Ibori @ 54: Triumphant in adversity By Emeka Alex Duru and Austin Oboh,

Former Governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori, is 54, today. For a man, who has paid his dues in the advancement of his people, the occasion calls for celebrations. But then, he is undergoing, perhaps, the most upsetting period of his life at the moment as he serves obviously contrived sentence in UK.

It is in fact, largely believed that his trials are the products of attempts by political foes to keep him out of circulation for as long as they can. Their desire, according to informed observers, stems from the fact that since his emergence in Nigeria’s political tuft, mainly from the commencement of his governorship in 1999, he has gone through a meteoric rise that has put many of the past power brokers in the entire South South zone in political redundancy. Acknowledged for his ground-breaking political activism for the Niger Delta cause, he drove the engine of responsible governance in Delta beyond the limits set by his predecessors and accomplished landmark achievements that bear testimony to his unique administrative style till date. Despite the determined efforts of his adversaries, ‘Odidigboigbo of Africa’, as he is fondly called by admirers, continues to rule the imagination of the youths of the Niger Delta. He looms large even in adversity.

This is being demonstrated today, August 4, as thousands of his supporters and associates gather in his Oghara home in Delta State to mark what has been tagged “Birthday of Reconciliation”. The special prayer session will be chaired by elder statesman, emeritus Professor B.I.C Ijeomah.

Though some of his associates and supporters expected at the forum hail from Delta, some from the other states of the South-South geo-political region, while many will even attend from as far afield as Borno and Kaduna states.

Speakers at the event are expected to reminisce on Ibori’s legacies; the unrivalled development he brought to Delta State, especially the four long bridges that united the Ndokwa, Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo mainlands with their riverine areas – all hundreds of metres long, a feat which no state governor before him had attempted. Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara –
commissioned by President Goodluck Jonathan two years ago – reputed to be among the best in Africa, will also be recalled among the attainments of the former governor.

They will all also enthuse on the many sides of the political champion: Ibori the man, the administrator, and the astute political organiser, who it is generally acclaimed that despite his current predicament, “would never walk alone”, given that his supporters and those whose lives he has touched positively will never forget that he is at present suffering from political persecution.

Last year when similar event was held, a former Delta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Pius Sinebe, explained that he was happy that such a large crowd could gather to honour Ibori even when word about the celebration only got out less than 12 hours before the day, stressing that nothing in the world would reduce Ibori’s Olympian stature in Delta state and, indeed, Nigerian politics. Religious leaders at the event quoted the Bible copiously to show that great men have suffered greatly in the hands of their enemies only to be vindicated by God in the end, noting that God would vindicate him.

The occasion which was initially planned for the 500-seater conference hall in Ibori’s compound – built before he became governor in 1999 – had to be complemented with canopies hastily mounted outside the hall to accommodate the large crowd of supporters who turned up. The same scenario is expected to be re-enacted today.

Ibori, born August 4, 1958, was the governor of Delta State from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2007. He is a member of the ruling PDP and was considered one of the most vocal advocates for resource control in Nigeria.

Born to the family of late Ukavbe Ibori and Comfort Oji Ibori of Otefe in Oghara clan, Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State, he attended Baptist High School, Oghareki, now Oghareki Grammar School, before proceeding to the University of Benin where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Statistics. He started his working career with Mobil Oil Nigeria Limited and was later seconded to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as one of the pioneer staff assembled to develop the marketing department of the corporation’s Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company.

Between 1994 and1997, he served as a consultant to the Federal Government in the areas of public policy formulation and implementation. His major assignment during this period was the research which resulted in the formulation of a national drug policy for the country. A proposal he submitted to the Federal Government was the basis on which Decree 3 of 1995 was promulgated and the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Drug Matters was established.

Ibori’s political career began in 1990 when he joined the National Republican Convention (NRC). In 1991, he was nominated to contest for the Federal House of Representatives seat, to represent Ethiope Federal Constituency. He lost the election to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate. When the Sani Abacha transition programme kicked off, he joined the Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM). The GDM clinched a good number of local, state and federal positions, including one of the three senatorial seats in the state, but the transition programme was abruptly terminated with the death of Abacha. Ibori, with the leaders of other defunct political groups in Delta State, formed the Delta National Congress (DNC). The DNC later merged with other groups with similar ideas to midwife the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It was on the platform of the PDP that he contested and won the January 9, 1999, election to become governor of Delta State. In 2003, he was re-elected for another term which elapsed in 2007.

