The President of Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, Chief Akin Malaolu, has called for greater transparency over records relating to a past US investigation involving President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging prominent elder statesmen and national figures to speak publicly on the matter.

Malaolu made the call in a statement issued on Sunday morning, saying the latest development in the legal battle in the United States over records relating to the President had brought the issue back into the public domain.
He said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had indicated that the records being sought relate to a criminal investigation involving alleged drug-trafficking offences and that Tinubu was a subject of the investigation.
Malaolu, however, acknowledged that an investigation did not amount to a conviction or constitute proof of criminal wrongdoing.

He said the issue should nevertheless not be dismissed, arguing that questions arising from a foreign law-enforcement investigation involving a sitting Nigerian President raised concerns about transparency, accountability and the country’s international reputation.

According to him, former President Olusegun Obasanjo was in office when Tinubu served as Governor of Lagos State, adding that Nigerians were entitled to know whether relevant institutions had done everything within their powers to establish the facts surrounding the matter.

Malaolu also questioned Obasanjo’s silence against the backdrop of reported political alignments and speculation over the former President’s position on Tinubu’s possible 2027 re-election bid.

“Against the backdrop of reported political alignments and speculation over Obasanjo’s position on Tinubu’s possible 2027 re-election bid, his silence on the latest developments may inevitably invite questions about whether political considerations have begun to compete with principle,” he said.

He also called on Chief Emeka Anyaoku, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Professor Wole Soyinka and former President Goodluck Jonathan, among other prominent Nigerians, to speak on the matter.

“Where are Chief Emeka Anyaoku, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Professor Wole Soyinka, former President Goodluck Jonathan and other respected Nigerians who have consistently spoken out when they believed that the nation’s democracy, institutions or international reputation was at stake?” he asked.

Malaolu said the call was not for anyone to pronounce Tinubu guilty, but for transparency, accountability and credible answers.

“If the records contain nothing that establishes wrongdoing by the President, lawful disclosure could help settle the controversy. If legitimate questions remain, Nigerians deserve an independent and credible process through which those questions can be properly examined,” he said.

Malaolu urges timely action

Malaolu said the legal proceedings in the United States should not be treated as another partisan controversy that could be ignored until circumstances overtook the country.

He argued that Nigerians with the experience and moral authority to speak on matters of national importance had a responsibility to engage with the issue while there was still an opportunity for the facts to be established and debated.

He said Nigeria had witnessed instances in which difficult questions were ignored until they became more difficult to resolve.

Malaolu also cited the experiences of Venezuela and Panama as examples of how international legal and geopolitical developments could have far-reaching consequences.

He cautioned against predicting or wishing for any particular outcome for Nigeria or its President, but said it would be irresponsible to assume that nothing could happen simply because the matter was politically inconvenient.
“The responsible course, therefore, is to confront the questions now, rather than wait until controversy, embarrassment or potential consequences become more difficult to contain,” he said.

Malaolu said Nigerians had a legitimate interest in transparency concerning the President, while acknowledging that any disclosure of US law-enforcement records must comply with the law.

He urged Tinubu to support the fullest lawful disclosure of relevant information and provide Nigerians with clear answers to the questions that had arisen.

He added that if credible evidence ultimately established that Tinubu’s continued occupancy of the Presidency was incompatible with the standards of integrity expected of the office, the appropriate constitutional and political processes should take their course.

“Nigeria is bigger than Tinubu. It is bigger than Obasanjo. It is bigger than any individual, political party, ethnic group or political interest.

“The country cannot afford a culture in which difficult questions are buried beneath political expediency.
“Nigerians deserve the truth. Nigeria deserves accountability. And those who have earned the trust of the nation as voices of conscience must not wait until it is too late to speak,” he concluded.