Dear Emetulu,

Your attached article was forwarded to me by some of my good friends (including the then Ambassador) who worked very hard with me to set up NIDO in The Netherlands (i.e. during my assignment with Shell)

My friend who worked very hard with me then feel so maligned by your article to the extent that they are considering taking legal actions against you.

I, on my part will consider it a waste of my valuable time to take that

course of action because in my view you wrote your article out of sheer

ignorance. It should have occurred to you that in this day and age that more

than one person can have the same name and the sins of one don't necessary

extend to others.

When next you decide to put to paper any of your thoughts in the future,

suggest you do better homework so that you don't end up spoiling the names

of very good people who are working hard to help move our country forward.

Jimi Lawal    

Technical Consultant to the

Director-General/Presidential Adviser on Budget

BUDGET OFFICE OF THE FEDERATION

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE

-------------------------------------------

Almost at the same time, Mr Lawal got his lawyers to send Emetulu a paper

purportedly indicating that the Federal High Court Lagos had set aside his

conviction by the Failed Banks Tribunal for "lack of jurisdiction". While

the whole court affair was highly irregular and indeed questionable, it was

clear that everything was being engineered by Lawal's friends to

rehabilitate him at the heart of government. His email to Emetulu flaunting

his new status was a subliminal message to indicate that he was back in

Nigeria and under the protection of the powers-that-be. Lawal has been

living it large in Abuja, having his hands in every pie, while living in the

El Rufai's quarters until the Gbenga Obasanjo outburst. 

So, when I called last summer, the euphoria of his newfound fortune still

enveloped him and he came across as all nice and friendly, like a politician

asking for my vote. As I said, immediately I introduced myself as calling

from America, he didn't even bother asking who I was - he just went on and

on in a narcissist discussion about his triumphal return to Nigeria. He said

though he wasn't interested in politics, he only returned because he shares

"the ideals of the reform programmes" of the Obasanjo regime and couldn't

sit back without contributing his quota in moving Nigeria forward. He said

he owes a lot to his friends, Nasir El-Rufai, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Dr Abdul

Mukhtar, Oby Ezekwesili amongst others. He said it was awful that he had

been denied the "opportunity to uplift Nigeria to greater heights as a

patriotic citizen" all this while he was away. He said he holds many

advisory positions within the government and that nowadays he is a very busy

man indeed.

As the discussion veered into the circumstances surrounding his

controversial departure from the country, he became more defensive and

slightly antagonistic.  He said he was a victim of Abacha's persecution and

was hounded because he wouldn't give up his shares in Afribank. He mentioned

a retired army colonel, whom he claimed had first partnered with him, but

who later betrayed him and joined in his persecution. Jimi lawal claimed he

was the smart and lucky one amongst those whose banks failed during the

Abacha era. When I asked him why he thought or said so, he reminded me that

the Bureau of Public Enterprises (then headed by his friend Nasir El-Rufai)

paid him back all the money he lost in the banking fiasco with interests. I

asked how this was possible and he "revealed" it was possible because he

in absentia, he said he'd been pardoned and the conviction had been

overturned with the help of some of his friends. He said he wouldn't want to

give more information on that beyond what he'd just said.

At that point, the line went dead. When I called back later, he was now

talking about his investments in China, Atlanta, Canada and so on. He claims

to be worth over $10 million and is in fact not a poor man by any standard.

He said his services at the Federal Capital Territory are only rendered as a

form of volunteering. He said he was only providing them advice on

investments and land sales, but didn't say if he was being paid for these

services. While he was going on and on, I was hoping to get him to talk

about his relationship with el-Rufai in more detail. I didn't want to jump

on him with questions in this regard. I was hoping he would get into that as

our discussion progressed. But he hadn't by the time we parted, by which

time I'd made up my mind to call him sometime later on that issue since I

didn't want to appear too eager and then have him clam up.

However, by the time I got around to calling him again earlier this year, so

much water had passed under the bridge. The Gbenga interview was already out

and the news I was getting was that he'd just reneged on an interview with a

national magazine as a result of that. I decided to call him and try to

convince him to tell his own side of the story. As soon as I introduced

myself to him he went alarmist and defensive:

Below was how the exchange went:

Sowore: Hello Mr. Jimi Lawal. This is Sowore; how are you today?

Jimi: Ha! Yes, I know your name! Everyone knows that name around here! You

have just created some serious problems on the ground in Nigeria.

Sowore: Sir, what do you mean I've created some problems? 

Jimi :Ehn-ehn, let me tell you - there is serious problem from that

interview you did with Gbenga.

Sowore: Mr. Lawal I didn't know it was such a problem. I thought he was just

being candid, why should that be a problem anyway? He talked about you and

all the deals going on with the land sales in Abuja. There is also a

petition against you in particular.

Can I speak with you on these issues? At least tell me your side of the

story.

Jimi: (a pause) I think you are pushing your luck too far by looking for

another interview. I have contacted my lawyers and they are going to sue

you, The News, magazine and Gbenga for all the things you said about me.

Sowore: But Mr Lawal, that is the job of the lawyers to sue on your behalf.

I am going to keep doing my own job. Even if your lawyers sue everybody, we

will still write and publish the truth and such things that are of public

interest. I just don't like the way you are quick to resort to threat when

people try to talk to you about very important national issues. Many people

said you are quick to threaten others, why so?

Jimi: I am not threatening you. I promise to sue you and Gbenga and.ehn.

anywhere you might have published your stories. And now, I am going to hang

up on you. You are trying to put me in trouble.

The phone went dead. A few days later he made good his 'promise' to sue me

and The News and some other news organizations. But, in truth, his troubles

are just beginning.   People like him have no business in the sanctum of

government simply because he has friends who give no scruples.

Nigeria must be reclaimed from this cartel of crooks!

NB: Saharareporters and The News magazine have collaborated on a Jimi Lawal

story to be published on Sunday, February 05, 2006. Read it all on our

website:  http://www.saharareporters.com/