Shinkafi's vindication
Public officials in Africa are routinely accused of corruption in the Western press. Nigeria's ex-NSO boss challenged the BBC to provide evidence. There was none, the corporation has apologised and will pay damages.One really ought to admit to a certain amount of chauvinism at the elation generated by the news that when pressed to offer proof of corruption made against an African in public office, the BBC had none.
Some place will have to be found in the records books for Alhaji Umaru Ali Shinkafi who was the security boss under ex-President Shagari of Nigeria for having insisted that a Western news media extend the same courtesies normally extended to public officials in Western countries.
On the face of it, the 'Checkpoint' programme on the BBC's Radio 4 was a usual run of the mill one. After all, every commentator and "experts" on Africa knew, and thus by extension everybody else knew, that government officials in Nigeria were corrupt. "Massive corruption" was the term often employed.
Enter centre stage, Chief Francis Arthur Nzeribe the flamboyant Nigerian businessman with his very widely publicised offer of £1 million pounds to rehabilitate Brixton the London black ghetto. Those were admittedly high tension days in the midst of the Brixton riots with scenes on British television that up till then had never been seen before.
Thus the programme really, (or was it the hatchet job?) was on Chief Nzeribe and for once the BBC did not hedge its bets with the usual "alleged", "it is widely believed", etc. Chief Nzeribe, the programme said, had been involved in illegal activities of many kinds but had escaped being brought to book because he was CLOSE a FRIEND of the boss of the Nigerian Security Organisation, Alhaji Shinkafi. Chief Nzeribe, it was also said, had given generous loans to the families of officials insurance as against prosecution, and the BBC averred that there existed a signed receipt for one such loan for Mrs Rajayat Shinkafi, wife of the NSO director.
Back in Lagos, Alhaji Shinkafi was told about the contents of the programme and listened himself to a slightly abridged version of it on the BBC External Services' Focus on Africa programme.
Having confirmed from his wife that she had received no such loans or largesse from Chief Nzeribe, Alhaji Shinkafi went to his boss - President Shehu Shagari offering to resign his position to be able to fight "the smear" and the ex-President rejected his offer to resign. However, he gave his permission to sue. Below is an excerpt of Talking Drums' conversation with Shinkafi on the BBC matter:
"I examined my career and my record and felt sure I had tried very hard to behave properly throughout and I could not understand why the BBC should want to destroy me without any basis. However, I was not vindictive so I instructed a solicitor to simply write to the BBC pointing out to them that their allegations were unfounded, to withdraw them and apologise, that was all. But I did not receive even an acknowledgement to the letter and I therefore had no option but to pursue the case.
The BBC then tried through third parties to get me to withdraw the case and settle and even Chief Nzeribe tried to get me to let the BBC off, but since I was never approached by the BBC directly, I persisted. We actually went to the brink, a date was fixed for the hearing - last Monday, January 21, and suddenly in the week before, the BBC's solicitors offered to settle outside court. I agreed with my solicitors but on the understanding that the BBC would come to court and withdraw the allegations and apologise, and that is what happened."
What about the substantial damages said to have been agreed upon to be paid to him apart from the bill for the legal costs which the BBC would pick up?
Alhaji Shinkafi said he is only allowed by the terms of the agreement to limit himself to admitting to "substantial" damages and thus it had to stay.
It is known that he had been claiming about £2 million from the BBC.
But how did he think those allegations came to be made and was he not indeed a close friend of Chief Nzeribe?
He said that in his job, he had "very frequent interaction with Chief Nzeribe on very purely professional basis" and as for the allegations, his own opinion was that they were the work of a former associate of Chief Nzeribe with whom he had fallen out. The former associate, Peter Hospidalis had claimed to have filched some confidential papers from the office of Chief Nzeribe and even came to Lagos with them. When he brought these papers which were said to contain very damaging information, he asked that Alhaji Shinkafi and the NSO not be allowed to deal with them and accord-ing to Alhaji Shinkafi, he therefore asked the President to appoint an independent person to handle the matter. It was duly investigated and it was found that the documents had even been given to Scotland Yard who had done their own investigations and not found anything worth pursuing. Alhaji Shinkafi said he was therefore surprised that the BBC had chosen to rely on such material but it was obvious to him that the main target was Chief Nzeribe and he happened to have been in the crossfire. He was hugely relieved that his good name had been vindicated.
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Alhaji Umaru Ali Shinkafi was appointed Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Director of the Nigerian Security Organisation by Major-General Obasanjo and he continued as NSO Director under ex-President Shagari and continued in that position until the coup of December 31, 1983.
Talking Drums asked him about Nigeria's Second Republic, its strengths and weaknesses, why did it fail, was there massive corruption and what did he, as NSO boss, do about it?
He knew ex-President Shagari well - was he as weak as he is reputed to be, what system of government is best for Nigeria?
- Next week, his answers and thoughts on these and other pertinent points.
Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi - the BBC has with- drawn allegations, apologised and will pay substantial damages to him.
Chief Francis Nzeribe - his million pound Brixton rehabilitation offer led to the programme.
