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In the last nine years of APC government, the only government official that I believe has distinguished himself in service delivery to the entirety of Nigerians is Honourable Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo (BTO), the Federal Minister for Interior of Nigeria. I say this without any equivocation and mental reservation. A comprehensive review of the performance of ALL officers of the three arms of government at the Federal, State or Local Government, revealed that none, I repeat, none has done anything as impactful and praise-worthy as what Tunji-Ojo has done to enhance the image of Nigeria in general and the Nigerian Immigration Service in particular. Upon assumption of office, and in less than three months, based on the matching order to the corruption ridden Immigration Service, all applications for Nigerian Traveling Passport that had been pending for several years were cleared. This was a feat the man who called himself Ogbeni, with his experience as a two-term commissioner, two-term governor, could not achieve in 8 years just like his many of his predecessors. For me, doing this type of job is a no-brainer and very low-hanging fruit for the most foolish person. Tunji-Ojo demonstrated this to the delight and pride of all Nigerians. Is this a rocket science? He did it in a record time and proceeded to enhance the process by digitizing the passport application process within six months in the saddle in the Ministry of Interior. In other climes, these milestones are considered perfunctory with no accolades but in a country like our Nigeria where the President is invited to come and commission boreholes or a refinery that would not be functional twelve months after its commissioning, what Tunji-Ojo did is worthy of celebration. Our country is not just one of low expectation but zero expectation.
That said, and in a bizarre twist, here is the name of the same Tunji-Ojo being circulated with regards to monumental scandal relating to a company linked to him that was alleged to have received the sum of NN438.1m from the Humanitarian Ministry for what came across as a phoney contract. When the information surfaced in the public domain, my thought was that it could not be the same Tunji-Ojo who was becoming a symbol of success in governance. I waited with bated breath for the rebuttal by BTO. Alas, I saw BTO on Channels TV on Seun Akinbaloye’s programme distancing himself from the transaction. I paid rapt attention to his words, his body language, read his lips; and it was very evident that BTO was being clever by half and far from being convincing. He sounded like a guilty person. All BTO could show was a Certified True Copy (CTC) of his resignation as a Director of the company where he and his wife were still substantial shareholders that would directly profit, by way of dividend, from whatever sleazy activities the company was involved in. Of course, as we all can imagine, the CTC could have been forged to cover his tracks because the details of the resignation he brandished, did not reflect on the Company’s profile on the Corporate Affairs Commission Database as of today. Also, BTO repeating he was not involved in the day-to-day running of the company and that he was not a signatory to the bank account. Balderdash! He should tell that to the birds. What kind of defence or denial was that? I was thoroughly embarrassed by his rebuttal. He also claimed that the transaction was with the Humanitarian Ministry and not Interior Ministry. Who is foolish in Nigeria that he can tell that?
Infact, based on BTO’s feckless defence and rebuttal, he needs a lot of image-laundering to clear his name. From what I phantomed, Tunji-Ojo’s hand has been found in the cookie jar. He has a lot of explaining to do.
Lastly, I have watched many of Seun Akinbaloye’s interviews where he has put the feet of the politicians to the fire, and appropriately so. I reckon this one with BTO was obviously below Seun’s standard either intentionally to give the Minister an easy passage or for his inadequate knowledge about company law relating to shareholders and directors. The fact that a shareholder is not a director on paper; or is not involved in the day-to-day running of a business; does not preclude the shareholder from having pecuniary advantage in the enterprise. The questions Seun failed or omitted to ask BTO are as follows:
1. What is your shareholding percentage in the Company?
2. You claimed to have resigned, has your wife (and possibly) your children resigned?
3. Since your resignation in 2019 or was it 2015, have you attended any shareholders’ meetings and have you received any dividends from the company.? Or have you received any form of payments, directly or indirectly from the Company?
4. Who are the people currently running the company? Are they related to you in any way?
5. Did anyone whosoever make you aware that the company was prospecting for business with the Ministry of Humanitarian affairs?
6. After the break out of the scandal, have you contacted the Managers of the company to gain a solid understanding of the nature snd circumstances of the transactions and payments received?
7. Going forward, will anything change regarding various privately-held companies where you are a shareholder regarding prospecting for government contracts?
There are so many unasked questions that needed to be asked and answered.
Nonetheless, whatever the grandstanding of Tunji-Ojo in the media, surely the chicken shall come home to roost. In the course of the investigations (barring cover-ups) here and there, more shall be revealed.
Nevertheless, I applaud and congratulate BTO on his achievements within this short period in that Ministry. He is a STAR in clime where cups of rice for christmas is the standard dividends of democracy. I shall be on my laptop in April to renew my passport without having to take a trip to Alausa, Ikeja to meet those wolves in uniform in the Passport Office.
Femi Ojikutu is a Lawyer, Chartered Accountant and Social Commentator
