Posted on 12/20/2006 4:35:16 AM PST by Libloather
Nigeria: Jefferson's Re-Election - What Impact On Atiku's Investigation?
Weekly Trust (Kaduna)
ANALYSIS
December 17, 2006
Posted to the web December 18, 2006
Isa Sa'idu
Kaduna
The Potomac, Maryland home of Nigerian Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, was raided on August 3, 2005 by the US Federal Bureau Intelligence (FBI) almost simultaneously with similar operations in the homes of Democratic Congressman William Jefferson of Louisiana. That incident prompted an investigation of the Nigerian vice president by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the reported behest of FBI, which is anxious to fathom Mr. Jefferson's links with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the Vice President of Ghana, Aliu Mahama, in connection with a number of international telecommunication deals.
Although he is technically the second most powerful man in Nigeria, Vice President Abubakar has kept a low profile in the last few months since his alleged link with the Jefferson bribery scandal triggered political manoeuvres within the governing People's Democratic Party (PDP) that could undermine his 2007 presidential ambition.
While Atiku Abubakar battles with EFCC and other investigative authorities in Nigeria to exonerate himself from the bribery scandal, Mr. William Jefferson, an eight-term incumbent, won re-election to the US Congress last Saturday in a battle against a well-financed fellow African American Democrat. He has been accused of taking bribe from a company that sought lucrative contracts in the Nigerian telecommunications market, but has not been charged with any crime and denies any wrongdoing.
Complete but unofficial election returns gave Jefferson, Louisiana's first Congressman of African descent since the Reconstruction, 57 percent of the vote while, Karen Carter, his opponent, had 43 percent. Carter was evidently unable to capitalise on Jefferson's bribery scandal, which has included allegations that FBI found $90,000 bribe money in his freezer.
The eight-term incumbent Jefferson was forced into the runoff against Carter when he failed to win 50 percent of the vote in the crowded multiparty primary. Carter had sought to become the first woman of African descent from Louisiana to be elected to Congress.
Jefferson's seat was one of the last unresolved midterm congressional races in the US, and he was in real danger of becoming the only incumbent Democrat to lose the election.
Carter's campaign spokesman and father, Ken Carter, felt that they had done all they could to compete against Jefferson, but regretted the "tone" of the campaign in the final stages.
"Race is all too often a factor in campaigns in New Orleans," said Ken Carter. "Here we had a candidate that tried to paint this young African-American woman as a pawn of the white establishment."
Jefferson, 59, drew widespread support from African Americans who were sceptical of the US federal government's motives in investigating him, including the backing of Mayor Ray Nagin and other prominent politicians. Their endorsement spoke volumes of his solid footing in New Orleans' politics.
He repeatedly suggested that the probe was groundless because he remained to be indicted more than a year after FBI raided his home in New Orleans.
The scandal divided the Louisiana congressional race along racial lines, an age-old dynamic in the city which has intensified since Hurricane Katrina displaced large numbers of African Americans and upended their demographic and political dominance. Running on a mixture of religion and populism, Jefferson managed to outflank Carter - who had raised nearly five times more cash for her campaign - by relying on his political wits and allies he has built up over his sixteen years in office. Despite the race being between two candidates of African descent, the election was defined by race as Carter drew widespread support from Caucasian Americans while those of African descent largely supported Jefferson.
Jefferson described his win as "a great moment" and thanked Almighty God for making it possible. He called for regional unity to focus on recovery from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina and bring back evacuees who are still scattered across the country.
In a concession speech Carter pledged to work with Jefferson, especially on the area's recovery from Hurricane Katrina
"I guess the people are happy with the status-quo," she said.
Jefferson's presence in Washington could be embarrassing for Democrats however who won control of Congress on a platform of cleaning up corruption. The incoming House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-California), had led a successful effort to remove Jefferson from the powerful House Ways and Means Committee as the probe unfolded.
Caucasian Americans who overwhelmingly voted for Carter in the primary and have been her most enthusiastic financial backers feared that a Jefferson victory "could confirm the city's image as corrupt and untrustworthy as it asks the nation to fund its recovery from Katrina."
City Councilman Oliver Thomas said that Jefferson's victory would make the recovery more difficult. "People are watching this election all around the country and I can only imagine what they are thinking," Thomas said. "It will be very difficult to go back to them and ask them to trust us with the money we need here."
Since Jefferson, the source of Atiku's investigation, is yet to be indicted, many political pundits in Nigeria think that EFCC would find it difficult to indict Atiku for any misdeed connected with the Jefferson bribery scandal.
He came to the city in the 1970s as a Harvard-educated lawyer from rural north Louisiana, the sixth of ten children brought up in a three-room country home. By 1980 he represented New Orleans in the Louisiana Senate. At 42 he became the first African American to represent Louisiana in the US House of Representatives since the Reconstruction.
The law firm Jefferson founded became the largest African American-owned practice in the southern states of the Union. He created a political organisation, the Progressive Democrats, which has fielded candidates for school boards, assessors' races, state legislature seats, and mayoral contests.
Before the bribery scandal erupted Jefferson had climbed to the pinnacle of the Democratic Party. He was a confidant of former President Bill Clinton, just as Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was President Olusegun Obasanjo's confidant.
The announcement of the Nigerian VP's involvement in the Jefferson telecommunication scandal coincided with President Olusegun Obasanjo's accusation of his VP and former close ally of doubtful loyalty, which many pundits see as the beginning of the power tussle between them.
Since Mr William Jefferson has won re-election in the United State of America, the mother of all democratic states, because of the failure of FBI to indict him, Nigerians and the world are keen to see whether Atiku Abubakar would fare as well - that is to say, whether the Nigerian authorities would allow the rule of law and verdict of the people to prevail.
Time - and the prospects of the 2007 elections - will determine the fate of the Nigerian vice president.
\ Technically it is an allegation that it is bribe money, but the author tries to make it sound like that it is an allegation that the money was found.
I think many of web scams may be coming from/thru US Congress, not Nigeria. Notice how quick Hastert was to blow a gasket? The FBI will not be permited to do its' job.
The fact that Jefferson was re-e;ected with the bribery allegation sends a reasonable question to the rest of the world about our moral center.
How can we claim to be the moral authority for the rest of the world when we are populating our Congress with thieves, liars and crooks of every stripe?
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