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The retired partners of KPMG who are still awaiting their gratuity and pension cast all other considerations aside to host an “Investment Summit – Africa (and especially Nigeria)” at Mosimann, a private dining club located at West Halkin Street, Belgravia, London. It is no secret that Anton Mosimann is Her Majesty’s favourite chef. He was entrusted with feeding the 750 jubilee feast guests at Westminster Hall last Monday.
The morning session was dynamite and we had every reason to believe that before the day was over, we would hit our target of attracting at least U.S.1 trillion dollars fresh investment into the continent of Africa (out of which Nigeria would be entitled to “eshakole” i.e. ten per cent customary facilitation fee).
As usual the lunch was something between the sublime and the superlative. Even the most fastidious amongst us scored it excellent.
Anyway, after lunch it was the turn of our guests (the hedge fund managers, private equity capitalists, super tycoons, oil magnates, Sheiks etc) to respond. Then came the bombshells and improvised explosive devices [IED’s]. Sample:
- Terror alert:
“We want to pass this message to all the international oil companies operating in the Niger Delta (of Nigeria) that the Nigerian military cannot protect their facilities. They should talk to the federal government of Nigeria to meet our demands else more mishaps will befall their installations. Until our demands are met, no repair works should be done at the blast site”
- Niger Delta Avengers.
- Missing money alert:
“At a time when mind-boggling embezzlement of public funds like the U.S. $49 billion alleged unremitted proceeds by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation [NNPC] ostensibly aided by politicians in the executive arm of government and stealing of billions of naira of civil servants’ pension funds by fellow civil servants – Abdulwalid Maina and John Yesufu, Nigerian voters were looking for a messiah, more so as Boko Haram terrorists were decimating lives in the north eastern parts and rampaging through huge swathes of land and claiming Nigerian territories by hoisting their flags.
The reason for General Muhammadu Buhari’s appeal was because he was a symbol of integrity and epitome of probity contesting on a nationally spread political platform. Buhari brooked no nonsense and never compromised his rigid principles.”
- Corruption alert:
“There is no doubt that historically, Nigeria and Afghanistan have had very high levels of corruption and that continues to this day. But the leaders of those countries have sent strong signals that they want things to change and the London Anti-Corruption Summit creates an opportunity for all countries present to sign up to a new era.”
- Sharing formula (joint venture) : “Wali shared N950 million in my house
“Former Kano State governor Malam Ibrahim Shekarau has acknowledged that N950m campaign funds were shared in his Kano house.
But he said even though he was at home at the time, he was not in the room where the money was shared. The money is alleged to be part of $115 million (N23 bn) raised by former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and shared among top PDP politicians for ex-president Goodluck Jonathan’s failed re-election campaign. Former Foreign Affairs minister Aminu Bashir Wali said in a radio programme that he collected the money from PDP headquarters in Abuja and took it to Kano where it was shared in Shekarau’s residence.
Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the EFCC, has invited the former Kano State governor for questioning over the alleged N950 million campaign funds.
However, Shekarau, who spoke through his media aide, Malam Ghali Sadiq yesterday, said he did not see the money in question when it was brought to his house.
Wali approached me the day he collected the money and said because of security he wanted to share the N950 million in my residence and I obliged.
“He brought the money to my house around 2am. I was in my room upstairs when they came in and I remained there up till the time they finished the sharing.
“Wali and some other party members shared the money according to the directives given to them. So I did not even see the money with my eyes,” he said.
- Danger in the air alert
“A former Chief of Air Staff, Mohammed D. Umar, is to be arraigned by the EFCC today before Justice Binta Murtala Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, over an alleged N4bn fraud.
The former Air Force chief has been implicated in the ongoing probe of defence spending during the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan, EFCC sources said.
According to the sources, Umar is being arraigned for allegedly siphoning over N4bn from the coffers of the Nigerian Air Force while he was the service chief between 2010 and 2012. Umar is said to have used the funds to acquire properties in Kano and Abuja, which were traced to him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC].”
J.K. Randle
