Prince of Thieves

By Denrele Animasaun

“Don’t let the thief in your house, the first time was enough, the second time was a chance, the third time means you are stupid”- C.JoyBell

Last week, when I was speaking to my father and was bemoaning particularly on the state of the nation, I wondered in passing if there was any redemption for Nigerians at all. He simply and resolutely replied that as long as Nigerians have hope and faith in God, then the country will survive and it will be all right. I believe my father. I mean, why would I not? He has seen and experienced it all and I  also know that he sometimes gets irritated and exasperated at the shenanigans of Nigerians, but he never, never loses hope and so why should I? I needed a voice of reason in a world that is spiralling out control.

In the last couple of weeks, my faith in the future of Nigeria and Nigerians took some battering and I admit that it is hard to dig deeper while remaining positive.

I have to believe that it has to get worse before it gets better and I hope this is where the tide will turn for the better.  We do live in interesting times, if the Romanians could do it and pressure their lawmakers to tighten their anti-corruption legislation then there is hope for Nigeria and Nigerians. Never underestimate people power. There has to be conviction and will that Nigerians are deserving of change for the better.

Do not get me wrong, we have got to have that talk, we have got to understand why do we worship wealth and shy away from honest clean hard work?  It was not always like this; we were once very upstanding and decent people and for some reasons, we lost our collective moral compass. It is time to get it back and I am under no illusion that it is going to be easy but the option is no longer on the table; and, besides, look where it has landed us. We are better than this as a people. Our children deserve better than this. We, deserve better and if we know better, then we should do better.

My daughter, who is in her teens tells me that in her school in London, there is a common the Urban buzzword called 419 and it is often used to denote scam or fraud and of course, everyone knows its Nigerian connection. 419 has found its way into the urban ‘distortionary’ and it is nothing to be proud of. It takes the shine off many Nigerians who earn a clean honest living.

There are many Nigerians who work hard and have contributed positively to many fields and specialist, home and abroad but all that is negated by the level of corruption and the unheard of grand theft.

Only in Nigeria, when people steal millions and billions and these dishonest men and women in fine clothing are considered smart and feted by their community for as long as they can drop a few thousand Naira here and there for their supporters. These supporters, of course, they, in turn, wished that they could also have the opportunity to do the same. We have lost our moral compass. One thing for sure, robbing our commonwealth is not a victimless crime.

That wealth belongs to every child, woman and man in Nigeria! Being selfish is affecting every Nigerian, and it is unpatriotic. All the monies can transform Nigeria, more jobs, better schools, better roads, improved health care facilities, transportation and a much healthier nation. The greed of these extraordinary thieves has been the ruination of the country and if anyone tells you differently, then, they are the problem.  There is a saying that ;” when people have nothing more to eat, then all they have left is to eat the rich”.  So pardon me, if I  have to rehash old grounds but in the cold light of day, how do you explain how an individual in a trusted position own $9,772,800 dollars and another sum of £74,000 and entombed the spoils in a purpose built fireproof unit in a ubiquitous surrounding without rousing suspicion? This was cold and calculated. This was premeditated; and don’t let their fine clothing fool you; a thief is a thief is a thief. No matter how it is packaged. This really is the stuff of fiction but in Nigeria, sadly, this is commonplace. And if it was not for the tip-off, the EFCC wouldn’t have unearthed the gift belonging to Andrew Yakubu, that was in full view of the hustle and bustle of Sabo Tasha area in Kaduna.

This man thought of everything: it was a family affair; caretaker of the unit was his younger brother, Citrus Yakubu.

Then there is the case of Diezani and Justice Muslim S. Hassan’s judgment of a forfeiture for the funds identified as proceeds of crime. There is no other way of explaining this shocking level of crime. It is alarming and to think that even with in light of such hard evidence, some of these individuals continue to deny their guilt.  Many when caught, reckoned that if they give back the stolen money, they can be released and that it is business as usual. There has to be a deterrent. A disincentive that stops the urge to cart away money that belongs to the people of Nigeria.

Under the whistleblowing directives and reward incentive, there will be more and more of such cases coming through the woodwork and I suspect that Nigerians are in for a surprise.  There will be more canaries singing and denial of guilt from these thieves in fine clothing and I am sure they will suddenly develop amnesia and somehow, they cannot recollect how the money got into their possession. Whistleblowers have to be protected what are the structures in place to protect those who getting touch with authorities to report these million Naira hoarders, they have to be assured that they will be protected, that no harm will come to them, if they come forward.

Something tells me that lawyers are going to have a field day defending these miscreants in court. The trouble right now is the Justice system is broken, the process has to be quicker to process these people and time has to fit the crime. There should be quicker and stiffer custodial sentences handed to the accused so that it serves as a deterrent. Right now, the system has no teeth and the likes of Yakubu are allowed to get away. It is ironic, is it not, we hang common Criminals and celebrate bigger thieves, don’t we?

“As soon as public service ceases to be the chief business of the citizens, and they would rather serve with their money than with their persons, the State is not far from its fall”-Jacques Rousseau

 

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