Tajudeen Suleiman
If judges were easily swayed the way members of the public are, no one will go to court, and the concept of justice would be markedly different from what it is today.
The public behaves like a mob. It is always ready to bark and bite, to punish and shame elected or public officials for any alleged crime, whether proven or unproven. The public believes any allegation against public officials must be true. You can’t blame the public, especially in Nigeria, for being hostile to public officials. Years of misgovernance have led to deep mistrust of government officials and government activities and programmes.
President Bola Tinubu had last Monday suspended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Betta Edu, following widespread anger over an alleged N585 million scandal This was after a memo surfaced where she directed the Accountant-General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, to transfer N585 million to a private account owned by one Oniyelu Bridget, who the ministry claimed currently serves as the Project Accountant, Grants for Vulnerable Groups.
The Media Assistant to the Minister, Rasheed Olanrewaju, said in a statement that it was legal within the civil service for such payments to be made into private accounts of staff members, especially project account But the public did not buy the alibi and called for her sack. But Tinubu ordered her suspension and asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate all financial transactions involving her ministry.
Coming shortly after the suspension of Halima Shehu as National Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme for alleged diversion of N44.8 billion, the Betta Edu action provoked outrage. Everyone, including this writer, wanted her head! Her ministry’s response to the grave allegations was pathetic. The public outrage was grave. Most of the commentaries were uncontrolled.
But in the virulent storm of public anger, I found the reaction of a former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Femi Pedro, more circumspect. Pedro, a politician that must be familiar with the slippery terrain of government bureaucracy, expressed pity for Betta Edu and suggested that she is a victim of civil service conspiracy.
Pedro, who revealed that he got close to the suspended minister in 2022 when she was a candidate for the All Progressive Party’s Women Leader, described Betta Edu in superlative terms. He said: “She exuded confidence, was articulate, knew what she wanted, and appeared focused, determined, and ambitious,” he said.
Pedro further described Betta Edu as a “promising bright star” who could have served Nigeria in higher capacities. And that is where Pedro felt pity-that a shining star was about to be dimmed. Pedro felt she was set up, and she fell for it.
“I feel really sorry for her for the mess she finds herself in,’ Pedro stated.
“I hope and pray that at the end of the day, she would have learned a hard lesson on how to conduct herself as a public officer and navigate the banana peels in the corridors of power.”
Betta Edu is no doubt a vibrant and bold young lady and could have overreached herself. At 35 and finding herself in such a position of power, she allowed youth and naivety to stand in her way. The response of her ministry to the allegation is evidence that she did not get the right mentorship. Justifying payment of N585 million of public funds into a private account as a legal and common practice in the civil service was disingenuous. It portrays the suspended minister as weither ignorant and fraudulent.
This was probably why Pedro pleaded with youths interested in public service not to be discouraged by Betta Edu’s experience. It must be truly scary, especially for an outsider, to work for change in such a duplicitous environment.
Betta Edu’s critics appeared to ignore her claim that she is a victim of a sponsored attack for exposing an alleged N44.8bn fraud in the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA). While it’s quite plausible that she was set up for the fall, the memo she raised for the payment of N585 million into a private account makes her liable.
This is also the position of Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who pointed out in a statement during the week that her memo showed that there was “an attempt to commit a felony,” His argument is that there is no legal justification for the diversion of the said money since the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs had collated the individual bank accounts of all the vulnerable people the money was meant for.
But the pertinent question is: Was the money paid into the designated private account? Did Betta Edu follow the advice of the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, who suggested the appropriate steps to be taken? Or did Betta Edu go ahead to pay the N585.18 million into a private account? We don’t have the answers yet. What we saw was the memo written for the release of the money. The answers would surely be provided by the EFCC by the time the anti-graft agency concludes its investigation.
But it’s a principle of law that an accuse is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Investigations may reveal facts hidden to the public on what actually transpired at Beta Edu’s ministry. That is why Nigerians must wait for the full details of Betta Edu’s alleged malfeasance before condemning her.
The Progressive Governors Forum was spot on when it advised the public to wait until the probe was conclusive. After a meeting of the governors, Chairman of the Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, said Betta Edu is facing an allegation for which she’s not guilty until proven otherwise.
He said: “It is after the investigation is completed and the report made available to the government, that the government will now take the final decision. So, we should not be in a hurry and don’t allow any sickness like anxiety cirrhosis.”
Betta Edu had nothing in her past to suggest she’s corrupt or has propensity for graft. Besides her ravishing beauty, she’s is cerebral. A medical doctor with a resume that must be the envy of her contemporaries. She was chairman of the Cross River State COVID-19 Task Force, later Commissioner for Health and National Chairman of the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum. She was the woman leader of the ruling APC until her appointment as minister.
Those who believe she’s a victim of conspiracy, including persons like Pedro, would hope that the EFCC investigation would clear her and restore her integrity. Betta Edu would surely be making the same prayers, no matter how innocent she thinks she is. Investigations, whether judicial or journalistic, are capable of yielding new facts and opening hidden closets.
Betta Edu may be lucky if the clothes in the wardrobe are not dirty and stinking. Those close to her say she’s confident the investigation would clear her of any wrongdoing. If she’s right, then we may see her back at her office. But if she’s wrong, poets would sing the dirge of a fallen star!
Suleiman is the Managing Editor of The Whistler Newspapers (www.thewhistler.ng)
