By Olusegun Elemo
No doubt, I imagine your smile at the title of this piece with much inquisition to read about the three thieves inside president Buhari’s cabinet. I was as greatly stunned as you are when I thought about them but the impetus to write on it was founded on the statement recently credited to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), especially in the heat of the ongoing probe of the diversion of state funds meant to procure ammunitions for the Nigerian Military. Although, I had since stayed mute, not wanting to comment on this ongoing development in the country, perhaps because of the euphoria of the prosecution and possibly our past experience with similar development.
Many have said this won’t be any different from the usual, particularly when the rake up began. They assumed it won’t be more than media trials as they taught according to a Yoruba proverb which says “who would dare put up a light to see the face of the tiger except the sacred one”? Unfortunately, President Buhari is not a tiger neither is he the sacred one, but he has beamed up a powerful searchlight to see even the face of the mother tiger. I want to use this medium to appreciate the audacious character shown so far by President Buhari and like I said to a friend recently that the only value PMB is adding to governance in Nigeria is “leadership honesty” born out of his hard earned integrity. I only hope, that integrity, honesty, sincerity, willingness or whatever you call it does not riddle out so soon. I’m aware some of you must have read about the “forty thieves” but the thieves here are no near forty, they are about three or more.
The PDP made a statement to show sympathy with their spokesman, Olisa Metuh who has now been brought to court twice in handcuff. His party, PDP said the leading party at the center APC, will not be there forever and what simply popped into my mind was; exactly! Buhari has lifted the platform for governance in Nigeria to a higher plinth. What the president is currently doing with the fight against corruption will at least teach future leaders how and how not to govern. Meanwhile this fight shouldn’t be seen as Buhari’s fight against corruption rather it should be considered as Nigeria’s fight against one of her biggest enemies.
My thinking since the $2.1bn arms deal probe began is that “had the PDP known” just as the bible also says “hath the prince of this world known”. In this case however, you wouldn’t say the PDP didn’t foresee what was coming to it as the party campaigned vigorously against the current president just to ensure he doesn’t come near power. PMB himself campaigned enthusiastically saying he will fight corruption to a halt and recover looted funds but as the saying goes, there’s hardly anything you can do to hurt a cause whose time has come.
The sharing formula for the arms deal funds is no longer news. The money traveled across regions, genders, parties and the likes. Surprises have been thrown up in the names of beneficiaries. What however astonished me is the cruelty of our leaders and the inhumanity in them which is an indication of the depth of decay that has been done to the fabric of our national life. That, children, women and men will be dying in their thousands in the northeast and national chiefs or sorry national thieves will be sharing our common wealth or that, soldiers and their camps will be unimaginably raided by insurgents and all that country leaders will be thinking of is how to win re-election. They even went as far as sentencing soldiers who refused to fight as a result of non-availability of weapons to death. Such brutality and unkindness is certainly of another world. This makes me to wonder where this bunch of devourers emanated from.
Nevertheless, what is clear in the current fight against corruption is that the judge will himself be judged and PDP has re-echoed that thought saying APC will not be in power forever with 2019 foremost in its agenda. I made a statement that every subsequent government will now steal with sense. The problem of Jonathan government is not that it stole monies belonging to Nigerians; the problem is that it stole senselessly and inhumanely. A leader who claimed his ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian but presided over the killing and displacement of thousands of his citizens by radicals due to his impiety, cluelessness and voracity. Each time I think about the 2015 elections, I always don’t want to imagine the former president winning re-election. It would have been a disaster. I believe the major reason Nigerians are still exercising patience is because the government is new and they possibly have some confidence no matter how little in the leadership of President Buhari. The people are also of the opinion that the president will at least curtail stealing to the barest minimum in his government. A move he has already initiated.
If the proposition of the current opposition is anything to consider, then the leading party will exercise due caution in every of its activities and any official who may decide to go the former way will definitely think twice in order words, his thinking twice will perhaps ensure active sense in all of his doings. To think that no one would steal under Buhari’s watch is to assume that no sinner ever comes to church. If our Lord Jesus could have one thief in twelve sacred disciples, then president Buhari will sure have at least three in his many “unholy” ministers.
Olusegun Elemo
Olusegun.elemo@gmail.com
Twitter Handle: @olusegunelemo
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