Impunity seems to have assumed a cultural dimension in Nigeria, because the big thieves are either honoured for plundering the nation's resources, or they are spanked with kid gloves. I am mouth-agaped that the infamous Professor Maurice Iwu of worst election history was still the consultant for election compromise strategies hired by Mrs. Diezani Allison Madueke, the Petroleum Minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Iwu was reported to have worked with Diezani's son and the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Okwonkwo, the compromised banker was given 115 million US dollars to be converted to 23 billion naira to be shared among the Resident Electoral Commission (RECs) of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) unknown to the then integrity personified Attahiru Jega and election monitors. The plot was that if the election was compromised, the election monitors would write favourable reports to back it up for the sake of credibility.
As it stands, the wind has blown, and the rumps of the foul has been unveiled. Fidelity bank has owned up to its conspiracy, some INEC officials have started singing at the net of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), and some of them have started returning monies to the government, but the Chief Consultant Maurice Iwu is on the run, he is too timid to face the law.
No wonder Diezani invited my senior, Dele Momodu, a celebrated columnist cum politician to her London home for "make-belief" cancer narrative to draw sympathy for the female rogue, and to bamboozle the countrymen into believing her innocence. It was Momodu's syndicated narrative on Saraki that made yours sincerely to yank the man off the radar of integrity.
Everyone has a price. Iwu has been declared wanted now. And I am confident he would be implored by friends to get in touch with Momodu for another pathetic narrative that would couch his story in persecution, because Buhari lost election under his leadership of INEC. Nevertheless, something is selling good now with the new sheriff in town.
Iwu is a masquerade handler who is in for a great of trouble this time. This masquerade handler is perpetually in trouble, for he set out two thousand naira worth of masquerade, and lost his cap worth of three thousand naira; while searching for it, the tax collectors arrested him and charged him for tax default to be settled for eight thousand naira. From this scenario Yoruba comes up with a proverb-"odaran moran, alaagba Ile Gbonmi, o se egun nain, o so fila egbedogbon nu, oniwe Ile tun mu".
The monumental corruption buried alive in the grave of poverty and wants in Nigeria has refused to give up ghost. "miraculously", the cases of heartbreaking stealing we thought would not see the light of the day are now staring us in our battered faces, and we are helpless that people do not know whether to fight or to resign to fate.
This is an interesting time in the life of Nigeria, and honestly, I don't envy the jobs of the President or governors, because the sprawling anger against the ruling class is not definable. Those who want President Muhammadu Buhari to run faster, not minding the "broken bottle" of treasury, "broken glasses" of national institutions, "nails" of beneficiaries of the old older, the scourge of rotten judiciary, the unscrupulousness of the "legislators", the unchanging attitude of those who crave for change and other vices, are angry with the President, because they have faith in him, and they want him to pace faster. Meanwhile, those who are affected by the anti-corruption battle are equally angry with the President at the way and manner their "scam shops" are being forced to close daily. And this is the dialectics of unity of opposites.
An interesting dimension is the way names of the children of "vultures" in government featured in their parents' sleaze. These corrupt few sent their children abroad to School on the government bill, bought eye-popping houses for them from government bill, they even allowed them access our collective purse to steal and monitor other thieves, because they wanted to be everywhere at the same time stealing. Whereas, they were asking the children of the poor to come and write job exam at stadia, where death was offered in return. That was the story of the yesterday's men.
Maybe, we do not know that N23 billion dollars could be used to pay Osun workers full salaries of ten months; perhaps, we do not know that the same amount could fix not less than 300 kilometres of roads in the nation; maybe we do not know that the same amount could give us some power turbines for generation of 5000 megawatts; maybe we do not know that 23 hospitals could be fixed with state of art equipment that would save thousand of endangered lives; maybe we do not know that the same amount could produce 500 employers of labour who could create additional thousands of jobs for the youth; maybe we do not know that not less that 50 universities could be fixed with the money. But, it is too late to cry now that the head is off, because our electoral officers and election monitors had already gone shopping with it.
Look, some people are still asking about the change promised by President Muhammadu Buhari, because they have not been given direct food, but how come people are not seeing the change in the way things are going bad for those who pushed the country to the edge? Maurice Iwu and Diezani must be brought to face justice. Of course, corrupt lawyers and SANs must have been dusting their filthy gowns and wigs to defend them on the mantra of rule of law, and their sponsored protesters must be preparing for dress rehearsal. All the same, we must salute the President who has created enabling environment for the anti-graft agencies to unveil this structure of corruption.
Butika is an intercontinental journalist.
