a new dimension in Ghana as President
John Mahama has sacked the Deputy
Minister of Communications, Victoria
Hammah, for allegedly making a
statement that suggested that she could
be corrupt.
On Thursday, a taped conversation that
Hammah had with someone, in which
she allegedly said she would not leave
politics until she had made $1m, leaked.
By Friday, she was sacked by the
government.
This is coming at a time that Nigerians
are impatiently awaiting a decisive step
by President Goodluck Jonathan over
the role of the Aviation Minister, Stella
Oduah, in the purchase of two armoured
vehicles at a mind-boggling cost of about
N255m.
Ghana's decision appears to have
reminded concerned Nigerians that by
geographical standards, their country
and Ghana are neighbours. They have
also shared some historical moments, so
much that they can sometimes be
regarded as political allies. But despite
such affinities, both countries are far
from being on the same page when it
comes to the treatment of corruption.
Although Hammah had not carried out
the intention credited to her in the said
tape, she was fired nonetheless. In the
tape circulating online, she appears to
have said, "If you have money, then you
can control people."
Interestingly, Hammah and Oduah are
said to have played similar active roles
in the elections of their respective
principals. According to a BBC report,
Hammah had, ironically, also openly
expressed disgust at corruption months
back.
"In August, she said there was a lot of
pressure on her to steal public money
because people thought that, as a
minister, she was rich. She described
such demands as obnoxious," BBC
quotes Ghanaweb news site as saying.
She is said to have added that "corrupt
politicians are the reflection of a
corrupt society."
Apart from the fact that Oduah has
confessed to giving the approval when
she appeared before the House of Reps
Committee on Aviation that probed her
and other parties involved, two other
limousines bought by FAAN has been
linked to her. Yet, she is still a minister
in the Jonathan cabinet.
The highest that President Jonathan has
done is to set up a probe panel in which
many people have little or no
confidence. Many observers may not
have any problems with the integrity of
the members of the committee.
Rather, people are bothered about the
sincerity of the President, the political
will to deal with the situation and the
fact that nothing concrete had come
from similar probe panels in the past.
Indeed, some are tempted to describe
the Nigerian government's backyard as a
cemetery of reports of other similar
earlier panels.
The fear assumed more substance
considering a report that Jonathan might
not think highly of the House of
Assembly's recommendation that Oduah
be sacked.
Reacting to the development, the
Governance Manager of the Action Aid
International Nigeria, Obo Effanga, notes
that although every President has the
latitude to choose who he appoints or
retains as a minister, he must always
consider the feelings of the people he
governs on an issue like the
'Oduahgate'.
Effanga says, "Another issue is that
when you are talking about fighting
corruption, there should be evidence
that every step you have taken points
towards that. The experience we have
had with committees also shows that
they take time to complete their work.
It also takes another long time for the
President or whoever is involved to act
on the committees' reports.
"On this bulletproof cars matter, we
have wasted a lot of time, and we have
yet to take a decision on it. One of the
issues we need to address is: Were they
provided for in the budget? Who
approved the purchase? Does the
person have the authority to do so?
Whoever committed a crime in the
whole matter should be made to face
the punishment due to anyone in that
circumstance. The President has delayed
too much on the matter."
He adds that it is wrong to give the
impression that a political office is
meant for a particular person, who must
remain there no matter the
circumstance.
Lagos-based lawyer, Bamidele Aturu,
also notes that the Oduah-Hammah
story shows contrasting political cultures
in Nigeria and Ghana. In a telephone
interview with our correspondent, he
argues that what Ghana has done shows
that it has a political culture that listens
to the yearnings of the people.
He says, "It shows that Ghana has a
culture of decency. It shows that in
Ghana, anybody who has done
something indefensible cannot hold
political offices. It depicts that theirs is
a culture that does not accommodate
indecency.
"On the other hand, the development
shows that we have a political culture
that accommodates indecency in
Nigeria; a culture in which you can grab
whatever you can for yourself without
being responsive to the yearnings of the
people. It shows clearly a corrupt
culture and culture of brigandage. It
shows that those in government can go
away with blue murder. They can steal
anything and go away with it."
Aturu decries the working of what he
calls a cultic committee in the Odua
scandal, saying that any committee who
Nigerians do not know when it is
holding its meeting and who it is talking
to is a cultic one.
According to him, the step the aviation
minister took in the purchase of the car
amounts to recklessness of the highest
order.
He says, "That tells you why we are
where we are. It is a wake-up call to
Nigerians: We must insist on the right
thing. We must stop people
perpetuating this culture of impunity
and brigandage."
Human right activist and President of
the Campaign for Democracy, Joe Okei-
Odumakin, salutes Ghana for having
made 'giant strides' in sanitising its
clime. But she is sad that Nigeria has
not shown any sign of seriousness in this
regard.
"One salutes Ghana for efforts it is
making. No wonder, the country has
continued to make steady progress. In
our own clime, impunity continues to
thrive. Even when the matter of the
scandalous purchase of the bulletproof
cars had become public knowledge and
source of public outrage, some of our
people embarked on a journey to Israel,
including the indicted person. We had
probe panels working on the issue, we
have the relevant agencies, like the
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, yet everyone embarked on
the journey to Israel.
"There must be enough political will to
sanitise Nigeria. There is so much
poverty, unemployment, insecurity and
other problems in the country. Yet,
someone is spending so much money on
cars. This culture of impunity must stop.
What is happening in Ghana should
serve as a clarion call to Nigeria.
President Jonathan must act now
because justice delayed is justice
denied," Okei-Odumakin adds.
Source: http://www.punchng.com/news/corruption-ghana-sacks-minister-as-jonathan-keeps-oduah-on/
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