The Trial of Professor Grange

I regard the events going on in Abuja concerning the ongoing corruption trial of Professor Mrs Adenike Grange to be a tragedy of monumental proportions. When I saw the pictures of the distinguished professor of medicine at her arraignment in the morning papers on Wednesday 9th April (the arraignment had taken place the previous day), I wept! I do not know exactly why, but tears came to my eyes as I saw newspaper photographs of the 69-year old professor splashed on the front pages of all the major newspapers. Oh what a tragedy! For me this was actually a human story, more than anything else. At 69 years, I imagine, Professor Grange has grown up sons and daughters. I imagine she also has young grandchildren, some probably in their teens. She has students, many of them who were by now accomplished professionals in their own right.

I realised as I looked at those photos that she was indeed older than the age at which my late mum died in 2004 at 68 years of age. I could not imagine my mother facing such a tribulation in the twilight of her days. Those were the thoughts that came to my mind as those involuntary tears came to my eyes. Mrs Grange has a CV that every Nigerian should be proud of. She attended Methodist Girls High School, Yaba, Lagos, a school we were very familiar with as secondary school students at Igbobi College! Indeed my own wife is an alma mater of that institution. She graduated in medicine from Scotland in 1964, before I was born! She has worked in all the major health institutions in Lagos-Lagos Island Maternity, Creek Hospital, Massey Street Children’s Hospital and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

She was appointed a Professor in 1995, thirteen years ago! Indeed she is the first female professor of Paediatrics at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. She has been a Head of Department of Paediatrics and Dean of the School of Clinical Sciences at the Institution. She has served as Consultant to the Federal Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and USAID. She is a very highly respected academic with over 50 scientific papers and serves on the Board of many international committees such as the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization and was president of the International Paediatrics Association. In short Mrs Grange is one of the products of this nation that we should showcase on the global stage. See how the corrupt Nigerian system consumes its best!

The Minister of State who was caught up in the same unfortunate matter is similarly distinguished. Architect Gabriel Aduku is an Officer of the Order of the Niger. He is a past President of the Nigerian Institute of Architects and a respected politician. One recent report indicated that the respected architect has embarked on fasting (the reporter thought it was a hunger strike) and prayer as he petitions Almighty God to let this cup pass over him. Many others may have come to the end of their civil service careers by virtue of the N300million funds in the coffers of the Ministry of Health which was supposed to be returned to the Central Bank of Nigeria on the instruction of the President, but which the ministry officials persuaded Mrs Grange they could successfully divert and share as Christmas bonus. I’m told in the civil service, such schemes are regarded simply as ‘welfare’. The list includes the Permanent Secretary-another Professor, Samuel Ogamdi, and Directors of Administration and Finance amongst other top officials of the Federal Health Ministry. Oh how corruption destroys our most capable citizens!
Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello has also been roped into the mess. The Obasanjo family has been going through very tense moments in the last few months. Gbenga their oldest son has become so disgruntled that he is prepared to disgrace his father, father-in-law and estranged wife. How could the former President have so alienated his son to such extent? Now Iyabo faces accusations on many fronts. The on-going probes of the ex-President’s activities in the power sector have made nonsense of any notions of transparency, anti-corruption and fiscal responsibility under the former regime. They also call into question the regime’s basic managerial competence. The FCT probe is already leading to revelations of multiple land allocations to members of the Obasanjo family. Now the Senator stands accused of receiving N10million out of the stolen funds. Even if she escapes from this present travail, it is fairly certain that Iyabo (and her father) will face many others, in the fullness of time. She will be lucky to escape unscathed!

What lessons will Nigerians learn from this episode? Will other political office holders simply conclude that the unfortunate professor was exposed because of her inexperience and naivety? Will the civil servants simply design more foolproof ways of siphoning such funds? Will any legislators who are inclined to partake of corrupt disbursements just concoct new mechanisms for such schemes that the EFCC will not know about? Or will political office holders, especially those ones who have some reputation to protect be careful to ensure that their hard-earned reputations are not destroyed on account of a few millions of Naira? Are those moneys worth the possible consequences if it all goes wrong as in this case? Is it worth the embarrassment to your family and children? Is it worth the risk of conviction or prison?

I know many will be scoffing and mocking at the Professor and her erstwhile junior minister, in their moment of tribulation. Are we laughing at her because she collected N10million, or because she was caught? How many of us can subject our private business practices to examination by EFCC and come out clean? He who thinks he stands should take heed, lest he falls! We should weep instead for a country in which citizens are exemplary-honest, brilliant and competent on the global stage, but get sucked into a system of incompetence, dishonesty, graft and mediocrity once they return into the Nigerian space. I only wish the EFCC and the Presidency will expose just six more cases like this within the next one year, irrespective of the personalities involved, and prosecute them, and believe it or not corruption will beat a hasty retreat from our public life.

Agbaje is Senior Consultant/CEO of Resources and Trust Company (RTC), a Strategy, Business Advisory and Consultancy Services Firm. RTC POLICY is the policy, government and political consultancy arm of RTC.