Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has disclosed that the pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, informed him while on exile in the UK that he realized late that former President Olusegun Obasanjo was using him as the EFCC Chairman.
Soyinka, who berated the former President for interfering in the war against corruption, wondered, in an interview with the latest edition of Zero Tolerance magazine, a publication of the EFCC, “Why should a President involve himself in what is already structurally established and dedicated to that purpose?”
According to him, “I warned your former boss, Ribadu, I told him that, your task will be done when in the course of your investigation; you discover that the source of the problem is the very person who appointed you.
“He looked shocked a bit, and eventually he and I met in London, after he was removed and (the current Governor of Kaduna State Mallam Nasir) el-Rufai was also in exile after they tried to kill him. We met and Ribadu refused to sit down. I asked him to sit but he said no, that until I accepted his apology, he won’t sit down. I asked what apology? And he said ‘I should have listened to you. I failed to listen to you.
“Something you have said to me and I failed to listen’ Ribadu admitted that he realised very late that Obasanjo was using him.
“So we have to destroy that link between power and corruption. Audu Ogbeh confirmed what I am telling you. Then, it was ‘go after this one, go after that one, ahh you did not arrest him? Arrest his mother! I am challenging Obasanjo to deny it.
“So, when you are looking for corruption, you should look at the entire stratum of the society, while some forms of corruption are direct, others are indirect”.
The playwright further noted that he withdrew his support for former President Goodluck Jonathan because he was becoming authoritarian while in office, alleging that the former president also committed what he described alarming errors of governance.
Recounting why he marched alongside others in order to ensure that Jonathan was sworn-in as the acting President in 2010 against the wishes of the cabal, Soyinka asserted that the action was meant to protect the constitution and not just about Jonathan.
His words, “We marched in order to protect the constitution, not the person of Jonathan. We retained a cordial relationship during his tenure. However despite some attacks I felt compelled to launch on him – and his wife. Jonathan committed some truly alarming errors of governance. He was propelling himself towards outright fascism.
“Asked by the interviewers if Jonathan was caged, he answered, “Correct. There are forces around Jonathan, you put your fingers around it, which he himself does not understand and that is why I stressed that, you’ve got to choose your circle of advisers very carefully, when you are in charge. He’s been caged; things are going on in his ministry that he did not know about.”
Citing an instance, he regretted that the former President did not know that King of Morocco had withdrawn his ambassador to Nigeria in March, 2015 until a week later.
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