LETTER FROM BOLA IGE TO OBASANJO
LETTER FROM IGE TO OBJ
Abuja
December 19, 2001
My dear president,
First, I wish to thank you most sincerely for the respect and affection you have shown me and my family since you appointed me as one of your ministers on 30 June 1999. You have, of course, always shown love for my family, especially our Brother George and Tinuke for the last two and a half years, however, you have gone further to show it, whenever you could, more correctly.
The latest is yesterday's National Awards by making Tinuke an officer of the Order of the Federal Republic. This followed fast on the heels of my election to the International Law Commission of the United Nations, concerning which your excellency gave me total support.
It is not only you; your amiable wife, our First Lady, Stella, has equally, always, everywhere, treated me and Tinuke with great respect and affection. We are very grateful.
Secondly, I have enjoyed working with your Excellency in this government. Whether it was when I was the minister of Power and Steel or in my current office as Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, I thank you.
I have had this to complain about.
Your Excellency will recall that in June this year, I indicated my intention to leave government in September 2002. Your Excellency would hear nothing on such suggestion and you said you would like me to stay on with you till the end of your term. I thanked your Excellency for such expression of your confidence in me, but added that I would raise the matter some time again.
Two of our mutual good friends Brigadier-General Oluwole Rotimi and Prince Bola Ajibola have told me that they have each discussed the matter with you; the latter has told me that he discussed the matter with you recently at some length, and that your Excellency now seemed satisfied with the reasons why I should leave on 31 March 2002.
I wish to reiterate some of the reasons. There is much work to be done in Yorubaland for the purpose of consolidating strong participation in the governance of this Federal Republic of Nigeria in an atmosphere of mutual tolerance, freedom from fear and suspicion, and assurance that Yorubaland has a pivotal role to play in the sustenance of this Federal Republic. It is a complex situation which needs careful handling. I know and believe that I am up to the task. I will not be able to give enough attention to it if I remain in government beyond 31 March, 2002.
Although your Excellency and I may not be on the same wave length when it comes to the issue of the federal structure of Nigeria and the inevitability of a National conference for a new constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I have found in the last months that you are probably the most fervent Nigerian nationalist I have ever met, and your utter commitment to the unity of Nigeria even to the point that I sometimes fear that you may not care much about federalism is genuine. You eat, drink and breathe Nigeria, and you hardly have time or room to bother that there are serious differences within Nigeria.
Your military background has bored this your passionate love for the country, and I greatly admire you for it.
That is why I believe that God has a purpose for making you the president of this country at this time, and you need the support of everyone of us who care for this country, whatever our "ideological positions, that is why I have never had any hesitation in giving you my full support, and urging people who think like me and hold generally the same position as I to give you support to enable a good foundation to be laid for the future greatness of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
I have no reason to think that you will deviate from the path of righteousness, rectitude, good governance, honesty, transparency and accountability or that you will allow personal or party interest to become more important to your Excellency than the greater good of this country. That is why you can count on me to join hands with you to build this Federal Republic of Nigeria on such a good and endowing foundation which will make it the first and the biggest black superpower which I have always believed God has purposed this country to be, and in which all our nation politics will bring their talents and............................ to ........ this great country.
As you are no doubt aware, I am a disciple and apostle of Obafemi Awolowo, and I intend to harness the efforts of all of us who believe in his political philosophy towards the attainment and enhancement of the greatness of this country, taking into consideration, of course, the facts on the ground at this point in tune.
Your Excellency is also aware that I have a pivotal role to play in my party, the Alliance for Democracy (AD), while you are engineering your party (PDP) I need to strengthen my own, so that in 2003, there will be a credible, strong, clean national government in which the major parties will be well represented. My prayer is that nothing will happen adversely which will frustrate the fond hope.
I am glad to report to your Excellency that work has almost ended on the putting together of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2002. By the first or second week of January 2002, we should have the "clean copy" which will enable us to go to print electronically and in paper. Before I leave on 31 March 2002, everything will be ready, God willing.
With regard to the reform of the administration of justice system, I have received such wonderful cooperation from the chief justice of Nigeria, the State judiciaries, the Attorneys-General of the states and Police and Prison officials that I can say that we are on the right track.
Between now and March 31, 2002, I assure your Excellency that I will do all in my power to see that God and the courts give us victory in the two landmark cases that it has been my good fortune to bring to the point of hearing.
Between 7 and 11 January 2002, the Supreme Court will hear the (on-shore/Off-shore alias" Resource control") case it is going to be very interesting and all the parties will put their best and most ingenious efforts into it.
I am glad to have Chief Rotimi Williams SAN and Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim SAN work with me on the case.
It is not unlikely that the case will take longer than few days as there will be at least 38 addresses, as every Attorney-General will have filed his brief of argument. We, on our part, will marshal a good and strong case.
The other case is the Cameroon v. Nigeria before the International Court of Justice at The Hague. I am already fine-turning my address which will open the Nigerian case. Our team will be in The Hague from 11 February to 22 March 2002, the last day of hearing. I am quite satisfied with the ability and commitment of our foreign counsel, since I made known to them the position of this government. We have pleaded before the court a good and formidable case.
I will also continue our vigorous pursuit of those who looted our country's funds. A good start has been made and my successor can complete it.
Your Excellency, I thank you once again. All my life I will be your good friend, and I pray to God not to allow anything to break our friendship. Tinuke and I will always hold you and our dear Stella in our hearts. May our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ bless all of us this coming year and all the days of our lives. Amen.
Yours, very sincerely,
Bola Ige
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