From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Vice President Kassim Shettima, former Senate president, Bukola Saraki and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, have recounted how state actors tarnished their reputation and plotted to take them out.
They spoke at a book launch entitled: ‘OPL 245: Inside story of the $1.3 billion Nigerian oil block’ written by former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Bello Mohammed Adoke, in Abuja yesterday.
Shettima said he was an enemy of the state when President Goodluck Jonathan held sway, adding that he wanted him removed as Governor of Borno State.
The vice president, who did not disclose what his offences were, said it took the intervention of Adoke, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal and some senior advocates in his cabinet to dissuade the former president from carrying out the plans.
“In the last four years of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, I was the most demonised person; I was the public enemy number one.
“There are two gentlemen seated here. Certain decisions are taken in a very rare peace circle of the President, the Vice President, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“In one of such conclaves, former President Goodluck Jonathan with whom we have sheath the sword and have now recalibrated our relationship, was mooting the idea of removing the Borno governor.
“Aminu Tambuwal, then Speaker of the House of Representatives, had the courage to tell the President that he did not have the powers to remove an elected councillor.
“The President was still not convinced, he mooted the idea at the Federal Executive Council.”
Shettima also expressed his admiration for Mr Adoke for his courage, conviction and capacity to stand for what he believes in.
“He (Mr Adoke) told the then President that he doesn’t have the powers to remove a sitting governor, not even a councillor.
“They sought the opinion of another SAN in the cabinet, Kabiru Turaki, who said he was concurring with the opinion of his senior colleague. That was how the matter was laid to rest but that was how my relationship with Mr Adoke and Tambuwal became eternally sealed.”
Furthermore, he described the culture of secrecy in Nigeria’s public institutions as a form of silence that must be broken.
“There is silence to preserve relationships. There is silence to protect secrets too delicate to disclose. And there is silence for memories we would rather forget. But, as a generation of leaders, we must summon the courage to document our journeys,” he said.
Shettima also commended Adoke for the courage to forgive all those who had offended him in the course of his public duty.
El’Rufai, who served as minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) also recounted how he was betrayed by friends and those he once assisted.
He congratulated Adoke for writing on his experiences, adding that it was necessary to set the record straight.
“I want to use this opportunity to congratulate my brother, Bello Adoke, for the launch of the book. Books like these are necessary.
“About 12 years ago in this same hall, I published my book, ‘Accidental Public Servant.’ It showed how friends abandoned me. Those that I have been good to, turned against me. Everyone told me I made a mistake. And that I will never go near public service again, because in Nigeria when you are in government you keep quiet. I do not think I have anything to hide in my public service years.”
On his part, Saraki said the powers that be should always uphold the rule of law for the betterment of the country.
Earlier, Chairman of the occasion, former President Goodluck Jonathan, lauded Adoke for his wisdom, courage and doggedness in the face of intimidation and blackmail, describing the public presentation of the book as a celebration of victory over deliberate persecution.
Represented by former Senate president, Anyim Pius Anyim, Jonathan cautioned politicians against abuse of office, urging all public office holders to always commit to the virtues of justice, fairness and service to humanity.
While reviewing the book, former special adviser to former President Jonathan on media and publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, agreed with the author that the book is, indeed, therapeutic, stressing that it actually needed to be written to set the records straight for posterity.
“The focus is on the OPL245, an extensive and comprehensive account of the allegations about his role, the burden he has actually endured in terms of what he called clinical persecution, or “the lies and lies and more lies” that were told against him and his eventual vindication,” he stated.
The 26-chapter book on the OPL 245, also known as Malabu oil deal scandal, centres on a 2011 agreement in which Royal Dutch Shell and Italy’s Eni paid $1.3 billion to acquire Nigeria’s deep-water oil licence.
The oil bloc is believed to hold nine billion barrels of crude.
