Posted by Vincent Akanmode on
If the deposed governor of Bayelsa State,Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, had known, he would have stayed back in London and answer to the charges of money laundering brought against him by the Metropolitan Police.
If the deposed governor of Bayelsa State,Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, had known, he would have stayed back in London and answer to the charges of money laundering brought against him by the Metropolitan Police.
Alamieyeseigha had been arrested in London on September 15 while returning home from Germany where he had undergone surgery. He was alleged to have carried on him about one million pounds in a country where the fear of terrorists and their financiers has become the beginning of wisdom.
But after about five weeks as a guest of the Metropolitan Police, the self-acclaimed leader of the Ijaw nation jumped bail and returned to government house in Yenagoa four days before his scheduled appearance at the Southwark Crown Court in London.
Alamieyeseigha did not only leave his travelling documents behind and put in jeopardy, sureties totaling 1.25 million dollars, he was rumoured to have disguised as a pregnant woman before he jumped bail.
His sudden appearance in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State about three weeks ago naturally left everyone stupefied. His deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, had only four days earlier been mandated by the State Assembly to act as the governor, particularly because Alamieyeseigha himself had asked to be granted a leave of absence for 120 days.
His nocturnal arrival in Yenagoa set the state on the edge as the entire population was polarised between those that were for Alamieyeseigha and those that were against him.
Unfortunately, the Alamieyeseigha that returned to Yenagoa from London did nothing to show that he was remorseful of his action. Not a few people's sensibilities were offended by the sort of rousing welcome that was given to him by a crowd that was widely believed to have been rented by some of his loyalists. And as if to show that he had not in any way been humbled by the London experience, he began to talk tough and lived in the illusion that everything was alright and that he remained firmly in charge of the state.
'Let me state categorically that I have not resigned. And until I see good reason to do so, I remain the chief executive of Bayelsa State," Alamieyeseigha boasted in a broadcast to the people of the state shortly after his return. Alleging that he was 'a pawn in an elaborate power game staged in a foreign land," the ousted governor also tried to whip up sentiment by claiming that he was being persecuted for championing the cause of the Ijaw people of the Niger Delta.
Clearly, the sun was going down but Aamieyeseigha would just not see the shadow on the wall. And like a drowning man clinging to a straw, he began to hatch one plan after the other in a desperate bid to remain in office. It took a long time before the impeachment notice prepared by the State Assembly could be served on him because he avoided the agents of the assembly like a plague. Frustrated by Alamieyeseigha's hide-and-seek game, the assembly had to publish the notice of impeachment in national dailies.
Throwing its weight behind the impeachment move, the National Working Committee of the People's Democratic Party expelled Alamieyeseigha from the party. The ex-governor's response to that was the sending of the clerk of the State Assembly, Mr Koru George, on compulsory leave, replacing him with his own cousin.
However, the hide-and-seek game came to an end on Friday with the removal of Alamieyeseigha from office. The impeachment amounts to double tragedy for the retired Air Force officer. He has not only lost his esteemed position as the chief executive of the oil rich state, the veil of immunity under which he had hidden has been removed and he will now face justice in respect of corruption charges that have been levelled against him both in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
Observers believe he is worse off now than staying behind in London to answer to charges of money laundering. They reason that as things now stand, whatever punishment Alamieyeseigha would have received in London would amount to treating him with kid gloves when compared to the punishment that may be meted out to him in Nigeria on account of the corruption and money laundering charges that have been brought against him by the dreaded Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The travails of the former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Tafa Balogun, observers believe, could amount to a child's play compared to the fate that await the fallen emperor of Bayelsa.
If the deposed governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, had known, he would have stayed back in London and answer to the charges of money laundering brought against him by the Metropolitan Police.
Alamieyeseigha had been arrested in London on September 15 while returning home from Germany where he had undergone surgery. He was alleged to have carried on him about one million pounds in a country where the fear of terrorists and their financiers has become the beginning of wisdom.
