THISDAYonline

Leadership in a federation such as ours should be apparently honest and transparently impartial. It has to hold an equitable balance between all the federating units. It has to discourage favouritism and graft
- Hon. Justice Chukwudifu Oputa's opening remarks as chairman of the third Obafemi Awolowo Foundation Dialogue in Lagos.

Leadership is about services, about transparency and about accountability. It is also about protecting public trust. And so, as William Shakespeare's Macbeth, public office holders are expected to be above board.

But when public office holders turn out to be public office looters, the integrity and transparency, as well as the character of such office holders become questionable.

That was what exactly happened when the Federal Government on Monday, July 23, made public the white paper on the report of the Brig. General Oluwole Rotimi Commission of Inquiry which recommended the seizure of landed properties wrongfully acquired by former senior public officials, individuals and organisations in choice locations across the country.

Among those indicted in the white paper were former Minister of Works and Housing, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, two former Chiefs of General Staff (CGS), Gen. Oladipo Diya (rtd) and Vice Admiral Mike Akhigbe (rtd), former Federal Capital Territory Minister, Gen. Jerry Useni (rtd) as well as embattled former Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi (rtd).

The "Roll call of Dishonour" also included former Works and Housing Minister, Gen. Abdulkarim Adisa (rtd), former Power and Steel Minister Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, Air Vice Marshal Nsikak Eduok (rtd), former Administrator Col. Lawal Ja'afar Isa (rtd) and former Information Minister, Dr. Walter Ofonagoro.

Others include a former Minister of State Mr. Okete and former Director of Public Buildings, Dr. G. Odumah, former Information Minister Chief Alex Akinyele, former Managing Director of the National Power Authority (NEPA) Alhaji Hamzat Ibrahim, Major Gen. Felix Mujakperuo (rtd), Alhaji Kabiru Mohammed, Muftau Baba Ahmed, Engineers Aisheku, Ben Carin and Alhaji Ibrahim Yaya.

The offence of these former public office holders indicted by the panel is basically that they fraudulently appropriated to themselves and their cronies properties that belong to the federal government, and by extension, Nigerian. The report of the Brig. Gen. Oluwole Rotimi Commission which was set up on June 28, 1999 by president Olusegun Obasanjo on the verification of federal government owned properties throughout the federation was further reviewed by another panel headed by Minister of State for Transport, Isa Yuguda, which produced the white paper.

President Obasanjo inaugurated the General Oluwole Rotimi Commission in 1999 to, among other things, identify and collate all Federal Government landed property nationwide and overseas between January 1, 1964 and May 2, 1999;

To determine the state of phase structure

To identify all such landed property of the federal government that are in danger of being alienated by way of sale, lease, gifts etc, and determine the pricing of such transactions.

The Commission was also to ascertain the person, authority, and those who benefited from such exercise , the motive behind such, and the monies paid. Members of the Rotimi Commission which toured the entire length and breadth of the country in the cause of their assignment and took evidence and written reports from people including Mr. A.N. Anyanmene (SAN), Alhaji Abubakar A. Michika, Mr. Wilberforce Juta, Mr. Gershon E. Henshaw, Chief Innocent Ugo Chima, Prof. Bolanle Awe and Dr. T.B. Ingawa who served as secretary.

Government said it was ordering forfeiture of the affected properties following the nod of the Federal Executive Council which sat on July 18, 2001, and gave approval to the white paper.

In addition to the forfeiture, government also accepted the commission's report to take appropriate disciplinary action against all serving officials, particularly in the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing found to have acted improperly or illegally acquired government property.

Specifically, government accepted the panel's recommendations that Alhaji Jakande, former Works and Housing Minister, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, former Minister of Power and Steel, former Managing Director of NEPA, Alhaji Hamzat Ibrahim and some other senior staff of the authority who benefited from 52 plots of illegally acquired NEPA land within the Dolphin Estate in Lagos should forfeit them.

Duja, Akhigbe, Bamaiyi, Air Vice Marshal Nsikak Uduok, Navy Commodore Raheed Raji, Dr. Walter Ofonagoro and Col. Lawal Ja'afar Isa (rtd) are to forfeit 50 plots of land wrongfully carved out of the land belonging to the National Commission of Museum and Monuments in Jos and allocated to them by the Plateau State Government.

