They were former public servants whose track records in office are a source of pride to would-be public office seekers. Long after they left, no one knows exactly what they are presently doing; ELEOJO IDACHABA wonders.
Anthony Ani
Etubom Anthony Ani was first as former minister of state for foreign affairs and later as finance minister under the late Gen. Sani Abacha from 1994 to 1998 just before Abacha died. That was the last public service appointment he has held. A native of Mbiabo Ikoneto in Odukpani local government area of Cross River state where he is a clan head; he is also a former chairman of KPMG and former president, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
Not too long ago, Chief Ani detailed how the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks collude with Western Union and MoneyGram to kill the naira. He posited that the collusion is a national emergency that demands the urgent action of President Muhammadu Buhari in order to save the local currency from losing its value.
While reacting to an article by a renowned Nigerian economist, Henry Boyo, Ani revealed some of the activities of the CBN and commercial banks that is killing the naira. He said, “When in 1995, we at the Ministry of Finance reviewed the country’s sources of foreign revenues, we found out that nothing was coming in from Nigerians in the Diaspora, whereas India and Jamaica were living on foreign exchange from their citizens abroad. When I enquired why Western Union and MoneyGram could not receive money from Nigerians abroad, I was told that it was due to our tax laws.
“In 1996, I had proposed (and it was accepted by the Federal Executive Council) in a new law, regarding Nigerians repatriating remuneration from abroad, Nigerians repatriating dividends, royalties, fees, commissions from foreign countries receipts by authors, sportsmen/women, musicians, play writers, artist, etc.
“Some years ago, on my visit to London, I went to Western Union office at Marble Arch, to test by remitting £500 to my son in Nigeria. I first had to convert the money to dollars and to my surprise, Western Union gave me a quote in naira to be claimed by my son. I refused their naira equivalent and insisted that my son must be paid in dollars. It was obvious to me that there was an arrangement between our Nigerian banks and Western Union/MoneyGram, whereby the former pays from their excess naira liquidity while the later retains the dollars abroad.
“In other words, the dollar remittance is retained abroad and is laundered by the Nigerian banks. This is definitely against the law which provides that all remittances must be brought into Nigeria in foreign currency via domiciliary accounts.”
This disclosure by the ex finance minister till now has however not jolted the docile Nigerian government into action in order to reclaim the falling standard of the nation’s currency. However, many years after this revelation, it’s still business as usual. It’s not clear where this Cross River chief could be at the moment.
Ike Nwachukwu
Maj.-Gen. Ike Sanda Omar Nwachukwu is someone who has served the country both as a former military officer and civilian (law maker). He is born to an Igbo father from the present Abia state and Fulani mother from Katsina state. On record, he is the second person of Igbo extraction to attain the rank of army Major General after the late Aguiyi Ironsi. Nwachukwu served twice as foreign affairs minister and as senator representing Abia state in the early days of the current democratic dispensation before he lost the bid to return into the red chamber because another former minister from his constituency, the late Uche Chukwumerije, won the election.
He obtained his initial military training at the Nigerian Military Training College, Kaduna (course 6) before proceeding to the Royal Canadian School of Infantry and the School of Infantry, Warminster, United Kingdom. He was also at the Institute of Humanitarian Law Italy, the United Nations Peace Academy and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS) Kuru in Plateau state for various levels of studies. Nwachukwu rose to the rank of Major General before he retired. Earlier in his career in the military, especially during the regime of Muhammadu Buhari as Head of State, he was appointed as the military governor of old Imo state between 1994 and 1995 during which time he moved Imo State University (now Abia State University) Uturu to its permanent site for administrative convenience. When Buhari was, however, toppled in 1985, Nwachukwu returned to core military duties, but in 1986, IBB then as Head of State appointed him as minister for employment, labour and productivity, a position he occupied till 1987. This was when he established the ever surviving National Directorate of Employment (NDE) meant to alleviate the problems of unemployment, especially graduate unemployment. Again, he was deployed to foreign affairs ministry as minister shortly after. Under him, a number of diplomatic blueprints were itemised for Nigeria.
“For instance, the idea of Africa as the centre-piece of Nigeria’s foreign policy document was enunciated by him. In December 1989, he was replaced by Rilwanu Lukman thereby returning to military command position, but as providence would have it, that was for a brief moment as he was in September 1990 re-appointed minister in charge of foreign affairs. It was the change of guard in what was known as ‘stepping aside’ by IBB in 1993 that saw Nwachukwu relinquishing that position to Mathew Mbu under the late Ernest Shonekan. Generally as foreign affairs minister, Nwachukwu was active and effective as he took a number of what foreign affairs experts call ‘mercantilist approach to diplomacy.’
As senator representing Abia, he served as chairman of two Senate Committees, for example, the Senate Committee on Power and Steel and Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. Not too long ago, while writing on Nwachukwu at 80, a newspaper columnist, Banjo Ojewale, wrote that, “Nwachukwu first appeared as Employment, Labour and Productivity minister at the centre having being spotted by IBB. Chroniclers have attributed to him the establishment, in 1986, of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) which is among the few significant legacies of the IBB era.
“It was Nwachukwu’s magic answer to the assault of the economic recession of the 80s. NDE tackled both the recession and the consequences of government’s Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) that entailed the devaluation of the naira, among other macroeconomic policies. There were heavy job losses both in the public and private sectors. NDE has survived after 34 years in a country where the unwritten code is that institutions and their activities must be axed when governments that brought them into being are displaced. Even where the symbols of a past are laudable, they must give way.”
Since Nwachukwu left the Senate nearly 12 years ago, he has not been close to power again both at the state and federal level and it’s also not clear where he could be at the moment.
Lawan Gwadabe
Col. Lawan Gwadabe (retd.) is the former military governor of Niger state under former Gen Ibrahim Babangida from December 1987 to January 1992. While in service, he was one of those military officers often branded as IBB boys. Up till now, he is one individual still close to the former leader. Gwadabe was among the leaders who, in 2005, encouraged General Babangida to contest the 2007 presidential election which was condemned by many. One thing that, however, stood him out as an individual is the fact that he was one of the military officers implicated in the 1995 coup which allegedly sought to remove the late Gen Sani Abacha from office. As a result of this, he was arrested, tortured and convicted of treason but after Abacha’s death, he was granted a state pardon.
Earlier, in his military career, Gwadabe was involved in the coup of August 27 1985 which removed Gen. Muhammadu Buhari from office. He and other junior military officers were assigned the job of arresting General Buhari as Head of State, an assignment they carried out without much difficulty and replaced him with General Babangida. After the coup, he was rewarded with an appointment as chairman of Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL), among other appointments. He was later appointed military governor of Niger in December 1987; however, during his tenure, he had to cope with a severe outbreak of cerebro-spinal meningitis which was countered with an emergency mass-vaccination in the state. Earlier in the tenure of Gen Abacha as Head of State, he was appointed commander of the National Guards.
On November 17, 1993, escorted by a detachment of the National Guards, he arrested Ernest Shonekan, then head of the Interim National Government (ING) and Gen. Abacha took over power. Much later, for a brief period, he was principal staff officer to Gen Abacha before he was posted to Yola as Commander of 23 Armored Brigade. In 1995, he was arrested on alleged charge of coup plot alongside others to overthrow Gen Abacha.
Subsequently, Gwadabe was placed on death row before Abacha died unexpectedly in June 1998. The late Umar Musa Yar’Adua as president later granted him full state pardon. The last major appointment he has had since he came out of detention was in February 2009 when he was appointed chairman of the board of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Since then, not much has been heard about this man again even though he still commands a youthful age that can be of service to the nation.
