by Ike Willie-Nwobu

Five years can be an infinity for a rising star, even an eternity. For a politician undoubtedly on his way to the big stage, five years spent in the uncompromising constraints of a correctional facility are a colossal waste.

Before he became a rare elite victim of Nigeria’s epileptic anti-corruption war, Farouk Lawan was on his way to some massive things, if not in Nigeria, at least in Kano State where he hails from.

At the very bright dawn of Nigeria’s democracy in 1999, the good people of Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency had elected him to represent them in the National Assembly. They sent him back in 2003 and 2007. In 2011, his constituents again cast their vote of confidence on the man who had represented them excellently.

His time as a member was memorable for the high stakes assignments he handled. For example, he was Chairman of the House Committee on Finance under Aminu Masari as Speaker.

A loyal PDP stalwart, Lawan was also a key member of the Integrity Group which forced former speaker, Patricia Etteh, to resign in 2007 amid a raging corruption scandal.

But Lawan’s own bubble was about to burst. As Nigeria creaked under the fuel subsidy crisis of 2012, Lawan chaired the House of Representatives Committee which investigated and implicated many oil companies in defrauding Nigeria of millions of dollars in the fuel subsidy scam.

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Lawan’s job at the head of the committee was flawless and faultless until a sting operation by the DSS revealed that he had demanded and received about five hundred thousand US dollars to remove an oil company from the list of companies implicated in the scam.

This discovery effectively ended his time in the good books of many Nigerians, in the House of Representatives, and kick-started a journey that led him to the medium security correctional facility in Kuje in 2021, where his seven-year jail term ended about a month ago.

Up until he was caught with his hands in the cookie jar, Lawan was the quintessential Nigerian politician: melodramatic, tough-talking and incorruptible. He was the typical Nigerian politician who, despite being aware of his many crimes, believed and accused everyone else of corruption except himself.

In many ways, Lawan was also a victim of what is perhaps the greatest heist committed against Nigeria: the fuel subsidy scheme. Many people benefitted from the scheme, which successive Nigerian presidents never had the courage to remove until President Tinubu seized the bull by the horn. That the bull continues to thrash wildly with him is testament to its strength and the number of people backing it.

There have been many stories in Nigeria, certainly enough, to provide many teachable moments that a fall from grace can be swift, especially for those in the public eye. This collection and constellation of stories have always been meant to serve as cautionary tales. But it firmly appears that there is none more incorrigible than the average Nigerian public officer who ignores the lessons of history even when history holds them up as the embarrassed figures of its pedagogy.

Corruption remains a thorny issue in Nigeria. It is one snake the country has failed to handle well which has resulted in many venomous bites. A kind of self-preservation has underpinned this failure to handle corruption well because many of those who should fight corruption are not only involved, but are the ones breeding and feeding it.

Lawan showed as much with the nonchalant manner he was willing to demand and receive bribes while putting up a very public front of investigating corruption at the House of Representatives.

For the EFCC and ICPC, their work has long been cut out even if they have continued to spectacularly waste opportunity after opportunity.

More than anyone else, they have the tools to appreciate the devastating and deleterious effects of corruption on the country. But they do not have all the tools to fight it. It is not something that they can do on their own. All arms of government must come together to fight corruption. In a country where the government is notoriously self-serving, this may be asking too much.

*Willie-Nwobu can be reached at ikewilly9@gmail.com