A Welcome Change in Attitudes

When I heard about the bail-jumping of Bayelsa State governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, my primary inclination - right after wondering how stupid the British government could be for allowing yet another crooked Nigerian politician to flee the country - was to think that he'd waste no time successfully availing himself of the protection traditionally afforded to corrupt Nigerians by their coethnics, however rotten. As it turns out, I seem to have been wrong to be so cynical: for what must be the first time in living memory, Nigerians aren't rushing to let some thieving politician off the hook simply because he shares the same ethnicity with them.

Whatever the true details of his escape, the governor has not gone home to a warm welcome.

On the contrary, no sooner had he arrived than demonstrators began calling for his departure from office, and the state assembly served notice of impeachment proceedings.

[...]

His opponents say "Alamco" - he got his nickname from the Alamieyeseigha Campaign Organisation of the 2003 general election - is hardly a charismatic leader, and has abused the trust of Ijaw people he claims to represent.

They feel he has spent state money on unnecessary projects like building a new government house at the cost of over 10bn naira ($77m), an airport in his native town of Amassoma, and an Olympic-sized stadium in the state capital, Yenagoa.

They argue that these and other projects have no direct benefit for the people of the state who are living in abject poverty.

Meanwhile, a general hospital he started building about six years ago is still to be completed.

This is just the sort of thing sensible voters ought to be focusing on, not claims that crooks elsewhere are being let off the hook; of what benefit is it to the Ijaw in general if one of their number happens to steal the funds allocated to benefit all of them? I hope this is just the beginning of a trend, and hopefully the day might even come when Northerners cease to automatically defend kleptocratic scum like Umaru Dikko and Sani Abacha ...

Comments

[Sebastian Holsclaw]

If it pans out, this is just the kind of social and political change Nigeria needs. The first step in the transformation of a kelptocratic state is dealing with high-level corrupt government actors.

[Chuckles]

I will keep my cynics hat on. When the Governor return to Bayelsa, he returned to a triumphant welcome, praising God for his deliverance and feted by thousands.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2005-11-21T114843Z_01_DIT138399_RTRUKOC_0_UK-NIGERIA-GOVERNOR-ESCAPE.xml

The immunity clause bars him from prosecution and the matter of his impeachment will depend on which side has access to the larger number of "Ghana Must Go" bags.

The chances of his removal through legal means are non existent. The political machinery needed to bring him down will definitely be whetted with lots of dollars.

[Remi]

I can't help but think Diepreye Alamieyeseigha did something really wrong. I mean Joshua Dariye of Plateau state did manage to escape from the UK without much fuss. The trial of Alamieyeseigha will however make Nigerians look closer to Dariye’s situation. Finally, we are fighting corruption on one front at least.

[Chuckles]

Impeached and arrested:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4513172.stm

I wonder what is going to come of this.