In the present African amalgams today, the system of hide and seek is the order of the day. There is no definition of terms. There is no clarity. There are no checks and balances. There is no accountability. There is nothing if not a mature corrupt system.

It was argued in some of the Nigerian papers that we are on recession today because in the 1999 amended constitution, the Federal government was given the mandate to share among the state governments all that was gotten from oil. It was argued that for that reason nothing was reserved for the rainy days. This reason was given only to dodge accountability. That is Nigeria just as any of the African amalgams. Many contracts have been awarded including all these roads that are dead traps today. The money has been mapped out but shared without carrying out the contracts. May be, it is also in the 1999 constitution. Who knows? Those in-charge know, but it is part of the life in an amalgam. The contracts awarded should have been published in the dailies. The people should have known but this is not done. Things like these, may not happen in a nation. There are checks and balances.

As if not enough, the governors rush to Abuja to get their manna. The money is for the state. The amount given to each governor is not known by the citizens of the state. What the governor does with the money, nobody knows. It is his personal property. It is a question of playing hide and seek between the Federal government and the state government. In Africa things are done backwardly and nobody cares. It is unfortunate.

To start with, for the state governors to rush to Abuja to get the manna is a very wrong system. It creates laziness. However, it is the unfortunate system for now. The people should know how much the state receives on monthly basis. They should know for what purpose the money is given. All these should be published on the papers. The citizens of the state should follow up the project to see that it is being carried out in reality. For how long will African amalgams be in the dark, doing things in the opposite way? For how long will African amalgams apply the principle of hide and seek rather than that of accountability?