Looting is a peripheral problem that cannot be stopped in Nigeria 100 years from now, because looting started even before the country gained independence, not later when civilsation swooped in, and then the eyes of the average Nigerian were more opened locally. Or we can call it a radical civilisation that was infused because of the exposure to different books, logically or illogically, from notable scholars and curators of those books to furnish the world at large educationally really influenced most educated ones’ mindset. After Nigeria gained independence in 1960, the white man came to brain wash our democratic leaders. Even before independence, they were exchanging Nigeria’s crude oil for mere cheap hand-guns, and all of that can’t be mentioned today.

So, these illicit acts has eaten deeply into the mindset of every Nigerian clamouring for a position of authority to want to steal from the treasury pot, when he/she gains that .power in government, be it state or Federal Government jobs, not thinking of the future of an average child in a remote. There is no magic to this, as I always say to people, or antagonists and public commentators, that we need a new orientation to be ingested into the educational system to switch the mindset of our kids today for a loot-free tomorrow when they have the opportunity to be in the position of power when they have the chance to; and also the total scrapping off of these old haggard-looking leaders we have today. Greed has consumed them totally because, for obvious reasons, every one out of three Nigerians is greedy, except a few with the heart and fear of the Almighty Jehovah God. And such people are very scarce to come by except an ultimate search is triggered to find them. But the unfortunate situation is that no one even wants a truthful person; they want someone they can control and steal for them. That is why most constituency project funds meant to sporadically develop our communities from local level to the federal level has dropped low to the point where there are tons of abandoned projects.

As a solutionist, which I am and that talent in me given by God will not be looked into today. To move us all as individuals or as a nation to the next level of development, which every citizenry craves like someone that long had Agege bread with ewa Agoin, great scholars like Professor Wole Soyinka has always given solutions to the constant staggering multiple issues Nigeria has always had. But they will never imbibe such pieces of advice or take to his inputs. Then, why would a young lad like me be their person of interest as to who would give a lasting solution to the multiple problems a great nation or the so called Giant of Africa, the most populous Black nation in the world at large.

The embarrassment certain individuals that call or parade themselves as past leaders in the Nigerian setting, like former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, that emptied the treasury box of what was left in the state while he was governor and stashing the monies into foreign accounts, notably some top banks in the United Kingdom and some other parts of the world. The most obvious was the ones he stashed in British banks, because it was uncovered when his tenure ended as governor of Delta State and he was a major target. While most media portrayed him as victim and target of money-laundering that was politically motivated but, unfortunately, it doesn’t seem so; because, he emptied all that was left in what I call the treasury pot, and left most of the indigenes hungry and sick.

Well, who cares if majority die of hunger as long as they have packed enough of those monies stolen and safe-keep it for their next 100th generation, which they don’t know if they will exist while they are dead like a Christmas chicken after their awful ruling as a leader while on earth. What about the other countries James Ibori laundered the monies to and were not discovered till date? Life goes on after his trials, back and forth.

There were other people in the past and even current serving leaders in the Nigerian government looting and constantly driving the nation till she became the Poverty capital of the world; a country that has all forms of human and natural resources you can talk of; but she's always retrogressing, no any form of progression whatsoever, but regression has been her way of life since independence till date.

Diezani Allison Madueke too contributed to the downfall of Nigeria with jewelry and raw cash stashed that were recovered from her. She was a former minister of petroleum during the reign of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

Extensively, there were other stealers but I just highlighted the most obvious ones. If I should start writing names of those that has ruined Nigeria, this article will not end, so it just has to stop there where the main points can be made known and my message passed.

In the Holy Scriptures, God says vanity upon vanity; another part of the scriptures says, “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul.” The point I am trying to make is quite simple as regards the excessive daylight robbery of the political hierarchy in the Nigerian space is just ludicrously ridiculous and unimaginable; with just a single soul stealing over 10 billion United States dollars for himself and his cohorts, and you don’t want poverty to continue to linger in the land. That is blatantly not possible, because there is no way the lingering poverty will not persist. As well, the destruction of the system is imminent, with their persistent stealing from the treasury potty box.

There is a question the looters are meant to ask themselves, which they are not actually asking, “What will be done to the monies I have secretly stored up in my foreign bank accounts when I’m dead and gone?” But, because of the merriment of the moment, no one dares to ask himself/herself such question. Greed is what has ruined so many African nations. That is why generally speaking, most African countries are underdeveloped and never meeting global market standards economically. That is the extent to which the system is bad and ruined by bad past and present leaders in power.

If it is not greed and madness conjoined together, why would a sane man want to rule a country for more than five years? We see some countries under dictatorship where the presidents are later assassinated, because they enjoy power so much that they want to die in it and still pass on the legacy to their sons, when it is not a kingship title that is inherited in small towns and villages in remote areas. They want to be president for more than 50 years. I won’t give any instances because readers of this article can as well find out for themselves to know more of the hidden truth in Africa where greed and self-centredness is the blood flowing through their streams.

There is no permanent solution to this greedy mindset of everyone clamouring for power than for the leaders of African nations to come together in a coalition: and every one of them should agreeably sign a new greed-free pact to be grafted into the African Union Act, and the laws be harnessed in every African country. There is no two ways about how Africa can move faster forward with the tons of human and natural resources that the Lord God Almighty has blessed every country with. It is achievable if they all make up their mind and imbibe the heart of the Most High to fear Him and make sure no one is actually looting the resources of millions of peoples to a foreign land. When they die, countries they have stored up these riches will use it to help themselves and keep on developing their already developed core areas.

It is a fluke that Nigerians actually believed Great Britain returned all the Sani Abacha loot to the Federal Government. I can categorically tell everyone that reads and properly assimilates this article that there are still more monies where those sent previously came from. They only want us to believe that is all that is left, because they know how greedy most of our leaders are; that when they return it all at once, they will still squander it and loot it all among themselves and it will end up being same old story for the gods.

We all have heard the news of recovered loots with our ears, but nothing meaningful was achieved with the said monies, and I conclusively tell you that most of the recovered loots were re-looted.

•Mike-Nifty, a public affairs analyst, can be reached on: nifty.mics@yahoo.com

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