THE COST OF SABOTAGING NIGERIA
Nigeria is still harvesting an abundance of bad press from the Endbadgovernance protests of August 2024, and recent events show that a long road lies ahead.
On November 1, judicial proceedings aimed at trying some participants in the protests descended into a farce when some minors fainted in court allegedly as a result of ill-treatment and malnourishment.
The police have since proclaimed the fainting spells as staged. In a country where prison and detention conditions are notoriously inhuman and inhumane, it is best to take whatever the police say on that with a pinch of salt.
The police, however, had a more disturbing disclosure to make. It said that about N9 billion was funneled into the protests with the aim of destabilizing the country. While anyone and anything is capable of making up fact and figures in a country where fake news is just as abundant as the real deal, it is clear that Nigeria remains in the crosshairs of agents of destabilization, disunity, and discord. These agents, as faceless as they are familiar, belong to the fold of those who would sabotage Nigeria.
They are as diverse as sponsors of terrorism, oil thieves in the Niger Delta, thieving syndicates in government ministries, departments and agencies, corrupt and compromised security personnel and even those who hide behind the civilized curtains of civil society to lob chaos at the heart of a stuttering giant.
These saboteurs who ultimately also count corrupt public officers among their ranks have been on a mission to ensure that Nigeria always misses its targets for development. They have shown themselves to be especially active during elections when they pool their resources to thwart the will of Nigerians.
Some years ago, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a deadly terrorist group, was said to have successfully moved hundreds of millions through Nigeria’s financial system. The fact that Nigeria easily loses track of how money meanders through its financial system means that many criminals can launder money and use same to destabilize the country.
As for those working assiduously to destabilize the country and a government that appears to be doing something even if it is embarrassingly little: creating avoidable problems and distraction for the government will only end up affecting the most vulnerable Nigerians.
Experience has shown that beyond long Public Relation punts, and audacious and officious statements, Nigerian government officials aren’t really concerned about the country. Their only mastery is in self-service and self-preservation. The only time they pretend to care that the country does not burn is when they are in office. What happens at any other time couldn’t concern them less.
Such officials, who are only concerned about rapidly lining their pockets before the ephemerality of power throws them away like trash, lead the pack of the rabid wolves devouring Nigeria. Because they abhor patriotism and are in positions to steal outrageous amounts of money from government coffers, and divert the same for nefarious purposes, they are an inspiration to others who may be interested in Nigeria’s destabilization.
Sadly, Nigeria is becoming a free-for-all for all those interested in experimenting on how to destabilize a country. The abundance and lushness of the field available to them is directly linked to the fact that the government is not doing enough to put them where they belong, which is behind bars.
There are even huge concerns that the government knows some of these people, but is reluctant to go after them because they are well-heeled and well-connected.
As long as the government is not ready to trace their activities, track them down and treat them to a sufficient dose of the operation of law, they will continue to hit the country hard from all angles.
Ike Willie-Nwobu,
