Recently, the definition of the personality and persona of Itse Sagay 
has been of great concern, particularly with his so much euphoria of “legal luminary and intellectual giant”, hence, the ode of his “unearned” degree of a great Law book writer and academic. The question now follows:
Between his texts and his thoughts, which is the real Sagay? Better put, between his book and his being, WHO IS THE REAL SAGAY??? Again, between his words and ways or between his academic works and his activities today, who is the real Sagay? Some once asked, between his old convictions and his current confessions, who is the real Sagay???
We will find these answers in due course.
Surely, Sagay is now torn between corruption and mundane politics;
the Head of Presidential Anti-corruption Committee, has revealed a dual or you may call it split personality?
Taking a cursory look at his activities and his actions, I am forced to say that Sagay may be battling with which identity portrays him best. This may not be divorced from his recent outbursts or public outrages against anyone who goes contrary to his wishes, although where we may find horses, ostensibly on our behalf.
This level of attrition is very disturbing particularly giving that a man may be becoming a boy so fast in an intellectual height
During an interview with a reporter, published on Saturday Punch of December 26, 2015, Sagay made some representations that curiously foreclosed the Buhari anti-corruption war in a very corrosive manner, when asked about the integrity of some of Muhammadu Buhari’s ministerial appointees who were alleged to have embezzled state funds and these were the words of the great Anti-corruption committee chairman and adviser to Buhari:
“You see; if the PDP says something is good, know that it is bad. If the party says something is bad, know it is very good. PDP is the most corrupt institution this nation has ever seen. The President is a very intelligent man, knowing they were trying to deprive him of the best hands to run his government, he quietly allowed the PDP to fool itself. After it had finished fooling itself, the President went and took the best and the best, which are the likes of Fashola, Amaechi, Dr. Chris Ngige, and the others. The Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, was the best minister in Shehu Shagari’s government at the time. The President picked a galaxy of stars as his ministers and we are going to see results. So he did the right thing. He knew those people were up to mischief, so he just quietly let them fool themselves and at the end, he did the right thing. They will do great things for this country”.
This by itself is desperately commendable of an anti corruption adviser who forgets when Buhari declared that no one with corruption stigma will be appointed into his government.
When asked that a lot of APC members today joined from the same PDP which he described as corrupt. So what difference is there between them?
This was his response:
“We have an upright leadership that would not tolerate that kind of indiscipline so they would not have access. We have a leadership that is upright and in very strong control of what happens”.
By the foregoing, Sagay investitures all corrupt persons as Saints as long as you are with Buhari. This reminds me of Bruce Fein’s Open Letter to Muhammadu Buhari sometimes last year.
Meanwhile, The Integrity Group had petitioned Muhammadu Buhari GCFR along with the EFCC, ICPC, SENATE etc against one Rotimi Amaechi who was governor of Rivers state until May 29, 2015 over his undenied embezzlement of more than 70 Billion Naira and diversion/criminal enrichment through secret sales of state owned assets with documents to show.
The Senate had referred the matter Ethics and Public Petitions committee which recommended that Amaechi Rotimi should not be screened for ministerial appointment due to the petition from the Integrity Group and being that the issues raised according to them were in court.
These were the prejudiced vituperations of the great Sagay, the anti corruption committee chairman and adviser on the matter:
“They should be discountenanced. They are rubbish; they were done out of what Nigerians call ‘bad belle’ to prevent this government from performing well and it was a vindictive action against innocent Nigerians who have served this nation very well. There are very wicked, thoroughly despicable characters, who do not deserve anything positive in this country. There were some characters behind it who wanted to drag the country down and prevent Buhari from giving the best government that Nigerians deserve.”
This aspersions raises credibility questions on Sagay and the government he may be representing.
when asked on how Fashola allegedly spent N163m on two boreholes in Lagos among other allegations. So if such petitions are not investigated, how do we know that the allegations are spurious or sponsored by the PDP?
Sagay in his response, gave Fashola a clean Bill of right when he said
“We are talking of people’s records; these are people with solid records. And if you look at the whole environment and atmosphere, they were about to be made ministers and a group of very corrupt people wanted to stop them. That’s all. This was because they didn’t want people of high capacity, ability and commitment to be in this government. It was an attempt to scuttle their chances to become ministers; that was the main purpose behind it. You cannot investigate every person based on an allegation that was made; there must be a basis”
THE QUESTION IS WHAT BASIS AGAIN PLEASE??