The report also condemned former Works and Housing Minister, Major Gen. Abdulkareem Adisa, a former Director of Public Buildings, Dr G. Odumah for their roles in giving permission for a property at No. 1, Bankole Oki Road, Ikoyi, Lagos to be redeveloped to a hotel without proper authorisation. Adisa was also castigated for his role in depriving the Federal Radio Corporation (FRCN) of its property adjacent to the Dolphin Housing Estate, Lagos.

Other government properties slated for recovery include a house at No. 44, Alexander Avenue, Ikoyi, which was allegedly assigned to one Hajiya Hadiza Ibrahim by Gen. Adisa and a house at No 21A Adeyemi Lawson Street, Ikoyi, which was acquired and redeveloped by Navy Commodore Rasheed Raji (rtd).

In the same vein, Alhaji Hamzat Ibrahim, Chief Alex Akinyele, Ms Adenrele Ogunsanya and organisations such as Latmol Investments Limited. Oltasho Nig Ltd will forfeit plots carved out for them from the land set aside for NEPA facilities at Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island.

Other recommendations contained in the white paper and okayed by the Federal Executive Council include the revocation of the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for the Garki II Model market issued to Aso Timdoz Investment Company, in which a close associate of Lt. Gen. Jeremiah Useni was said to hold 50 per cent shares. Government also directed the Abuja Municipal Council (AMC) to take over the market and regularize the title documents of stall owners.

In Delta State, Major Gen. Felix Mujakperuo is also to forfeit his land at Esisi Swamp Road, Warri GRA, which a relative of a former military governor, Col D.J. Dungs will also forfeit a plot in the same area.

On general policy issues, government decided to establish a unit to keep data on all its landed properties in order to keep track of its assets and prevent a recurrence of illegal acquisition of its assets nation-wide.

It also directed henceforth that all lands carved out of government estates or properties belonging to parastatals such as Nigerian Railways Corporation (NRC), Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the River Basin Authorities by state governments should be recovered.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) was directed to set up a committee to address the complaints and accusations of fraud levelled against officials of the Federal University of Works and Housing in charge of Federal Low Cost Housing schemes in Gborokiri, Rumuene and Wugi, while the Head of Service is to take disciplinary actions against all serving federal officers found to have acted improperly in the alienation of lands and properties under their change.

The Head of Service is to also re-examine the management problem of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, especially its Department of Lands, Environment, Urban and Regional Development, where according to the commission, administrative lapses have given room to all kinds of malpractices and shady deals.

Accordingly, the Federal Government said it will enter into dailogue with the Lagos state government with a view to reviewing all the reports of past committes on Federal Government lands in Lagos, in order to settle the legal title to every square metre of land in Lagos for posterity.

The Yuguda Isa Committee that reviewed the Rotimi Commission's report was of the view that the commission's exclusive reliance on reputed cases of alienation for its findings raises the question of whether the reported cases are the only ones that actually existed.

The Yuguda Isa Committee also recommending the reconvening of the Rotimi's Commission to further identify, document and possibly recover all other alienated landed properties belonging to the Federal Government.

Only last week, the Federal Government announced that it was considering banning former Minister of Mines and Power, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu and former Managing Director of NEPA, Alhaji Iman Ibrahim from further holding public offices for undervalue and sale of government landed property.

The Minister of Transport, Chief Ojo Maduekwe while addressing news men in Abuja at the end of the Federal Executive General meeting last week described the report of the Rotimi Commission as "sickening, a report that makes you want to weep for this nation in terms of how the elite have cheated our common interest."

Maduekwe revealed that the indicted persons allocated to themselves and their cronies, land and buildings without regards to due process. Consequently he said the Federal Government has decided that "the land at Osborne Road should revert to NEPA. And that the Lagos State Government should refund N71million paid by NEPA and former Minister of Power and Steel, and all NEPA officials who participated in this scam should be considered unfit to hold public office.

The Minister also said that the federal government has directed that the NEPA land on Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos be reverted to NEPA, just as the authority's property at 17 MacDonald Road, Ikoyi, is also to revert to NEPA.

Since the Federal Government's decision regarding the forfeiture of the various categories of the properties was made public, only former Works and Housing Minister, Alhaji Lateef Jakande has publicly reacted to the news.

While it is believed that the other affected persons may have been making consultations with their lawyers particularly and other necessary contacts with a view to knowing the next line of action to adopt, for now, their silence may well be construed as acceptance of the verdict of government. One thing that is almost certain though is that the public and government should be prepared for a deluge of litigations in courts to challenge the forfeiture order. This is almost certain because upon inspecting the affected properties, it becomes obvious that their owners will not easily let go of them.

