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[email protected] Toronto, Ontario, Canada

ANNOUNCE THIS ARTICLE TO YOUR FRIENDS

AN OPEN LETTER TO SIR BOB GELDOF

have followed your crusade and humanitarian work focused on setting the people of the Third World, Africa and the poorest nations on earth free from "debt slavery". I also share your concern that "should we fail on the days leading up to Gleneagles, it will not only be a shameful failure, it will be a glorious failure". Your new project, the Live 8 concert scheduled to take place in 9 cities around the world on July 2, 2005 and meant to challenge the eight richest nations of the world to write off the debt of poor nations, provide more aids and be fair in their trade dealings with African nations is another testimony of your interest and desire to eliminate poverty from the world. Your first Live Aid project in 1985, which was geared towards alleviating starvation and hunger in Ethiopia, was very successful. The current program has taken and is still taking so much of your time, money and energy as you move from one nation to the other in Europe and liaise with other organizers in Canada and the United States. With Bono, that great friend of the poor and crusader working with you and others, there is hope that change will come and poverty, hunger and disease will be eliminated from the face of the earth. Most people around the world are proud of you and share your determination, zeal and dedication. However, I am sorry to say that there are some people in Africa itself and a few in the West who are not happy and will do everything to frustrate your work and distress Bono.

The most notorious enemies of the fight against poverty and hunger in Africa are military dictatorships and civilian lootocracies in the continent. I know the word lootocracy will be new to you, but it is from the word "loot", to empty the treasury, to embezzle what belonged to the nation and to steal all. My own homeland, Nigeria is today a lootocracy. The wealth from the nation's oil and gas is taken away in Ghana-must-go bags and moved overseas to the big banks, and in most cases, with the help of international banks in Lagos, Nigeria. In eight years one wicked and greedy maximum ruler moved over $1.3 billion to the United Kingdom. Within that same time span, the rogue, General Sani Abacha lost $30 billion (equivalent of 4050 billion Naira) to fraudsters in the West while trying to move Nigeria's oil dollars to Europe. Before him there was another gap-toothed crook and dictator who spent Nigeria's money like money was going out of fashion, and brought the national vault from our Central Bank to his palace. During the first Gulf War when Nigeria made a windfall of US$12.4 Billion the General Ibrahim Babangida junta squandered the money and has been implicated in the Christopher Okigbo panel report that reviewed the activities of the Nigerian Central Bank during those heady days.

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Nigeria is under a lootocracy as civilian leaders in the legislative, executive and judiciary share the loot and impoverish over 100 million fellow Nigerians. The ruling Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) of President Olusegun Obasanjo condone looting and reward party officials and members who have been caught with stolen money. What is the point of working so hard to fight the G8 nations to write off debts while some yam heads are building new debt burdens? At our National Assembly, in fact I call it National A-shame-bly, only one thing can get your bill passed and that is cash. They know how many Ghana-must-go bags of N500 make N5 million and nothing more, nothing more is important to them. If you do not speak the Ghana-must-go language, then you are not welcome. It does not matter what and who the bill is meant to serve, help and deliver, the Ghana-must-go bags must be complete and be delivered on time. Failure to deliver the bags of naira in good time may attract interest payments form our legislooters. We are unfortunately held down and impoverished by legislooters, but are hopeful and patiently wait the day Nigeria will be lucky enough to have devoted, selfless and committed representatives. We are tired of legislooters and rodents and crooks that eat right before the very eyes of the owners, the helpless citizens of Nigeria.

The United Nations and the World Bank were absolutely right not to group Nigeria among poor nations because we are not poor; our poverty are made in greedland by the selfish illiterates among us who think only money makes a man, and consider money the only solution to their problems. Even as we move closer to election coming up in 2007, the gap-toothed and gifted looter is anxious to return and to bring back the untold hardship he put our people through for eight years, hardship that are still fresh in our memory. Let me warn you not to move near Nigeria's capital, Abuja. The place stinks to high heavens with the smell of new mint dirty deals, corruption and embezzlement. The powers that be there live in over decorated and over furnished glasshouse with the best home improvement materials Europe can offer, but across the nation poverty spread its wing like and overwhelm the land and the people. Most Nigerians are jobless, hopeless, hapless and hurting badly while the rigmarole of legislative and executive robbery goes unabated and with perfect impunity.

