My dear friend and brother, Dr. Reuben Abati, I watched you and a colleague of yours by the name of Mr. Rufai Oseni interview a young man by the name of David Hundeyin, who apparently lives abroad and who describes himself as an “investigative journalist”, on your Morning Show last Tuesday.
The topic was on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his so-called links with drug business.
Whilst insisting that Tinubu was a drug lord, your guest did not answer the question that was put to him by Oseni.
Oseni asked, “On Channels Television last night Femi Fani-Kayode said 1million USD was returned to Bola Tinubu by the U.S. authorities after the investigation was completed and only 460, 000 USD was seized due to tax that was not paid on his investments. Is this true?”
This was a good question which for obvious reasons your young guest David refused to answer.
He could NOT refute the assertion and the FACT that the FBI returned 1million USD to Tinubu because he knew it was true.
He could not explain why only 460, 000 USD was seized and forfeited and he refused to acknowledge that it was seized for tax reasons.
Instead he claimed that the money that was seized was indeed drug money which is an allegation that the Americans themselves clearly and categorically REFUTED when they were asked about the matter by the Nigerian authorities.
Indicted
One Mr. Bonner wrote a letter in plain English on behalf of the American Embassy in Nigeria in which he said that Tinubu had NOT been INDICTED or CONVICTED of ANY crime.
This means that Tinubu was neither formally charged to court nor convicted by any court of law for drug or drug related offences or indeed any other offences at all in America after what I am sure was a thorough criminal investigation into the source of his funds.
He came out of it all triumphant, not wanting and with flying colours.
Instead of rejoicing that his compatriot was declared as clean as a whistle after such a rigorous and thorough criminal investigation, people like David are still attempting to convict him for a crime he never committed in the court of public opinion 30 years later.
They actually believe that they know better than the Federal Bureau of Investigation and that Tinubu is a dangerous criminal and drug lord even though the Americans have said clearly and categorically that there is NO evidence to suggest that this is the case.
Investigative journalism is one thing and I commend and salute the courage of those that conduct such investigations in good faith, with an objective mind and in earnest.
However obsession and the obsessive persecution of an innocent man borne out of bitterness, hate and envy and couched in the cloak of investigative journalism is quite another.
It is like the proverbial crooked, biased, corrupt, obsessed and, more often than not, sociopathic and mentally ill criminal prosecutor who is totally and completely obsessed with jailing his innocent victim even though he knows that the man has done no wrong.
David reminds me of the policeman by the name of Javert in Victor Hugo’s famous literary and highly celebrated masterpiece which was originally written in 1810, titled ‘Les Miserables’ who dedicated his life to attempting to jail the hero of the book, an innocent, humble, pious and reformed character with a kind and golden heart, by the name of Jean Valjean.
So obsessed was Javert with jailing his innocent victim Valjean that he ended up committing suicide after he discovered that had failed in his evil quest.
Frankly I cannot fathom how people like him sleep at night with their inherent wickedness.
Worse still after they tell such lies they label anyone that attempts to set the record straight and tells the plain truth with evidence proving it as either being ignorant or a liar.
How this young man can get on television and tell such lies about his own compatriots from a foreign land and with such conviction I just don’t know.
Obsession
His obsession with Tinubu and his family, at the very best, is simply uncharitable and at the worst it is savage and wicked.
Like the mystical character in Robert Browning’s famous book titled ‘The Pied Piper of Hamlin’, his sweet tongue and strange music leads to nothing but shattered dreams, dashed hopes, failure, loss, sadness, tragedy and destruction to all those that believe in him and follow him.
The question he needed to answer, which he conveniently refused to do, was simple:
“Why was 1million USD returned to Tinubu if the money were the proceeds of drugs?”
He had NO answer for that.
YES there WAS an investigation into the funds in Tinubu’s account approximately 30 years ago by the FBI.
YES there WAS a civil forfeiture of $1,460,000 USD PENDING the course of the investigation.
And YES after the investigation was COMPLETED, 1 million USD WAS RETURNED to Tinubu.
These are the FACTS!
No one can refute them.
The records are there for all to see but young David will not talk about that or show you those documents because it defeats and contradicts his purpose.
Questions
Now permit me to ask the following questions:
Does it make sense to suggest that the FBI would return 1million USD if it was drug money?
Would Tinubu not have been in jail for life by now in America if that 1million USD had been in any way linked to drugs?
The 460,000 USD was seized only as a consequence of the IRS claiming and asserting that he had not paid tax on his numerous American investments.
