By Rabiu Garba
“One lie built on another is like a thatched house, and before long, it will soon rain through” -African Proverb It is increasingly becoming clearer by the day that some misguided elements are getting more desperate and paranoid about the fact that an unforgettable fortune of a life time is about to smile on the Peace Corps of Nigeria as a result of the eff orts of its founder, Amb. (Dr) Dickson A. O. Akoh.
Th e Akoh-phobia, instead of dissipating, is rather burgeoning in the camp of his critics to the extent that when he sneezes, his fast-vanishing tribe of detractors catches cold. In Nigeria, the challenge of leadership is undoubtedly daunting. How do you ensure that you satisfy the people without pandering to the whims and caprices of the stakeholders? By stakeholders, I mean those whose principal desire is a government or entity that caters to their needs and massages their over-bloated egos and those who think rightly or wrongly that power must be exercised at their discretion and to their advantage.
Since the adoption of the Bill for an Act to Establish the Nigerian Peace Corps (NPC) by the Senate on Tuesday, July 27, 2017, a segment of the nation’s media, principally the social media, Premium Times and Sahara Reporters, have been awash with several allegations that border on speculation devoid of any empirical evidence. Since the bill was sponsored by Hon. Umar Farouk in the House of Representatives and Sen. Ali Ndume in the Senate, some dark forces, especially those who hate Akoh’s guts with a passion and are willing to sacrifi ce any part of their body to have both him and the corps crucifi ed, have been in the trenches fuelling controversies in the public domain.
It beggars belief the wicked level to which some individuals can go to assassinate the characters of other fellow Nigerians. Because Akoh has over the years resisted pressures to capitulate to the desires of the enemies of Nigerian youths, through the abandonment of his noble pet project, PCN, he and the corps have been marked for destruction. Th at is why some could go to the ridiculous extent of saying that our Distinguished Senators were monetarily induced to adopt the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill, while others allege that some “key Senators” were even promised over 500 employment slots to ensure that the bill was adopted. Balderdash!
All these allegations are simply the products of the fecund imagination of those who wish Peace Corps dead at all cost, not minding the fact that the establishment of this organization is a dream come true for millions of Nigerian youths, who have been at the receiving end of the grandiose mismanagement of the nation’s aff airs over the years. During the public hearing conducted by the two chambers of the National Assembly on the NPC Bill, the Police, Civil Defence and the DSS registered their opposition to it by submitting memos and backing them up with oral presentation.
However, their opposition was overwhelmed by the over 580 memoranda and presentations by major stakeholders who declared their support for the bill at the hearing. Some of the groups that supported the bill include traditional rulers, members of the academia, students cum religious bodies, members of state Houses of Assembly, several government ministries and parastatals, both at the state and federal levels, etc. So, those that are opposed to the bill have either not read its contents to really appreciate the functions assigned to the corps or they merely elected to be mischievous in their wild criticisms.
In this context, for anybody to assert that these senators were compromised before this same bill could be passed and adopted smacks of playing to the gallery. Th e so-called opposition of the Head of Service to the bill was premised essentially on the fear that because there is economic recession, it will be a bit burdensome for government to comfortably fund the corps.
Th is is understandable, considering the dwindling revenue accruing to the Federation Account. Another issue I fi nd really irksome and objectionable is the strange trenchant opposition of the Senate Committee Chairman on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Sen. David Umaru, who was mandated to look into the court case between the Corps and the Police and advise the Senate accordingly, whether the case will have any legal implication on the adoption of the bill. Surprisingly, he went beyond his brief, aligned with some well-known opponents of the Corps, namely, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and the Commandant-General of Nigerian Civil Defence, Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu, all who incidentally happen to come from the same Niger State like him (Sen. Umaru). Th e allegation of bribery leveled against the Corps is so puerile that it is not worth being dignifi ed with any response.
Th e only response to this malicious allegation is a question: how can an NGO like the Peace Corps muster enough fi nancial muscle to bribe the highest paid legislators in the world, the Nigerian senators? Of course, it is not possible, because some of these senators are former governors, captains of industry, business moguls, retired military or police offi cers, legal luminaries or former ministers, etc.
Garba wrote from Kaduna
