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HOW GBENGA OBASANJO'S $22M SAGA BEGAN
(News Day) |
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By George Stephen, Lagos.
The relationship between Gbenga Obasanjo, first son of President Olusegun Obasanjo and Governor Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State as well as Governor James Ibori of Delta State can be likened to that of Biblical David and Jonathan, son of king Saul who was David's friend while the father (Saul) sought to kill David. Summarising the relationship between Gbenga, Kalu and Ibori, it is another case of a friendly son of an enemy father. Newsday sources in the presidency said that Gbenga's saga was not a direct handiwork of Kalu and Ibori whom many can swear have genuine regard and affection for him. His was another case of a loose talk keenly followed by an enemy governor in the South-West who had desperately been looking for any information to nail Obasanjo or his family for the antagonistic posture of the President to his administration, which had resulted in many court cases where judgments had been delivered but not respected by Obasanjo's led federal authorities.
While the relationship between Gbenga and the two governor friends lasted, he enjoyed juicy contracts from Abia and Delta States. Sequel to several restrictions placed on members of his family by the president which make it difficult for them to solicit for contracts and other patronages in the manner of late Gen. Sani Abacha's children who under the guise of making money committed many atrocities still haunting them in parts of the world, Gbenga has resorted to doing some offshore deals with Kalu and Ibori. It was from one of the joint businesses that he allegedly made gain running into millions of dollars.
The idle $22 million which discovery has triggered unending controversies and cast serious doubts on the sincerity of Obasanjo's anti-corruption war according to a security source was known only to Kalu and Ibori. That is why accusing fingers are pointed in their direction. But a mutual friend of the trio rose up in defense of the two governors who despite what many consider as Obasanjo's open show of antagonism and hatred for them, still demonstrate genuine love to his son.
According to this mutual friend, instead of Kalu and Ibori that many accuse as being responsible for Gbenga's travail, it is a governor from the South-West who is very close to Kalu that drew the attention of authorities of the United States of America (USA) to the fact that an idle $22 million belonging to a son of a president who is fighting against corruption sit in the vault of a bank. Kalu the source continued, did not deliberately give out the information to this governor but out of error made through “reckless and unguarded utterances” in the presence of this South-west governor who is also being investigated for money laundering to the tune of $10 million in a Chicago bank. He was said to have bank-rolled investigation of the president and his family and it paid off handsomely with the discovery of Gbenga's money.
The South-West governor who in the days of pro-democracy struggles was forced to flee abroad reported to the US government that $22 million was Gbenga's proceed from some deals known to the father. Even when Kalu alleged to have told him of the money also told him of the source, he made sure that the scandal was made public to rattle President Obasanjo who came out publicly to defend the son. Many people believe that Gbenga is paying for ignoring his father's advice to distance himself from Kalu and Ibori who are regarded as unrepentant enemies of the president.
While the relationship lasted, Kalu and Ibori benefitted from it. In fact, it took Gbenga's intervention for his father not to clamp down the on oil and gas arms of Kalu's business conglomerate which deals with transportation of crude and refined petroleum products. According to a Newsday source in the presidency, when the president realised that grounding of Slok Airplanes did not wreck sufficient havoc on Kalu's fortune, he decided to encourage oil and gas multinationals not to do business with Kalu's outfit but was reminded that his son's income would be affected because he is into brokerage for Kalu's outfit and received handsome commission.
This singular factor helped to restrain Obasanjo from a total clamp-down. Gbenga's business relationship with Ibori is in brokerage for South Africa and Sub-saharan African based commodities firm. In all the transactions, the President's son earns millions in foreign currencies as commission. Even though members of Mr. President's family are not going around soliciting for contracts and other patronage like the Abachas did, they cannot be absolved of blames in many controversial deals that rocked the nation since May 29th 1999 when the Obasanjo’s became Nigeria's first family. Some of the sleaze deals which the imprint of the first family are found include COJA, CHOGM, Ajaokuta Steel Complex-ISPAT and ALSCON-RUSAL deals.
The untold reason according to security sources why Obasanjo insists on Rusal as core investor for the privatization of ALSCON in Ikot Abasi is because the American consortium BFIG refuses to carry along Gbenga's interest. What Dr. Reuben Jaja, an American based Nigerian probably did not know is that doing business in Nigeria is a great departure from how business is done in the US. Jaja's insistence on due process has turned out to be his present tribulations. Even though he was close to Obasanjo and actually contributed to the funding of Jos primaries where Obasanjo emerged as the flag bearer of People's Democratic Party, PDP in 1998, he decided to reach out to the presidency through Senator Ibrahim Mantu, Deputy Senate President. The thinking of the president is that Mantu has some investment in BFIG consortium. But those close to Jaja dismissed it as a lie. One thing is certain, Jaja would not buy ALSCON, irrespective of whatever will be the Court judgment and other measures of pressures because of Gbenga's link with Dayson Holdings of Cayman Island, an outfit he has some shares. Other shareholders of Dayson include Gen. Aliyu Mohammed, National Security Adviser, Ooni of Ife, Oba Sijuwade II and Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero.
The South-West governor who leaked Gbenga's involvement in sleaze deals is believed to be the one who gave the story of Abuja Stadium contract scam to the Chicago Tribune, where he owns considerable shares as he is believed to have in some Lagos based media houses. With the forfeiture of a whopping sum of $22 million in US bank, the war against corruption has started to yield expensive dividends. So it seems. |
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