Room 101,
KiriKiri Maximum Prison,
Olodi Apapa,
Lagos

Dear Bode,

Do not be surprised that I am writing this letter to you in your fist name. The last letter I wrote to you was when you were the Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority, and I addressed you as Chief, Commodore, Sir, All in All Olabode George. At that time I needed your help to help 'release' my goods somewhere. But now times have changed. You have lost the respect.
Bode, am not surprised at your present predicament. You and I know you are a thief, but we both have been praying one day you will repent of your 'thiefing' ways. You and I know your stealing did not start at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). No. It has history. It started when you were at Ijebu-Ode Grammar School , 1960 -1964. You were stealing from other students, but everybody thought, by the time you were matured enough you will outgrow it. No. You were stealing gari, sugar, kuli kuli etc. On so many occasions you were reported to your seniors but they couldn’t do anything as you always share the gari and kuli kuli with them.
You managed your way through the Royal Naval Engineering College without any suspension or expulsion. You were commissioned. And in your first posting, as Director of Weapons at the Naval Headquarters in 1987 you were adding a few extra naira and kobo to every contract/tender than graced your table. You went to the prestigeious Command and Staff College in Jaji and you cheated during examination and you were caught but used your high powered connection to excape the henious crime. You were not confident at all, then. Once you put the extra naira and kobo on contract and commit your various crime, I remember you always go back home praying hard so you won’t be detected. You were never caught. So gradually your confidence rose. And more so, as your boss at that time approved of your 'stealing' and shared some loots with you.
It was this misfortune of your confidence that we were bestowed with in Ondo State in your first major military (political) assignment in 1987. You have now grown from the small boy that was stealing kuli kuli from fellow students to a care-less military administrator. And boy you stole the state blind. And even boasting that the 'Lagos Boy' had come to teach us 'ara oke' some lessons. Not only did you steal with 'no respect', you turned 'small girls' of Ikere College of Education to tin gods by your association with them. You only needed to send government cars to Ikere and all the girls will be falling over themselves to get into the cars to journey to Akure to 'please' you, By the time they come back to the campus they were ready to slap their provost, because they have tasted of your 'wealth and power'.
The obedient people of Ondo State (of which Ekiti was part) could do nothing. Corruption was rife all over the country, so putting your hand in the state till was not at all surprising. But the scale you were doing this and with so much impunity was what enraged the people. We all kept quiet and pray that the omnipresent God will catch up with you one day, very soon.
You were 'shooed' out of the Navy. And immediately you found a 'space' in the top hierarchy of PDP, when Abubakar midwifed democracy third time around. No thanks to the money you stole from our dear Ondo State that you threw around to impress the leaders of the party. All the rest is history.
Bode, you got the post of chairman of NPA, not on merit, but compensation for your effort in ensuring your party's good showing in OODUA states. But God knew in His infinite Wisdom that the NPA job will be your final undoing because He knows how greedy you are. And greed leads to destruction. You did not disappoint anybody on the scale of your greed. You handpicked your collaborators and you started your stealing spree. Sold most of NPA properties and inflated contracts. And with all these you were still going about collecting 'dues' from your party governors in Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo and Osun States . You have no shame, at all.
You became the toast of all ladies in the Lagos and Abuja social circuits. Your 'hat' became a symbol of riches, affluence and power, But God was only distinguishing you for a big shame that He wanted to bring on you. Because in you He saw an individual who had no love of his fellowmen at heart. A man with so much appetite for stealing.
Bode, you are a disgrace to your family, wives, ex-girlfriends, and children. You are not a disgrace to your colleagues in your party or other parties. You are one out of many of them who are draining our country dry. You are one of the big guns who parade our cities, oppressing the common men, with the money they stole. There are so many like you in all the facets of the Nigerian polity, economy etc. But it is said in our adage, eniti ile mo ba ni ole (it is the one that is caught that is a thief).
How many of our so called leaders can account for their wealth? How many of them have not dipped their hands in the public till? So many have abused their offices, stole billions and turned themselves to political gods. But we still celebrate them. Very soon, if they do not come before Justice Oyewole, they are all answerable to God Almighty.
Bode, I know you are very happy at the judgement of Justice Oyewole. I saw a smile on your face when he delivered the judgement. A mere 30 months and you are back at your old self. You are lucky. You remember the sentences handed over to the Ambrose Alis, Mbakwes, Barkin Zuwos etc in the 80s. Some had 100 years for stealing just a fraction of what you stole.
But Bode, see beyond the number of years and ask for atonement of all your sins. Your children, wives and relations will carry your shame all their years. You are more like Oyenusi of the old. Nobody, to my knowledge, bears that name anymore. Your children are lucky, yours is an English name. But from now henceforth, people will ask them, which of the Georges are you? The shameless thief or the other George?
I shall end this here, as I am beginning to realise you are hard to convince. In all these, you still nurture the thoughts that you were set up because you are a top notch of PDP? Ah! You are a dunce.
And above all an OGBOLOGBO OLE.
Ole, Wobia, Alajeju, Agba Iya.
I pray God will forgive you, for what you indirectly made to happen to my goods (and other struggling Nigerians') at NPA some years back.
See you after 30 months.
Greet all the Ogbologbos in Kirikiri.

Femi Falana