Adams Oshiomhole And The Corruption Meter

Jeff Okoroafor

If there’s any Nigerian right now that should be talking about the ills of corruption in the country, with full liberty to point fingers at people, that Nigerian shouldn’t be Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State. He’s unscripturally immaculate and should learn to keep quiet when people of moral competence and integrity are working to rid the nation of corrupt persons.

Since the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration began its operation of sanitizing Nigeria, Adams Oshiomhole have had no rest. He accuse from post to post with no empirical evidence to back them up. Not too long ago, this same Adams Oshiomhole accused a former minister under ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, of cornering the sum of $6 billion (with no evidence), but failed to tell his people and the rest of Nigerians, the sort of “urgent security” he provides in Edo State that will require him to constantly, on monthly basis, sign out N500 million from the States fund. It is on record that Adams Oshiomhole in his first term in office, traveled out of Nigeria 52 times. A period with which he acquired for himself, mega estates in different countries, and set up multiple foreign bank accounts with Pseudo names and varying identities. Very few may know this, that his newly married wife is on contract. An arrangement that will be terminated at the end of his tenure as Governor. Few days after the court marriage, a special account was created for her in her home country with a monthly servicing allotment to the tune of N725 million, the collective wealth of Nigerians.

In 2013, the Media overwhelmingly hailed Oshiomhole as the standard-bearer in the fight against political godfatherism. While not denying the visible role he played in the battle to rid the state of an indolent parasitic elite class, I questioned his motive and today, my reservations has come to fore. What Oshiomhole have conveniently done is to replace some set of godfathers with another led by him. That has always been his game plan all along and not many saw it coming.

Former minister of finance and the coordinating minister of the economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iwela, has been severally harassed by Oshiomhole with no single prove whatsoever. A more recent allegation was to state that under her watch, the sum of N140 billion was expended on Consultancy for the Second Niger Bridge, all of these are without a single prove, what exactly does that make Oshiomhole?

Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s attempt to discombobulate Nigerians from looking into the billions of funds thats he cannot account for today, will only lead to political suicide and nothing more. And it is delinquent to constantly say that Igbos were bought or deceived by Jonathan and his administration. That argument keep making less sense as it rides on. Does it mean that the Hausas, Yorubas and all other ethnic groups that voted for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 were all bought or deceived? I think by now we should have outgrown all of these nonsensical ethnic sentiments that separates us and keep us from collectively working for Nigeria’s economic stability and national growth.

If Oshiomhole feels strongly about what he’s saying, then by all means, he should compile his documents, garnish them with facts and figures, present it to President Muhammadu Buhari or the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with a copy to Nigerians, instead of constantly embarrassing himself.

Many big wigs within and outside of Edo State have severally accused Oshiomhole of being the most corrupt Governor the State has so far had, and they have presented proves. One thing is certain, if for some reason President Buhari fails to probe him when immunity no longer protects him, some day in this country, a President will, and he will have a whole lot of questions to answer. If Governor Adams Oshiomhole is sampled on the same corruption meter as those he accused of being corrupt, am definitely sure that the weight of his own corruption will bring down the entire meter.

God bless Nigeria!