The People of the City are confused and bewildered at the deplorable state of the City caused by corruption and insecurity. They did not know what to do to halt the drift of the state into jeopardy. A few of them tried to suggest ways of getting out of the imminent destruction, but those who thrive on corruption and prefer darkness to light are hell-bent in ensuring that the City has no peace.
What actually baffled the People of the City is that their level of corruption has gone so deep that even the weaker sex among them, the females, are also neck-deep in it. In the bid to salvage the City, they sometimes decide to give responsibilities to the women, hoping that whatever sector is in their care, would be corruption-free and so help the City one way or the other. However, they have found out to their chagrin that they are all birds of the same feather. That was what happened when Hon. Etteh became the speaker of the House of Representatives. Thinking that was just an aberration, they entrusted the business sector, typified by the Nigerian Stock Exchange, to the care of another woman, Mrs. Ndi Okereke-Onyuike. It was a terrible mistake. Her fellow woman, Ms. Arumma Oteh has just revealed that the sum of N37 million was used to purchase a yatch which was written off within one year and cleverly written as gift presented to a ‘ghost’ as Long Service Award.” Why ‘ghosts’ always torment the People of the City, taking their salaries and now going for a yatch to cruise while spending the salaries, no one could tell.
That was not all. Arunma Oteh also revealed that Mrs. Okereke Onyuike brought down the Nigerian Stock Exchange by several dubious expenditures that have nothing to do with the strengthening of the stock exchange. Said Oteh, “The Exchange also spent N186 million on 165 Rolex wrist watches as gifts for awardees out of which only 73 were actually presented to the awardees. The outstanding 92 Rolex watches valued at N99.5 million remain unaccounted for.” That is not all, Onyuike and her colleagues “shared N1. 7b surplus and spent N1.3 billion on business travels. This is happening in a country where there is no constant electricity except in the homes of Onyuike and Co. This is happening in a country where there is no portable water and just a sprinkling of good roads.
The People of the Waterfronts thought of all these silly ways of the People of the City as they waited patiently for the appointed time to begin deliberations in their Parliamentary Hall. Anger brewed in them as they waited. At last the appointed time came and Oldman of the Waterfronts got up, stretched his left hand and picked up the bottle of the local white brew. His right hand picked up the little glass cup. He filled it and began his call to the ancestors to take charge of the deliberations.
“Odumodu, great ancestor of the People of the Waterfronts, he who dwells at the domain between the land and the sea, surely you have seen the atrocities of the People of the City. You have witnessed how a few of them have connived to destroy the very City they built. Take, drink and let the madness stop at their doorsteps. We are your descendants, the People of the Waterfronts. We have no hand in their suicidal mission. Let them leave us in peace.
“Otumo-ogugu, favourite of the Maidens, he who goes in and out of the Maidens, detecting the unfaithful ones, take and drink. We know that you have seen much, going in and out of the beautiful maidens. Assist your co-ancestor to ensure that the confusions of the People of the City do not extend beyond their noses.
“Osokolo, another favourite of the Maidens, he who pursues the Maidens out of the Waterfronts, reminding them of their duties at home, take and drink. Join your co-ancestors to find remedy for the madness of the People of the City”.
The Oldman of the Waterfronts ended his libation, refilled the little glass cup and swallowed the entire content.
Arukulo, the man who says he is always at the front of the canoe, got up to speak.
“People of the Waterfronts, I greet you all. Ordinarily I would have told you that I am annoyed, but being annoyed over the silly ways of the People of the City would be a waste of time and energy. The people are hopelessly corrupt and your annoyance would only buoy them up for more silly actions, since their primary motive is to keep you annoyed.
“You were all here when we discussed the importance of exposing and prosecuting all fuel subsidy thieves. We did not say it out of malice. But what are we hearing now? The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke has just informed the People of the City that those who dug into the filthy activities of the fuel subsidy bogey were just exercising a fact finding activity and so he cannot go to court. Fine. Now if their fact finding activity has found out facts of sordid deals in the fuel subsidy issue, what else will you wait for to prosecute them? Is it not facts that you need to prosecute someone in a court of law?
“People of the Waterfronts, do you know that the Security and Exchange Commission that has exposed the free spending activities of the former boss of the Stock Exchange, Mrs. Okereke Onyuike has been stopped from making their report of the forensic investigation to examine the allegations of financial irregularity and mismanagement of the Stock Exchange public? The former CEO of the NSE, Mrs. Ndi Okereke-Onyuike and three other former employees have an injunction against releasing the report. Do you see the danger in the pronouncement of the Attorney-General? If these people could stop the report of an investigation, then the fears of the Save Nigeria Group that the Attorney-General may not prosecute the fraudulent people of the fuel subsidy fame is not far-fetched. What do we do, before the People of the City destroy themselves?”
It was Okolobo, he of the Creeks, that got up to speak after Arukulo.
“People of the Waterfronts, I greet you all. Arukulo has just asked what we should do to prevent the People of the City from destroying themselves.
You all know that the surest and quickest way to destroy yourself is to keep quiet when evil men go scot-free with their evil. I remember that Professor Festus Iyayi of the University of Benin said, “If people don’t want to change, then the system will remain the same. I keep saying that, in Nigeria, if you say that the state is powerful, it is just that those who want to change it are weaker. The state in Nigeria and the ruling elite are very weak, but those who want to change them are even weaker. That is why the system has remained the way it is”.
“People of the Waterfronts, did he not state the simple truth? Do you know that while we are fighting over a paltry N18, 000 a month for civil servants, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, spends N1.35bn on just 36 of its employees redeployed to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board? That means, a princely sum of N37m is spent on each of them every year. Now tell me, how many Civil servants on N18, 000 a month would be taken care of by that sum? Believe you me, it would be more than two thousand civil servants. In other words, about 74, 000 civil servants would be taken care of in a year by the amount spent on just 36 people who are in no way special. And if you have pity on them and pay them a minimum of N36, 000 a month, then you will take care of 37, 000 civil servants. However, these thousands of civil servants would keep quiet while the few 36 people swim in their millions. Professor Festus Iyayi is right.”
The Parliamentary Hall of the People of the Waterfronts was silent when Okolobo sat down. It was as if they were observing the famous “one minute silence,” often observed by a group whenever they heard of someone’s death. The Oldman of the Waterfronts quickly filled the little glass cup with the local white brew, drank all and allowed the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup to go round the hall.
“People of the Waterfronts,” Angaladikibo, the Watcher of the Mangroves, got up to speak, immediately the bottle of the local white brew and the little glass cup returned to the table.
“People of the Waterfronts, I agree totally that if the oppressed majority of the People of the City rise up in unison, all those guilty of the fuel subsidy scam would not go free, the Ministers presiding over ministries where these atrocities were committed would not go free and the killers of the Principal Personal Secretary of Governor Adams Oshiomhole would be found. They are not spirits. They are human beings like us. If under the Mohammed Adoke, any one charged to court is discharged for want of diligent prosecution, in line with the shoddy prosecutions of the EFCC, then he should be made to pay for it, and any police commissioner who could not resolve a murder incident that happened in his domain should also face the music. This is my submission”.
The Oldman of the Waterfronts impulsively filled the bottle glass cup and swallowed all. ###
