Nigeria, a nation divided and ruined by itself. There has been no peace at the beginning, the middle and as it is now, the tail. Nigeria and Nigerians have been around before the 5th century when the expedition of the Europeans began. The north did not have peace from Mali and Gao. The west and mid-west did not have peace neither as the British tried to stop the slave trade and human sacrifices. Lagos did not have it easy when they were the first to be colonised in 1861. In fact the bight of Biafra and the bight of Benin were controlled from Fernando Po in 1849 by the British. Kano and Sokoto did not have it easy neither as they were forcefully subdue by the forces of Frederick Lugard in 1906. All in all, we know what Lord Lugard did and what he didn’t do. Remember in 1922 he was the British Commander that invaded Cameron along side the French and annexed eastern part of Cameroon that was added to the southern protectorate. All that is history now, though it is good to keep history up-to-date. Do not add and do not subtract; history should be as pure as gold. Nigerians, I want you to understand that as it was at the beginning, so it is at the middle and this is how it now, trials and tribulations.

As it is now, Nigeria is fifty six (56) years old, not young and not old either. Nigeria is at the middle of a century, in fact forty four (44) years closer to a century. Thank God for that as we are now older and wiser. This is the age when men are at their best, bubbling with understanding, knowledge and skills. Do not get me wrong, I did not say all Nigerians are fifty six (56) years old. Some are older and some are younger than others. Whatever happens we must celebrate it as we will never see Nigeria at 56 years of age again, never. So make the use of what you have now. Fortunately all that is breathing today should give thanks to the almighty God. It is good that majority of Nigerians are religious, muslem and christians alike. This is the time of reflection. Remember we are the middle of a century. Just look backward and reflect on how it all went. Could we have done things differently? Remember it is trial and error. Failure teaches success.

Nigeria is fantastically corrupt said David Cameron. Yes but it is not all doom and gloom. We have made some notable strides in the right direction. However, we have equally made wrong decisions but I see it as two steps forward, one step backwards. Certainly Nigeria is not what it was by 1960, neither is it what it was by 2000 and by the power of the Almighty, it is or could be different now. That notwithstanding, the interpretations may be different depending on the perspectives you are looking at it. We could have done better I admit. One of the chilling backward reflection is the massive loss of lives of Nigeria, especially that of the Igbos. Again, who knows the amount of blood spilled in Benin by the British to avenge the massacre of the delegation to Oba of Benin in 1897. Remember, the Oba of Lagos was defeated twice. Who knows how much of Hausa and Fulani bloods that were wasted to subdue the northern protectorate. I remember stories told of the massacre at Mbaise in Owerri  when they killed a white man in those days. Let us admit, the British were not all evil. They actually came to stop slave trade and human sacrifices. However, they went too far with their Royal Niger Company. The establishment of the United African Company (UAC) in 1879 brought employment.

Now, talking of employment, any nation without paying attention to employment is doomed. Employment in Nigeria brought good and bad with it. There is massive development, comparing to where Nigeria was by 1879. Employment also brought massive corruption, comparing to where Nigeria is now. Remember that I said early that Nigeria had two steps forward and one step backward. In terms of corruption, it is five steps forward two steps back (three steps surplus of (forward) corruption). I do not know if you understand my mathematics. Nigeria is forward in all aspects of corruption. Ghost workers, inflated contracts, official embezzlements, stealing of official money, allocation and sharing of government money, awarding of contracts, promotion of ineptitude, mediocrity, nepotism, my-turn-syndrome, official elimination of opponents, coup and counter coup. Ah, don’t forget tribalism and vote rigging by officials. The list of corruption goes on and on, endless. Remember that we are just reflecting on our fifty six years of independence. Have we faired properly? Remember that for fifty six years, there is no signs of unity in Nigeria. No Nigerian policy has been bold enough to address tthe issue of unity. It is an issue no one wants to properly talk about. The Igbos talk about it, the Yorubas kept silent and Hausa Fulani pick running battles with the Igbos. Why are the Yorubas not talking about it? Ah, lest I forget, they are the beneficiaries of divided Nigeria. The Yorubas have benefited since 1966 when the Igbos and Hausa Fulanis began their tribal wars and disagreement. No one cares to remember that the 1966 January coup was carried out by two Yorubas and three Igbos. Nigerians do not want to talk about it. The Yorubas do not want to remind any body about it. However, this is history, Nigerian history and it must be told as it is. Anyway, this is not my topic for today.

