FEATURE ARTICLE

Wednesday, January 4, 2023
[email protected]
Atlanta, GA, USA
NIGERIA AT 64: IT’S STILL ORGANIZED BANDITRY (5)

“Some state governors in the oil rich Niger delta command budgets bigger than entire West African countries, yet traditionally, after they have spent most of the money on their helicopters, limousines, and Glory lands, together with gangs of hired thugs at election time, there is little left over for anything fancy like schools or hospitals” (The Economist, November 14,2009)

any, many years ago, my leader, mentor and super hero, the great Ken Saro Wiwa, posited that what goes on in the name of government in Nigeria is nothing but “organized banditry”. And this holds true to this day. By the way, it would amount to a monumental fraud for anyone to say that Nigeria today is a democracy. What we have in Nigeria today is a bunch of thugs who have seized power from the people through rigged elections. And when they get into power, they go on a looting spree, with impunity.

General elections in Nigeria are essentially a sham. The “winners” are for the most part, the biggest riggers. And the state governors who have the most money are the biggest election fraudsters. They are also those who have access to the instrument of violence and intimidation. The other day, someone said that the most dangerous institution in Nigeria today is INEC. It used to be called NEC (National Election Commission by the time I left Nigeria, some two decades ago. Then, someone tried to be smart and added a suffix, (I ) Independent to the original word. That's silly. It doesn't change anything. It's like Donald Trump, the world's number one pathological liar naming his social media platform Truth Social.

These elections are getting bloodier as the cutthroat competition for public office, for the sole purpose of getting access to the looting game, becomes intense. And as if we did not know that they kill to get ‘elected”, a state governor was caught on the phone advising one of his colleagues in another state, to kill as many people as he could, on election day., so he could win. Take a look at this caption: HOW I WAS FORCED TO SIGN RESULT AT GUNPOINT, BY RETURNING OFFICER. "A university don, Dr.Godwin Anvioro, Monday narrated how he was held hostage and ordered to sign an election result at gunpoint." (Vanguard, April 12, 2011). This is how elections are "won" in Nigeria. This is the sad state of democracy in Nigeria.

Given, the biggest treasury looters in Nigeria are the state governors; especially those of the oil producing states. They rule their states like emperors, as they collect the monthly allocation from the Federation Account and pocket the bulk of it.

Governors of the oil producing states have a glut of cash at their disposal. And instead of investing the money in developing the communities that bear the brunt of oil exploration and exploitation, they resort to large scale looting of their states' treasuries. And they are unaccountable to no one. The states" House of Assemblies, which in an ideal democracy, should operate as checks on the excesses of the executives instead, operate as stooges of the latter.

Oil producing states are looters paradise.

A poster child for treasury looting in Nigeria today is the former governor of Delta State, Okonwa, who has been accused of “misappropriating “ a trillion Naira allocation meant for oil producing communities in his state. The same governor has been ordered by a federal high court in Lagos to account for N200 billion education funds collected from Universal Basic Education Commission

No, my own state of Rivers holds the record for treasury looting in Nigeria. Meanwhile, no one in Rivers State has been courageous enough to demand accountability from emperor Nyesom Wike who, following the footsteps of Dr.Peter Odili became father Christmas of Nigeria, treated Rivers State treasury like his personal purse., helping himself with and dishing out free cash to whoever he pleases.

State governors, especially the ones from oil producing areas, are becoming more emboldened in flaunting their loots, as they spend public money like personal possession. They make unaccounted donations to other states. They are reportedly also using their state money to sponsor friendly politicians in other states. Rivers State governors are notorious in this area. From the days of Dr. Peter Odili, who became Nigeria's father Christmas for doling out Rivers State money to anyone that meets his fancy. Former Governor Chibuike Amaechi reportedly sponsored President Buhari’s 2019 re-election, as he was lobbying to be his vice president. Then came Governor Nyesom Wike whom his Senator friend in Kogi State recently revealed that he sponsored his gubernatorial election with hundreds of thousands of dollars ( of Rivers State money). Gov. Nyesom Wike later sold Rivers State presidential election to Bola Tinubu. Bola Tinubu as president, in turn rewarded Wike with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. And now being in the fold, Wike's past political sins, including the unprecedented looting of the Rivers State treasury, are now forgiven. So, Wike will never get an invitation from the EFCC.

Thieving state governors are being rewarded at the end of their tenures as they move on to become Senators and Ministers. And they continue with the looting game. In civilized democracies such as the United States and Great Britain politicians who are found guilty of corruption and/or theft of public funds are indicted and sent to prison. In extreme cases like China, they are executed. But in Nigeria they are eulogized and recycled back into the filthy system.

