By Bamidele Ademola-Olateju
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s suspension (sack)as the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is another low in the never-ending cascade of impunity, catch-me-if-you-can gerrymandering and unprecedented extortionist episodes this Jonathan of a man drowns us in. And so it was that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi broke the silence code and ticked off the political mafiosi headed by the Grand Mafioso.
Nigeria’s political space is one huge intricate cartel of organized crime. At the helm, we have a criminal syndicate involved in oil racketeering, economic manipulation, drug-trafficking, gun running, terrorism and outright fraud. With the levers of the economy firmly in their hands, I hope there would be a Nigeria when they are done with us! At least N20billion is missing and all Jonathan can do is to suspend the CBN governor for daring to expose his fraud? This is the only country where $20billion; the equivalent of the country’s total budget will be missing and it is still business as usual … No shaking.
Sanusi’s suspension (sack) is another low in the never-ending cascade of impunity, catch-me-if-you-can gerrymandering and unprecedented extortionist episodes this Jonathan of a man drowns us in. Unfortunately, we are helplessness about it because we do not have institutions. Every man and woman at the top are institutions in themselves and they lend protection to each other. These men and women are untouchables as long as they do not jeopardize the interest of the cartel.
I do not know why we expect good things from this President because Mr. Goodluck Jonathan had always been a steaming heap of nonsense from the start, and that is not likely to change. We can blame Obasanjo for our predicament but the country voted Jonathan after Yar’adua’s death on his own “merit” because his projected meekness sucked most of us in. Foolishly, the “I voted Jonathan, not PDP” became a cliche in the mouths of those who wants to dissociate themselves from the PDP evil. Unfortunately, Jonathan is a bigger evil than the party to which he belongs. We are stuck with him. Democracy has an inherent flaw in fostering tyranny of the majority. It matters not if I did not vote for Jonathan; he has yoked us all equally now.
Part of the heavy burden we have had to bear is the heaven-may-fall attitude of Jonathan’s angel, Her Royal Deepness’ Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who confessed to spending N3.5 billion on kerosene subsidy without appropriation. Since she governs the President, he did nothing and the nation looked on helplessly. The Minister of Aviation got involved in certificate forgery, contract inflation and violation of due process. Again, the President looked away. The same President, who is pathetically powerless in the hands of his women is quick to suspend the governor of the Central Bank for drawing his attention to the biggest one-time heist in the history of Nigeria. I have no doubt that this President is the most treacherous and capricious politician ever to lead this country. We underrate him at our own peril. He is a man that cannot be helped to goodness but we must conspire to help ourselves. We must extricate ourselves from his death grip. We must understand that his deceptive nature is at the existential level, it is baffling and unconscionable. He has a voraciously amoral hunger for impunity. Mr. Jonathan has no relational contract with the Nigerian people and he does not give a damn!
Brazen constitutional violation and abuse of power in favour of stealing and fraudulent deals can only happen here.
Nigeria’s band of thieving elite, championed by the President, cannot like honest men, they are allergic to honesty and integrity. People like Sanusi shiver them timbers. In saner climes, Mr. Nyesom Wike will not find work in a soup kitchen. In Nigeria, Mrs. Jonathan’s thug and madcap grifter is the Minister in charge of Education. These large-scale looting is all about winning in 2015 and betting against Nigeria’s continued existence at the same time. There has to be money to bribe key players and voters especially in this age of defections and NNPC is the hydrant with the hose that can pump the wads of cash in sufficient quantities. It is “their oil”. Jonathan is a master player, he does not believe in an incentive that does not incent. He is leading the way in deifying white collar crimes and you can grow oil in your backyard if you are unhappy about it.
Whose fault is all these? It is all our fault, because garden variety criminals like the NNPC fat cats and subsidy thieves do not appear out of nowhere. They are raised in families and societies that preach the gospel of hate, greed, fear, distrust, quick fixes and intolerance. That is why a Petroleum Minister can assume the Presidency by proxy, “behaving and spending money anyhow”. That is why stealing under this regime is so brazen without any artistry. No camouflage, no fear, just do it and Mr. President will back you up and fire anybody who complains. Whoever heard of the sham committee set up to probe the Central Bank? Mr. Jonathan must take us for real fools! What happened to the Ribadu report? Where is the Aig Imoukhuede report? What about the fuel subsidy probe? Has he reviewed the National Assembly probe of Stella Oduah? He ignored all these and he is quick to sell us the boondoggle report from his rubber stamp committee? Not so fast man! Show us the money! Where is our N20billion?
You may think we are your Maga but we are getting wiser by the day. I wish you well but time is running out on you. The social media and Nigeria’s New Media are doing a spectacular job at redefining our consciousness. With the paradigm shift in information dissemination, no one can cover our eyes like before. The educated and youth demographic are changing rapidly and they are hungry for good governance. My point, sir, your Magas are reducing. Your seductive use of religion is losing its allure. Do not say you were not warned!
My people, 2015 will soon be here. Next time you are presented with a blow-dried candidate for the Presidency, you should do yourself a lot of good by rejecting astringent quotes and focus group tested zingers like “I have no shoes” otherwise the shoeless man selling you snake oil might not only be shoeless, he might also be an eunuch, without values or beliefs. That is our current tragedy. Watch out!
Bamidele Ademola-Olateju is Twitter@olufunmilayo
