NIGERIA: WHERE THE WEALTHIEST FARMLAND CAN BE FOUND
Sat Jul 23, 2016 09:41:am Editorial
4.3K By Buchi Obichie
Recently, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara,
revealed that looters of the treasury were now employing unorthodox
means to stash their wealth away, and hide it from the long arms of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
After the anti-graft commission disclosed not too long ago that national thieves were hiding money in unoccupied buildings, Speaker Dogara blew our minds, when he revealed that the EFCC was in the process of unearthing billions of naira hidden beneath a farmland on the outskirts of Abuja! How shocking!
Nigeria is like a woman who has been bloodily raped and left in the open. The nation is a breathing paradox hunger in the midst of plenty. Hunger for the majority, while a slim minority basks in stupendous wealth gotten by pilfering and squandering the national treasury.How can one man, with only one life to live, steal billions of dollars? So much money has been shipped abroad, that there is now a forex crisis! Individuals have gotten fat off the nations' sovereign wealth, with yachts sailing the high seas, private jets causing traffic in the skies, and emperor-styled mansions in faraway exotic locations. The nation has been raped!
The war against corruption is not one that can be won in 4 years maybe not even 10 but if the nation must take its first steps toward rehabilitation, it is a fight which must be waged- though not at the expense of other areas of national importance.The Nigerian problem of corruption goes beyond the ordinary. In this part of Africa, corruption is institutionalized in every area of society; but it is more pronounced in politics. And this is the irony of it all.
The public officer takes his oath of office, vowing to uphold and preserve public trust; but then, more often than not, he/she goes ahead to desecrate the office. How does a Governor amass billions in just a few months into his tenure, when the salaries of state workers are still pending? How does a Minister amass billions enough to purchase an oil vessel shortly before leaving office?
Nigeria is a walking anomaly where the world's richest housemaid can be found! A housemaid with billions in her account! How utterly flabbergasting! The white man must be laughing his head off, whenever we reach out to beg for alms AKA aid, we always do. He gives us the money, knowing that is is going into a few pockets; but he gives it anyway, because he is smart. He knows that it serves his purpose. Aid buys him leverage within a continent whose leaders are like the biblical Esau, willing to sell their nations' birthright for a plate of Porridge! We are our own greatest problem!
The fight against corruption must not be the sole focus of the Buhari administration- the nation cannot afford that- but it has to proceed. And it must be fought legally and justly.
When farmlands are unearthed for cash and individuals arrested, it is not enough that they are detained and paraded for the media- though the identity of this particular criminal hasn't even been revealed convictions have to actually come from the courts especially when such individuals are guilty beyond any reasonable doubt!
God help us that we do not pass this smelly habit of instituted corruption to our children. God help that from farmlands and unoccupied buildings, our children do not graduate to unearthing graves, and hiding billions beneath dead bodies!
After the anti-graft commission disclosed not too long ago that national thieves were hiding money in unoccupied buildings, Speaker Dogara blew our minds, when he revealed that the EFCC was in the process of unearthing billions of naira hidden beneath a farmland on the outskirts of Abuja! How shocking!
Nigeria is like a woman who has been bloodily raped and left in the open. The nation is a breathing paradox hunger in the midst of plenty. Hunger for the majority, while a slim minority basks in stupendous wealth gotten by pilfering and squandering the national treasury.How can one man, with only one life to live, steal billions of dollars? So much money has been shipped abroad, that there is now a forex crisis! Individuals have gotten fat off the nations' sovereign wealth, with yachts sailing the high seas, private jets causing traffic in the skies, and emperor-styled mansions in faraway exotic locations. The nation has been raped!
The war against corruption is not one that can be won in 4 years maybe not even 10 but if the nation must take its first steps toward rehabilitation, it is a fight which must be waged- though not at the expense of other areas of national importance.The Nigerian problem of corruption goes beyond the ordinary. In this part of Africa, corruption is institutionalized in every area of society; but it is more pronounced in politics. And this is the irony of it all.
The public officer takes his oath of office, vowing to uphold and preserve public trust; but then, more often than not, he/she goes ahead to desecrate the office. How does a Governor amass billions in just a few months into his tenure, when the salaries of state workers are still pending? How does a Minister amass billions enough to purchase an oil vessel shortly before leaving office?
Nigeria is a walking anomaly where the world's richest housemaid can be found! A housemaid with billions in her account! How utterly flabbergasting! The white man must be laughing his head off, whenever we reach out to beg for alms AKA aid, we always do. He gives us the money, knowing that is is going into a few pockets; but he gives it anyway, because he is smart. He knows that it serves his purpose. Aid buys him leverage within a continent whose leaders are like the biblical Esau, willing to sell their nations' birthright for a plate of Porridge! We are our own greatest problem!
The fight against corruption must not be the sole focus of the Buhari administration- the nation cannot afford that- but it has to proceed. And it must be fought legally and justly.
When farmlands are unearthed for cash and individuals arrested, it is not enough that they are detained and paraded for the media- though the identity of this particular criminal hasn't even been revealed convictions have to actually come from the courts especially when such individuals are guilty beyond any reasonable doubt!
God help us that we do not pass this smelly habit of instituted corruption to our children. God help that from farmlands and unoccupied buildings, our children do not graduate to unearthing graves, and hiding billions beneath dead bodies!
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