Prof. Tam David-West was Federal Minister of Petroleum and Energy under General Muhammadu Buhari (1984–1985). He was later appointed Minister of Mines, Power, and Steel under General Ibrahim Babangida (1986). He was eventually removed as minister and arrested by the Babangida regime for allegedly contributing to the economic adversity of the country. Here's his account:
"All they said about the tea and wristwatch was a big lie and a fraud. It was tagged '$57m tea and wristwatch'. They should pray to God to forgive them because they sinned against an innocent person. If a Minister of Petroleum wanted to take a bribe, would it be a cup of tea and a wristwatch?
"The company in question is Stinness Oil Company, New Jersey, USA. The company had an oil contract with Nigeria during Alhaji Shehu Shagari's administration. When Shagari's government fell, there was an outstanding $157 million to be reconciled; not that the company was owing Nigeria $157 million. But Babangida and Aminu lied that the company owed Nigeria $157 million. It's a lie. The company did not owe Nigeria $157 million.
"When General Muhammadu Buhari's government came, he appointed me Minister of Petroleum in January 1984. We discovered that the last reconciliation had not been done. Buhari called me to discuss the $157 million and gave me a mandate to negotiate with the company so that we would reconcile and Nigeria would get its share. We negotiated with the company. I was not directly involved in the negotiation because I sent my team, including Aret Adams (then NNPC head), to negotiate with the company.
"The company finally agreed to pay $93 million or so to Nigeria as our share. But we were surprised that the company agreed to pay $100 million (after further negotiations). The $100 million was not paid during Buhari's era. It was paid when Ibrahim Babangida was in power.
"When Babangida came to power in August 1985, I was retained as Minister of Petroleum. Later, I was redeployed to the Ministry of Mines, Power, and Steel. I left as minister in 1986, and the $100 million was paid after I had left as minister.
"In 1991, about five years after leaving the government, the Babangida government accused me of accepting $100 million for Nigeria and keeping the remaining $57 million for myself out of the $157 million. In December 1990, I was summoned on a two-count charge to appear before a Special Military Tribunal. But they had made up their minds to jail me. I told the tribunal that Nigeria was lucky to get $100 million from the company because the company had previously sued Nigeria in the US, claiming that NNPC had broken the offshore processing contract with them. We contested the case in America. Yet, I was sentenced to life in jail. It was fraudulent, wicked, and sadistic.
"The company that gave me tea and a wristwatch was different from Stinness. But the government mixed up the two. The company that gave me tea did not have any contract with Nigeria. How can an oil minister take a lady's wristwatch and a cup of tea as a bribe? Stupid.
"On the company that gave him tea, he said: I met the president of the company that gave me the tea and wristwatch in Geneva. The company's president invited my team and me for dinner. I was not the only one at the dinner. I was there with my team from Nigeria. All of us were served cups of tea. The dinner was held at the restaurant of the hotel where we lodged. The company's president said he wanted to have an oil contract with Nigeria. Then, I asked him to negotiate with my team so that my team would report the outcome of the discussion to me. I insisted he must come to Nigeria to open the negotiation. The company was in Geneva, and Stinness was in Vietnam.
"The following day after the dinner, my manager, public relations, Alex Nwokedi, brought a packet for me, saying it was from the man who had given us dinner the previous day, as a safe journey present. We were about to leave Geneva for Nigeria that day. Honestly, I'm saying this on my honour as a Nigerian, as Tam David-West, and as a Christian. The packet was opened before my team. It was a Piaget lady's wristwatch; maybe he meant I should give it to my wife. The company's president did not contact me again, and he did not come to Nigeria.
Born August 26, 1936, David-West died on November 11, 2019.
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