But after about five weeks as a guest of the Metropolitan Police, the self-acclaimed leader of the Ijaw nation jumped bail and returned to government house in Yenagoa four days before his scheduled appearance at the Southwark Crown Court in London.
Alamieyeseigha did not only leave his travelling documents behind and put in jeopardy, sureties totaling 1.25 million dollars, he was rumoured to have disguised as a pregnant woman before he jumped bail.
His sudden appearance in Yenagoa, the capital of Bayelsa State about three weeks ago naturally left everyone stupefied. His deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, had only four days earlier been mandated by the State Assembly to act as the governor, particularly because Alamieyeseigha himself had asked to be granted a leave of absence for 120 days.
His nocturnal arrival in Yenagoa set the state on the edge as the entire population was polarised between those that were for Alamieyeseigha and those that were against him.
At the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, the centre could no longer hold. While as many as 20 of the 24 lawmakers were initially disposed to removing Alamieyeseigha from office for gross misconduct, the equation soon changed dramatically with as many as nine of the lawmakers pitching their tents with the embattled governor.
Of greater significance, however, was the burden of image crisis the escape of Alamieyeseigha from London imposed on Nigeria as a nation. If the nation had enjoyed a bad image in the international community, Alamiyeseigha's disgraceful act became the icing on the cake. Not a few observers therefore expected that the Federal Government would pick up the gauntlet and stop Alamieyeseigha from making nonsesnse of its anti-corruption crusade.
Unfortunately, the Alamieyeseigha that returned to Yenagoa from London did nothing to show that he was remorseful of his action. Not a few people's sensibilities were offended by the sort of rousing welcome that was given to him by a crowd that was widely believed to have been rented by some of his loyalists. And as if to show that he had not in any way been humbled by the London experience, he began to talk tough and lived in the illusion that everything was alright and that he remained firmly in charge of the state.
'Let me state categorically that I have not resigned. And until I see good reason to do so, I remain the chief executive of Bayelsa State," Alamieyeseigha boasted in a broadcast to the people of the state shortly after his return. Alleging that he was 'a pawn in an elaborate power game staged in a foreign land," the ousted governor also tried to whip up sentiment by claiming that he was being persecuted for championing the cause of the Ijaw people of the Niger Delta. 'Even as I speak to you, I have it on good authority that there is a plan to assassinate or kidnap me. As a prelude to that plan, my official security is already being withdrawn. This is a repeat of the Anambra scenario. It is bound to fail."
Clearly, the sun was going down but Aamieyeseigha would just not see the shadow on the wall. And like a drowning man clinging to a straw, he began to hatch one plan after the other in a desperate bid to remain in office. It took a long time before the impeachment notice prepared by the State Assembly could be served on him because he avoided the agents of the assembly like a plague. Frustrated by Alamieyeseigha's hide-and-seek game, the assembly had to publish the notice of impeachment in national dailies.
Throwing its weight behind the impeachment move, the National Working Committee of the People's Democratic Party expelled Alamieyeseigha from the party. The ex-governor's response to that was the sending of the clerk of the State Assembly, Mr Koru George, on compulsory leave, replacing him with his own cousin.
However, the hide-and-seek game came to an end yesterday with the removal of Alamieyeseigha from office. The impeachment amounts to double tragedy for the retired Air Force officer. He has not only lost his esteemed position as the chief executive of the oil rich state, the veil of immunity under which he had hidden has been removed and he will now face justice in respect of corruption charges that have been levelled against him both in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
Observers believe he is worse off now than staying behind in London to answer to charges of money laundering. They reason that as things now stand, whatever punishment Alamieyeseigha would have received in London would amount to treating him with kid gloves when compared to the punishment that may be meted out to him in Nigeria on account of the corruption and money laundering charges that have been brought against him by the dreaded Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The travails of the former Inspector General of Police, Alahaji Tafa Balogun, observers believe, could amount to a child's play compared to the fate that await the fallen emperor of Bayelsa.
Saturday PUNCH, December 10, 2005