OPINION: How Saraki Destroys Kwara State, by Akogun Oyedepo

Not until Senator Bukola Saraki, the distinguished Senator, representing Kwara Central Senatorial District in the Senate of the Federal republic of Nigeria and the erstwhile governor of Kwara State was charged before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for anticipatory declaration of assets; the charge was novel in the annals of our criminal malfeasance in Nigeria. Anticipatory declaration of assets to me is the same thing as anticipatory looting of public treasury. Politicians in civilised clime would come to public office with programs and manifesto of what they need to do to uplift the condition of the electorates, anticipatory looters would go into public office with the mind set of bleeding the common patrimony. Astute people centred politician sees politics as service; commercial politicians see public office as an expansion of private pecuniary interests. Fraud is fraud, stealing is stealing and looting is looting. The difference in this one is the anticipatory dimension of looting or stealing as allegedly exposed in Dr Abubakar Olubukola Saraki assets declaration form.
The Code of Conduct Act in Nigeria makes it mandatory for all public office holders to declare their assets while going into office and while exciting the office. When an intending public office holder who has two houses before assuming an office now fills the Code of Conduct form and puts six houses, he is looting in anticipation of opportunities for access to public money which the office would afford him. Anticipatory declaration of assets in this regard is not different from the conclusion in the mind to commit an offence even before the fact of the commission of the crime. The Bible sees the heart as the chamber that harbours good and evil and it says ‘’out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, like thefts and false witnesses’’. In criminal law, to know that a crime is premeditated or not, the proof of meas rea is required. Evil that man does must gain entrance into the realm of thoughts before it manifests into actions. In the case of the anticipatory declaration of assets, it is not the office that corrupts the declarant; he came to public office purely to steal.
Now let us have a peep into the window of the declared assets of our distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. By the 29th day of May 2003 and at the age of forty-one, Senator Bukola Saraki in cash and properties was a billionaire. The highest office he occupied before then was that of the Executive Vice Chairman of the family bank, Societe General Bank Nigeria Ltd (SGBN). Among many assets he declared in the 2003 Code of Conduct form were plots of land at 212 Musa Yar’ Adua Street Victoria Island, Lagos, land at Lekki, Ibafo near Ajah, Buildings at Gerrand Road, Ikoyi, Roxton Road, 6, Awolowo Road, MacDonald, Tagus Street Maitama, Abuja. He also declared landed properties in eight locations in United Kingdom. He then had fifteen luxurious cars ranging from the least which was six million to the highest which was thirty million naira then. He had good money in eight different Nigerian Banks and then kept three foreign accounts full of dollars. His three children by the 2003 declaration worth N741.89 million naira and the wife had N1.49 billion naira. Before he became the governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki was stupendously rich. When I came about this declaration in 2007, I suspected it was done in lieu of the opportunities his gubernatorial victory of 2003 offered him. I did not know the name we could call the crime until the Attorney General, Abubakar Malami (SAN) came to my rescue and now calls it what is now commonly known as, Anticipatory Declaration.But the acquisition of this wealth could be questionable. This was a man put in the charge of a commercial bank in Nigeria, as the Bank was sinking our man was rising in financial values. Depositors were writhing in agony, the Executive Vice Chairman was laughing to other banks. Yet we cannot say that the stupendous wealth is from family legacy. The highest family economic outfit was the bank where he worked all through his life before he gained entrance into public office. Though a medical Doctor, he could not have been said to have made these billions from the profession he did not practice. The father was not a pauper, but he could not rank among the Abiolas, Igbenedions, Adedoyins, Saros, Folawiyos, of his era. Where then did he get all the moneys and the properties? Yet the only place he worked was the bank that went under. The origin of this wealth is questionable.
