Mallam Nuhu Ribadu photo by BBC
Nobody needs a crystal ball to foresee that the Nigerian government is on a shaky foundation or that the untimely ‘redeployment’ of EFCC boss Mallam Nuhu Ribadu will dent the image of Nigeria for sometime. The flimsy excuse was to send Ribadu on study leave in order to get him out of the way, at a time he was helping to curtail the wings of political embezzlers and public fraudsters. With degrees in law and years of experience in the police force, what kind of useless (or ‘kuru-kuru’) training does he need at the ‘peak’ of his career?
As a commentator said on BEN TV this morning, if you have a very good employee the last thing you would think of is study leave. So it was a diplomatic way to say ‘goodbye’ to the man who will not allow them to loot the treasury and get away with it. Ribadu will definitely have a 'boring' time at the National Institute for Policy and strategic Studies, Kuru.
I was not surprised when Transparency International condemned his removal but it was easy to foresee Ribadu’s exit when he disagreed with the Minister of Justice. At that juncture, it was obvious that Ribadu was stepping on big boots, not just toes. Ribadu will be remembered as a firebrand who changed the image of Nigeria within a few years. What Ribadu was unable to do was to fight for the poor policemen that are under paid and live in squalor. Well, that was not what he was appointed to do.
