Money which is a means of exchange is an integral part of human existence, and as such every human likes to have enough of it but sadly, many in the contemporary world particularly Nigerian leaders passionately love, and have an inveterate desire for money with every fibre of their soul.
This voracious quest for money by both political and religious leaders is part of the reasons why Nigeria as a country is enmeshed in corruption and nothing seems to be working in the country simply because we have a President who claims to be leading the anti corruption war when in reality, he is the leader of the looters.
In same vein, the country has Senators and Governors who divert constituency allowances and monthly allocations respectively for infrastructural development in their various states for their own selfish gratifications.
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The primary aim of the average Nigerian politician in politics is to become rich without work and those who are already wealthy, are not satisfied with their fortune hence they want to continue in the dirty game of politicking in the country to further enrich themselves by looting public treasury.
From Councillors to Local Government Chairmen, and House members almost all of them are there to steal from government coffers and not necessarily to serve the masses.
When these criminals steal from public treasury, they often bring ten percent of their loot or thievery as tithes which usually run into several hundreds of millions or even billions of Naira to their religious leaders – their so-called Daddy G.Os and Mummy In The Lord who then sanctify their loot and pronounce them, ‘Holy.’
Peradventure the politicians are not Christians, they begin to build Mosques and fund some religious fanatic movements that usually bring violence in the country. Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen were, and are still being funded by some faceless politicians who are Islamic fundamentalists
It’s no longer a thing of surprise that politicians are the biggest donors to churches, and every pastor these days pray ceaselessly to have politicians in their church so that they can receive from those roguish politicians the money meant for the welfare of the citizenry entrusted in their hands.
A typical example of this scenario was when Pastor Chris Oyakhilome received from
Pastor Lawrence Agada, an ordained minister in Pastor Oyakhilome’s Christ Embassy and a former employee of Sheraton Hotels and Towers in Lagos, stolen cash and gifts totaling thirty-nine million naira.
No question was asked by Oyakhilome where and how an ordinary employee of a Hotel got such an enormous amount of money to freely give to a church instead they collected the money and the numerous gifts, and as usual termed them, ‘blessings from God.’
This illicit transaction that brought part of the thirty-nine million naira and Lawrence Agada’s ‘Blessings’ on Oyakhilome’s church was busted by the Nigerian Police in 2002, and Oyakhilome highly connected with those in the corridors of power had nothing held against him. That case was just one out of many involving these religious leaders.
The latest apprehension of Raymond Abbas popularly known as Hushpuppi has been alleged to be an international fraudster alongside with his cohorts who had swindled over 1.9 million victims but parades himself prior to the bust by Dubai Police and FBI as a legitimate businessman with interests in media influence and real estate – has exposed his prominent friends in Nigeria who many would have thought were noble.
It is not only pathetic but also disgusting that Senator Dino Melaye, an elected Senator of the country at some point and Daddy Freeze, a popular radio personality who claims to be a liberator of Christians who are led astray by wrong doctrine were among the very good friends of Hushpuppi and equally publicised their relationships at every given opportunity.
Imagine if Hushpuppi was not apprehended and then decided to run for a gubernatorial or Senatorial election and of course with his proceeds from fraud, he would buy the votes, and emerge winner.
Of course, he’ll most likely become a Pastor in any of the big Pentecostal churches like Redeemed Christian Church of God or Winners Chapel.
If he is a Catholic, he’ll be knighted in the Order of Saints John or Mulumba and immediately puts the usual prefix of, ‘Sir’ to his name and one will believe that such a person genuinely worked his way to the top without realising the crook the fellow has been.
In Nigeria, we presently have a leadership problem where our purported leaders are nothing but glorified criminals whose love for money has gone beyond the extreme. We have leaders who are not only ready to lie but also to maim and gruesomely kill anybody who stands in their way to prevent them from stealing public funds.
Nigerian leaders are among the most religious peoples in the world who are known for their ceaseless prayers yet their morality is nothing to write home about when juxtaposed with their religious beliefs which ought to make them better people that have love for humanity more than money.
Finally, it will be utterly ridiculous for the masses to expect a positive change with the sort of leadership in the country currently, whose love for money knows no bounds. For Nigerian leaders, it is about money, more money before humanity can ever be considered.
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AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