Meanwhile, Rivers State is missing patriots like the late Dr. Denni Dinma Fiberesima, who as Commissioner for Health remarkably rebuked the then thieving state governor Group Captain Ernest Adeleye, for dubiously inflating a budget proposal he had submitted for his ministry. Describing Group Captain Adeleye's fraudulent inflation of his budget proposal as "budget of madness" Dr. Fiberesima promptly resigned from his administration, in protest.

Members of Nigeria’s national Assembly are about the highest paid in the world. And this is going on when the level of poverty and suffering in the country is making international headlines. What a scandal? Yet, this scandalous high pay and insane perks of office does not stop them from embezzling constituency project funds which they are allocated to further fuel the corruption pipeline.

In Nigeria members of first families-their wives and children partake in treasury lootings, alongside their spouses and fathers.

Former first lady Patience Jonathan notoriously had a running battle with the EFCC as a number of properties across the country were linked to her.

Prominent among these according to the EFCC, is a N6 billion Abuja Plaza, Also, there were multiple bank accounts with hefty sums of money that were linked to Patience Jonathan.

In 2005, then US President, George W. Bush reportedly issued a query to President Olusegun Obasanjo, over a $22 million deposit found in one of the many bank accounts that Obasanjo’s elder son Gbenga maintains in the United States. (Daily Independent Online, Sunday March27,2005).

But how does this happen in Nigeria, that one can have access to the national treasury to loot, simply because your father is the president or that your husband is the president?

Of course, the biggest looters at the federal level exposed as of today, are the late wild beast, General Sani Abacha and the self-styled “evil genius” General Ibrahim Babangida; both of whom have not a single drop of crude oil on their land.

The BBC identified three main problems facing President Bola Tinubu, as: high unemployment, poverty and endemic corruption. Incidentally the first two problems identified are the products of the latter. It is because of endemic corruption that Nigeria could not establish industries to provide jobs for its teeming population. It is because of endemic corruption that Nigeria lacks an enabling environment like infrastructures that support economic development. This is the same reason abject poverty is ravaging the country. Rather than investing the huge oil revenue the country is reaping year -in -year out in economic development and creating jobs, the bandits in power resort to looting the national treasury for their personal enrichment. It is endemic and systemic corruption that is stifling economic development in Nigeria.

Instead of investing in building functional hospitals in the country, Nigeria political leaders allow health facilities to decay, so they can go overseas to seek medical treatment at a huge cost to the nation. It does not help that Nigeria of recent has been (s)electing very sick people who routinely travel overseas to seek medical treatments, as presidents. This is a combustible combination.

Nigeria's oil refineries are deliberately sabotaged and rendered out of service so very powerful and well-connected people in Nigeria could be issued import licenses to re import into the country finished petroleum products that were taken abroad for refining. Then the government would dubiously claim that the imported refined Nigeria petroleum products have been subsidized for the people. And this dubious fuel "importation" game continues to create a perennial fuel shortage crisis in Nigeria. A contrived fuel shortage that enriches the importation cabal as it compounds the pains of the already shortchanged Nigerian public.

Professor Tam David-West, former Minister of Petroleum, who blew the lid on sabotage of the refineries noted that the money being spent on importation of fuel into the country was enough to repair the existing oil refineries in the country or even build new ones. Yet, the only new oil refinery we have in the country today is a private one built by Dangote, that the fuel import cabal tried to sabotage.

The national power grid is deliberately sabotaged; so, contracts could be awarded to well-connected people to import power generators from China. And this has aggravated the air pollution generated by the fossil fuel industry in the country.

Public education in Nigeria is being neglected and defunded while for-profit private schools that rip off students from poor backgrounds, who cannot afford to travel abroad for quality education, are springing up everywhere in Nigeria.

Economic survival in Nigeria today is a soul devouring experience. Little wonder kidnapping for ransom and other sundry criminal activities are keeping the country on the boil.

Former US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton bluntly rebuked Nigeria leaders for their tolerance of corruption. She noted that corruption has robbed Nigeria of opportunities to lead Africa and indeed the world. Then she added “without good government even oil wealth cannot guarantee development”

According to former British Prime Minister, David Cameroon, fragile nations are those who are unable to provide basic needs such as education, healthcare, infrastructure to their citizens. By this definition Nigeria at 64, is a fragile nation, waiting to be torched off.

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