Corruption is bad. We all talk about money stolen from government by the government which is the government of the people by the army and by the politicians who have no interest in the people. From government, millionnaires emerge in Nigeria. From employment poverty arise in Nigeria. Nigeria, my country is the only place a public servant has no honour. Nigeria is a country where teachers borrow money from students. Nigeria is a country that neglect the nurses and all the frontline services. They are needed but they are nothing. They can be kicked about by the pen-robber politicians and the army generals. This is the emergence of ghost workers in the 1970. Ghost worker is the oldest corruption in Nigeria, established immediately after 1970. We must do soul searching here. Who inheritted the public service from the Igbos during and after the war? We all talk about the politicians but the biggest corruption is in public service through ghost workers. Up till now, no one has the gut to dismantle it because they are all in it together. We know where our problem is but we are afraid to confront it. We want to leave it for our children yet unborn. This is callous! I have had stories of state governments, government parastatals and others fighting against ghost workers; they organised and carried out screening and at the end the executives ordered their subordinates to re-instate the ghost workers. Poor workers, frightened to death, do as tthey were told. I do not know why or how the security agents do not know about this as it is glaring in the public domain.

The second biggest corruption in Nigeria is vote rigging and vote selling. In fact, all the political parties stink. Nigeria cannot be democratic until voters votes count. I mean, until each vote counts. Anyway, before getting to the point of voting, their are layers of corruption to choose a candidate. To buy governorship form is NGN100,000,000. Who in Nigeria earns that amount legally? That is to buy form alone. Then enters consultations in the name of buying officials from the head quarters of the party. Then screening and its layer of corruption. Have you heard about delegates? That is the most serious layer of corruption. It is after all these, the winner emerges from a tough process that has drained him out monetarily. Majority of our politicians have not worked before and have no business of their own. So, where did they get the money from. Can the Nigerian security agents tell me that they do not know about all these? At this stage, a winner from the party as a candidate  must have spent at least NGN1,000,000,000. Where did he get the money from? No business, has not worked before, has not won any lottery. Where did the money come from? Let us get to the local level. Remember the candidate has to buy the state and community god-fathers, party chairman, ward chairmen before it gets to the voters. At this stage the politician is bruised and exhausted. He began to borrow money left and right to meet obligations. Those who gave him money dictate the terms. Remember what happened to Anambra State during Obasanjo goveernment? They are in it together. Then enters the voters and all that goes with it. We are really corrupt. We are in it together. We are thieves from the president to the voter. You want to eat your cake and have it.

Let me stop here. Let us ponder over what I have said already which you know already. There is nothing I have said here that is new to a Nigerian. We have fifty six (56) years of corruption. 2019 is around the corner and everyone is talking about it. Association of Nigerian thieves who call themselves politticians are rallying round support again. They have been contacting and convincing their partakers that they are the right people to rule Nigeria. They have been traveling all over the world, especially America and Britain rallying support. In fact those in diaspora who suppose to have challenged them on behalf of the masses are afraid due to the mammoth amount of money these thieves have and can willingly and freely spent without anyone questioning them about it. However, we know how much these people are paid as a member of state assembly, a member of house of rep and a member of senate. We also know how much the president and his ministers earn officially, however how did they get the money that they spend for their elective posts? Remember I have begun to look forward on the future of Nigeria. Are you with me? Are you looking forward to 2019? The voter, are you looking forward to bags of rice and NGN5,000 for your vote. Electoral commissioner, are you looking forward to 2019 when you will be bought over with NGN100,000,000. You know it is a life time opportunity that comes but once. Are you ready? Electoral officers, the police and the security agents, are you looking forward to swap ballot boxes? Shame on you all! You are guilty of the same offence, corrupt. This is the reason that Nigeria is fantastically corrupt. Lest I forget the judges and the court cases. One case, three judges and three different judgements. You have really made a mockery of your offices. Aha, there is a new trend, inconclusive! Thieves, what does that mean? It is a shame that there is no one out there who can boldly say “I am innocent”. Nigerians have soiled their hands and can no longer point at opponent about corruption. What a shame Nigeria? You are guilty of the same offence, corrupt.

By: Oguchi Martins Egbujor