I live in a country that is so unreal; a country where unimaginable and unspeakable things occur; a country where impossible things are made possible in a magnificent, yet nonsensical way (obviously for negative reasons).
Yea, Nigeria!
Nigeria is the “giANT” of Africa, you know? (Or maybe the “gi” is currently asleep; “Ant of Africa”).
Image by Francis Tokede from Unsplash
Nigeria is a beautiful country with rich land and mineral resources, enough man-power and “manpower”, bright and intellectual minds who are keenly interested in making positive impact around the world, yet the country is the World Capital of Corruption in its most inhumane form.
We have leaders, sorry rulers, who are neither accountable to the people nor to themselves. Transparency is alien to their nature and that’s why we notice the unnecessary inflation and allocation of public funds for nonexistent projects, as well as the gross mismanagement of funds with arrant impunity.
One of the numerous qualities of those who hold public offices or government positions is the super power of “accountability.” This is owing to the fact that they are actually living and feeding on tax payers’ money, and, hence, accountability and transparency should be their watchwords. But, in Nigeria, the opposite is the case; they wield the abilities of a villain.
The Villian
Whenever they are required to give financial accounts of the projects they handled, many government officials follow the “escapist” route to cause a diversion or fake mysterious illness so that they won’t be held culpable for their actions. When it is impossible for them to escape, then they take the option of passing blames to the nearest nomenclature that comes up in their mind; whether animate or inanimate.
Sometimes I pity the Devil, as he always takes the blame in most cases... Poor guy! But, ahhhh, yes, even the Animal Kingdom isn’t spared.
| screenshot from my mobile | screenshot from my mobile |
On the 10th of February 2018, an official who was responsible for the sales of JAMB (Joint Admission and Matriculation Board) scratch card in Benue State could not account for the deficit of N36 million Naira ($100,000 as at the time it happened) under her watch, hence, she blamed a mysterious snake for swallowing the money.
On the 28th of February 2018, a Senator blamed Monkeys for stealing N70 million Naira belonging to the Northern Senators Forum.
On the 14th of June 2019, a finance officer at a Zoo who could not account for N6.8 million Naira that was missing, claimed that a Gorilla swallowed it.
On the 15th of August 2022, an agency claimed that Termites ate up documents of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund containing expenditures worth N17.1 billion Naira.
And finally, on the 22nd of August 2017, Rats chased the President of Nigeria out of his Office, and this led to the renovation of the Presidential office.
You thought it was a joke, right? I really pity these Animals. They’ve got no one to defend them; we need more Animal activists here.
I guess you can all see that Nigeria is an unreal country, right?
But, did these things actually happen?
YES... sorry, I mean, YES, the animals were blamed for the carelessness of the individuals!
But, were the animals responsible?
HELL NO!
Just like I said, in a bid to escape the need to be accountable, they either divert the issue or pass blames to the other. Nigeria is a really funny country you know? Even the animals are not spared in the blame-game.
However, the sad truth is that after few weeks, the matter will be forgotten and everyone will go on with their daily lives. This, in fact, is one of the numerous problems that has besieged this country, Nigeria.
We cannot overemphasize the need to be accountable to oneself and to others; whether you are in the private sector, public sector, or in an organisation.
Accountability doesn't apply only in handling financial situations, rather it involves being transparent, honest, responsible, and answerable for the decisions and actions you make.
Indeed, accountability can help us build trust, strengthen our integrity and make us more reliable, which in turn can lead to success and growth, and help us achieve our goals.
Thus, whether you are in a Government position, or the Course Representative, or a leader of an organisation, or a moderator/admin of a community on Hive or a WHATSAPP ADMIN...... be accountable!
This post was inspired by Hive Learner's theme on "Spend and Not to Spend" for Week 56, edition 01.
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