Jakande in a statement, Wednesday, unequivocally denied ever illegally or wrongly acquiring any government land while in public office, describing "the allegation as totally false.... and embarrassing". While further denying the allegation Jakande said " I have (repeat never) alienated any land or property of government when I was in public office, either as governor of Lagos State or Federal Minister of Works and Housing.

Jakande said the land referred to in the Rotimi panel's report was allocated to him by his successor, Gen Abdulkareem Adisa in 1997, adding that the land had since been taken away from him and allocated to someone else when he could not pay the required fees. "These facts are in the record of the Land Division of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing" Jakande maintained. He said the Rotimi Commission should have taken the trouble to find out these facts.

The former Lagos State governor pointed out that at the inception of the present government, he applied to the Works and Housing Minister for a replacement of the plot given to him in 1997.

He said the replacement was allocated to him on January 10, this year, adding that he has however heard that this replacement has also been reallocated to someone else because "I have not paid the required fees."

For those who have been following the antecedents of Jakande, particularly since his days as the governor of Lagos State, the news of his implication in the land deal by the Federal government must have been quite shocking.

Baba Kekere as he is fondly called by his admirers is noted for his high moral principles, particularly about transparency and accountability by public office holders.

Indeed, Jakande's tenure as the First Executive Governor of Lagos state was remarkable for the legacy of widespread development efforts and prudent management of state resources it recorded. If such high moral grandstanding can be attributed to Jakande, same cannot be easily attributed to the other 51 persons indicted in the land deal.

One common observation however is that most of the affected persons are either military officers or those who have been acclaimed as "military apologists."

Again too, some of the names mentioned in the land scam have either been associated in similar deals in the past or are presently subject of current debate at the on-going Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Tribunal on Human Rights Violation.

Generals Oladipo Diya, Abdulkareem Adisa, Ishaya Bamaiyi and Jeremiah Useni are some of the indicted persons who are also currently responding to various forms of allegations about their past roles while in office at the Justice Oputa Panel.

THISDAY undertook a visit of some of the properties slated by the Federal Government for forfeiture, particularly in the Lagos area. At one of such property sites at No. 1 Bankole Oke Street in Ikoyi, it was discovered that the place is housing the three storey building of a hotel known as SOFITEL. Effort by THISDAY to enter the hotel was rebuffed by private security personnel guarding the hotel.

Apparently unaware of the Federal Government's directives, the guards went about their duties unperturbed. They sought to know from THISDAY who they wanted to see at the hotel. There was the initial temptation to lie and say that we wanted to see one of the guests. But when it became clear that the identity of the guest would be demanded, we asked to see the manager or publicist.

First we were informed that the hotel does not have any such person as the corporate affairs head. For the Manager, the guards wanted to know why we wanted to see him. As the question and anwers progressed, it became clear to the guards that THISDAY was on an investigative mission, and so entry was refused.

At number 21A Adeyemi Lawson Street, Ikoyi alleged to have been acquired and re-developed by Navy Commodore Raji Rasheed (rtd), magnificent white two-storey building stood. Military guards stationed at the gate immediately became alerts on sighting THISDAY's curious examination of the house with a black iron gate, firmly under lock and key. The guards busied themselves outside, discussing in a group of three as they kept watch of the house. THISDAY nonetheless, managed to steal a shot of the building without alerting the guards.

The property at No. 17 MacDonald Road, Ikoyi, said to be owned by NEPA, but was illegally given out to an individual who has been ordered to revert to the authority. A visit to the site shows that the fenced plot of land is lying fallow without any structures standing on it. The compound is presently overgrown with weeds.

At number 44 Alexander Avenue, Ikoyi, which was allegedly assigned to one Hajiya Hadiza Ibrahim by General Adisa, the original colonial two-storey building is still standing in the middle of the compound. However, there is some expansion going on in one corner of the compound that used to house the car garage. The Redeemed Christian Church of God that uses the hall for worship is currently undertaking an expansion of the structure.

But right in front of the compound, a number of small huts made of tent and housing some of the retired soldiers who have converted the entire area into a makeshift residence pending the time they are paid their retirement benefits remain an eye-sore.

The 52 plots of illegally acquired NEPA land within the Dolphin Estate in Lagos now for forfeiture provide a more pathetic sight.

Most of the plots are fully developed into the state of the art houses. A drive round the well fortified area would reveal properties owned by very wealthy individuals.

From the private security guards contracted to watch over the gates into the estate, to the link roads within the estate, as well as the houses themselves affluence is the hallmark.