How did Nigeria go from potential Regional Power to “ Fantastically Corrupt” in less than a generation before our eyes? Now denied visas where Nigerians got red carpet, suspects where Nigerians were welcomed and ridiculed where Nigerians were trusted. It is so bad, Nigeria has become the butts of jokes in Africa up to the Presidential level. Aware that many Nigerians are watched closely, professionals in high places abroad would not dare touch or accept cash.
Nigeria is not the only rich country in Africa but once foreign international corporations explore and get interested in the loot of war interest, they disguise themselves as dogooders coming to help the gullible gain political power. Too many Africans tolerate a bad leader from their ethnic group, no matter how corrupt, but not a good leader from another ethnic group. They are stuck in their delusions that only a member of their ethnic group can raise their standard of living.
The tolerance for looters is so high, even when they are convicted at home or abroad, their people welcome them like heroes returning in victory from war fronts. Wild parties, coronations and elaborate ceremonies are performed for those who should face firing squads or life sentences as in other countries. Indeed, some of them are recircled back into political parties. If they are popular with an ethnic group, they can shop for Presidential tickets from any party.
Politicians, Militricians, Retired Generals, anyone running for political office or for appointment to juicy positions in order to loot, must ask for the blessings of these kingmakers. It’s a competition to get hold of the Honey Pot. They are willing to hire foreign financial experts, lawyers or Public Relations Officers, at any cost to launder unaccountable loot. Retired Generals constitute a special class that make or undermine the political future of candidates.
Many Africans and Nigerians in particular employ the services of foreign lawyers and financial experts to hide their loot in safe haven abroad playing the role of the Queen of Shaba or Mansa Kanka Musa by displaying stupendous wealth in millions and billions. It is mind boggling how so much money could be diverted to personal foreign accounts and pockets. Even worse, in most of these cases, avoid accountability at home or abroad by greasing the palms of passages.
Meanwhile, bandits and terrorists have joined them, demanding security ransom to get their share of National Cake. What is left are crumbs on the floor thrown to the hungry voters in small packages of food so that they can keep coming back for more before voting day. Call it stomach infrastructure, incentive or inducement to vote for a particular candidate. Hunger relief, even for a temporary period, reduced poor people to beggars, especially with a family at home.
Many folks in the community have no jobs and if they do, their wage is not enough to last until the following paycheck. International foreign corporations explore these communities to provide jobs in the illegal mines they capture. These workers make more money as illegal miners than most local jobs around. Original people in those communities are driven out by these bandits and terrorists faking Jihadists and Cruders to convert unbelievers to Muslims and Christians.
Africa honey pots attract human Bees in hot pursuit: as Bandits, Terrorists, Jihadists and Christians. Foreign explorers searching for the loot of war threaten to bomb communities back to the stone age with people as collateral damages. Wanton destruction of lives and properties is now in plain sight regardless of the so-called Geneva Convention Agreement. There is no more masking of intentions to destroy and mutilate women and children in order to gain control.
Indeed, we have gullible cheer leaders waving and begging Super Powers for action against their own motherland in order to gain political power. So they can control, loot the treasure and resources dry as part of their entitlement to National Cake. Most of these politicians have been in Power since their younger days to old and senile age. But claim they have not been in power long enough. Some have lost their minds but are still urged and manipulated by their handlers.
Meanwhile, attention of their citizens are diverted to political and ethnic suzerainty on who becomes the President, knowing full well these leaders hardly take care of them or build infrastructures that distinguish stone ages from modern communities they see all over the world. It is easier for these looters to hire online warriors to propagate audio noise, paying them peanuts in order to oppress their people.
It gets worse as social media is activated to propagate audio noise that has no basis in reality or empirical evidence to back it up. If they are not savvy enough, they are willing to employ a local crowd or foreign public relation partners to amplify fake causes or accomplishments to back up their candidates. All effort to gain power with the hope that all their expenses and much more will be recovered by looting the treasury dry.
Despite all the investigative reports that the bandits and terrorists displacing communities work for international corporations, using Muslim Jihadists and Christian Crusaders as cover in order to continually excavate their land for mineral resources; these gullible neophytes cry for Super Powers as savior. The same Powers international corporation control for funding their elections abroad. Even those who know better, are blinded by their short-term political gain for anyone from anywhere to install them as the President or Leader of their country.
Unfortunately, corrupt leaders have exploited ethnic emotional attachment to groups just to take their people for granted once elected or appointed into positions of trust. If anything, the history of Nigeria has demonstrated that those groups that ruled the country the longest have the poorest number of people in their region. Nigerians know this, yet they continue to cling and vote for their ethnic groups from President all the way down to their local government chairman.
