Of Billions Buried In Farms By Sola Lebile

SIR: House of RepresentativesSpeaker, Yakubu Dogara, it was who recently made a shocking revelation of looted funds said to have been buried in a farmaround Abuja. Said he: “As we speak, they (referring to the EFCC operatives), are recovering money from someone’s farm somewhere around Abuja”.

Since when have farms become cash vaults? When has money turned into yam seedlings to beburied in farm grounds? I cannot imagine such bizarre occurrence.

Really, the development is a metaphor, showing us in a way that here is a nationflourishing in corruption. Corruption here has grown wild and with little or no hindrance to stop its gargantuan growth.

Here, the environment is fertile for corruption and stealing; that is why a public looter is a king; worshipped and hailed to high heavens by supporters, kinsmen/women who take crumbs of the loot.

Worse still, the people would hardly raise an eye brow on such criminality. So citizens engage in all manners of illegalities to amass wealth for no one would query the source of wealth and such people are lavished with all manners of tittles including national awards. Pity!

We are all aware that corrupt people do not make good leaders. That is why instead of feeling the presence of government in our cities and communities through massive execution of infrastructural projects, what we see are the ostentatious living and display of prodigious wealth of few individuals in power while the people wallow in poverty and misery.

Someone may want to say: what is the big deal about this? Could this have been the only looting? Haven’t you heard about those who hid monies in soak-away pits and overhead tanks? Those who vehemently fight back and defend their loot by hiring top (please,read SAND) lawyers so as to escape justice in courts.

Corruption needs to be tamed in this nation because if we don’t, we will definitely be doomed. And as it has been generally acknowledged: if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us.

With serial episodes of unimaginable loots hidden by corrupt Nigerians, the argument in some quarters that the identities of these looters be exposed is appropriate. Covering their identities will definitely send a wrong signal.

The fight against corruption requires the support of every one, so is the pursuit of unveiling our treasury looters as being canvassed by Socio- Economic Right Accountability Project(SERAP), after all no one, not even a court will recommend the blowing of their silly greedy heads off the China way.