Our nation is now a big theatre where farcical actions and events take  place at a pulsating pace. And, keeping up with the tempo of the  outlandish dramas that have grotesquely assailed our sensibilities has  not been easy. The totality of the bizarre storyline centres on the  recoveries by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of  monies believed to be part of our looted commonwealth by some former  and, possibly, serving government officials.
The EFCC has, in dramatic fashions, been recovering huge sums of monies  from unusual places, far away from the strong rooms or vaults of banking  institutions, purportedly on the prompting of some whistle blowers. So  dramatic have the locations- airport, market isolated air-conditioned  bungalow- and the magnitudes of the discoveries been that they have  elicited equally dramatic reactions from different quarters.
The latest discovery of $43.4 million, N23.3 million and 27,800 pounds  in a flat at the Osborne Towers in Ikoyi, Lagos, has unarguably been the  biggest of such discoveries by the EFCC. How so much money could be  kept outside the banking system and in a flat whose ownership has  generated controversy speaks to the extreme degeneracy that has  afflicted us as a nation.
One had thought that, by now, having had the grace to recover from the  shock find and to realise that we were not dreaming after all, the  federal government should have quickly cleared the mystery surrounding  the ownership of the money through the instrumentality and  superintendence of the superior intelligence of its security and  investigative agencies.
Indeed, it was enough that the sheer magnitude of the discovery almost  benumbed our sense of sanity and questioned our humanism; but to now  attempt to throw mindless shenanigans into the mix in order to shield  the real owner(s) of the monies in question is to portray Nigerians as  fools. Even if we do not know how our commonwealth is being managed, at  least, we should be fully briefed about this glaring and unconscionable  diversion of huge public fund hidden in the Osborne Towers flat.
The undisguised attempts by the federal government and its agencies,  particularly the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to befuddle the  Nigerian people over the ownership of the money should be condemned and  rejected by well-meaning Nigerians and the international community. NIA  has claimed ownership of the money.  But Nigerians have justifiably  doubted the agency’s claim.
It is just not enough to put up such claim.
There must be  incontrovertible evidence to prove it; otherwise, the NIA would be  deemed to be playing a fast one, in the circumstance, for reasons best  known to it. Some people have even insinuated that the NIA might have  resorted to this fatal gambit in order to shield the real owner(s) of  the monies.
And Nigerians are reasonably anguished. They are aware that, more than  ever, they are being taken for granted by a government which is a  custodian of their sacred mandate. Governance is no longer about the  people, but about the few privileged elite who have taken advantage of  public office to plunder our commonwealth. The owner(s) of the monies  is (are) believed to enjoy the sympathy and, possibly, the protection of  government.
The NIA claim of ownership is finding it difficult to fly. Or, is the  NIA trying to appropriate the monies in the hope that nobody would be  courageous enough to come forward to claim ownership? Or, is it acting  to protect the real owner(s) for some pecuniary interests? Sincerely, I  am not taken in by the NIA claim.
The agency has a well-fortified  office in Abuja to warehouse its funds for covert operations.     It thus beggars belief that the agency would choose to use an unguarded  flat as a safe house for such a humongous amount. Nigerians have asked  good questions since the bizarre discovery was made: who is or are the  owner(s) of the flat? That can be ascertained. If the owner(s) of the  flat leased it out, then to whom did the owner(s) lease it? That also  can be verified. The relevant investigative agencies can follow the  trail. In between the leaser(s) and the lessee(s), the mystery over  ownership can be unraveled.
Dramatically, the governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, has come out to  say that the money belongs to Rivers state. The plank on which he has  grounded his claim is understandable. Amid the controversy over the  ownership of the flat where the monies were found, a series of  speculative claims have been made, which linked some individuals with  the flat. Former governor of Rivers state, Rotimi Amaechi, who is the  incumbent minister of transportation, was one of those who have suffered  the misfortune of being mentioned. He has denied ownership of the flat.
The latest media reports, as of press time, were tending in the  direction of the existence of some documents -deed of assignment, et al  – that point in the direction of NIA ownership. Still speculative as  the reports might be, I just hope it is not an attempt to perfect the  agency’s gambit to appropriate the monies, the existence of which it  did not deem fit, before the discovery, to brief either President  Muhammadu Buhari or the National Security Adviser (NSA) about. Why was  it after the EFCC discovery that the NIA DG was moving round to brief  those he should have briefed before the bust?
Indeed, the entire development has been deliberately made convoluted;  and, an otherwise simple matter of pointing a finger of guilt to the  culprit of the flat 7b Osborne Towers humongous _cashgate_, has been  made much more complicated by the insincerity of government and some of  its agencies. This is very depressing. President Buhari should feel  very embarrassed that this is happening under his watch.  Instead of  seizing the big stage to flog the issue expeditiously, his government is  dancing round the issue, perhaps, to protect some person(s).
If the government is thus indicted, then its chicanery will not only  blow up in its face, it will also make nonsense of its much-trumpeted  anti-corruption crusade. Nigerians who voted for the administration on  the platform of its potential capacity to fight corruption to the finish  can as well begin to sing the administration’s Nunc Dimittis.  Sadly, Nigeria’s international image will suffer a further collateral  damage on account of this shocking infamy.
However, I must commend the EFCC – whether it is seeking to impress the  president or Nigerians – for the bust and its decision to go to a  Federal High Court in Lagos to secure an order for temporary forfeiture  of the monies to the federal government. This is salutary in that the  court had given enough time for the owner(s) of the money to file an  affidavit or a counter affidavit as the case maybe to prove claim of  ownership.
The federal government must suspend any other action(s) that may be  prejudicial to the court action. Whoever is claiming ownership of the  monies should go to court to join issues with the EFCC on May 5;  otherwise, the court should proceed to give an order for permanent  forfeiture of the monies to the federal government.
And, once that is done, it should settle the matter conclusively. Our  angst as a nation would be assuaged if the monies are judiciously and  transparently used for programmes, projects and polices that will  promote the welfare of the citizenry; otherwise, it will turn out a much  monumental tragedy if the monies are re-diverted into the pockets of  some smarter public officials, who will, eventually, scornfully laugh at  us. That is the real concern.
Written by Sufuyan Ojeifo
