One of the things that define human nature world over is the element of greed. That lustful drive of materialism and vanity that is inherent in the breast of men. Whilst it is a common phenomenon amongst men of all creed and races from generations unto generations, it can also be said to be phenotypical in nature. Meaning, the greedy nature exhibited by a person or people of a particular place in time is a function and interaction of the enabling environment and the genes amongst other things. To show this, one can look at the case of a foreigner with the tendency of taking bribe but whose parent country does not condone such activity. This foreigner will be utterly surprised at how liberal and enabling the Nigerian environment is for bribery therefore; his genes and the Nigerian environment will interact to commit bribery. A reversal of positions with a Nigerian with the same tendency in that foreigner’s land will show hesitation before daring the bribery laws of that country. Whilst his genes creates the impulse to commit one, he would be wary of the impediment of the anti-bribery laws of that land.  However, it can be said that what constitutes the enabling environment is the interactions of the socio-economic and political situation of a place and the judicial system that place. In other words, a working democracy.

In Nigeria, the act of greed and being greedy has continuously been taken to a whole new height by successive governments and where there are cases of an incorruptible leader or government, they had either been felled by hot lead or being overthrown by greedy colleagues. When one imagine a typical hardworking 56 years old who slaved about half of his life working for just the basic necessity of life getting just over a million naira for his gratuity or pension. This is after he must have been subjected to a lot bureaucratic and frustrating bottle neck in trying to get his entitlements. A million naira is not bad you may say, but if you consider the socio-economic situation of Nigeria, you will understand that it is just peanuts. Now compare that to a sitting governor, who had only spent 5 years in office paying himself about 300 million naira as gratuity for his first term of office! This happened in a state where for 12 years of its existence, the standard of living of its people is rated poor even when compared to other states of the federation.

Am sure there are some retired state civil servants in Gombe who would have served donkey years in the old Bauchi state, then got readjusted into the civil service of the present Gombe 12 years ago, who are still without gratuity or have peanuts for one.

If one may ask? Of what service rendered did Governor Goje get 300million naira gratuity for? Is being the governor of a state make one the pay master general of that state? Are there no regulations as to how a governor’s term(s) of office is rewarded? Like the proverbial agama lizard, that congratulates itself after a jump, this agama lizard has not made any jump at all. He still has three odd years to go as a governor, am sure there are some projects sitting there lacking funds in Gombe state yet, the governor finds that not as pressing enough as his personal greed. This is just too much to take.

Even after we heard in the news recently that the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC) dissociated itself from the payments made by Governor Goje to himself and his deputy, we must request the interest yielded by the funds should also be seized and returned to the state treasury. The law makers of that state should all be investigated and subsequently jailed if found guilty of any breach. For why they allowed Goje to practice his organized ‘kleptomania’ is incogitable. There is absolutely no reasons for Goje to pay him self such amount at this stage of his administration if at all. With this action of his, he reminds me of one who got wind of a future price hike of newspapers and magazines and therefore, went to buy a truck load to beat the price hike.

If one looks at the insanity with which these lootings are done, the manner of depravation exhibited by these officials, one should recommend total banishment of them and their clan from even seeing power talk less of holding one. When the country is in a logjam of Niger-Delta, when thousands of lives(including saro-wiwa and the other ogoni men) have been lost due to this logjam, when a once beautiful and peaceful city called Port-Harcourt, has now become the safe haven of kidnappers, terrorists and killers. When millions in that region feel the brunt of lack…that is when one without a single drop of patriotic blood in his body, thought it appropriate to use 800 million naira for sorcery! Sam Edem, a former ambassador, who was desperate to retain his current post of chairman of NDDC, deemed it fit to expend such amount for personal metaphysical gains. As a chairman of NDDC (Niger-Delta Development Commission), the word ‘development of the Niger-Delta’ should have been reverberating in his head. Instead, it was ‘greed’ that has been bouncing up and down his ‘all about me’ head hap hazardly. This is even the known one, how about the unknown ones? Quoting the editorial of the Guardian Newspapers of Monday 9^th of September, ‘we live unfortunately in a society driven by the forces of doubts and superstitions, as exemplified not just by the Edem case but also the Okija case of recent memory’.

Sam Edem paints a picture of the archetypical greedy lunatic of power. With several years of service, from one juicy position to another, one is forced to ask ‘what else did he want?’ if Edem in his position as NDDC chairman can afford 800 million naira for sorcery how much will be available for other people with juicier positions to do same? Or even fulfill their wildest fantasies .This is insanity at the highest order. For those who clamor for secession or resource control; this is your answer.  For it is not where the region you live in is, but what quality of leaders you have. If almost 10 years of democracy, every state in the country in the east, west north and south is being governed or ruled by its sons, yet these states and regions are groaning for development, then it shows even if Nigeria becomes fragmented today, this brand of ‘greedy’ politics will remain. Regions can not rule it self. It is people who do rule regions, control resources and people. Therefore, betterment of Nigeria is not a question of Odua, Arewa, Biafra or Niger-Delta associations. It is absolutely a function of committed, honest, transparent and trustworthy leaders.

It would be very unfair to say Nigeria can not be rid of corruption. Although we have had many reasons to say otherwise, the few moments Nigeria enjoyed discipline and successful anti corruption campaigns were when the governments of the day vigorously stood up with laws that many will argue was against human rights in the form of military decrees (which one can say is better in handling corruptors than the judiciary of the last 10 years because it served as a better determent). But with corrupt and greed friendly laws in place at the moment, the politicians are mocking Nigerians whenever they circumvent the law after each looting exercise. Terms like ‘plea bargain’ has recently become one of the tools used by this ‘sticky fingered’ greedy men and women. For some one to steal funds that can better a whole state if judiciously spent for decades in one sitting and then virtually go Scot free is not only damn straight in ‘your face’humilation of the common masses of Nigeria but also cruel an inhuman.

As partial as EFCC may have seemed under Ribadu, the few people the agency targeted with or without political motives really exposed the mind of the greedy men of power. Several of these ‘marauders in power’ dissipated from Nigeria immediately their tenure and immunity elapsed; only coming back when they sensed a continuum of the ‘enabling environment’ that helped fulfill their lusts. One of the ex- governors virtually cris-crossed the world just to avoid being prosecuted.

What we want is the disenabling the ‘enabling environment’ of corruption with tangible punishments that will equate the offence committed by all a sundry. To see these men in some sort of esteemed positions after being labeled as crooks extraordinaire does not do the Yar’adua Government or the overall image of Nigeria any good. It does not make any sense if the president declared his assets and his vice or any other top members of his government haven’t deemed it fit to do the same. It means the president is on one road while his entire government is on another. Having said, while we know weeding the nation off corrupt men and women is not an easy task? We also know that it takes more than rhetoric to wish it away. In other words, action speaks louder than voice.

Demola Adeniran.

Robot  # 1 | 11.09.2008 00:18

One of the things that define human nature world over is the element of greed. That lustful dri...Read the full article.