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Continued from Part III

f there were doubts before now in the minds of a few people about the kleptocracy going on right inside Aso Rock, the doubts were finally put to rest after the shakedown that took place right inside the presidential casino in Abuja last week. Many who have so far given Mr. Jonathan a benefit of the doubt - merely based on his pronouncements - now know better. They read the news of the donation of N21 billion to Mr. Jonathan with shock and bewilderment. Most Nigerians are now able to put some faces to the fronts and sidekicks working for and on behalf of Mr. Jonathan. Oronto we know, but we never realized that things have gone from bad to worse and that more fronts and sidekicks have been recruited to help with the raping of the nation. Fronting for people in authority is not a new thing in Nigeria; it was made popular by the military juntas of yore years, particularly the evil genius, Ibrahim Babangida and the looter cum monster, Sani Abacha. Using fronts to loot the nation actually became a way of looting state funds in the 1970s when the military governors were not able to leave their duty posts to travel overseas, so they needed fronts to move their stolen cash for them. There are several men out there today who are holding bank accounts at home and abroad and managing companies and businesses on behalf of the likes of Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha. Using fronts and sidekicks to loot the national treasury has now become a culture and a way of life, but Mr. Jonathan has taken the practice to a whole new level, which was the reason why the billions were flying all over the place last week at his campaign launch. At least four of the nation's banks are owned by people other than those whose names are on record as the owners; fronting pays big dividends for the sidekicks and their masters, and the same hold true for some of the oil companies Mr. Jonathan and his agent at NNPC granted oil blocks in the last five years.

Kleptocracy is the new religion in Aso Rock and the reason why large funds suddenly disappear into thin air, national treasury looted at will and corruption is now done with crass impunity. A pre-arranged and preplanned process, the shakedown inside the presidential casino confirms and validates the grand kleptocracy that is taking place in Nigeria. A few bold and daring fronts and sidekicks came out in the open, and proudly. These fronts damned the consequence, probably convinced that the election will be rigged and Jonathan will remain and continue to run the casino. They have been ordered by their master to come out in full force and to stick out their necks to justify the trust reposed in them as hired holders of stolen loot. But there have been cases where the front refused to give up the loot. Three British fronts disappeared with over $1 billion Sani Abacha entrusted them with and the death of a major front shortly before the June 12, 1993 election exacerbated the logjam and cost an emir his kingdom. There was even the Lagos born military governor who lost his cache of loot to a front who betrayed him, and the naval officer did not live long thereafter, but this time some of the fronts were called out in the open to deliver some of what they are holding in trust for their master. The future is bleak for the kleptocrat and the fronts. They are on the run now and what they are doing at the moment is part of running from judgment day and working hard to avoid the day of reckoning, and this is a race of their lives; they pant, breathing heavily and unsure of what the future holds or if they will be caught in the trap they set for themselves.

The responses from Nigerians on the series of articles about bad luck, illegalities, and kleptocracy has been concerns about tax filing and tax payment by those who contributed billions of Naira to Mr. Jonathan during the casino shakedown ride. Have the billionaires been filing taxes and paying their dues to the Federal Inland Revenue Service? What is the cumulative payment/deductions each of them has paid in the last ten years and have they filed to date? At least that figure should provide some trend and avail us some details about their wealth and the source thereof. It is also rational to conclude that the man or woman who donated a billion should have at least some 20 billion in his or her bank account before he/she would be comfortable enough to part with N1 billion. But if these generous donors have not filed and have failed to pay taxes in the hundreds of millions of naira to the tax man, then questions should be raised about how they come about such huge funds and the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) should be knocking on their doors and rushing to conduct a personal net-worth review of their estates. A net-worth assessment will look for and identify their houses, cars, yachts, personal jets, bank accounts, properties, and investments such as shares and interests in companies, etc. The net-worth will be used to determine their tax liabilities and they will be compelled to pay adequate income tax. It is an action we all expect Mr. Jonathan to direct the Federal Inland Revenue Services to conduct forthwith, but we know it is not going to happen - Jonathan being who he is and considering his refusal despite the law of the land to declare his asset.

Every big donor should be asked to submit himself/herself to a scrutiny by the tax regulator. The tax regulator should not wait to be told to do his work. The head of FIRS should by now be on the case of the donors. He should be reviewing their tax files to make sure that they have filed up to date and they have filed accurately, taking cognizance of their recent donation of billions of naira to Mr. Jonathan. Regulatory bodies are supposed to be independent and free of political influence. Being distinct and set up to carry out their functions without favour or influence, political intrusion or interference, regulatory bodies such as FIRS are bodies that ensure effective discharge of standard services, uniform enforcement, fairness and transparency. Considering the endless interference and distaste for accountability and transparency by the Jonathan kleptocracy, it is almost impossible for the nation to move forward and embrace development without the elimination of the current culture of greed, selfishness and corruption. With corruption in the driver's seat and kleptocracy a new religion to which Mr. Jonathan subscribe, it is now left to the Nigerian people to use their vote to reverse the trend.

We used to think the nation was bad in the early 1980s until we suffered through the 1990s, and then staggered through the 2000s, and now the nation is at the throes of extinction in the 2010s, waiting to be assigned the status of a failed state with Boko Haram in control of a reasonable land mass. The problem we face as a nation is a lack of leadership, a lack of sensitivity to the sufferings and hardship of the people, a reckless kleptocracy, and a clueless Mr. Jonathan, who smiles when the people are in tears, dance when the people are mourning avoidable loss of children, wives, and loved ones and displacement by Boko Haram, an evil group that is more organized than Mr. Jonathan's government. This is our opportunity to retake the presidential villa and restore it to dignity. We have a duty to kick out the casino manager and shakedown legend and his sidekicks from Aso Rock. Continued from Part III