By Johnbosco Udonwa | For Biafra Writers
July 11, 2018
Various reasons have emerged for the current massive stealing going on in the Nigerian government under the very watch of the self-acclaimed anti-corruption crusader, President Muhammadu Buhari. Biafrans who spoke to our journalists on the issue, explained that it was nothing new, but a usual practice in Nigeria during every approaching election year.
People believed that the massive stealing and re-looting of stolen funds in government under Buhari upped in the last few weeks as a result of two recent news reports. The first was news of the padding of the country’s 2018 budget by the government to the tune of N30 billion.
While the people were still chewing on the budget-padding controversy which has become a norm in this administration, it was then announced by the government that it was going to share the Sani Abacha loot worth up to $322 million to ordinary Nigerians. In fact, the latest from the government was that they had started transferring the funds to poor homes through their bank accounts. Then you would ask “how many poor homes in the expired country have bank accounts?”
More questions are being asked. How can a country which could not provide electricity to the populace; which could not share infrastructures equitably to all parts of the country; which could not even equitably share government appointments, be able to share money among Nigerians?
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From where will a country, which its policemen, sent to combat terrorist Boko Haram insurgents, are blocking roads and protesting the non-payment of their salaries/allowances in Borno State, suddenly find out a means to pay 322 million dollars to private citizens.
Biafrans who contributed to the discussion explained that looted public funds as is the case with the budget-padding, or the re-looted funds as is the case with the Abacha loot, were always used for bribery purposes. They explained further that such stolen funds were used to bribe compromised and integrity-challenged elements and institutions. Among such are Christian leaders and pastors; Muslim leaders and imams; so-called traditional rulers; electoral commission officials; journalists; opinion molders; and several others.
John Okafor (not his real name), a journalist in Anambra State, said bribery is usually the first line of consideration for incumbents who always use their position to divert and embezzle public funds. After bribery, he added, is the murder of those who chose to follow their consciences; refusing to compromise their position.
He said: “Remember the INEC official in Kano state, whose house and entire household were burnt down and obliterated from the face of the earth?” And added: “That was a man who refused to endorse the lie called election result in the state”.
What happened was that Mikaila Abdullahi; his wife (Zulaila); and his two daughters (Aisha and Asmau), were consumed to death in a mystery inferno at their home, described by neighbours as strange. The Police Commissioner of the state, Ibrahim Idris, was eventually promoted to the position of Inspector General of Police (IGP) by Buhari. He was promoted above more than 12 of his seniors, who were arbitrarily retired forcefully. It was a promotion seen by all as reward for his actions in the rigged election that produced Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s president.
To buttress this claim, in Mauritania few days ago, Buhari was seen campaigning for foreign countries to return looted funds to Africa. Possibly, those he was with did not understand. But the fact is: the looted Abacha fund he is now re-looting for the purpose of bribing his way during next year’s election, he wants more he can re-loot.
Edited By Chukwuemeka Chimerue
THE BIAFRA TIMES 2018
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