FORENSIC FORCE: El-Rufai's uncommon courage

"I have been warned that returning home would be as dangerous to my personal health and safety as it would be hazardous to my liberty.

While I fully understand the significance of these perils, I am persuaded that there is a duty to ensure that no government flouts the guarantees and protections offered by our Constitution and laws of the land as well as the customs of our people." So declared Nasir el-Rufai, former FCT Minister on his intention to return to Nigeria despite the possibility that he might be arrested on arrival.

Conventional wisdom dictates that in Nigeria, nobody wins a legal case against the government; it has the resources and control of the judicial system. It also has all the time in the world, so it may simply wait for the other party to exhaust itself, or die from sheer frustration at the obtuse system. So when el-Rufai decided, in spite of this knowledge to confront the system, one must commend such uncommon courage.

The gravity of the context is what is significant; if a public personality like el-Rufai can be treated like this by his government, what chance of justice does the common person on the street have? El-Rufai himself asks rhetorically: "In all honesty, I am unable to predict that all institutions would be guided in their actions by these constitutional restraints.

But I believe that if people like me (who) have a public name and face recognition do not stand up to symptoms of tyranny, then what is the hope of the ordinary Nigerian?" I do not intend to hold fort for el-Rufai; he has proven that he is more than competent to do that himself.

But the travails of el-Rufai go beyond that of an individual engaged in a mortal fight. His circumstances mirror what happens when a government begins to chase shadows. It is also a sad commentary on the fate of those who choose to serve Nigeria diligently in public office.

El-Rufai, as FCT minister saw to the radical transformation of the territory. You may not agree with his methods, but he got results. Rather than show appreciation, the government thought it worthwhile to probe of his tenure.

What is strange is the decision to probe the FCT ministry where he left lasting legacies. There are ministries and other agencies of government where hundreds of billions have disappeared with absolutely nothing to show for it. The helmsmen of those ministries have been rewarded with more appointments. Travel by road and see what I mean.

But that aside, when after the thorough probe, government had to try so hard to file some watery and extremely dubious charges against the man, you begin to wonder if the entire thing is not political. After declaring him a fugitive from the law, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) stated, "he has a case to answer. He has a pending invitation; his matter is already before the courts."

A ludicrous part of the charade is the intervention of the Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, who said arrangements were being concluded to prosecute el-Rufai, on charges of abuse of office and corrupt practices, claiming that the Senate Committee that investigated the activities of the former Minister, "has established cases of corruption and abuse of office against him." From James Ibori's best friend,

this is a laugh.

Going by the vigorous way el-Rufai won his passport war, it seems government may have chosen a wrong target to persecute. El-Rufai insists that government began and sustained a campaign of calumny against his person and record as a public servant even before his departure. He states: "government has orchestrated and reinforced such falsehoods as the alleged disappearance of N32 billion from the proceeds of the Sale of Federal Government Houses. In addition, it has contrived to declare me wanted and has filed criminal charges against me in court."

All said and done, el-Rufai's courage is not about his decision to return, brave as that may be. It is what he plans to do once in Nigeria. "It is my goal to work with like-minded Nigerians to organize and empower our youths to participate in politics and public service.

I believe that such an effort would build the momentum necessary to improve the quality of life and the life expectancy of our people by promoting democracy with accountability that turns Nigerians from onlookers to stakeholders in the Nigerian project.

Our people have had to endure too many false starts, with every brief dawn swiftly replaced by a long, dark night of incompetence and mismanagement." Regardless of his personal circumstances, if more Nigerians of his stature have the courage to face up to injustice and tyranny, mistakes of the past would have been corrected and a journey to a truly democratic Nigeria would have commenced. That is the uncommon courage needed if we really want change.