SAHARA REPORTERS
EPE KO, WON O LE LA ! By Pius Adesanmi. The Americans have been treating Donald Trump's billions like a curse, a headache. Where will he put his wealth? How will he avoid this and that conflict? How will he do this? How will he do that? It's almost like his wealth is a liability for their democracy, their Presidency.


They have evolved a democracy in which government is not an advisable destination if you seek wealth. That is why the White House has such a high turnover of staff. Once they enter, they discover that they are bound to their salaries by all kinds of rules and ethical imperatives. They cannot make money. They cannot build personal wealth.

They hold a rapid dialogue with their feet and go back to the corporate world to make big money - time spent in the White House then increases their earning power.

Ari Fleischer, Dave Axelrod, etc, etc. The list is long. They get to the White House and discover that the place is not compatible with serious money, they pick race.

About ten thousand kilometres away, in Abuja, it is the opposite. You go to the Villa to build great wealth. You invite pastors, marabouts, and babalawos to help secure your wealth while you build it from scratch in full public glare in the Villa. You send witches to weaken the balls of your competitors so that their wives and concubines will become Love Machine-dependent. If their wives are grumbling about having to use dildos, how will they enjoy the peace of mind to disturb your wealth?

And if you enter the Villa a pauper and do not exit a billionaire, we advise your family and your kinsmen to go and wash your head. Some will say that you did not carry the head of wealth into the world and that is why you could have gone to the Villa and exited the way you entered. Some will say that the possibility of anybody in your lineage and family ever "making it" again is a function of "boya". (Boya ni molebi ati irandiran won le la mo).

Then they will conclude: Epe ko, won o le la mo. No be curse, dem family no fit make am.

Obasanjo entered the Villa in 1999 with about N5000 in his account and exited 8 years later as one of Africa's most formidable billionaires. Had he exited without stealing everything in sight and building great wealth - part of which included looting our electricity funds to ensure that we have remained in darkness till today; had he exited without becoming a billionaire, his hometown, his ethnic nationality, would have become the subject of national snide remarks and stereotypes.

These Owu people sef. See as their son comot for Villa naked.

Na so we see am o. I hear say dem wicked well well for Ogun state o. How can their son have been President for 8 years and left without money?

From Ibadan to Ilesha via Ogbomoso, you will hear that only Ogun state is like that o. They are different. Won ti buru ju. They "did their son" so that he could not make money.

This national psychology is partly responsible for why government house is a do-or-die destination for building personal wealth and fortune in Nigeria. This is why access to government house involves witches, guns, machetes, and dildos.

You need to work on your attitude. You need to stop expecting government house to be a factory for manufacturing overnight billionaires. This is the attitude which predisposes you to justifying and rationalizing corruption.

And this is why you, ordinary Nigerian, are a valid alibi for the thief in government: if he comes out of government a pauper, you will blame him, you will say that he is cursed. He knows this. You shape and condition his psychology. He is already a thief. He already has corrupt genes. But you activate it because there is no way he can come out of government house to face your contempt and stereotyping.

Since Nigeria was created, you will say to him, people have been going to government to make money, why is your own different? Are you cursed? Who did you offend in your village? Then you will hiss, spit, and say shior to him for not having stolen from you. So he steals to prevent your contempt.

Genuine democracies are incompatible with building personal wealth. That is why the White House does not know what to do with about Donald Trump's billions. It's a unique situation.

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I could only wish Buhari remembers where he kept his military uniform and take over from his fragile and ineffective democratic self that has made him helpless through idiots called legislators that are frustrating every good intention for this country!!!

KINGwax007:
I could only wish Buhari remembers where he kept his military uniform and take over from his fragile and ineffective democratic self that has made him helpless through idiots called legislators that are frustrating every good intention for this country!!!

One of the people Pius Adesanmi is talking about spotted.

If till now, you still believe there is a difference between Buhari of 1984 with Buhari of 2016, then your brain needs servicing. If you still believe in this same Buhari to make this country better (instead of worse) than he found it, then you need a brain and a life.

Actually, this is epic. Nigerians even rate the governors based on the amount of money stolen instead of performance.

That's why we always reward our governors with senatorial recognition.

I think this type of government is not good for usin this part of the world

I will prefer autocracy or monarchy system of government

Let one man drive the economy of Nigeria

Most of the developmental projects we have in Nigeria are the works of the dictators who rule Nigeria

I dont agree with the author of the article.
Rather the leaders attitude to good governance should be positive.
There is corruption almost everywhere in the world but at different levels.

Look we praise awolowo for his dedication and commitment to make life better for his people through his free education and many laudable projects. But I also read how awolowo made a lot of money when he was leader.
But he was more concern about making life meaningful to his people.

Why cant "leaders" of today do that also?
It was reported that obasanjo came out of prison bankrupted but after eight years as president he became billionaire in dollars.

Why can obasanjo add something like eight thousand MW of electricity or more in eight years as president?
Why cant he build legacy projects across the country and make yoruba people proud?
Why cant he build second niger bridge, lagos fourth mainland bridge etc?

Even jonathan that has poor background became a "thief" he and his friends stole billions of dollars.
Why governors are not serious politicians?

Leaders are to lead their people to the right part.
Good leaders should be able to rise above senseless thinking and lead the people to success.

Buhari would also end up as an ordinary former president.

juman:
Why cant "leaders" of today do that also?
It was reported that obasanjo came out of prison bankrupted but after eight years as president he became billionaire in dollars.

Why can obasanjo add something like eight thousand MW of electricity or more in eight years as president?
Why cant he build legacy projects across the country and make yoruba people proud?
Why cant he build second niger bridge, lagos fourth mainland bridge etc?

ops!!! U seriously though, all those power stations, commissioned by GEJ, were built by GEJ?

KINGwax007:
ops!!! U seriously though, all those power stations, commissioned by GEJ, were built by GEJ?

You mean those abandon projects?

It is culture of useless "leaders" in nigeria to commission nothing but calling it commissioning.
Do you know uncountable number of uncompleted projects commissioned by obasanjo also?

The truth is bitter