The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will be 20 years in existence in 2023 having been established by the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration in the year 2003 though its enabling law- the EFCC Act- was passed in 2004.
The news of the Commission’s establishment was very well received around the world as it signaled the administration’s higher commitment to transparency in the discharge of governance functions as well a renewed commitment to fight the monster of corruption which had generally been recognised as a huge stumbling block on the path of the country’s national development.
The pioneer helmsman of the anti-graft agency Nuhu Ribadu, a senior police officer and lawyer, brought so much credibility to the agency by the zest with which he pursued his assignment leading to the arrest and prosecution of high profile felons including his own boss within the police hierarchy, former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun. For 4 years he held sway at the agency till he was removed by the late President Musa Yar’adua, in 2007. Ribadu is a native of Yola in Adamawa State, North East region of the country.
Nuhu Ribadu was succeeded by Farida Waziri, another police officer and lawyer, female, who was in the saddle from May 2008 to November 23, 2011. She was removed by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who replaced her with Ibrahim Lamorde in 2012. Farida’s appointment was hailed in several quarters for ticking the box of gender equality. Farida Waziri is from Gboko, Benue State North Central and was married to late Senator Ajuji Waziri.
It must be noted that though Lamorde became substantive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in 2011 following his nomination on November 23, 2011 which was later confirmed by the Senate on 15 February 2012, he had actually held fort earlier as Chairman of the Commission, in acting capacity, from January 2008 till Madam Waziri took over in May of same year. Lest we forget, Lamorde was also a senior police officer in his own right who was actually seconded to the agency at its inception. He remained in the saddle till November 9,2015. Lamorde is from Mubi in Adamawa, North East.
Ibrahim Magu was appointed on November 9,2015 in replacement of his predecessor and namesake, Ibrahim Lamorde. His appointment and tenure was quite eventful and interesting. First, his appointment was never confirmed and for the 4 years of his reign he remained in acting capacity as he seemed to be on a permanent collision course with the parliament. Beyond that, he is the first EFCC Chairman to be arrested while still in office, detained and made to face an investigative panel leading to his ouster.
It must be recorded to his credit that his tenure secured many, if not the most convictions and seizures of looted property as well as monies, comparatively. The final conviction of former Governors Dariye of Plateau State and Governor Jolly Nyame of Taraba State were achieved during his tenure after several years of stalling and unending play with legal technicalities. Former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State was also convicted under his tenure even though the matter is currently being reviewed thereby providing a respite for the former governor who is free from the Kuje Gulag pending the fresh determination of the matter. Magu is from Maiduguri in Borno State, North East Nigeria.
Just a few days ago, on 15th February 2021, coincidentally the anniversary of Lamorde’s national assembly confirmation, President Muhammadu Buhari, submitted the name of Abdulrasheed Bawa to the senate for confirmation. So far, his nomination has been largely hailed on account of his age which is put at 40. No doubt this has brought some relief to the people as it marks a departure from the President’s penchant for geriatric appointments. The government itself has been spared the lampooning that would have followed if a different path was toed. He is also the first nominee to the post without a police background. Bawa is from Kebbi State North West, Nigeria.
The foregoing is a brief history of those who have held the position of the chief executive of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the emergent pattern is quite clear to any discerning reader.
This pattern which has seen 4 northerners lead the commission since inception over the last 18 years and 4 change of guards with yet another one warming up to take over upon confirmation by the parliament is surely unfavourably skewed against the South and repugnant to fairness, equity and oneness. It definitely rubbishes our Federal Character pretensions and is an affront on the sense of belonging of other parts.
It is as though there is a standing order guiding the recruitment of the Commission’s chief executive which stipulates that the south is precluded from the search. This belief or confusion is strengthened by the fact that though the appointments have been made by 4 Presidents, whose roots are shared equally between north and south, none of them looked south in their search.
Apart from the regimes of the pioneer chairman and that of the immediate past chairman who had above average performance in their tenures, there is nothing spectacular about the tenures of the other two that could have made it a compelling reason to localize the office in the North.
In times past, the Act stipulated that the person to occupy the seat must be police personnel who is not lower in rank than an Assistant Commissioner of Police. If anyone wants to argue that this provision narrowed down the subset of choice, leading to the choice of Northerners what would be the argument now that that provision has been vacated.
Some have argued that it is difficult to find men and women of southern Nigerian extraction who have the strength of character of a Nuhu Ribadu, or an Ibrahim Magu who can be bold and daring enough to confront the larger than life principalities that have emerged from the perverse mould of corruption in the country. Such a stand is not only mischievous but also presumptuous and insulting.
The truth is that a king can only be as powerful as the kingmakers’ latitude permits. Or put in another way, the authority behind the throne determines the power the king can wield. If you provide trees that are close to each other, of course the jumping prowess of a monkey will not be in doubt; in water the fish has no challenge swimming but put it on land and see. Nuhu Ribadu or Magu in some other person’s regime would have been as effective as a toothless bulldog.
While at this point it might be too much to ask that the choice of Abdulrasheed Bawa be dropped, the powers-that- be must make conscientious effort to ensure that the next Chairman is deliberately recruited from the South. This is not asking for too much.
We cannot continue to pretend that this issue does not matter because it does.