I wonder if it will not be important for you and Bono to also support the effort to locate and expose the accounts of corrupt African leaders, particularly members of Nigeria's legislootive council, the state governors, federal ministers, state commissioners and those take-all directors at our federal ministries, and the long train of special assistants, senior special assistants, and presidential advisors. We are a nation of highly corrupt leaders and you don't want to fight to get our debt forgiven only to have to start another debt forgiveness fight in a few years from now.

Mr. Geldof, our state governors are moving state treasuries overseas and running the state accounts like their domestic purses, and the expenditure voted for governor's office or even our presidency are higher than what goes to hospitals and schools. There is the need to work relentlessly to prevent banks in Switzerland, the Cayman Island, the United Kingdom, the United States and Bangkok from accepting stolen money from African leaders. It is not possible for any single individual in Africa to claim that he owned and worked for $10 million. He is either stealing from government or his employers, or he is a giant in the advanced fees fraud/drug rings.

In essence, I am saying that as much as we need debt forgiveness, we also need to make sure that all loopholes are blocked to prevent African leaders from pilling up new debt burdens on their people. You may not be aware but it is true that African leaders including Nigeria's self-appointed leaders borrow money for gargantuan projects from the World Bank and other international financial Institutions only to steal most of it and send the money back to some Swiss and European Banks. For years the late Mobutu Sese Seko ruled Zaire and loaned the state money to pay staff salaries! Mobutu stole so much and was ranked among the richest rulers in the world, yet Mobutu never owned a factory or any business other than managing the business of state. Emperor Jean Bakasa of the Central African Republic sat on a gold throne during his royal days, and today President Omar Bongo of Gabon is still running Gabon and its people into poverty while his family live in splendour and wealth. Some years back the Bongos had a birthday party and flew in Michael Jackson from the United States to play for the rogue first family.

Poverty in Liberia, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone have been worsened by warlords struggling for power, determined to control the mineral resources of those nations, war, and greed. Genocide and anarchy have been fostered on many nations and millions of people have been rendered useless, homeless, jobless and helpless, and such made poor. Ibrahim Babangida nearly ruined Nigeria and destroyed the civil society while eliminating the middle class. Robert Mugabe has recently introduced a scorch earth policy in Zimbabwe in an effort to get rid of the opposition and their supporters. Since April 1980 when Zimbabwe attained nationhood, the people have known no other leader but Mugabe. The senile old man has nothing more to offer and should step down now.

Until so much is done to ensure that good governance and democracy is enshrined in Africa, the efforts being put into debt forgiveness will yield very little. The next battle after the G8 debt forgiveness fight should be how to block the steady flow of stolen cash from Africa from finding its way into the West and the Middle East. A major offensive against state-sponsored corruption and graft must also be high on the agenda. There are also multinational companies in Africa who are aiding and abetting corruption by the unethical way in which they do business. The big oil and gas multinationals from France, Italy, Holland and the United States have so much power and influence in deciding who rule most African nations. These companies corrupt the civil service and the armed forces of these nations and they use money to buy their way, to buy oil blocks, buy the rights to explore and exploit crude, diamond, copper, and gold mines. The multinationals encourage coup plots and fund it in Congo, Zaire and other parts of the Cooper Belt. However, with good governance and responsible/accountable democratic institutions most of the poor nations will be better positioned to build lasting and decent societies where people can build their lives and improve on their lots. The endless cycle of instability must be nipped in the bud if we do not want poverty to continue and the little funds available to African countries to go into weapons procurements and guerrilla wars

On a final note, it is important to thank you, Bono and the other generous artistes and musicians who are giving of their time, money and energy to help direct attention to the sufferings of millions of people around the world. Bono has been particularly great in his relentless work and effort. He has been here in Canada to put pressure on Prime Minister Paul Martin to do more for poor nations apart from visiting many other nations, the European Union and international bodies, and has been actively and physically involved; rolling up his sleeves at road and farm projects in several African nations. You both have been great examples for humanity and your efforts are appreciated. Selflessness builds a better society and good yield more fruits than wealth. Thank you.