Erastus Akingbola's Intercontinental Bank (now taken over by Access Bank) offered its customers share loans of which the shares were the securities.

The management of the bank gave waivers to various customers, including companies associated with Saraki, after those waivers were processed by making them go through the management, Bank Credit Committee and receiving the Board approval.

Even the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reportedly examined the process leading to the waiver and found it to be in order after full provisions were made for the loans.

Many prominent companies, aside those associated with Saraki, received similar concessions.

The process of the waiver was initiated by Akingbola before the coming of the former Managing Director, Lai Alabi.

The bank did not complain that it experienced any loss and the CBN did not penalise the bank for acting wrongly.

I was not surprised when the SFU turned the scenario to a media war a la EFCC.

If I may ask, who is the complainant? Where is the fraud? What is CBN's role in the matter? When Saraki eventually went to the SFU office, what happened? Why was he released same day and why hasn't anybody said anything since then?  With all the media uproar prior to his visiting the SFU office, why are Nigerians being kept in the dark now?

Nigerians are aware of what happened to David Madoff, the biggest fraudster in history who swindled some Americans of $50 billion (N8 trillion which is more than our annual budget) in the United States.

The American system rose immediately and he was jailed in a matter of weeks.
A woman shouted 'rape' in a New York hotel and one of the most powerful men in the world, who was then the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Khan, was immediately handcuffed and arraigned.

Nobody waited two or three months before Madoff and Strauss-Khan faced the law.

The problem with Nigeria is that we have refused to follow what God said in the Bible.

The Almighty declared in Genesis 1: 1 "And God said Let there be light and there was light".

My Bible does not tell me that the light came three years after God spoke.

For five years, Obasanjo refused to say anything but when it was convenient for his agenda, he labelled Atiku a 'thief'.

Now, the Saraki matter is following the same route. 

Are we really fighting corruption in this country or we are just a bunch of jesters? Who is using the SFU against Saraki even when we seem to have the evidence long before? Why do we wait for a convenient time before we label an opponent a criminal?

After messing up a suspect on the pages of newspapers (media trial), a sister organisation such as the EFCC will take a shoddy investigation to a court and when the case is thrown out, people will start accusing judges of being bribed by suspects.

The timing of the Saraki matter is suspicious and very  coincidental.

From experience, I am sure the SFU is after him either because of the fuel subsidy scam or 2015.

Either way, it embarrasses Nigeria in the comity of nations.