I lost interest in the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) the moment Danladi Umar displayed the attributes of Street Urchins at an Abuja plaza in in 2021. Now, my attention is back following the style of Dr. Mainasara Ibrahim Umar Kogo, the groundnut eating Chairman.
Kogo succeeded Danladi after President Bola Tinubu nominated him in July 2024. It took the National Judicial Council (NJC) nearly a year to do the normal recommendations before the jurist was sworn in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere – Ekun.
Since the nation abandoned Agriculture for oil, our economy has been a huge field of corruption. It was the visionary Premier of the Northern Region, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello that relied on groundnuts to develop the upper divide. When anyone mentions Groundnut Pyramids, that is just to remind us of the glorious past.
Do not get me wrong. Kogo is not idling away in his office eating groundnuts. Far from it. The man is quite different from the rest of the pack. I stumbled on him through an interview sent to me by veteran journalist and rubber – dub entertainer, Sunny Nwosu. And I have been wondering why such men are not found in Government Houses across the country.
Kogo said: “I live a modest life, I don’t want to be rich. I am the only one in my position today, without a car (official) or house.” This sounds like a fairy tale in Fourth Republic Nigeria, where snakes swallow Ghana Must Go bags of our our hard earned resources.
The CCT Chairman did not meet any bullet proof official vehicle when he assumed office. He relied on taxi to access the office from his Garki village residence. Some high office holders were not better off. Commercial motorcycles, popularly known as Okada ferried them to work.
It was like the CCT headquarters was stripped bare as Danladi exited to face corruption charges. Those who lack physical energy would have found it difficult to call on Kogo because the elevator to his office was vandalised and the engine stolen. Visitors had to do mountain climbing exercise.
Credit to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike who came to the rescue. The Chairman’s official quarters was restored and a new Certificate of Occupancy issued after the old one was revoked, to punish the buyers. The looting was so bad that doors, windows and even toilet seats disappeared.
Danladi, the immediate past Chairman of the CCT, hails from Bauchi. He made the world see him as crime free boss. However, under his nose, the North East zonal headquarters was sold. Two houses in highbrow Asokoro, Abuja and another in Zone Five were auctioned.
This partly explains why the University of Maiduguri trained lawyer is in the bad books of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over about 16 million naira that boosted Danladi’s account while he threatened a security guard over parking space in an Abuja shopping mall.
The irony is that the same Danladi who acted Rambo by picking on Tinubu, Senate President Nikola Saraki and Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen, was not free from sleaze. The CCT Chairman who almost turned to street fighting was not better than those he condemned in his court.
The difference between Kogo and Danladi is clear. While the former goes about without security details, the former relied on his crowd of security operatives to oppress shoppers and civilian security guards. Kogo discharged all those detailed to protect him because his office does not have enough funds to pay for their services.
And that is a big risk. We all remember how his predecessor was attacked in Nasarawa. What saved Danladi at the time was the presence of Department of State Services and Police operatives, attached to his convoy. Kogo does not have that luxury now.
Anyway, the man is not afraid. And that brings me back to his groundnuts story. “Every night around 9 o’ clock, you will find me lying down on my bed listening to radio, eating groundnuts. Even in my office, you’ll see me peeling and eating boiled groundnuts,” Kogo added.
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria is the CCT chairman’s role model. In the First Republic, the former teacher, remained himself, detached from brazen use of power. One certain night in Ikoyi, Balewa alighted from his official car, asked a stranded motorist to make use of it while he walked down to his official quarters.
The love for children is part of Balewa’s legacy. And Kogo is following those footsteps. “Every weekend, I normally play with children.My community’s children converge on my house, we eat together and sometimes I carry them to a farm to listen to the songs of birds. I buy them gifts and we play together.”
This kind of public servant is fit for higher positions. Our leaders are so far away from the people that they do not feel the stinking poverty polluting the polity. Balewa felt so much at home with kids that you could see him sit on a mat with them.
President Olusegun Obasanjo also displayed that attribute. During a visit to one of the parks in Abuja, be wore shorts and mingled with kids. When he asked one of the children, ‘who am I’, the toddler quicky replied, ‘Obasanjo’.
We saw Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit on the floor with children and other passengers of the Fly Dubai flight that escaped attack on the way to Tel Aviv, from the United Arab Emirates. Big office is not about Big Man.
Unfortunately, some Nigerian leaders are too big to stoop. They see citizens as slaves. Bullet proof vehicles are not enough. Our leaders, from State Houses to churches, move about with battalions of security men and women. Bandits rain the forests and highways freely.
The post Kogo’s CCT groundnut pyramid, by Emeka Obasi appeared first on Vanguard News.