Peter Odili sue BBC for Defamation of character

salstep · Nov 25, 2007 , 10:38 PM

[Yar'adua, Andoakaa In Fresh Bid To Protect Corrupt Former Governors] Sahara Reporters News, Interviews, Articles, Reports, Photos, Events and Happenings in Nigeria, Nigerian Newspapers

" Peter Odili, reputed to be one of the biggest money

launderers of the last eight years, has sued the British Broadcasting

Corporation (BBC) for “defamation of character.”

I no fit laugh. Here is a link to the episode. http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/pr.../ibru23oct.ram

Found article from daily trust.

Nigeria: Cecilia Ibru's Flippancies

The homely, comely motherly mien of Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, Managing Director of Oceanic Bank was violently ruffled last week when she appeared on the hard-hitting British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) programme, 'Hard Talk'. If you know the elite well enough, you would know that they are a predatory, carnivorous, clannish specie of mammals that hunt in small groups called families; occasionally cannibalistic while almost always devious. They are the 'They' in the common man's usage of common phrases like: "they are selfish"," they are wicked", " they are powerful", "they don't like us", "they don't care", "they are insensitive", "they are terrible" etc, etc.

In Chief Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, 61, one meets the quintessential Nigerian elite in its element. Her family founded and owns the Oceanic Bank, which at N213bn, is adjudged to be the most capitalized, and one of the fastest growing banks in Nigeria. Last week in what has become a suspicious routine with Nigerian banks, she collected an award for 'Banker of the Year' from a US-based quarterly publication called the African Banker with near-zero circulation in Nigeria, where Mrs. Ibru makes her money. Her position as MD of the bank competes favourably with her position as the matriarch of the powerful Ibru dynasty, the head of which is her spouse, Chief Michael Ibru, a former minister of internal affairs with interest in banking, oil and gas, shipping and publishing. Along with national icon, Professor Dora Akunyili of NAFDAC, Mrs. Ibru is one of the most recognizable feminine faces in the country today (our first lady, the bold and charming Hajiya T. is closing the gap very fast). By every account Mrs. Ibru would make a Dame in Britain, a celebrity in America and a socialite everywhere else.

So early last week this super-achieving lucky lady or lucky super-achieving lady decided to test her clout on the world stage by accepting to appear on the BBC programme, 'Hard Talk', which had been known to rattle even steelier males that had passed through its gritty gates. Mrs. Ibru turned out to be quite a revelation. If it was an oral examination she was responding to, the woman would either have come out with a distinction, or a flat 'F'; because she came across as someone who is completely ignorant of her own country, or else she understands it so thoroughly that she could, if she is so inclined, be able to find buyers of her own **** in any Nigerian market. Sorry about that, but you see, even late Bola Ige who first suggested that repugnant possibility could not put it any subtler ( check the introduction to Karl Maier's 'This House Has Fallen' ).

Predictably, the issue of corruption was the dominant subject in the program. In his preamble, Stephen Sackur, host of the programme was shown rubbing shoulders with Nigerians in a busy Lagos street; as usual, but not without good reasons, he summed up Nigeria as a country characterized by "endemic corruption and political failure". After the formalities, Mr. Sackur dared Mrs. Ibru to take a stand on the April 2007 elections. He wanted to know if his guest shared the (extreme) view of those Nigerians and foreigners who insist that for President Umaru Yar'Adua to be taken seriously, he must obtain a fresh, credible mandate from the Nigerian people otherwise whatever he does would be dented by the events of April 21, 2007. Mr. Sackur couldn't have asked a more delicate question; was he not aware that the private sector, Mrs. Ibru's principal constituency partnered actively with former President Obasanjo to undermine Nigerians at every turn including, and especially, in rigging of elections not only in 2007, but also in 2003? Anyway if his intention was to rattle his guest, he succeeded probably well beyond his expectation. Because Mrs. Ibru was obviously stampeded into producing the worse possible response. "Rigging" she said "is not peculiar to Nigeria, it happened in the United States..." Ugh! Even agberos (bus conductors), most of who live on less than one dollar a day have since managed to cure themselves of such mental debauchery. After reminding her that in America hundreds of citizens don't get killed simply because they wish to exercise their franchise, Mr. Sackur then asked the next logical question: if it happens in the US does that make it right? Mrs. Ibru then went blah, blah, blah.