According to reports, Ibori’s whirlwind political career had taken political godfathers in Delta by surprise, and as soon as he left office strong forces rose against him to cut short a promising march to the top. Several corruption charges were preferred against him. His wife, Nkoyo, was arrested at Heathrow Airport in London on November 1, 2007, in connection with the probe of the assets of her husband, particularly in the United Kingdom. In an interview with the CNN, Ibori denied the allegations against him, claiming they were politically motivated. He accused Nuhu Ribadu (then Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC) and the UK Courts of playing politics.

Regardless, on December 12, 2007, Ibori was arrested by the EFCC at the Kwara State Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja. The Commission pressed charges against him, among which were theft of public funds, abuse of office, and money laundering. These corruption charges brought against Ibori by the EFCC in the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo were among many begun by Ribadu against former officials of the ruling PDP who had fallen out with Obasanjo.

In a widely publicised court judgement, a Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, Delta State, on December 17, 2009, discharged and acquitted Ibori of all 170 charges of corruption brought against him by the EFCC. With this ruling the former governor was vindicated. But if he had thought that it was the end of his ordeal, he was wrong.

Soon after, a money laundering case was brought against some of his associates by the crown prosecution service at the Southwark Crown Court, London. The EFCC also later filed a notice of appeal against the December 17, 2009 judgement and began a new round of attacks on the former governor.

In April, 2010, about three months after the take over of government by Goodluck Jonathan, Ibori’s case file was reopened. A new allegation that he embezzled N40 billion ($266 million) was pressed against him. Attempts to arrest him failed. It was alleged that he was being guarded by armed militias and that they had a shoot out with government security forces.

On 25 April, 2010, there were reports that Ibori had fled the country to evade arrest by operatives of the EFCC. The then Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Femi Babafemi, claimed that the commission was in possession of an intelligence report that Ibori had fled Nigeria and added that the assistance of Interpol might be sought to effect his arrest once his location was established. On 30 April, 2010, security reports indicated that the alleged escape of Ibori from Nigeria might be a smokescreen. Security agencies suspected that he was still in hiding in Nigeria. These were among many speculations about Ibori, critics say, to prepare for his unceremonious arrest by the UK authorities right under the nose of Dubai security.

His trial in the UK culminated in his conviction. Those who have expressed outrage at Ibori’s ordeal in the hands of foreign authorities, with the overt and covert support of the Nigerian authority have commented on the long circuitous process the former governor’s trial had taken, with special interest in the role played by the EFCC which on its part has failed dismally to bring other ex-governors to trial despite its endless claim that it has records of graft against many of them. It has also been noted that after the successful hounding and ‘delivery’ of Ibori to foreign accomplices, so-called anti-graft war came to a piteous end.

For instance, in the run up to the April 2011 elections there were reports of open and flagrant use of money by state and federal authorities who helped themselves to the public till to prosecute their reelection bids, but the EFCC turned its eyes away from the undeniable squandering and misapplication of the nation’s resources, even when official figures showed a disheartening lack of accountability among the highest political office holders in the country.
Not a few Nigerians have consistently called on the EFCC to prove that it is not being used by the powers-that-be, with its selective approach, as the same body was under the government of Obasanjo when it unabashedly became Aso Rock’s attack dog against all political opponents. The EFCC has, expectedly, failed to answer this challenge. For one, its operations have been described by analysts as too hazy to make any sense, besides the obvious fact that the anti-graft body appears more eager to remain in the good books of Aso Rock, whether it deserves this or not. Critics have also remarked that no other ex-governor in Nigeria has suffered as much harassment from the EFCC as Ibori, noting that his popularity in the Niger Delta is at the root of his ordeal as attested to by the role assiduously and openly played by Edwin Clark former Information Minister, a sworn adversary to Ibori and a favoured voice in Abuja. There have been no attempts from relevant quarters to douse this suspicion.

Meanwhile, corruption and sleaze have reached the most unimaginable height in the last few years in Nigeria, according to political leaders, who have also expressed anxiety at Abuja’s lack of priority and innate pursuit after shadows.

Niger Delta youths who look up to Ibori for the expression of their minds, had tried to resist the persecution of their hero in many ways, which partly explains why the EFCC and the state found it more convenient to accomplish their intentions through what many see as imperialist routes