ETTEH HAS RESIGNED!!!!

The title of this post speaks for itself. For details, read more here.

Something tells me that the POLITICAL BOXING MATCH is simply between rounds. After a vicious Mortal Combat Session in the House of Representatives, the death of an Etteh supporter, the delay of decisions on next year's budget and the general halt to most business by our elected officials, Mrs. Patricia Etteh decided to resign.


Personally, I think she should have done this much earlier. The Integrity Group (commissioned to investigate the contract that led to the Ettehgate scandal) determined over a week ago that she was guilty of fraud. At that point, Etteh should have accepted responsibility, acknowledged fault, and put as much strategic spin on the 'palava' (problem) to dampen the sting to her reputation. Instead, she encouraged tribalism by alleging that the 'accusations' against her where attacks on Yorubas. She then allowed her supporters to allege that the 'accusations' were part of a "political vendetta". After that, her supporters than began to accuse members of the Integrity Group of graft - claiming that some had attempted to bribe Mrs. Etteh for prime positions on prime committees. Of course, no specific names were mentioned and although they alleged that they would release such names in the immediate future, their 'Madam' has now resigned. At every turn, this woman did the wrong thing! Her behavior and that of her various supporters illustrates a lack of political shrewdness and savvy that if applied could have saved us Nigerians a lot of embarrassment and unnecessary noisemaking.

I am glad that she resigned. It is a shame that the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives had to go down in flames the way she did. The next time and woman attempts to do something big, I am sure that unfortunate comparisons to Etteh will surface. That is just the nature of the beast. I am also glad that Yardy did not publicly intervene in this mess. Dami specifically cautioned against that course of action in a comment to an earlier post and I second his (Dami's) opinion. However, I still charge that action on the part of the President does not always have to be overt. There are covert and strategic tools available to all power players, particularly Presidents, even in the Federal system. So, every time Yardy mentions 'non-interference', I am the last to believe him.

How I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when the decision was made that Etteh should resign. I am waiting for the next round in this bout. You know it isn't over yet right? I doubt Madam Etteh is willing to slink into the shadows. Especially as Aondoakaa announced yesterday, Wednesday, that all members of Parliament, be they current or former, that have been indicted by the National Assembly, will be prosecuted over the next few months.

Ooooh, it's on and poppin'!!! (Please forgive the slang).

UPDATE:

• Waffy just pointed out to me that Etteh has only 'agreed' to resign on Tuesday. I guess I got too excited and didn't read carefully enough! Well, I hope she will actually resign and not decide to pull a Larry Craig where one agrees to resign on the basis of impropriety and then choses to hang on to their position despite playing footsy with a police officer in the men's bathroom!
• Also, a new scandal is brewing. Former governor of Jigawa State, Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, announced that he stole N10 million in state funds. He then said that "he made the money available through Andy Uba, a close aide of former President Obasanjo." This then prompted London Police to 'interview' OBJ in London. The plot thickens.