Next came the inevitable issue of corruption. After playing hide and sick for a while, Sackur asked Mrs. Ibru directly if she'd ever had to give out bribe to get things done as she goes about running the 'most capitalized bank' in the country. "No" came the prompt reply; and if you are wondering whether she blinked or not, the answer is that she didn't. Even Sackur was momentarily stunned. When he reminded her that a recent Transparency International (TI) survey on Nigeria reported that at least 40% of those surveyed admitted to giving bribe at least once, Mrs. Ibru again produced another masterpiece: "I'm glad that you say 40%, and not 60%..." Then the Odili connection came up. To deliver his punch, Mr. Sackur took a very long, careful aim. "You are in partnership with the former governor of Rivers state, Dr. Peter Odili. Mr. Odili as governor once made a budget of about $1.5bn; used about $11m to purchase cars, $10m on gifts, bought two helicopters in addition to his own private jet; and yet you are partnering with such a man." You would think that this was enough to stump her, or at least make her flinch. But again she didn't. With a fixed smile, a straight face and a steady voice she responded by saying that Mr. Odili is no longer in power now and so partnership with him is okay. With barely restrained impatience, Sackur asked her what difference it made whether Odili is in or out of power now; wasn't Ibru aware that Odili is being accused by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of corrupt enrichment while in office? Again the bland smile, again the sheepish insistence that he was now out of office! Ha! Women are really, truly coming of age. All over the world they are dominating the news by the sheer force of their personality and audacity-just like their sons, husbands, fathers and brothers. In America for instance, Senator Hilary Clinton who turned 60 last week, is a virtual president-in-waiting; in Burma aka Myanmar, Ms Aung San Su Kyi, now defines the politics of one of the world's last bastion of brutal military dictatorship; in Pakistan Benazir Bhutto has emerged the most critical factor in that troubled country's political evolution; in India Sonia Gandhi quietly pulls the strings from behind the scenes while positioning her son as the likely successor to the current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh; against all odds Eileen Johnson-Sirlef is coping nicely in Liberia; in Nigeria a certain Mrs. Patricia Olubinmi Etteh has men not only eating out of the palm of her hand, but literally dying for her.

But back to Mrs. Cecilia Ibru. For those who have the patience to penetrate her dainty façade, she presents a rare window into the mindset of the regular Nigerian elite. Economists, political economists and historians are in general agreement that economic development is usually spearheaded by the elite class and powered by private capital by whatever means acquired: whether it is stolen public funds or wealth lawfully earned through entrepreneurship. So long as that capital is released into the economy and is controlled by a responsible elite class with the right attitude-education, discipline and patriotism-then it's only a matter of time before that nation achieves economic development.

In Nigeria there has been a long unresolved debate about whether a middle class exists at all. Resolved or not, the truth is that every Nigerian knows where he belongs: whether he belongs to the class of the rich, the poor, or struggling in between. Although many people are more inclined to argue that a middle class does exist, the very fact that there is a debate about that existence underscores its impotence. This explains why after nearly 50 years of independence and an estimated revenue of over $300bn, 70% of Nigerians still live on less than $400 a year, a doctor-patient ratio of about 1:5000, a literacy level of just over 50% in the most literate part of the country, one of the shortest life expectancy periods in the world, a burgeoning crime culture and an educational system that has all but crashed.

