Burden of Service - Mohammed Bello Adoke
This is not just a story, rather a tale of resilience of one man to fight against a corrupt system. A man’s unshakable belief in the judiciary system of Nigeria, or at least in the ICJ (International Court of Justice). His attempt to clear his name off all the falsified accusations and exposing the faces of bureaucrats feigning nationalism was feeble.
Mohammed begins his autobiography in a time where he was having suicidal tendencies, as his life falls apart after the historic conceding of government of Nigeria by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in 2015 to his successor Mohammadu Buhari. He recalls the period of former president Yar’adua’s’ deteriorating health and eventual death. This lead to Jonathan’s appointment as interim president and himself being promoted to the post of AGF (Attorney General of Federation). Ironically his first AGF day in the office began with him being saluted as, ‘’-Your Excellency’’ and concedes with media portraying him as anti-national after just 24 hours, because he will not take a jibe at an infamous case against a corrupt official.
He paints a vivid picture of his childhood and its struggles as he sails into his higher education years in Nigeria and around the world, garnering experience, and knowledge all the while. The story takes twists and turns, with him always locking horns with variety of bureaucrats because of his ever so strong belief in the constitution. He was such an avid believer in the constitution of Nigeria that occasionally he would oppose decisions even by the President.
Most of the story revolves around the notable event in the history of Nigerian politics and recognised by the entire world. The OPL-245 oil license deal involving Nigerian Malabu Oil Company, Royal Dutch Shell, and Italian energy giant Agip-Eni. The timeline proceeds as 1998-2021. Mohammed struggles to shed light on the inside story of how a corrupt government and its wretched attempts to manipulate the truth ends in him being accused of bribery and money laundering in the same deal worth millions of dollars. The new government formed in 2016 and him leaving the office of AGF is the last nail in the wall. As during his tenure in the office of AGF, he made quite a few enemies and as fate had it, all the new enemies came to power with the new government. His muddling with legal obstacles follows him to Hague, Netherlands, which becomes the new home as he uncovers a plot to terminate him in Nigeria. His enemies kept their gruelling attempts to locate the money, which he never took.
Apart from the shenanigans of OPL-245, Mohammed talks of the matters at hand in Nigeria during his days as the AGF, of which one major issue was the Boko Haram Insurgency and another being a million-dollar fraud by one GINL (Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited)- a company owned by Pramod Mittal, brother of Laxmi Narayan Mittal of UK. GINL was to bring international funds as investments into Nigeria but was rather found guilty of supposedly taking out loans from local financial institutions in Nigeria by pledging the same infrastructure they were to run.
The reader must look for the intellectual and detailed approach of Mohammed on the Nigerian government body and its functioning, along with the ambitions he has from his motherland. His efforts eventually bearing fruits as Nigeria feels a lot secure against terrorism, cybercrimes, and violation of other constitutional powers by its bureaucrats.
For me, this book has been enlightening on numerous aspects all the while preventing emotional attachment to Mohammed’s plight. His professional and personal life in turmoil as from his relocation to another country and negative media coverage ends up in his family being traumatised and his reputation tarnished, respectively. Reading about the accusations of corruption and money laundering, that have befallen him just because he refused to budge against injustice. I find him sincere on the grounds of him being upfront and stating his part of the truth without an ounce of diplomacy as it takes courage to be brutally honest in such matters.
I would like to say, this is my opinion of his story. Read to find out for yourself.
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