So, the Finance Minister rallied a crowd of reporters and declared we had been fleeced by fire…that seven hundred billion Naira went up in smoke because a dingy little office complex where an accountant practiced his iniquities and decadent morality was scorched.
How could we contain ourselves and sleep till dawn, while our golden flute in damp and dew lay forsaken and forlorn? Classic? Well it is. Vintage? Of course, it is. The words belong to Chinua Achebe…from either of his masterpiece: Things Fall Apart or, The Arrow Of God. I can’t remember where I culled it. Seven hundred billion in Naira is no small change. For those of us with limited math skills, we will keep it simple and not delve into the rigors of arithmetic, where geniuses of the science ply. We will keep it manageable…within the confines of our calculable skills, just so we can wrap our heads around this unending figures running the length of the Nile River. We will leave off the adjunct of numbers that will throw us off into wild tangents and risky, false calculations and conclusions.
Just on three hundred Naira for one dollar, we are breathing again, and the erstwhile forlorn, as-far-as-the-eye-can-see distance is at the very next bend. Now we see the size of this one theft carried out in one master stroke…in one fell swoop; I have the numbers, and it came out with the trimmings, claws and wings of a bald eagle…spanning the entire gamut of all money ranges, with the same strutting of a Don Juan De Marco chasing after a harem of women sitting idly on the pier. That is the genius of the people you and I have in power; the masters in the art of separating us from the coffers that hold whatever money there is to run the damned country. My opinion on Damned…
I have seen people fantasize on the virtues of good governance, touting foreign interference as the bane of the African, but never once did they mention the Beasts-in-Residence…the actual foxes guarding the hen houses in all of Africa’s money houses.
From my take, the figures are in the range of two point three billion dollars…enough money to fix any number of the decapitated infrastructures in this country of culturally divergent people…and of religious and social strangers. I have seen people fantasize on the virtues of good governance, touting foreign interference as the bane of the African, but never once did they mention the Beasts-in-Residence…the actual foxes guarding the hen houses in all of Africa’s money houses. They wallow pitifully in their flatness of points…inane, classical drivels that would never let the white man carry a lesser burden for committing an original sin…while they themselves have redesigned the precepts of newer versions of debauchery and malfeasance into the realm of mortal sins and sacrilege.
So, the Finance Minister rallied a crowd of reporters and declared we had been fleeced by fire…that seven hundred billion Naira went up in smoke because a dingy little office complex where an accountant practiced his iniquities and decadent morality was scorched. Fire they themselves lit. Did you ask yourselves what she was trying to tell us? Was seven hundred billion Naira, sitting in solid boxes inside the offices of this accountant? Remember; the story of ‘Burn Down The House To Hide Your Hand In The Money Jar’ has been done before. This isn’t just a sequel.
This is like a James Bond Film…and no matter how much dirt was piled on Bond, James Bond…he’d always find a way to get out of the jam. In this case, we are in a lock down with the same prostitute for sixty years, in a narrow, single bed, well, bedlam, with no room to practice our strokes and get this harlot from hell packing.
This is like a James Bond Film…and no matter how much dirt was piled on Bond, James Bond…he’d always find a way to get out of the jam. In this case, we are in a lock down with the same prostitute for sixty years, in a narrow, single bed, well, bedlam, with no room to practice our strokes and get this harlot from hell packing. You see, this lady of the night has flamboyance and wears the spray of Gaudy Seduction so well we couldn’t raise a ruckus to draw attention to the raucous screwing we are getting. And it is getting painful. And we have begun to look like the other woman…who is of a nicer repute…only she could never say ‘No’ because she wouldn’t want to piss us off and would rather lie compromisingly and do exactly what she was told.
WE HAVE BEEN SCREWED OUT OF OUR MINDS. The jigsaw, roiling images of horror before us is real. There is nothing we can do to change positions, and grant us enough room to catch our breaths to make that call to lesser perpetrators in the corruption and screwing game. These would be those with a little piece of humanity left in them…with a slice of empathy and compassion to leave us in the struggle for the crumbs falling off their effing tables. I have never seen this much pallid, non-action, shut up and be quiet kind of electorate. Nigeria is dead. Please, let me explain…because we could resurrect this land.
As an essayist, I have poetic license; meaning I can say whatever is in my mind that I believe would add to the dialog. I know you will disagree vehemently…and you are within your rights to call me names and defend the land you love so well.
As an essayist, I have poetic license; meaning I can say whatever is in my mind that I believe would add to the dialog. I know you will disagree vehemently…and you are within your rights to call me names and defend the land you love so well. You may not believe this; you and me are in the same boat. While I am hoping we could stir this ship in this one direction, you are doing the same, aiming for a different route. It is the lackadaisical attitude of the African man and woman that bothers me. The absence of resoluteness to grant this horribleness an exit…a protected exit…where they can go and spend their stolen billions and live out the rest of their days is what I am bemoaning.
♦ Professor Don Okolo is an Editorial Board member of the West African Pilot News
- Anambra 2025 Governorship Election Might Be an Open Contest - April 24, 2024
- Anambra Assembly Passes Bill To Prohibit Secret Cults - April 24, 2024
- 2024 Aguata NBA Law Week: AG, Prof. Ifemeje Touts Landmarks and Expectations - April 19, 2024
