As the EFCC Chairman, I Never Took Files to the AGF
Mrs. Farida Mzamber Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, chaired the Economic and Financial Crimes between 2008 and 2011. In this interactive session with journalists, she speaks on her stewardship at the anti-graft commission, reveals
Your time at EFCC was enmeshed in many controversies, do you think this was because you are a woman or it just happened so?
I think, one, do I say I came at a wrong time; at that time I was not in the country, I was in Turkey with my husband and we just returned from that posting, and the Chairman at the time, Nuhu, was being removed amidst controversy, and that controversy rubbed off on me. The typical Nigerians thought I was gunning for the job.
The second reason was because I am a woman and many people didn’t want a woman in that sensitive position. Again some of them who knew my antecedent didn’t want this particular woman because in the force I held sensitive positions, I don’t suffer fools gladly and you know how women are, they cherish their reputation so much; many things that men can do for money, where they can even sell their mothers for money, women can’t do that. Those were the three reasons and people then went all out to ensure that I was not confirmed by the Senate at all, they did so many things. Eventually when I was confirmed, some of them told me to my face that they were giving me three months and during the three months, they receded to the background then started campaign of calumny against my person. They cooked up, garnished stories about me, stories that I was not connected with. You will recall at a time I asked if there were two Farida Waziris? It was so amazing and they did all of that so that I will be thrown out but the truth prevailed. You can deceive some people some time but you can’t deceive all of the people at the same time. I’ll tell you one example: I was fought locally, nationally and internationally; when they saw that I was working and obeying the rule of law – because the late President Yar’Adua, called me and said to me, ‘Farida, I don’t want Gestapo method, follow due process and the rule of law, we will give you the necessary protection and the wherewithal to do this job and remain focused.’ Anytime I was depressed (on the job) I always remember what Mr. President said to me and he gave me attention and access to the Villa, I was free to see him anytime that I needed to see him. A letter went out to the United States purportedly written by the Director General of the State Security Services, SSS, it was a voluminous report and it was titled ‘Security Report on the activities of Farida Waziri.’ You know if I am working in a sensitive organisation for my country and report on me was going out from my country to a foreign country it means I am a security threat to my country. I worked in the SSS before, we started the SSS, the Special Branch of the force moved to the Nigerian Security Organisation, NSO, on 15 Awolowo, Ikoyi (Lagos) before I went back to the Police Force so I know the working system, we had traces, and you must become a security threat to your country before reports are written about you… So I had so many challenges, it was only God that saved me and because of the support of late President Yar’Adua, a great, gentle man and a courageous leader. Even when sickness weighed him down he was such a great man, I survived it all because of his support.
Even when I went to the State Department I saw all of these things, it affected me somehow but I remained focused.
But was there any time when you wanted to just throw in the towel when you became so overwhelmed?
It was very difficult for me, I am a human being, my family stood by me, my late husband and my children stood by me, they gave me the support that I needed. And then there were some patriotic Nigerians that knew what was happening and encouraged me to carry on, but above all, it was Mr. President. He was wonderful to me. One day he called me and said to me, ‘Farida, you have to be careful, you have enemies;’ I said to him, I know. Then two weeks after somebody went to him and told him things about me, and when he called me and told me all that the person had said, I collapsed and started crying. I was uncontrollable because it was too much. Then he said to me, ‘Farida, I told you somebody told me all of that about you, did I tell you I believe them?’ I said to him, ‘Sir so you don’t believe them,’ and then I wiped my tears; so it was that bad.
When I went to the United States, I went to the Department