Still on the Utomi, Amosun rhumba: Truth be told, Utomi’s account of what happened is more believable than Amosun’s. Utomi raised critical issues that Amosun has not been able to address. It behoves the longsuffering people of Ogun State to insist on knowing the truth about what their former governor did on their behalf. And unless Amosun is able to provide the vital documents to nail the “entitled” professor, his response to Utomi’s expose on his alleged indiscretions in office is nothing but an “if you Tarka me, I Daboh you” parody.
By Ikechukwu Amaechi
After what could be described in local police lingo as “two fighting,” Nigerians have, typically, moved on from the Prof Pat Utomi and Senator Ibikunle Amosun foxtrot, having concluded, to borrow another jargon, this time from the Nigerian sporting dictionary, that it is “a one-one goalless draw.”
And who will blame them? Why dwell on an “if you Tarka me, I Daboh you” kind of scandal for too long in a country where salacious scandals break at the speed of light?
For those who may be too young to know what the “if you Tarka me, I Daboh you” phrase is all about, the story needs a retelling.
In the twilight of the General Yakubu Gowon military junta, two sons of the Middle Belt, Benue State to be precise – Senator Joseph Sarwuan Tarka and Chief Godwin Daboh Adzuana – were embroiled in what the music maestro, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti called roforofo fight.
Tarka, who was Minister of Transport and later Communications, had called on Nigerians to report corrupt government officials as a way of stemming what was perceived as pervasive corruption at the time. Never mind that with what is happening now, what Tarka saw as pervasive sleaze pales into insignificance.
But that is a story for another day. Suffice it to say that Daboh, with whom he had fought a supremacy battle in the defunct United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC), and whose first foray into politics was in 1957, took up the challenge, having seen a window of opportunity to give a mortal blow to Tarka, his arch political rivalry.
On July 8, 1974, Daboh alleged that Tarka had used his office to enrich himself by setting up a company, KEATAR through a proxy to execute multimillion contracts awarded by his ministry. It was an earth-shattering allegation. Daboh further claimed that Tarka had assigned a dedicated government telephone line to his mistress who wasn’t a government official.
The activist National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS) issued a statement demanding probe and the University of Lagos Students Union also issued a statement through its General Secretary, Wole Olanipekun, who is now a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), threatening street protests if Tarka was not sacked. On July 13, 1974, Daboh upped the ante by swearing to an affidavit at the Lagos High Court on his allegations.
Commissioner of Police Sunday Adewusi, who later became Nigeria’s inspector General of Police, got involved but expectedly muddled the investigation. But by this time, the scandal had become too hot for the Gowon junta to handle. The Head of State kept mum while his Minister of Information, Chief Anthony Enahoro, warned journalists not to ask questions about Tarka.
This standoff lasted for three weeks. As the debate over Tarka’s fate raged, Daboh released tape of a telephone conversation between Tarka and a contractor in which he was heard demanding six per cent kickback. It was like the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, who as governor of Kano State was caught on camera taking bribe from contractors and stuffing the hard currency in his overflowing agbada. Ganduje survived the scandal and even was rewarded with the high office of national chairman of the ruling party. But not so for the legendary Middle Belt politician. Cornered at a time when Nigerian politicians still had honour, Tarka resigned as minister on August 3, 1974.
It was his spirited effort to exact his pound of flesh from his political nemesis, Daboh that gave rise to the phrase, “If you Tarka me, I Daboh you.”
Back to the Utomi, Amosun tango. In the wake of the soured business relationship between Ogun State government and a Chinese firm, Zhongshan, which led to the seizure of three Nigerian presidential jets in France, Utomi alleged that he was also a victim of Amosun, the man who as governor revoked most contracts signed by his predecessor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.
In a post on his X handle on Sunday, August 18, Utomi said Amosun disregarded a contractual agreement he had with the Daniel administration like he did to the Chinese firm, leaving him with huge debt.