This is one reason why President Yar'Adua should take advantage of the rare 'window of opportunity' as provided by Mrs. Ibru. There can only be little debate that in her attitude, aptitude, patriotism, discipline, sincerity-or lack of it-Mrs. Ibru represents a very good specimen of the average Nigerian elite. In his drive to unleash Nigeria's potential for the short but difficult journey to be among the '20 most developed economies in the world by the year 2020',the President, whether he likes it or not will have to rely on privileged Nigerians such as Mrs. Ibru. Yar'Adua would have neither the time nor the powers to create his own elite (as Mr. Putin is doing now in Russia, and as his predecessor, Obasanjo unsuccessfully attempted to do ). His policies, his dreams, his vision, indeed his sincerity of purpose, which is his biggest asset would be at the mercy of an unscrupulous elite group that places itself and its interest above the nation and its people.

Thus Yar'Adua has a very big task ahead of him. A few weeks after assuming power the president was reported to have said that 'rule of the elite is over'. Perhaps he was misquoted or reported out of context, because the Nigerian elite have been an integral part of every government in Nigeria and are poised to remain so. It is difficult to imagine how any government can achieve economic success without the input of its elite class. What is more realistic is to, for once, refuse to allow the elite to subjugate government to their whims, as has been the case over the years. They should be made to pay their way and to complement government. As it is, a very narrow group has wrecked so many banks and government parastatals through unpaid loans, mismanagement and outright stealing; to those people government exist for them and their needs, its resources are not for development but instruments of coercion through which they try to control the rest of the society. In his own way, Obasanjo actually came close to neutralizing such people but along the way vendetta and hubris derailed him. Some of the people that opposed Obasanjo from the northern part of the country did not do so because of any sense of patriotism, or because they felt he was doing any general harm to the region; they opposed him principally because he cut off privileges that they had enjoyed as a birth right for many years. Now they are assembling again around Yar'Adua. His presidency would be defined by his relationship to those forces. At the moment many Nigerians are beginning to warm up to him. But then the sabotage, the smear campaign, the betrayal and the in-fighting have not even begun. For most Nigerians privileges simply don't exist, what they require is a level playing ground with government as an impartial umpire. This they want Yar'Adua to guarantee. And in this, so far, there appears to be hope. The trouble is, would the people around him permit him to see the real situation and advise him honestly so that he could respond appropriately? Or would the needs and the desires of the silent majority be determined by the smooth distortions of the so-called captains of industry who say what is calculated to please the government for their own ends? Has the President found a parallel in the way and manner a certain category of people are gushing praises at him now, with the way and manner the same group of people were praising his predecessor in the early stages of his presidency? Did he watch Mrs. Ibru on Hard Talk? Would he love to? He could still find it in the Archives of the BBC World website. He should give his critics as much attention as his friends. If he's lucky, he can locate half of the truth by hypothetically substituting one group for the other. The other half of the truth of course, is buried deep into the hungry vowels of the ordinary Nigerian, whose vote made up over 90% of the 24 million votes his party claimed to have won in the last election; the ordinary Nigerian with whom he has very little contact, if any. As a former teacher it would be nice to know how Mr. President would have scored Mrs. Ibru's performance on Hard Talk. Whatever marks he gives her he should spread it evenly among members of her constituency. The overall result is unlikely to guaranty Nigeria's place among the world's most developed economies even by the year 2090.

salstep · Nov 25, 2007 , 11:18 PM

Just watch the video, the woman is barely literate

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/pr.../ibru23oct.ram

Wind · Nov 26, 2007 , 12:46 AM

Originally Posted by salstep

Just watch the video, she woman is barely literate

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/pr.../ibru23oct.ram

Thank God you provided a link for that interview else people would have left here believing the hype. I watched that video twice looking for the hint of illiteracy you talked about above, and found none.

What I saw was an astute business woman who was being asked a lot of questions that should not have been directed at her , and she answered them as brilliantly and coyly as only a maverick politician would do and she is not a politician. I scored her an “A” for that interview.

She is the CEO of a company that is in business to make money, and the reporter is asking her to to lend money to poor people for free. H-e-l-l-o, that is not her job description to her share holders and depositors.
She is being asked to publicly criticize politicians who stole money. She is not a social critic never have been. She is business woman period.

