Malami’s NEXT LEVEL

Sometimes, even in the most propitious dispensation, a political appointee may not get a second chance no matter his quality. Not because they may have failed to deliver or meet expectations of their principal or the public. But simply because of the abundance of talents and capacities in a country of over 180 million people.

But when you get such a chance too, it cannot be a fortuitous placement of responsibility nor just providential. You must have exhibited qualities of leadership which brought results and made you a numero uno in the eyes of your principal.

I assume this must be true for some of the ministerial appointees that have just passed senate screening. But I venture a certainty in the case of Abubakar Malami, the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation who had worked for his country at a time of great difficulties.

Malami’s appointment as the AGF came at a perilous time for the country and for the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. There was the grave security threats posed by Boko Haram, kidnappers, cyber criminals and later the Sheikh El-Zakzaky led Islamic Movement of Nigeria(IMN).In the midst of these, the country glided into economic recession largely as a result of the drastic fall in the price of crude oil in the international market.

These are challenges that could test even the most astute political leadership. But Malami was lucky to have a President who gave his appointees the space to task themselves and use their initiatives to turn things around. The President had campaign on improving the country, fighting insurgency and “killing” corruption before it got the chance to kill the country.

These were highly patriotic tasks needed to save the country from collapse, but had to be executed simultaneously in the manner of one man joggling a number of balls without losing any. In order words, it was a time when the new Administration had to kill several birds with a stone.

Malami was one of the appointees who justified the confidence of the President and shamed skeptics, who have however, continued in their shameless skepticism about the ability of public servants in the country to rise beyond personal, pecuniary interests in the discharge of their duties.

In my view, it was his desire and determination to change the perception of public office holders as thieves and petty criminals that distinguished him as a minister and underlined his success in office.

His astute leadership and initiative in the repatriation of the loot traced to the late General Sani Abacha loot in Europe is a classic example of Malami’s resourcefulness. The sum of $321 million had been traced in Abacha’s bank accounts in Switzerland since 2000 but legal technicalities had stopped the loot from being returned to Nigeria.

Foreign lawyers who submitted huge bills had been hired by previous administrations, but the funds remained in Swiss vault. But as soon as Malami became AGF, he saw a window of opportunity which had either eluded others before him or which was conveniently ignored for other reasons. Why not use local lawyers and make pragmatic concessions that would ensure the money is returned immediately?

These are the questions only an unsentimental, businesslike AGF would ask. Malami must have asked himself these questions and answered them with the urgency the Administration needed to move things forward.

While foreign lawyers were asking for 20 percent of the fund in view, Malami got two Nigerian lawyers with international experience in such matters to handle negotiations for the country at just five percent charge! The fund had been repatriated into the country and its been used to fund some of the Governments social investments schemes to lift people out of poverty.

In a decent country where initiative and inventiveness are virtues of leadership, such acts would grab all the headlines in the media. But not in Nigeria where political malice, ethnic and religious bias prevent us from appreciating goodness and greatness in others.

It probably would have been normal and not out of character if the media and civil society had been quiet about the achievement. But the civil society or I dare say, a section of it, has carried on something akin to a proxy war against Malami. It is a sad irony that instead of praising him for the repatriation of Abacha loot, his critics are accusing him of hiring Nigerian lawyers to enrich himself! It is preposterous, disgusting and shameful! Those doing this cannot be patriotic Nigerians.

In truth, the way against him started long ago. Since his appointment in 2015 as the AGF, it appeared as if a taboo had been committed. It was as if certain people were not capable of holding the office of the AGF. The media war against him started as soon as he settled into office and is yet to abate even now. Every of his actions in office were scrutinize publicly and the sceptics speculate about his motives.

Whether it was in the way he related with the agencies under his ministry, especially EFCC, or alleged Government’s lack of respect for court orders or about MTN and the repatriation of Abacha loot, speculations have always swirled around his motives. To many of his critics or adversaries, anything he did must have something for him!  

Only a man who had faith in himself could carry on under the weight of such negative and destructive war of attrition without distraction. It is a credit to him that he had remained above the fray and refrained from joining issues with critics of the Government throughout his first term in office, and only responding in the public interest when the situation demanded.

The fact that President Buhari had re-nominated him as a minister is a testimony to the President’s commitment to the good of this country, and perhaps also, a realization that corruption may be fighting back. But if Malami gets a second chance as AGF, he must remain focus on the end goal of the Buhari administration.

The goal is to leave a legacy where it would become impossible or very difficult for public officers to loot the treasury. Now that the Administration is in control of the National Assembly, this is the time push those bills and make those laws that our country needs to get to the NEXT LEVEL.

-Solomon wrote in from Abuja

Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.