EFCC BLUES

Some governors are getting a first hand experience of life without the perks of office. The hideous immunity clause that encouraged many ex-governors to loot their state treasuries is no longer applicable and Nuhu and his men are closing in. The other day, Saminu Turaki, the self proclaimed "ICT" governor broke down in court after being arraigned for theft and fraud. He is alleged to have looted a whopping 3 billion in one day! Well, a good friend of mine feels that Saminu Turaki should really be in jail and he sent me this letter to support his case. I will reprint it here for all my readers.

Dear Lagos Blogger,

Regarding the Saminu Turaki Campaign scam.Last year, The Turaki for President Campaign team commissioned aseries of advertisements in most of the national newspapers. Theadverts directed people to dial some numbers, wait for a voice promptand then listen to a message from Saminu Turaki's campaign team in anyselected language. In return, the ex-governor promised to rewardcallers with recharge cards. I was naturally curious and decided tocall one of the numbers. After listening to the five minute message, avoice told me that I would receive my reward later.However, I neither got a reply nor a reward. I figured that a servinggovernor would not destroy his reputation by conning the same peoplethat he expected to vote him into office. Needless to say that many ofus that believed this were disappointed as it turned out that thewhole exercise was a fraud and that Turaki never had the intention ofreally running for president.Today, the ex-governor is in an unenviable position. He is a guest ofthe the EFCC and he is said to have broken down in tears during hisarraignment. I see no reason why anybody should feel sorry for SaminuTuraki. After all, this was a man that saw nothing wrong in deceivingthe masses, some of whom used their hard earned money to call thoselines only to be defrauded by a serving governor.Our leaders must learn to value integrity. That particular incidentshowed the kind of person that Turaki is. He is no better than a 419scammer and I don't think I'll ever feel sorry for such a cold-heartedperson. I personally call on everybody that was a victim of that scamto pick up their pens and petition the EFCC. No crime should go unpunished.

Yours Faithfully,

Chibuike Eze


If these allegations are true, and he swears they are, then the ex-governor must be an incorrigible thief.

I also wonder why Nigeria's King of the Tabloids, The Sun, has been less than objective in reporting the truth about its owner's travails with The EFCC. Orji Uzor Kalu, OUK, an ex-governor and businessman, who owns the sun has also been arrested. The Sun has spared no effort in spewing out propaganda that suggests that his case is politically motivated. This argument would have made more sense if he was the only one in the dock. But Chimaroke Nnamani, who is also on the list, is a very loyal disciple of the old Baba of Aso Rock, OBJ himself. So the argument is not very logical. I hope our new governors learn from the experience of their predecessors.


The Lagos Blogger