The President’s lamentations

SIR: The president’s discloThat since he’s the only one sure that he was baffled at with very clean track records the level of co rr uption in attested to by all those who Nigeria in spite of all his know him intimately ( at least efforts at tackling it would as at the time he assumed serve as a confirmation of power), he was in a better the argument in some quarposition to lead such an interters that even angels cannot nal bloodless revolution. rule Ni geria successfully But it’s doubtful if he ever because of the magnitude of saw the article, or maybe he corruption in every segment actually did, but only decided of the society. to dismiss it with a wave of

However, this writer has the hand. Now, the time for written at least two articles lamentations are here, havin The Guardian where some ing left what ought to be sug gestions were made. The done undone, something first is titled: “The revolution akin to not making hay while the president must lead,” the sun shines or trying to and the second, “Nigeria and lock the stable’s door after the hegem ony of saboteurs.” horse has bolted.

( The two write- ups are on the The second article examines internet for any one who how every strata of the wishes to read them). Nigerian state is enmeshed in

In the first one, the presi - very deep and seemingly dent’s attention was dra wn intractable corruption, such to the fact that he’s the only that no single leader may be one most suitable to help able to dismantle it. But Nigerians to tackle all those going by common experiwho have embezzled public ence with Nigerians, it’s cerfunds, in order to retrieve tain that what perpetrators of those large sums of money graft need before they will now in private pockets to exercise restraint is for just a reinvest them into the econfew of them to be made omy. scapegoats.

But in a situation where people perpetrate all manners of illegalities and get away with them, their boundaries are bound to keep expanding. The miscreants now littering everywhere are another example.

If they learn that the government is picking them up, they will all vanish into the thin air within a matter of days. Ditto for all the thieves in the ministries and parastatals. Arrest, prosecute properly, jail some of them and watch what happens next.

Impunities have continued to thrive in leaps and bounds in Nigeria because of the absence of a leader with the strong willpower to make a difference. It might appear as if those in positions of authority don’t know how to tackle corruption as suggested above but the truth is that they do.