She is being asked why she is doing business indirectly with Odilli. Last time I checked she is not the government and Odilli is a free man, and if the government does its job and lock him up, I am sure the only people he would be doing business with would be his cell mates in Kirikiri.

She is the ceo of a company that is in business to make money not a charity organization neither is it an arm of the government saddled with the responsibility of building infrastructure.
Interestingly, the Ibru Organization does do a lot of charity.

The Ibru Organization about 25 years ago I believe was adjudged the second largest private owned group in Africa next only to one company in South Africa.

You just need to make a 360 degree turn in Nigeria and you will see their fingerprints everywhere. They can actually point to their source of income. And probably one of the few mega rich families in Nigeria that could boast of being wealthy without stealing from government or corruption or thru government patronage.
Same cannot be said of the atikus, and the abiola’s of Nigeria.

So while it may be fashionable in some circles to criticize the rich, I think we do ourselves a disservice when organizations like the Ibru’s are being unfairly lumped into the class of the thieves out there. What we should rather be doing is challenge all the thieves out there to be like the Ibrus. Who created wealth and employed thousands and legitimately got thousands of Nigerians out of poverty and made a good number them Millionaires in the process.

As for the unfair or childish allegations of Illiteracy, where non exist, I am not here to defend the Ibrus, but surfice to say Doctors and other professionals come a dime a dozen in the greater Ibru Family.
You may just need to ask yourself, how come she is the ceo of a bank that started from scratch and now is set to be bigger than the traditional 3 (uba,firstbank..). go figure.

salstep · Nov 26, 2007 , 01:45 AM

You may just need to ask yourself, how come she is the ceo of a bank that started from scratch and now is set to be bigger than the traditional 3 (uba,firstbank..). go figure

@Wind,
You have obviously been drinking or an official spokesperson for the Ibru family. Your little rant above smells of yansh licking. All 9 paragraphs of your reply seem like a PR exercise to me.

We obviously watched different video. I expect a CEO of a bank to be able to string a sentence together. There wasn't a single answer that was articulately put together. If this is the standard of leaders nigeria produce, then the country is doomed.

BTW, she married into the Ibru family.

smartomoge · Nov 26, 2007 , 02:55 AM

Originally Posted by salstep

Just watch the video, the woman is barely literate

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/pr.../ibru23oct.ram

I have no idea whether the Ibrus are corrupt or not, but calling her barely literate is not accurate from that interview up there. You cannot let your personal dislike cloud your judgement. She is an intelligent woman, even if she may not be the most eloquent person alive. As for her take on corruption and other related issues, everyone but the most naive knows that big business has to dine with the devil called government. That obtains anywhere in the world. Truth is, there is not much she can do about most of the questions she was being asked. You do not become the biggest bank in Nigeria by not doing business with thieves. That may be a moral issue to you and to me, but to her its business.

But she is very literate in my opinion. Spoke well.

Meticulous · Nov 26, 2007 , 03:16 AM

Odili needs to just go bury his head in the sand!!

As for Mrs. Ibru, as I watched the interview I wondered who asked her to go on there? Did she think that "Hard Talk" was one of those kindergarten Q & A programs?

salstep · Nov 26, 2007 , 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by smartomoge

I have no idea whether the Ibrus are corrupt or not, but calling her barely literate is not accurate from that interview up there. You cannot let your personal dislike cloud your judgement. She is an intelligent woman, even if she may not be the most eloquent person alive. As for her take on corruption and other related issues, everyone but the most naive knows that big business has to dine with the devil called government. That obtains anywhere in the world. Truth is, there is not much she can do about most of the questions she was being asked. You do not become the biggest bank in Nigeria by not doing business with thieves. That may be a moral issue to you and to me, but to her its business.

But she is very literate in my opinion. Spoke well.

You are missing the point. No one is saying the Ibrus are corrupt. All i am saying is i expect better from the CEO of a Bank. She has no concept of the political arena, the banking arena or a simple question on micro banking.

