N585 million: Why Betta Edu should be reinstated

POLITICS ( governance) is a very profitable business in Nigeria; a river you step into and trade away your poverty, thereby amassing wealth for yourself, family circle, cronies and future generations. Those vying for political office know what they’ll meet when they get to that office. In their desperacy to make their dreams a reality, they resort to occultism, slander, bloodletting, assaults, bribery and other unthinkable acts as their weapons. All these are against Jehovah’s teaching and Kingdom.

It follows also that successive administrations in Nigeria do come with their own woes, their own unending stories, one trouble too many, and one allegation or the other against the administrations. When therefore the story travelled that the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, was being investigated for financial mishandling, I knew full well that her crime was in line with the ‘ tradition’ of her predecessors.

With the Minister’s recent ‘ suspension by President Tinubu’, she’s become nothing more than a fall guy in the APC- led government. If the offence imputed to her is anything to go by, it’s either the Minister is out of her mind to have made such a dumb mistake; or she’s being goaded and blackmailed by some faceless cartel, cabal or godfathers. But Betta Edu has the sanest mind. It’s heart- rending that her trouble began too early and her suspension came abruptly, barely seven months after her inauguration; thus, making me wonder if she actually came with intent to steal or whether there’s more to the alleged diversion of N585 million than meets the eye. The allegation against the Minister attracted the attention of the opposition parties, notable lawyers, SERAP and several other groups, who demanded thorough investigations.

Assuming these callers were demanding that fairness be shown to the Minister, that’ll be fine. If the people were demanding her suspension so that proper investigations could be done in order to unearth the major actors behind the sleaze, that makes sense. But if they’re after her sack because they considered her shifty, they’d have a rethink.

Without mincing words, I’ll say that the allegation against the Minister and clamour for her sack are laughable and unnecessary for the following reasons. First, there are weightier cases than the one at hand that government should probe, many of which originated from past administrations. These cases cut across all sectors and involve such bodies as WAEC, NNPCL, ICPC, CBN, NIMASA, NPF, NDDC, IPPIS, SURE- P, N- Power, Judiciary, Paris Club Refund, COVID- 19 Funds, etc.

The offenders seem to be above the law as they walk freely in society. Where the government is sometimes able to wade into the cases, it makes sure it hushes its findings up. Therefore, the Federal Government’s serious interest in Betta Edu’s case is like making a mountain out of a molehill.

Second, the African woman has always been a victim of her patriarchal society due to her sex. Part of the violence against women in the African setting in general and Nigerian setting in particular is seen at their workplace, where they’re discriminated against. Where the women are lucky to be empowered economically, they’re either subjugated or quickly rid of their jobs if they resist male oppression.

Thus, what played out in the life of Betta Edu is one of the ugly burdens of patriarchy. Women occupying political office in Nigeria do face a hurdle. The court can’t help them; it only worsens their ordeal. For instance, the former Aviation Minister, a woman, had the tables turned on her during the Jonathan regime.

The Minister of Education, a woman, was shown the door in the same government. That of Finance, a beautiful woman, was given the boot by Muhammadu Buhari. Remember also how much agonizing toll patriarchy exerted on that rumbustious Ogoni woman, the NDDC Managing Director, for refusing to give in to some ‘ difficult demands’ from a male Minister during the Buhari regime.

In January this year, the National Coordinator of the National Social Investment Programme Agency, Halima Shehu, and Betta Edu were suspended. Does that mean women are bad?

The third reason why Betta Edu should be recalled is the need for Nigerians to extol and appreciate the beauty, educational attainment and regenerative drive of the Nigerian woman. With a PHD degree in Public Health from London, Betta’s a highly disciplined and learned personality who’s exerted herself. As an embodiment of beauty, she’s got the drive and skill needed to attract foreign investors to Nigeria and take the country to greater heights.

Betta’s got uncommon smiles which the Nigeria’s First Lady ( Remi Tinubu) spends her whole time fathoming. When the smiles petting her purple lips explode, her detractors and male oppressors implode with envy.

The Minister insists that mischief makers and detractors are out to drop sarin in her garri. That’s very possible. Betta isn’t corrupt even if she admits that she actually ordered the Accountant General to transfer N585 million into a private account of Mrs. X, a sum meant for GVG ( Grants for Vulnerable Groups); such an act wasn’t of her own volition. That many Nigerian leaders are corrupt can’t be confuted, most especially those in the APC- led government. I’m certain that Betta’s above board and Nigerians ought to be discerning enough to look at her case from a totally different angle. What circumstances surround the suspension of an exquisitely cute woman, who finds herself in the midst of ‘ detractors’?

Had Betta ever been accused/ charged before? Who are those threatening to fight her if she refuses to act as a conduit for siphoning the funds meant for us? Is she bent on acquiring wealth abroad? The President should forgive his Minister because ‘ the quality of mercy is not strained; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heavens’.

Whilst I commend ‘ President Tinubu’ for heeding the calls of Nigerians by suspending the erring Minister, I scored him 4/ 100 in his fight against corruption. The President ought to begin with Buhari’s cronies and near relatives, not Betta Edu. I sympathise with the Minister for the trauma she’s been made to go through and I’m optimistic that the ongoing investigations will favour her. But dear Betta, when eventually you’re reinstated, don’t be the Minister of Humanitarian ‘ I- fear’ and Poverty Alleviation, but one with a high degree of sensitivity to the suffering of poor Nigerians.

To conclude this story, I maintain that it wasn’t actually President Tinubu that suspended Betta; it’s the cabal/ cartel. So, Betta, when you’re ‘ unconditionally’ reinstated by the grace of Allah, and those faces come closer again, allow your instinct to tell you that you’re sailing close to the wind. It’s not changing into a leopard that’s difficult; it’s changing into its tail. Don’t be the Minister of Humanitarian ‘ Bilisi’ and Poverty ‘ Aggravation’ that the cabal/ godfathers wanted you to be.

Sola wrote from Port Harcourt.