And the Sixteen count charge. Government calls it prosecution but Dr Bukola Saraki and his ilk call it persecution and political victimisation. The injured poor will rather see the diligent prosecution of this case as justice. But some offences have been created by the charges. There is the offence of the anticipatory declaration which I have described as the anticipatory looting. When your main desire of going to public office is to enrich your insatiable appetite for money and before the assumption of office you make grand preparation for looting, it is anticipatory looting. He is also charged as a public officer that acquired properties to the tune of billions of naira, which ‘’acquisition was not fairly attributable to his income, gift or loan approved by the code of conduct for public officers’’. He is also charged for non-declaration of his acquired properties in accordance with the Code of Conduct Bureau whether at the beginning or at the end of tenure. He is equally charged of illegally as public officer maintaining several foreign accounts. He is also said to have also committed money laundering. I still do not see how he could claim that he is being victimised when the straight answer is whether he committed the crimes or not. And happily, the Code of Conduct Tribunal affords him the opportunity to prove his innocence. All in all, Dr Bukola Saraki is said to have purchased landed properties while in public office with the sum of one billion, nine hundred and eighteen million, three hundred and fifty thousand (N1,918,350,000) naira only. This sum does not include the values of his numerous cars. Apart from this, he was said to have transferred illegally the sum of Three million four hundred thousand ($3,400,00) US dollars from the GT Bank in Nigeria to his account in America Express Bank. Above therefore is the summary of the charges against him.
But what should be the attitude of the people of Kwara State to these charges? Curiously all the sixteen count charges start with ‘’that you DR OLUBUKOLA ABUBAKAR SARAKI whilst being the Governor of Kwara State—’’. The whole thing is about Kwara State. The money allegedly stolen was from the treasury of Kwara State. It is therefore sad that some mindless Kwarans will in the guise of loyalty to the political leadership, go on solidarity rally with a leader facing so many grim charges that boarders on looting of our common patrimony. Each time this matter comes up either at the Code of Conduct Tribunal or some other courts, Kwara State government offices in the state capital and the Secretariat of the sixteen local government areas where cronies of the ‘’leader’’ hold sway ‘’would be on persecution holiday’’. There would be competitions among political sycophants to outdo one another on who can symbolically show love and concern to the drowning leader. This same act of degrading the people of Kwara State started in 2013 while the same Senator was investigated for wrong doing in the N9.7billion bank loan by the police Special Fraud Unit (SFU) at Milverton Street, Ikoyi, Lagos. Scores of supporters of the Senator stormed the SFU in solidarity with the accused. Every ignoble action of these charlatans devalues Kwarans. How will the civilized world see a people celebrating a man charged with so grave a crime of dishonesty? The sixteen count charge tells a sad story about deficiency of integrity of the leadership of Kwara State, while the solidarity rallies whether in Abuja, Ilorin or Lagos dehumanize all of us.How and when did we sink this sadly low in Kwara State? This is the state established by Brigadier General D. L. Bamigboye. Is this not the state of intellectuals of international repute like the late Professors Muyiwa Awe, Afolabi Toye and the living legend, Professor M. O Oyawoye. Is this not the state of the acclaimed jurists like the late Saadu Kawu and the living incorruptible, Justice Mustapha Akanbi? Is this not the place of principled politicians like the late Alhaji Sule Maito, Chief J. S Olawoyin, Alhaji Ahman Patigi and the living Chief C. O Adebayo? Yet diplomats of international repute like Professor Agboola Gambari and Chief Aje are from this state. This is the home of world acclaimed religious leaders like Dr David Oyedepo, Sheikh Adams and Sheikh Kamaldeen. Three past Chief of Naval Staff, Admirals, Afolayan, Adekeye and Ola Saad are from this State. Yet this is the home of well-endowed bureaucrats like Chief J A Aderibigbe, Alhaji Saidu Issa and Mr Joshua Ogunlowo. The land that produced these great icons has been desecrated by these jesters of leaders that draw the state to the 18th century in the 21st century. They operate policies and agenda that destroy the basis of our unity and developments in Kwara State. They give the whole world the impression that this state is not populated by human beings. Instead of demonstrating in favour of Daniel that has come to judgement, we still give support to somebody that made up his mind to dupe us before he took the oath of office as the Governor of this State. The sixteen count charge at the Code of Conduct Tribunal has a sour taste in the mouth and the early we spit it out of the mouth the better. If we swallow it, it will further contaminate our body politics and ensure continued underdevelopment of Kwara State. The case is for the glory of our land. There is the need to pray on and follow the diligent prosecution of this liberating criminal charge.