Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014 and their families grieve on.
Governor Ajimobi should please to use his good offices with Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi and perhaps Minister Babatunde Fashola to solve any historic State Vs Federal political party quarrel/rivalry which created the failure of one half of the Sango Level Crossing and Sango/UI Road, a jinx that has lasted 40 years. Do people dig it up as they create many potholes every night for traditional practices? The 40-year Sango rail-crossing traffic jam caused by the uneven iron rail line/ road interface is like a plague on the dual carriageway bringing misery to millions. Perhaps the road maintenance workers are awaiting the governor’s directive to fill the potholes by the rail line? SOS!
We must install/empower institutions to curb leaders’ corrupt – politician, civil servant, contractor, citizen and ‘any uniform’ even anti-corruption agencies like the police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), State Inland Revenue Service (SIRS) etcetera. Why is it that Authority Becomes Corruption (ABC) in Nigeria? Why does ‘Authority = Corruption’ in Nigerian Moral Mathematics.
All Nigeria’s ‘A-Z Gates’ like Armsgate teach that the money was never government’s to ‘give out’. However government has no authority or right to misappropriate the commonwealth! These money theft crimes are mischievously called money-laundering to reduce the crime attracting a petty sentence of two years in prison no matter the ‘the laundry size’! This law needs reform but the lawmakers are mired in the quagmire of ‘questionable budget allocation and [ab-]use’. ‘Laundering’ suggests a cleaning exercise and thus a more palatable crime than stealing or robbery or ‘Financial Terrorism and Murder’, a more accurate description of the crime which kills women and children.
LAUNDERING IS ACTUALLY A THREE PART ECONOMIC CRIME 1) Conspiracy to steal from the Federal/State/ LGA citizens’ – Economic Terrorism. 2) Theft. 3) Diversion or exchange of stolen money, ‘laundering/ ‘WASHING THE MONEY’! CBN money cannot be converted to the property of the party, for political party activities, elections, gratification, inducement, publicity, prayers or parades. Stolen money should be recovered and returned to Nigerian workers as salaries and pensions, school texts for children, hospitals for women in labour wards, to fill the murderous potholes. Beneficiaries are receivers of stolen goods, knowingly or unknowingly. ‘Ignorance is not an excuse before the law’.
Members of 2015-2019 government must learn this new lesson, ‘KEEP PARTY HANDS OFF PUBLIC/PEOPLE’S FUNDS’ a lesson still ignored at state/LGA levels by all parties. Recovery of billions will improve the naira, provide funds towards the budget and reduce the deficit. It is refreshing to have a government fighting for and not denigrating the naira, not done since Buhari was last in office – ‘The Champion of the Naira’. On The Naira We Stand!’ Only Nigerians with dollars seek a toilet-paper dead naira. Bring ALL our stolen money back into the budget. We must frighten financial criminals with multiple ‘forensic accounting’ investigations of every government and private organ with government funds in it. Reduce extravagant imports, localize food and goods consumption to boost local business and reduce import bills. The Treasury Single Account (TSA) thankfully stopped the usual civil service December theft of billions in the traditional ‘End of Year/Christmas Corruption’!
We fight corruption and combat ‘legal extortion’ among draconian democracies at state level bent on ‘raising Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) funds’. There is a high ‘legal’ taxation and fees in some States where to get Governor’s Consent can attract severe fees. The taxes and contract kickbacks were mainly used to illegally fund multi-party electioneering across the country like at Federal level –‘State Armsgate’. The economy shrinks, naira falls but will costs go up or down to compensate? Will taxes go down, relieving citizens and capturing more taxable adults? A little from a lot is better than a lot from a few.
Nigerians have tightened their belts periodically for 50 years due to the serial greed and ‘failure to lead’ and ‘failure to save’ of a greedy politics and we suffer on. Our budget is a ‘Bulk Budget’ typically African, allowing ‘bulk theft’. Foreign budgets are in ‘line item’ minute detail making for easy identification of missing money. Government theft occurs worldwide, but Nigeria’s causes murder.
OBJ’s letter to NASS and by extension to state assemblies, the ‘Anti-car’ and irresponsible ‘anti-constituency allowance’ message is more important than the messenger who has questions about Third Term bid, Ghana Must Go bags, and election anti-democracy activities. Nigerians complained, NASS ignored us. Now OBJ is speaking, NASS talks back! Beware! THIS TIME OBJ SPEAKS THE MASSES’ MIND! Nigeria’s politicians may/will soon tear off togas, breath in to hide bloated bellies, leave mansions, bury fortunes and try to hide among hungry, angry –‘hangry’ unemployed and devalued masses who will throw their ‘legally illegal’ constituency empowerment items back in their faces! The masses are tired of waiting for ‘Politicians’ Attitudinal Change’, to follow the ‘Political Change’. The masses will gather at every house of assembly demanding ‘change’.
As government seeks to change the anti-corruption laws, introduce laws which 1) Force the accused to defend wealth or forfeit ‘wrongful wealth’; 2) The accused do not get bail if charged with ‘stealing from the public purse’ – equivalent to ‘murder’ and ‘Economic Terrorism’, 3) The guilty get sentences commensurate in length to funds stolen. As Nigeria squirms under the Supreme/Appeals Court Election Tribunal judgements seeming to support ‘Election Fraud/Violence’, guilty politicians/parties must be banned from re-runs for 1-4 years. Politicians/thugs in violent areas must be tried for murder, GBH- Grievous Bodily Harm or for altering elections.