Anti-graft war: Buhari just making noise… he worked under Abacha, says Lamido

Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa state, has described the anti-corruption war of President Muhammadu Buhari as a ruse.

Speaking in an interview with the Hausa service of the BBC, Lamido wondered how a man who worked under Sani Abacha, the late military dictator, could be talking about fighting corruption.

Abacha had appointed Buhari as chairman of the then Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF).

“He (Buhari) worked under Abacha; in fact he was the closest to the late military ruler and when it comes to corruption, everybody knows where Abacha’s government stands,” Lamido said.

“Buhari is just making noise; there’s no iota of truth in the so-called commitment to the improvement of security and halting graft in the country.”

Lamido also faulted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for its refusal to disclose the owners of the monies recovered in an apartment in Ikoyi, Lagos.

“It’s unthinkable to say that the EFCC had discovered huge monies in a building in Lagos but could not track the real owner; who leaked the story? Who did the source say is the owner of the find?” he asked.

“Those in position of authority should always have the courage to tell the led the truth because leadership is sacred.”

Lamido’s criticisms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government started before the ruling party formed government at the center.

Two months before the election that ended the 16-year reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he said the country was too big for the APC to govern.

“If you go through the social media, what they ‎paint is that APC has won almost 99 percent in Nigeria,” he had said.

“What is APC? An amalgamation of pain, anger and desperation. And this country is too big for them.”

In July 210 5, Lamido and his sons spent four days in Kano prison after being arrested by the EFCC.

They were arraigned on a 28-count charge of corruption and money laundering. The commission accused them of siphoning billions of naira belonging to the state government.

When he regained freedom, Lamido said only those detained with him would understand what he and his children went through.

“People hate me because I am outspoken,” he had said.

“It is difficult to share my prison with anyone because it’s not like hunger or something tangible. You have to be in there to feel what I and my children went through.

“I’m not new to detention, it’s all part of struggle for life. If the purpose is to humiliate, well that’s part of the hazard of occupying public office.”