I knew Malam Nuhu Ribadu was going to be in trouble with the Yar’ Adua regime sooner or later. He and one of his peers in the out-gone Olusegun Obasanjo regime, Malam Ahmed Nasir El Rufai, had assumed too much when they thought that a contraption that Obasanjo was leaving behind would stand.

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Obasanjo had virtually formed a cabinet for Yar’ Adua just before he handed over power to him.

It was obvious that, for instance, El Rufai was to be the Minister for Power and Steel. Ribadu himself had just been reappointed as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) a few days before Obasanjo handed over. In those final days, Ribadu, at a public function, disclosed that “we” decided that he (El Rufai) was the only person who could fix the power sector.

To further prove that he was ready for the job, el Rufai, who was put in charge of an ad-hoc cabinet committee to do something about the particularly bad situation of power supply in April 2007, came out with a glowing report of the committee’s achievements. He said they were able to recover a large number of megawatts for the nation.

The Obasanjo administration, you will recall, was famous for creating megawatts of electricity but not power supply. And El Rufai was already functioning as Power and Steel Minister well ahead of the swearing-in of the new President. He was already ministering before being nominated by the President and cleared by the Senate!

I believe this presumptuousness was chiefly responsible for Yar’ Adua’s decision to sweep the so-called Obasanjo musketeers from his government and to keep those already out (people like El Rufai) at an arm’s length. Yar’ Adua is acting very much in the character of typical introverted personalities.

Flamboyant, domineering and loquacious persons tend to irritate and threaten introverts. I tend to see Yar’ Adua like an Abacha. What he has done to “Obasanjo Boys” is very much like what Abacha did with some “IBB Boys” who delayed in switching their loyalties to him. People like Yar’ Adua are very capable of taking the kind of decisions that Abacha took over General Olusegun Obasanjo and Major General Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua, if it comes to that.

Nuhu Ribadu should go to school. Some have called his National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) course “a soft-landing”. It is. When he returns, he can still eye the position of Inspector General of Police.

But right now, I think Ribadu has made his contribution to the war on corruption. He was used by Obasanjo to fight political enemies, but he managed to convince many Nigerians and the world at large that he had the patriotism, passion and decision to give corruption a bloody fight.

If his bosses think he has become too controversial or out-of-control to be allowed to continue, fair enough.

The ball is no longer in Ribadu’s court. It is now squarely in President Yar’ Adua’s court. The nation and the whole world are watching to see how he plays it. One year from now, we will be in a position to say conclusively if Ribadu was removed to slow down the war or recharge it. We are giving Yar’ Adua the benefit of doubt, but we are watching.

Many people are not too amused by the fact that one of the touted replacements for Ribadu, Mr. Olayinka Balogun, is also coming from the Police. However, Balogun is another fierce, action-packed police officer, who established his legend when he headed the foremost homicide police command at Panti, Yaba in Lagos.

Today, he is in charge of the Anti-Fraud Unit of the Force. He is definitely a crack officer. If this job is to go to another Police officer, Olayinka Balogun is a square peg in a square hole.

HOWEVER, many Nigerians are hoping that the replacement for Ribadu should not be a public servant who will have the vulnerabilities that befell Nuhu Ribadu. It should be a well-known patriot of impeccable standing, who will be sufficiently independent-minded to implement the law without being hampered by undue political and bureaucratic entanglements.

I have a number of names that will fit the role: Col. Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (retd) Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (retd), Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) and Mr. Femi Falana. Of the lot, Umar will immediately restore confidence in the fight against corruption. He will be fair but firm. This war is a serious affair. Let Umar lead it!