The reticence of the Federal Government concerning its $9.3million cash
meant for arms purchase now held in the South Africa’s
central bank is fascinating. Declaring
ownership of the money was by an anonymous Federal Government official who issued
an u nsigned p ress r elease. E ach
time an unsigned press release hits the media in Nigeria, it stirs apprehension because bad news
tends to follow.
The most remarkable was the press release annulling the 1993
presidential elections. Its followup was an orchestrated disinformation
campaign which was like
a taunt on Nigerians: we really don’t care if you believe us. What
does it matter if you don’t? The press release on the $9.3
million cash of September 16 was equally an earful of bureaucratic
arrogance which revealed much disrespect for the public. We were told that “the bi-focal diplomatic
talks with South Africa were both at governmental level and exchanges by intelligence services of the two nations…The
Federal Government has submitted relevant data and documents
on the transaction to South Africa and insisted that the transaction
was legitimate.”
The release also contained the following statement which must have been taken from a 419 scam
playbook: “: It also clarified that the funds were not laundered
or smuggled for any covert manoeuvres.
N o l aunderer w ill b e audacious to fly into a country in a chartered jet with such a huge cash.”
Then it proceeded to mystify the affair ‘The technical details
on security matters, which necessitated the desk, had been availed South Africa for screening.” How can ordinary mortals understand technical details especially on security
matters which necessitated a desk?
The follow-up was a sickening jeremiad about how Nigeria could not fight Boko Haram because it
did not have weapons and why the United States which bad been wishing Nigeria to fail had obstructed Nigeria all over the world from buying the required weapons. The United States, it alleged, went as far as instructing Israel
not to sell certain helicopters to
Nigeria. ( It l ater t ranspired t hat Israel itself does not use, much
less, stock those helicopters) It went on and on how Nigeria has been falsely accused of human rights abuses and is being blacklisted and prevented from buying arms all over the world. (Those accusing Nigeria of human rights abuses are doing no more than urging the Nigerian government to respect the human rights of its
own citizens, no more, no less) Primary school children might
believe this kind of story, but not all of them. It is a story emanating
from a manufactured persecution complex informed by guilt,
propelled by an oversized ego about how important Nigeria is in
the world. This thesis argues that Nigeria is such a special country other countries must ignore its
illegal activities, forgive its wellknown disdain for law and order and ignore its infinite proclivity to
corruption.
But the world has also agreed there is not and should not be a supermarket for armaments, for
reasons that are quite obvious.
Americans gleefully sell their weapons. O ne of the most powerful
lobbies in Washington DC is t he a rmaments i ndustry. Y et
as much as they want to sell, the US Congress insists on certain
guidelines which when ignored are punishable under the law. Besides, the world is so full of
arms, east, west, north or south.
The standards are almost equal or comparable. But if you want particular
types, you probably need to wait and go by the regulations governing the purchase.
In all of this $9.3 million cash scandal, the Coordinating Minister
for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-
Iweala, whose office disburses all the money belonging to the Federal Government, has not claimed the money. Indeed, she disowned the money. She was loud and clear that she knew nothing about it.
The service chiefs, who would own the arms had they been purchased,
have been kind of quiet, too. They have practically bailed
out. How could anyone be buying armaments ranging from Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles to helicopters to explosives without the
knowledge of the service chiefs? The National Assembly invited
the service chiefs of which only two had the courtesy to show up.
The South African authorities arrested two Nigerians and an
Israeli. Let us assume the Israeli is an agent of the suppliers, which
is doubtful because he is said to be the one who had the combination
lock to open the suitcases
containing the cash. But whoever the Israeli might have been, those two Nigerians with him ought to be officers of the Nigerian Armed Forces not below the rank of brigadier- general.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs has not shown any interest in the matter whatsoever. He is missing in action. H e  is
constitutionally or administratively a member of the National Security Council which should approve a purchase
of this magnitude. To resolve the issues diplomatically, since it is so clear that an illegality has been committed, the minister would necessarily be the one to do the diplomatic trouble-shooting. His silence has been deafening.
The Department of State Security has a Public Affairs Officer who speaks up quickly and frequently on matters concerning her department. This time, however, Mrs. Marilyn Ogar has been kind of quiet. At first the impression was given that the arms were for the intelligence services only, until reports began to mention
comprehensive invoices.
The Office of the President has not uttered a word. O ne can only speculate that the cause of silence could be that the money is too small to deserve its attention given so many weighty problems facing the country. The Office of the President subsumes the office of the National Security Adviser.
Conflicting signals are coming to the effect that this affair could be from the NSA’s office, which is hard to believe since that would also mean that the President is aware and must have approved.
It was not the burglary at the Democratic Party Headquarters
that made Watergate what it became; it was the attempt to cover
it u p. N ow t he m embers o f t he House of Representatives are not looking into what happened in South Africa, why and how.
They are now looking into the amount of the bribe they are said to have been offered to keep quiet, whether it is $50,000 or $20,000. That may be a distraction. But the silence on the $9.3 million cash is not golden, to say the least.

When silence is not golden