This is very unfortunate particularly when a man who is acclaimed to be more knowledgeable than many others begins to disparage the institution that is deemed sacred and thus scuttles the course and processes of justice with its outcome thereof. Surely his aim is to blackmail the institutions of justice as he Sagay now has the patent right to christen anyone as corruption free. After all he is the adviser on Anti-corruption.
HOW THE JUDICIARY WILL SUFFER FROM SAGAY; it is my view that Sagay should resign or be sacked because he has no confidence in the primate judiciary which is very instrumental and strategic in the acclaimed anti corruption war. He has shown that his recommendations should be preferred to the judgments from Court and that it is only those against Muhammadu Buhari that are corrupt. What a paradox? The questions now arises whether Sagay is fighting a political party opponent corruption or government war on corruption.
Surely this is not good for the Anti-corruption Head of state whose pursuit has been anti corruption battles.
Sagay got heightened during a press interaction when he impressed about Rivers and Akwa Ibom supreme court judgement “that the rulings, which allow people who were declared winners without elections in spite of copious evidences of irregularities and heavy human and material casualties, set a dangerous precedent in the history of elections”. Sagay Here was proposing or rather suggesting a preferred judgment to the supreme court. After all he taught them in school.
He stated further “The judgements are very perverse, particularly relating to Akwa Ibom and Rivers. Everybody knows that there were no elections in those two states” EVERYBODY?
According to him, “Everybody knows that people like Wike climbed into the governorship seat over dead bodies and over bloods of human beings. There were no elections, they wrote the results; the evidence is there,” he said.
The question is, why did he cite the said supreme court authorities is his cases and books. It is seen how he insults Rivers people and Akwa Ibomites, particularly all those who got judicial justice. His words are very grievous and most unfortunate.
This is a man once revered and highly esteemed having made several publications and written books that most lawyers today read in school. Those who were privileged to study Law in Nigeria will never deny reading Sagay on Law of Contract and Family Law among others.
I repeat and ask again: When Sagay said “Everybody knows”, who was he referring to? Did he vote in Rivers state? Has he become more knowledgeable that the Justices of the supreme court? At what point did the bar become more knowledgeable than the bench? At what point did lawyer become more knowledgeable that the Law itself? At what point did ministers in the temple of justice become wiser than Their Lordships and Justices…
Sagay has just contemptuously insulted the Justices of the supreme court, the judiciary and the only hope of the common man; not only Rivers people either, he has also committed affront against the political rights of free citizens beyond the partisan fray, ostensibly on our behalf.
The import is that according to Sagay, the people’s rights have become bloody and murderous rights. It is one of the most grievous assault on societal sensibilities. It is no less a most desperate move that amounts to sheer political patronage on his part, the more reason HE SHOULD RESIGN.
In his further comments referring to the Justices:
“So I think their orientations are different. I think the older ones who are gone believed that justice was number one. In such a case, you ask where does the justice lies? They now interpreted the law in line with justice. This alone disqualifies him in his current position so as to see if a few more persons can attempt to believe in the Muhammadu Buhari anti corruption war.
Very importantly, these carnages from Sagay against the supreme court Justices continue to resound the need for Sagay to either resign now or be sacked and leave the scene NOW for Buhari’s big dreams of anti corruption to have some respite.
He should be reminded that the Supreme court has spoken and there is nothing to add. He must not progress further in the wrong direction.
To this end, giving that Sagay no doubt has no confidence in the judiciary, particularly the way he has dragged the learned Justices to the cleaners throwing caution to the wind, a man who should have led the path of honour has already discharged and acquitted some while others are automatic convicted. This indeed is dangerous as well as repugnant to natural, equity and good conscience.
In the words of Austin Tam-George, Itse Sagay has become the apostle of claims without facts in his popular “EVERYBODY KNOWS” Theory. Yes I do not envy Sagay, but truly on this matter, “everybody” may agree, I hold that everybody who is concerned will not dispute the fact that as long as from the advise from Itse Sagay to Buhari, the judiciary is not held in confidence, and whereas only those who follow Buhari are saints as christened, all attempts by free citizens, whistle blowers etc, to spotlight corruption particularly against those in the current kitchen cabinet under this dispensation, may end up as an academic exercise because in the eyes of Sagay and in his words, it is all “BAD BELLE”.
ITSE SAGAY SHOULD RESIGN OR BE SACKED!!
Sign: for The Integrity Group
Livingstone Wechie
Executive Director
