Opinion
The Crusader For A New Kwara By Ono Bobi
……..Sweeping Fraud out of Kwara
NEWSPLUS had no specific belief when we began publication, November 2018, except that our cause was JUST, was very strong and was winning more support everyday. Why? Our readers saw that we were poised to alter the narrative of past styles of governance in Kwara State.
We saw Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as a willing leader prepared to build a New Kwara, first by cleansing the land of fraudsters in government and create a level playing ground for capital and human development. His scorecard of achievements within seven months in government are testimonies that he’s truly the apostle and messiah to lead Kwarans to the promised land.
NEWSPLUS has over one year written extensively on the plague code-named Shonga Farms.
Our investigations and those contained in a book authored by Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, lawyer and a chietain of the Kwara APC revealed that SHONGA FARMS was an armada of human orchestrated fraud, the greatest of all frauds since the creation of Kwara State some 47 years ago.
In June 2019, I had in one of my articles, called the attention of Governor AbdulRazaq to the fact that as a crusader what will be our faith booster is the governor’s desire to carry out a forensic audit of the establishment, operations and current status of Shonga Farms, to enable taxpayers in Kwara know how their hard earned money had been managed or mismanaged by previous administrations in the state who nursed and midwifed the fraud-ridden project.
This reminds me what Marcus Aurelius said in his book, MEDITATIONS: “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” AbdulRazaq certainly is a good man who means well for Kwara and went ahead to pick another good man- Senator Makanjuola Ajadi to head a committee put together by the governor to unravel the mistery of the great fraud that is today associated with Shonga Farms, an agricultural business agreement between the administration of Bukola Saraki and some 13 Zimbabwean farmers.
We will not also forget the contributions of our brothers and co-crusaders of Kwara Must Change who have equally been playing a worthy role in the build-up for a New Kwara.
The report of Sen. Ajadi’s committee below reveals that the fraud resulting from Shonga Farms, is the unkindest cut that has been dealt Kwarans by the two previous administrations in the state.
The Report:
In 2004, during the administration of Dr Bukola Saraki, 13 displaced white farmers from Zimbabwe were brought to Kwara State to do farming by the Kwara State Government.
At the time, the farmers were simply referred to as Zimbabwe Farmers.
However, since their arrival in 2004, their farming project has been involved in crisis of ownership due to the involvement of the Kwara State Government.
While many Kwarans believe that the project was developed and owned by the state, the former administrations were giving contradictory explanations, leading to more questions than answers.
To unearth the truth behind the project once and for all, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq set up a committee to look into the project and many others.
In July 2019, the Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq constituted a committee, led by Sen. Makanjuola Ajadi, to review sales and disposal of government properties between 1999 till date, and one of the properties reviewed is the Zimbabwe Farmers project, now known as Shonga Farms.
How was shonga farms created?
The Senator Ajadi- led committee found that, at the inception of the project in 2004, 17000 hectares of land were forcefully taken over by the Bukola Saraki led goverment from about 33 villages of Shonga District in Edu Local Govt area of Kwara State.
When land was taken from those 33 communities, the owners and people of Shonga protested and resisted the forceful takeover of their ancestral land, but they were suppressed, brutally attacked and unlawfully arrested and prosecuted.
Additionally, apart from the forceful takeover of Shonga land, it was discovered that a lot of money was also expended by Kwara State government on the project and till date, the exact amount cannot be ascertained because all files related to the project have been carted away by officials of the past administration.
It is important to note that, the 17000 hectares of land forcefully taken from Shonga people were distributed to the 13 Zimbabwe farmers by government and they all registered the farms in their individual names as owners.
Meanwhile, all the 13 farmers did not come to Kwara with any money or investment. The government of Kwara under the leadership of Dr Bukola Saraki took care of all their bills, including building befitting accommodations for them.
The Kwara State government also gave them take-off grants in foreign currency, as well as sunk boreholes, provided steady electricity, communication gadgets and others.
We should also add that, in addition to the above cost incurred, government also guaranteed the farmers loan facilities with the Nigeria Agricultural Bank and Rural Development Bank to the tune of N650million.
Furthermore, the Bukola Saraki government also led the unknown farmers without any collateral to procure several other loans from 6 other banks, including Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and till date, the amount taken from these other banks is yet to be ascertained.
However, when the farmers could not pay back the loans they took, it was deducted at source, from the kwara State allocation.
This was so because, Kwara State government had earlier issued an irrevocable standing payment order to the office of the Accountant General of the federation as guarantor for the loans in event of a default. The amount deducted from Kwara State allocation was over N1billion.
Based on the above facts, it was clear that the Kwara state government is responsible for the establishment of the project and being solely responsible for its funding.
However, in 2007, from the Zimbabwe farmers, the project was turned into what is now known as Shonga Farms. The company, Shonga Farms Limited was incorporated with a shareholding structure.
Surprisingly, instead of Kwara State government, which has been the sole financier of the project to be owner of the company, several banks were listed as shareholders as follows, Unity Bank (15%), Intercontinental (15%), GTB (15%), Bank PHB (15%), FinBank (15%) and Kwara State (25%).
From this shareholding arrangement, Kwara State is said to have only 25% of the company, with the remaining 75% being owned by banks.
Another major observation was that, out of the 13 farms earlier established in 2004 by the 13 Zimbabwe Farmers, 11 have been sold to other strangers not captured in the shareholding arrangement and those 11 farms were not part of those incorporated into Shonga Farms in 2007.
So, what we have as Shonga Farms today is just 2 out of 13 farms established with Kwara State money by the Zimbabwe farmers in 2004. The remaining 11 have been sold to others before Shonga Farms was incorporated and the entire worth of Kwara’s share in this enterprise, is said to be N420million.
It was also found that, the loans taken from the listed banks were also converted to shares, reflecting the 15% shares allocated to the 5 banks earlier mentioned.
To make matters worse, the exact amount spent by the Kwara State govt cannot be ascertained and all documents relating to this farm business have been carted away from the various ministries. The amount borrowed from the shareholding banks before they were converted as shareholders also can not be ascertained.
Additionally, even though Kwara State is said to own 25% shares as major shareholder of the company, no Kwaran is part of the directors of Shonga Farms. All those managing the farms are cronies of the former governor from outside the state.
From the above, it is clear that there is an urgent need to fish out all documents relating to Shonga Farms that have been carted away by men of the previous governments.
This would go a long way in unravelling the mystery behind the company’s dirty dealings.
It was recommended by the Sen Ajadi committee that the State Auditor General should be mandated and empowered by government to carry out a forensic audit of the company, in addition to overhauling its activities and all properties bought by Kwara State government but still in possession of erstwhile workers of the company should be retrieved.
Finally, should any criminality be discovered after the audit has been done, all those involved should be dragged to anti-graft agencies for prosecution.
Facts like pictures don’t tell lies. Living with integrity means not settling for less than what you know is the truth, speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Living with integrity like Gov. AbdulRazaq and Sen. Ajadi also means behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values.
Making choices based on what you believe and not what others believe. This is not an Ile-Arugbo story, Kwarans. A Ajadi like the Biblical Daniel has presented his verdict. All hail the journey to the new Kwara.
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