Nigeria’s Fifty-four Thousand Leeches -By Kene Obiezu

 Nigeria is in going through a season where things are not really as they appear to be. There appears to be no end to the faltering of the Giant of Africa as it continues to take one disastrous step after another to put the country on the brink.
It is not just the oil thieves who are determined to strip the Nigerian economy to its bones, there are in public offices in the country who in   choosing to do nothing to justify the public trust they now hold are emboldening their would-be successors who are confident that they can continue the prevalent  tradition of nonchalance.

 If today Nigeria is confronted by a multitude of challenges, it is precisely because for many years the country has remained at the mercy of those who care nothing for it but are instead preoccupied with satisfying themselves, their families and cronies.

 It is people like these who have not only shockingly acted to savagely compromise Nigeria in many ways, but have also allowed Nigeria to be compromised under their watch.  The most odious thing about them is their lack of remorse and the fact that they would rather the buck which must stop  at their table is fixated elsewhere.

 Official opacity

Corruption in Nigeria did not begin today. The cankerworm has made a long journey to the place it currently occupies in Nigeria. If today it has come to stay, it is because during the slow but steady journey it made into the Nigerian psyche on the back of various military regimes and their civilian successors, it built up some perverse resilience along the way.

It is precisely for this reason that is proving so difficult to fight. In its determination to chew Nigeria to a pulp, it is not backing down.

 It has thrived in shadows deliberately created by the many syndicates formed by those who find themselves in positions of authority and use the opportunity to wreak maximum havoc on the system.

 A startling revelation

 Mr. Babagana Munguno the National Security Adviser recently revealed that the federal government had uncovered about 54,000 fraudulent payroll entries in its integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) as a result of whistleblowing.

 The startling revelation came during the National Policy Dialogue on Corruption and Security recently organized by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission(ICPC )held in Abuja.

 Also at the event, Mr. Bolaji Owasanoye, the Chairman of the ICPC revealed that about $15 billion had been squandered through fraudulent arms procurement deals in the country in the last twenty years.

  There is no telling how the distance Nigeria would have covered on its journey of nationhood was corruption not   so stubbornly fastened to its feet like clay.

 It appears that there are many of those who are benefitting from the fact that things are not as they should be in the country. These people who have taken advantage of the dysfunction in the country to feather their nests never wish that their cash cows are ever put away.

In many ways, they have been actively involved in sabotaging the system in Nigeria and compromising both the present and the future of the country.

There is no doubt that if Nigeria is ever to make headway, such people must be put away. If this is to ever happen, the law will have to be at its most active.

 Kene Obiezu,

Twitter: @kenobiezu