When he reminded her that a recent Transparency International (TI) survey on Nigeria reported that at least 40% of those surveyed admitted to giving bribe at least once, Mrs. Ibru again produced another masterpiece: "I'm glad that you say 40%, and not 60%

Does the quote above sound like the sort of answer you expect from a CEO? Even my 12 year old son would give a better answer.

I have seen secondary school debating student speak better. Like i said before, if this is the level we expect from our leaders, Then God save us.

magma · Nov 26, 2007 , 11:36 AM

i think the title of the thread is misleading. Is author telling Peter Odili to sue the BBC? or is he saying Peter Odili has sued BBC?Where did the quote

"Peter Odili, reputed to be one of the biggest moneylaunderers of the last eight years, has sued the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)for “defamation of character.”

come from?

And why is 2 minutes out of the whole interview now the caption?

...the woman tried her best to answer the questions put to her ... is it a crime to be an elite? wetin them want?....make she for take her money share to the poor? she be politician?

mulan · Nov 26, 2007 , 11:49 AM

The interview was quite poor on the part of Mrs Ibru, her answers were unfortunately lacking in depth. Seems like she is not in touch with the Nigerian reality and is just the figure head as the CEO/MD of Oceanic. She should have known better than accept to take part in Hard talk. I am sure she was aware of the sort of questions to expect...

salstep · Nov 26, 2007 , 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by magma

i think the title of the thread is misleading. Is author telling Peter Odili to sue the BBC? or is he saying Peter Odili has sued BBC?Where did the quote

"Peter Odili, reputed to be one of the biggest moneylaunderers of the last eight years, has sued the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)for “defamation of character.”

come from?

And why is 2 minutes out of the whole interview now the caption?

...the woman tried her best to answer the questions put to her ... is it a crime to be an elite? wetin them want?....make she for take her money share to the poor? she be politician?

There is an article on saharareporters linked above. He is suing the bbc because of questions put to Cecila Ibru. see link again.

Odili sues BBC

Oru-Ama · Nov 26, 2007 , 01:45 PM

Cecilia Ibru? God will not forgive that woman for what she did to former staff of International Trust Bank Plc, which her bank Oceanic Bank acquired. One would think, that woman is a mother. Behind the comely motherly mien, lies a very wicked and unrepentant woman. Todate, the staff of the bank which her Oceanic acquired have not been finally settled. Cecilia and her Oceanic threw peanuts at them and told them to go jump into the lagoon.

As long as God liveth, that woman will pay for the suffering and hardship inflicted on families by her demeanted decision on former staff of ITB, together with a certain man called Iyabi.

Meticulous · Nov 26, 2007 , 02:10 PM

Magma, did you listen to the interview?

Did you hear when she said that "Thank God" 40% of Nigerians had a pay a bribe in the last 12 months as opposed to 60%?

There are a lot of eloquent women in Nigeria, BBC obviously won't go looking for those ones. They prefer to pick one like Ibru, to ridicule Nigerian women. Now this video clip will become yet another laughing stock for the Brits to use in degrading Africans - meanwhile Ibru has another "bragging right" to boast about when she meets with her friends... i.e. she was on the BBC.

Go figure...!!

Originally Posted by magma

i think the title of the thread is misleading. Is author telling Peter Odili to sue the BBC? or is he saying Peter Odili has sued BBC?Where did the quote

"Peter Odili, reputed to be one of the biggest moneylaunderers of the last eight years, has sued the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)for “defamation of character.”

come from?

And why is 2 minutes out of the whole interview now the caption?

...the woman tried her best to answer the questions put to her ... is it a crime to be an elite? wetin them want?....make she for take her money share to the poor? she be politician?

salstep · Nov 26, 2007 , 03:14 PM

Originally Posted by Meticulous

Magma, did you listen to the interview?

Did you hear when she said that "Thank God" 40% of Nigerians had a pay a bribe in the last 12 months as opposed to 60%?

There are a lot of eloquent women in Nigeria, BBC obviously won't go looking for those ones. They prefer to pick one like Ibru, to ridicule Nigerian women. Now this video clip will become yet another laughing stock for the Brits to use in degrading Africans - meanwhile Ibru has another "bragging right" to boast about when she meets with her friends... i.e. she was on the BBC.

