Now, they mock us.
They publicly mock us, as the most fantastically corrupt country in the world, because we washed our dirty linens on the pages of the newspapers. Sadly, ironically, it is the same ‘mother’, in whose custody, a substantial fraction of the ‘loot’ is stashed that mocks us loudest!
The Yoruba has an adage: Eni gbe epo l’aja nikan ko ni ole…. Eni tii o gba sile gangan, ni Baba ole! (It is not only the one who stole the palm oil, from the ceiling that is thief… Even the one, that assists the thief in ensuring safe-keeping, is the ‘fantastic’ Baba thief! ‘)
Nigeria was looted blind. But a substantial percentage of the loot is in the custody of our’ mother’!
If Charles Darwin were alive, perhaps the primordial instinct may get better explanation: the child steals, be it biro, pencil or crayons, and where does he take it to? Most often it is the mother!
Similarly, unscrupulous Nigerians loot the nation; and where do they first consider as a most favorable ‘Ali-Baba’s Cave’? Of course, it is Britain!
Some years back, a notorious, deadly and dreaded armed robber, Anini terrorized the people of Edo State, operating like the legendary Robbin hood, and making the Nigerian Police look like minions. One day, he was caught, everyone had one bad thing or another to say of Anini, except the mother. A news hound approached the mother and inquired while Mama Anini was still pleading for the life of the deadly rogue and he got the most remarkable response: “Eh… I can’t curse him o. I can’t curse him o. Anini is my son o!”
Perhaps, the truth is that the ‘orphan’ has no ‘brother’, ‘sister’ or ‘uncle’. So, how can the orphan have a ‘mother’?! What is more? Nigeria was even placed on the same footing with a failed State, Afghanistan!
In 1 Kings, 13 V 26; a big Prophet publicly mocked a small Prophet who was slaughtered by a mysterious lion: because it was only the Big Prophet that knew secrets of the small Prophet!
Perhaps, it’s only our ‘mother’ that knows the depth of our Secrets, the true and mind-boggling size of the nation’s loot in their custody. Which goes to imply that rather than fight them, we should plead with them, especially, towards ensuring that Nigeria can ferret out all the loots, including the ‘crayons’ and ‘pencils’, whether with or without ‘erasers’!
Now, that said and done, shouldn’t we also spare a little thought and time for the EFCC, which has ended up making a ridicule of a great country, called Nigeria, especially in its total lack of any discretion. One year into the life of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration, every Nigerian has been made to look like a common criminal, before the International community, even when the EFCC was yet to convict any ‘big fish’!
We thank the EFCC today again, as we have severally done in the past, for helping us to attract the country, the latest award of being the’ Most Fantastically Corrupt Country”. We have played and danced to the gallery, far beyond the scope and demands of an anti graft outfit, perhaps, probably to convince Buhari that we are indeed doing the ‘job’!
In the meantime, shouldn’t we also spare a second to understand how Government intends to contain the nation’s latest threat, the Niger Delta Avenger!
We thank the Government for hiking the fuel price! It is to make sure that Government acquires the financial muscles to repair the roads, put drugs in the hospitals, build more Universities and pay the lecturers!
In other words, like we have heard in the past, Nigeria would soon become a cherished Eldorado, following the new petrol price hike. Would that mollify or pacify the restive youths, in its true essence?
The frightening thing about this Avengers group is that they sound youthful, urbane, carefree and un-intimidated about issues of coercion. In other words, even when Government finally contains them, the havoc wrecked would be of gargantuan proportion!
Can we really afford it?
Pray we do not have to contend with Boko Haram in the Northeast, the Avengers, by whatever names, in the South South, the gallery playing EFCC at the centre, and the distracting fuel price protesters in the Southwest!
Now, how far can Armageddon still be?
We pledge our loyalty to PMB.. May the President live forever!
