Like Governor Wike, Other Governors Should Dash Out Those Monies Before They Expire -By Abdulkadir Salaudeen

Naira redesign is the latest trending news. It reveals, the more, the reality of our politicians and moneybags and ‘what’ they worship, not ‘Who’ they worship. It seems they have stopped pretending that they worship God. What they worship is money. Then after money, their other object of worship is still money. They strongly believe (though wrongly) that the more they worship money the more they are powerful. This is childish. So, how powerful are these moneybags and how are they going to face the challenge of naira redesign?

Naira redesign has again brought to the fore the callousness of those we elected to lead us, but who chose to rule us as if they own us. If political leadership means a total absence of accountability and dishing out commands (rightly or wrongly) which must be obeyed unquestionably, this is obviously not the modern conception of leadership.

It is rulership in the primitive sense. This is the trait that best describes Nigerian governors—with perhaps negligible exception. How on earth would any governor, with a scintilla of sanity, lodge billions of naira in their houses in this age where the globe is going cashless? Nothing explains this insanity if not brash and conscienceless theft.

Naira redesign exposes the stench of illegally acquired wealth which is normally acquired for the vilest purpose. It is not entirely wrong to sock away money but money gotten from sucking the masses dry like a blood-sucking-monster can not, of course, be deposited in banks. It belongs to suck-away pits. Many of us must have seen some rotten money being freighted to a yet-to-be-identified destination. It cannot be taken to the bank because it is questionable. It can not be distributed to the impoverished masses because it saddens them (these looters) to see a reflection of joy on the faces of the masses which they hate unreservedly. They prefer to see these stolen money rot, in a worst scenario, just like the sight of rotten masses gives them relief.

Naira redesign, once again, stokes the eccentricity of some of our eccentric governors. Governor Wike quickly comes to mind. Governor Wike’s eccentricity is, to me, enigmatic. I volunteer to be a student to anyone who can explain some of his behaviors considering the fact that he is educated in the legal profession and should, ideally, be guided by the law. He attributed madness to himself when appealing to delegates to vote for him at the PDP primaries which he lost out to Abubakar Atiku some months ago. He said; “It takes a mad man to govern Nigeria.” He continued; “The energy in me is too much. I want to use the energy to work for the country.” I did not understand Governor Wike’s claim to madness and too-much-energy until he displayed it practically by increasing special assistants to 200, 000 (the highest in history) amidst pressures to pay workers salaries. He reportedly owes teachers in River State salaries for an upward of six years! Is it is a crime to be a teacher in Nigeria? Teachers’ conditions are terribly terrible virtually everywhere.

Naira redesign however would compel some of these governors and moneybags to spend their stolen naira (in billions) insanely in the manner they stole them. But do the masses stand to gain anything? This, I doubt. For the master plan of the stolen money is not to help the masses. The masses might rather suffer for the criminality of the thieving ruling class. For instance, staples and food items, meant for the masses, are being stockpiled in recent days just to channel their forced-to-spend money because it cannot be deposited in banks. This will, in the short run if not in the long run, create an artificial food scarcity. Already, prices of rice and grains are on the increase, yet in harvest period.

Naira redesign keeps some of these governors on the run without being chased. I don’t know if this is also madness. Many would have resorted to table payment of workers to get rid of those money but that will be too incriminating. But are these looters afraid of being libeled criminals? That is not their fear. Shamelessness makes one to willingly bear the ugliest name without compunction. Call some of these rulers criminals, they are good to go (they are not bothered). Their actual fear is the threat of by the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, who happens to be on their trail. According to him, three governors plan to stash billions of naira through table payment of workers’ salaries and the Commission is monitoring them. Every Nigeria is also keeping eyes on them. To be specific, Bawa mentions Governor Wike and two others from the northern part of the country.

Naira redesign has been said to have some political undertones. I don’t want to delve into that; that will be speculative. What is real, and not speculative, is the increase of special assistants to 200, 000 by Governor Wike as a ‘shrewd’ attempt to dash out money. I encourage other governors who might be having migraine and sleepless night on how to get rid of billions of naira they stashed into their houses to follow Wike’s model. They should employ hundreds of thousands of special assistants. These assistants would be employed, of course, not to do anything but to relieve these governors the burden of stolen money—at least for the time being. The question is: who will relieve them of the burden of stolen money before God in the Hereafter?

Naira redesign reveals the level of hunger in the country. Though we know this. Only our rulers pretend not to know. But Governor Wike did not hide this ugly reality. He said he will begin to implement his policy of stomach infrastructure. But this is coming only when he is left with about six months of his eight year tenure. It is not surprising anyway. Nigerians masses are reduced to hungry citizens who only need food. Even the food will not be provided except when the rulers are finding a way to get rid of some stolen wealth as is the case now.

Hello, Governor Wike! Now that all eyes are on governors who might resort to table payment of workers’ salaries, what is the next course of action?

Abdulkadir Salaudeen
salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com