“So it was Gov Amosun’s violation of contract terms signed by his predecessor that brought the shame of seizure of jets from the Presidential fleet. I hope he is happy with his achievement. The whole matter is Karma at work. The Chinese were not the only victims. One prominent Ogun indigene allegedly committed suicide with similar Amosun action. I too was a victim. I had leased OPIC land in Lagos in a BOT agreement under Gov. Daniel. Amosun stopped all such on being sworn in,” he wrote.
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Utomi mourned, “If this happened to a friend, I wondered what enemies were going through … I lost my weary South Africa partners who owned a successful regional chain across Southern Africa and Asia. I licked my wounds and slaved to pay off the loans. The Chinese had better leverage. They took it and all are shamed.”
But Amosun, who apparently read Utomi’s account of what transpired on TheNiche platform sent me a statement which he personally signed rebutting Utomi’s claims. Stating that the professor of political economy was still sulking because he refused to feed what he described as his entitlement mentality, Amosun claimed that the Ogun State House of Assembly had already declared Utomi an enemy of the state as a result of his predilection for shoddy business deals in the state before he became governor.
“Before I came into office, the Ogun State House of Assembly had passed a persona non grata on Utomi, and put its resolution in the state’s black book. So, I was curious when I became governor and called Utomi to ask what the issue was. This was entirely at my discretion and not because he reached out to me. But I reckoned that as one with some degree of name-recognition, that should not be, and I wanted to know what happened.”
Claiming that he served Ogun State passionately with all his strength, the chartered accountant turned professional politician said, “Utomi knows his case did not even have any legs to stand on. He is not different from Zhongfu International Investment FXE. He knows he cannot lay claims to any lawful damage done to his investment. All he has tried to do is a ‘me too’, which is very disgraceful.”
An obviously horrified and affronted Utomi was alarmed when I told him what Amosun said. Short of calling the senator a liar, he wrote, “Accountants are supposed to be men of integrity. I am therefore sad at the many false indications of his reaction.”
Utomi said there was absolutely no reason for the Ogun State House of Assembly to declare him a persona non grata and challenged Amosun to produce the evidence since he claimed having the records.
“I have just heard that for the first time today,” he lamented. “First, besides being invited to give a lecture at the state government retreat about 20 years ago and being asked to give the inauguration lecture for Governor Abiodun about five years ago, the only activity that has brought me in contact with Ogun State government is this 15-year BOT lease. So, on what account would the Ogun House do that?”
Beyond these statements which both Prof Utomi and Senator Amosun sent to me personally, I spoke to both men on phone. Utomi on the one hand is distraught that Amosun deliberately smeared him as a counter punch to his allegations. Amosun on the other hand is sticking to his gun. And Nigerians, caring less, have moved on, waiting for the next scandal.
“It is their business. All of them are the same,” many insist and don’t see why they should bother when two elephants are fighting.
I beg to disagree. Nigeria has remained the way it is with leaders acting with impunity while in office because they know there are no consequences even out of office. Leaders should be held accountable rather than resorting to red herring and name-calling whenever they are called out. Rather than dismissing the Utomi-Amosun tango as a case of “two fighting,” it will be good to know who is telling the truth.
Amosun said the job Utomi did was not more than N35 million even as he was claiming N200 million. Yet, he gifted him N100 million, a man that had allegedly been declared an enemy of the state by the lawmakers as a result of his predilection for shoddy business deals. Why did he decide to reward fraud?
Amosun also claimed that after declaring Utomi a persona non grata, the Ogun Assembly put its resolution in the state’s black book. Could he make that document available?
While Utomi insists that he initiated the call to Amosun, the former governor is equally making the same claim. Who is saying the truth? The telecommunication companies in Nigeria will easily solve the riddle.
But truth be told, Utomi’s account of what happened is more believable than Amosun’s. Utomi raised critical issues that Amosun has not been able to address. It behoves the longsuffering people of Ogun State to insist on knowing the truth about what their former governor did on their behalf. And unless Amosun is able to provide the vital documents to nail the “entitled” professor, his response to Utomi’s expose on his alleged indiscretions in office is nothing but an “if you Tarka me, I Daboh you” parody.
