Lucrative Vocation

RANDOM THOTS

Trust Nigerians to see the opportunity in every situation. In the last few days, this reporter has heard more than five people trying to make subtle enquiries about big government officials in their neighbourhoods. And their focus is similar: they are looking for the big scoop to give to the Federal Government’s anti-corruption agencies in order to eventually obtain the coveted five per cent cut of any loot recovered from a corrupt government official.

Incidentally, these inquiries are coming up after the federal government recently announced the seizure and eventual confiscation of some proceeds of corrupt acts involving huge sums of money including $9.8million, $153 million and N1 billion from former top government officials, under the whistle-blowing initiative of the government. There were reports that the $9.8 million loot came to light through the whistle-blowing of a relative of the concerned top government official, after he reportedly refused to help the relative who needed some minor financial family support; a classic case of pay-back time.

Now that the government has openly admitted the role of whistle-blowers in the discovery and confiscation of the above-mentioned sums, everyone wants to be a patriotic whistle-blower, and many filthy rich government officials are now busy looking over their shoulders, for fear of discovery and prosecution. Although there may be an element of witch-hunt and malicious revenge in some loot discoveries to come, there is no denying that the anti-corruption war has assumed a new positive dimension. Incidentally, the five per cent cut on any recovered loot is also a huge pull factor. The icing on the cake is the pending Whistle-blowers Protection Bill, which is before the National Assembly. For the intrepid, the good times are coming again…simple truth

– Abimbola Akosile