Go figure...!!

I was going to ask how she manage to become a CEO? Then i remembered she is married into the Ibru family. I doubt she will get a bank clerk job in a different country.

salstep · Nov 26, 2007 , 03:18 PM

Watch Martha Karua - Kenya's Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, compare to madam Ibru.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/pr...karua27mar.ram

IZONERE · Nov 26, 2007 , 03:20 PM

Why would Mrs Ibru want to say anything negative about the current political disposition? Are you joking? That would be political and business suicide. No business person at that level anywhere in the world would make such utterances. Do you know who her biggest customers are? The Federal and State Governments.....
Whether she is elite or crayfish with bent back is beside the point. What is she in business to do? Who are her customers? Who provides a conducive atmosphere for her to do business? The interviewer had no business asking her those questions in the first place. She is not a politician but a business person. She can decide to do philanthropy if she wants to but she does not owe anyone anything. Not me, not you. She should have clarified what she would be prepared to answer before the interview.

salstep · Nov 26, 2007 , 03:25 PM

Originally Posted by IZONERE

Why would Mrs Ibru want to say anything negative about the current political disposition? Are you joking? That would be political and business suicide. No business person at that level anywhere in the world would make such utterances. Do you know who her biggest customers are? The Federal and State Governments.....
Whether she is elite or crayfish with bent back is beside the point. What is she in business to do? Who are her customers? Who provides a conducive atmosphere for her to do business? The interviewer had no business asking her those questions in the first place. She is not a politician but a business person. She can decide to do philanthropy if she wants to but she does not owe anyone anything. Not me, not you. She should have clarified what she would be prepared to answer before the interview.

I think u will find u are barking up the wrong tree. The issue is not about her political views. Its the fact a CEO can't articulately answer a simple question. HABA, una no dey read or listen?

IZONERE · Nov 26, 2007 , 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by salstep

I think u will find u are barking up the wrong tree. The issue is not about her political views. Its the fact a CEO can't articulately answer a simple question. HABA, una no dey read or listen?

But all the questions were political...What I see is a woman caught out. She wasn't prepared. Simple. That doesn't mean that she is not an articulate person. I bet that if she knew that guy would go in that direction, she would never have gone on that programme.

Toku.A · Nov 26, 2007 , 03:43 PM

Gosh, everyone has to speak on behalf of the corrupt officials. Were these politicans not banking outside the Country. Any hard talk with regards to the activities of such banks? Are corporate organizations supposed to be political or apolitical? I think on a whole we need to be able to separate business from politics and looting from Banking, but of course these banks have got social responsibilities.

salstep · Nov 26, 2007 , 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by IZONERE

But all the questions were political...What I see is a woman caught out. She wasn't prepared. Simple. That doesn't mean that she is not an articulate person. I bet that if she knew that guy would go in that direction, she would never have gone on that programme.

Since when did you have to go into an examination armed with the questions? There is a reason why the program is called HardTalk.
She was asked a few questions on microfinance. i don't recall her giving an intelligent answer.

BTW, the questions weren't political. It really was about Oceanic Bank helping serving politicians to loot the nation. Unfortunately.......she wasn't clever enough to pick on it.

Toku.A · Nov 26, 2007 , 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by Meticulous

Magma, did you listen to the interview?

Did you hear when she said that "Thank God" 40% of Nigerians had a pay a bribe in the last 12 months as opposed to 60%?

There are a lot of eloquent women in Nigeria, BBC obviously won't go looking for those ones. They prefer to pick one like Ibru, to ridicule Nigerian women. Now this video clip will become yet another laughing stock for the Brits to use in degrading Africans - meanwhile Ibru has another "bragging right" to boast about when she meets with her friends... i.e. she was on the BBC.

Go figure...!!

I think 40% is quite a number in the Nigerian context. Previously we would be having at least 80% having to give a bribe. That's the bitter truth.