The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has had its fair share of terrible national history post-independence from Belgium in 1960. Extremely rich in natural resources (with abundant deposits of copper, gold, diamonds, cobalt, uranium, coltan and oil) Congo-Kinshasa has had a great history of hopeless leadership much like Nigeria. It had been led by megalomaniacs, dictators and kleptocrats. While the looting of the country continues majority of the Congolese people are living dangerously, a miserable life daily worth less than two dollars income!
From the late Mobutu Sese-Seko to Kabila father (late) and son, it has been one hell of diffident and vacuous leadership at the apex. While Mobutu personalized power despotically stealing millions of dollars for decades, he ruled until a rebellion led by the late Laurent Kabila chased him out of power and into exile where he died ingloriously.
Congo’s national history would have been one of glory and greatness had the former charismatic patriotic Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, not been untimely assassinated by the colonial powers aided and abetted by Mobutu. Kabila the father was himself killed by his bodyguard inside the presidential palace paving the way for Joseph, his son, to mount the saddle, succeeding him.
A massive country the size of Western Europe, Congo is the shame of Africa much like Nigeria! Like Nigeria, corruption and bad leadership had conspired to deprive her of her glory! Like Nigeria she gropes in the dark.
Joseph Kabila was a ‘dreamer’ but his dreams were unlike those of Joseph in the bible. A smart executive crook who used a network of intelligence, intimidation and state terrorism to hold on to power for more than a decade. Joseph the presidential dreamer dreamt of life after power and stole as much as possible kleptocratically.
He must have heard about the dictatorial exploits of the late Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, and he dreamt up a fanciful idea of becoming a Senator for life, something that guarantees him immunity as long as he lives! He dreamt about presidential succession dictated by himself but the Congolese electorate said a resounding NO electorally and a plan B was set in motion.
Executing the plan B involved an elaborate scheme aimed at imposing a stooge and in the event of failure then cornering the legislative power became part two of the plan. Emmanuel Shadary Ramazani was drafted in to succeed Kabila during the presidential poll few years ago but he polled a distant third. The winner of that election was the opposition Martin Fayulu but Kabila had other plans. Afraid of handing over power to the radical Fayulu Kabila called the incumbent President, Felix Tshisekedi, who came second in the poll offering him the presidential position!
President Tshisekedi revolted against the legislative shenanigans and encumbrances of the Kabila gang some months ago by imposing his will. He strategically outwitted the ‘Kabilists’ by decreeing the “Union Sacré” (Sacred Union) that ultimately ‘overthrew’ Kabila and his legislative clan.
Recently the largest leak of financial documents from Africa shows how a private bank in the DRC was used to channel at least $138 million of public funds to former President Joseph Kabila’s family and associates! Dubbed “Congo Hold-Up” over 3.5 million documents covering nearly a decade of transactions involving Kabila and his fiscal gang were discovered and published.
‘Congo Hold-Up’ catalogs how state funds transited BGFI bank destined for companies owned by Kabila’s relatives and closest allies. The documents also show how the Chinese owners of some of Congo’s prized copper and cobalt mines used the bank to transfer millions of dollars to individuals and companies directly connected to Kabila’s family and business friends.
The consortium of 19 media organizations (including Bloomberg News, Mediapart of France, RFI) and five non-governmental organizations spread across four continents, had been publishing the details of the breathtaking organized heist. The Congolese authorities had reacted officially to the mega leak insisting that justice would be served and done.
Nigeria is like the Congo-Kinshasa in a couple of ways. Like the DRC with a population of more than a hundred million souls Nigeria boasts triple such number! Both countries are blessed (sorry cursed!) with monumental natural resources yet majority of their peoples are ‘victims’ of nadir of poverty. While Nigeria has historically overtaken India as the poverty capital of the world DRC is following closely behind.
Like the DRC Nigeria has had her own share of state terrorism and mind-boggling corruption. Remember how the late Bashorun MKO Abiola was extra-judicially eliminated by the state just like the late Lumumba? Like Mobutu-gate and now Kabila-gate we have had the Abacha-gate, OBJ-power-gate, Alams-gate, Ibori-gate, Dasuki-gate and Greenfield refineries-gate. The latter happened under the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan.
in 2010 a mega petrochemical plant contract awarded by the then President Goodluck Jonathan to Chinese State Construction and Engineering Corporation Limited (CSCEC), at $23 billion meant to be located at Bayelsa, Kogi and Lagos states was mired in controversy. The contract on paper was meant to create more than a million jobs! Today the Chinese had not constructed any refinery anywhere and that was how the humongous funds were stolen!
The former National Security Adviser to GEJ, Col. Sambo Dasuki, had cornered criminally millions of dollars released for the procurement of arms and ammunition for the national security forces. Col. Dasuki simply shared the money like a drunken father christmas to the PDP cronies for political purposes. The Buhari administration had arrested and detained him for years.
The former Delta State Governor, James Onanefe Ibori, made name for himself globally by stealing millions of Dollars from the state treasury during his gubernatorial tenure. He went to jail in England upon his conviction for grand larceny and money laundering. He is now back home still parading himself as a godfather in Delta state politics!
Ditto the late ex-Governor of Bayelsa state, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, who was once detained in London for money laundering. At the time of his arrest, Metropolitan police found about £1m in cash in his London home! Later, they found a total of £1.8m ($3.2m) in cash and bank accounts.
Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo spent billions of dollars (some claim sixteen) on power infrastructure yet Nigeria is still a country in darkness powered by generators! The late maximum ruler from Kano, Gen Sani Abacha, had pilfered millions of Dollars lodging the filthy lucre in various banks abroad. After his timely demise we were roundly regaled with the famous ‘Abacha-loot’. Millions of Dollars had been repatriated back home and some more are still subject of litigation abroad.
The former President Joseph Kabila ought to be behind bars by now if Congo-Kinshasa were to be a sane country ruled by decent men. Exposing his kleptocracy is good but not enough. Like the late Abacha, Babangida and Obasanjo, however, Kabila may escape justice because the judicial institution in the Congo, like Nigeria, is too weak to prosecute and jail the big executive thieves.
SOC Okenwa