Tinubu chose not to challenge or dispute that claim and assertion by the IRS even though he was perfectly within his rights to do so and hence he willingly forfeited that money.
The seizure of the 460,000 USD had NOTHING to do with drugs or links to drug trafficking.
Rather it had EVERYTHING to do with tax and it was the IRS that claimed it.
The FBI investigated Tinubu for links to drugs and laundering drug money and they found NOTHING.
He came out clean.
Most of the money they originally seized was returned. The money that was not returned had NOTHING to do with drugs.
Tinubu is a clean, wholesome, hard-working and innocent man and those making these allegations are simply trying to derail his presidential ambition.
They are also filled with hate and they resent his great successes in life.
David told Arise Television that yours truly had lied but he was unable to say where, when and how.
Was it a lie that 1million USD was returned to Tinubu?
Was it a lie that the 460,000 USD that was forfeited was due to non-payment of taxes on his lawful and legitimate investments?
Was it a lie that Tinubu was not indicted?
Was it a lie that he was not charged or convicted?
Was it a lie that the Americans themselves said he had committed no crime and that he was never a drug dealer?
The answer to all these questions is a resounding NO!
I never told a single lie during the course of my Channel’s Television ‘Politics Today’ interview with Seun Okinbaloye when we discussed Tinubu’s so-called involvement with the drug business and the absurd assertion and notion that he is a drug lord.
It is rather young David that is the liar and not me.
If he has the courage of his convictions I urge him to come to Nigeria and repeat these lies and grave allegations here.
He should bring his so-called evidence with him and stop talking rubbish from the safety of foreign lands where he cannot easily be traced or held accountable.
He should be a man and stop running all over the world.
If he has something to say let him come home and say it here, on Nigerian soil.
Not in America. Not in the UK. Not in Canada. Not in France. Not in Ghana. Let him come here and say it!
And if he does I promise him that I will direct my Personal Assistant to challenge him to a nationally televised public debate on this and any other issue touching and concerning our nation and his young life.
NADECO
Here is a young man who said NADECO was a fraud.
Here is a young man who said that the seven-year heroic and bitter struggle against the military and for democracy in our country, in which thousands were killed, maimed, tortured, injured, traumatised, dehumanised, incarcerated, driven into exile and lost their loved ones, was nothing but a scam.
Here is a young man that had the nerve and temerity to describe the late Chief MKO Abiola, the winner of the June 12th 1993 presidential election and an authentic Nigerian hero and martyr, as yet another drug lord without providing any tangible evidence whatsoever to substantiate his grave allegation.
Outside of that his greatest pleasure and past time, apart from running down the Tinubu’s and the Abiola’s, is to slander, defame and libel high celebrity and hard- working people two of whom are dedicated, honest, sincere, brilliant and accomplished female journalists that have achieved great heights.
Do we need to pay any more attention to his irritating and disingenuous smear campaign all couched in the false claim of “investigative journalism?”
Aside from that, we know that he is working for a particular political party and presidential campaign council.
All this we know and when the time is right we will expose them all and show the world the type of libelous that young David and those that he works for really are.
Meanwhile we shall continue to focus on winning the election and not be distracted by this irritating nuisance and ranting ant with his implausible, sordid, unacceptable and nonsensical fairy tales.
Permit me to end this contribution with the following:
Many of us, including yours truly, were misled by the disinformation that we were fed with in the past and that were peddled over the years about Tinubu.
We actually bought the lie that he was indeed involved in the drug business 30 years ago simply because of the salacious and false assertion and baseless allegation of seized “drug” funds.
Sadly we only read the headlines and did not read the full story.
We refused to look behind the veil, dig deep and do our own research but instead we relied on the research and misinformation of others.
Simply put, we were fooled and unjustifiably blinded with rage.
We accused Tinubu of being involved in the drug business simply because we were not fully aware of all the facts of the case and neither did we care to dig deep and find out.
Thankfully we have now done that, we know better and we collectivity owe him an apology for assuming the worst and believing the lie.
Though unjustifiable and indefensible, it is nevertheless forgivable to erroneously accuse an innocent man of crimes he never committed due to a lack of real and proper understanding of the facts and issues in the matter under consideration.
What cannot be forgiven and is totally unacceptable is to continue to peddle the grievous lie and injurious falsehood purposely and with malicious intent once the truth has been established and unearthed and once the facts prove beyond reasonable doubt that the individual that was falsely accused is actually innocent.
This is a lesson that young David and those that share his world view have yet to learn.
He calls himself an investigative journalist yet he forgets the first law of journalism: that facts are sacred and opinion is cheap!
•Written By Femi Fani-Kayode
