Read this from an expatriates forum in Nigeria.

Believe it or not, his excellence minister Fani Kayode stayed at beautiful Four Seasons in Manhattan but the story does not end there. He booked the PRESIDENTIAL SUITE (yes the presidential suite) which cost $4000/night.

When the time came for his propaganda press release about "Nigeria's upcoming free and fair election", not a SINGLE known american media house showed up.



An embarassed Kayode delivered his speech nontheless to the few Nigerian and American citizens present, and hurried his way out of the US!!!



Aren't you amazed, that a country as poor as Nigeria lodges its public servants at such GRAND places and in such LUXURIOUS rooms? Can you imagine what $4000 can achieve if well spent in Nigeria?



I'm beyond words, if this is not the corruption MR. Obasanjo claims to be after, I don't know what is? The poor police officer who snatches N2,000 every year perhaps?



Talk about hypocrisy. Thank God the king of "Kempe" will be gone in a few months.

what point are u making? Nigeria is not a poor country - stop saying that, and what is the big deal about a Minister staying in a $4000/night room? You must belittle Nigeria and her public officers by assuming that staying in a $4000/night room is corruption. Maybe he should stay in a studio apartment somewhere ragged.

One night would pay the annual salary for 6 workers at minimum wage.

He could have stayed at the embassy, other nation do that, you think all American diplomat stay in a hotel when they visit Naija? $4000 is still a lot of money even by Hollywood's standard

alabiyemmy:

what point are u making? Nigeria is not a poor country - stop saying that, and what is the big deal about a Minister staying in a $4000/night room? You must belittle Nigeria and her public officers by assuming that staying in a $4000/night room is corruption. Maybe he should stay in a studio apartment somewhere ragged.

FACTS:

Nigeria and Angola are ranked among the 30 poorest countries in the world despite earning a combined $100ma day from oil exports

~ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3542901.stm

During the 1970s, Nigeria had the 33rd highest per-capita income in the world, but by 1997 it had dropped to the 13th poorest

~http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107847.html

You need to understand where we are coming from to know where we are going to.

Fani Kayode wasted our money on a useless errand for Obasanjo.

This is a question of accountability.

Lack of accountability is actually responsible for the degeneration of Nigeria.

@Topic

This is not the first or the second time he has stayed in this luxurious hotel; infact he met with one of my close associates at the same hotel few months ago. He's a great guy who is just doing what the others do on a regular basis.

Please do not blame the man. This is the way it goes and this is not just in Nigeria; there are many other poor African countries with the same philosophy.
They go around the world spending like there is no tomorrow while the people, the citizens, they suppose to serve are sitting at home suffering; It is a shame, but this is how it has been done for many many years.

I call them high rollers, unbelievable ways of living. It makes no sense and it doesn't match the stories coming out of Africa every single day.
Do you know how much it cost Nigeria to furnish Governors' houses every 4 years? Unbelievable.

Technically, Fani Kayode's annual salary as a minister is very much less than 20,000 Dollars, which means a week at this hotel is pretty much over his yearly salary.

How do you explain that? Could you ask Mr. EFCC to explain that to us?

People wake up; our problem must be resolved from the root. Stop dancing to fake music and let us join hands and embrace perfection and credibility in Nigeria.

We need a strong experienced leader who can not afford to mess up.

Big B1,
That was quite an objectiive response and I agree with your rationale.

The Western communities point out these contradictions to justify their disregard for our government. Because, they are alarmed when they see our public officials wasting millions of dollars from public coffers on their self-gratification when over 85% of Nigerians are suffering and dying daily in abject poverty.

Just visit the campuses of our colleges and universities and inspect the classrooms and laboratories and you will feel like shooting these selfish and wicked public officials from the commissioners to the President.

But the irony of it all is the fact that majority of those who should call a spade a spade prefer to lobby for the patronage of our corrupt leaders in their greed for riches.

I know someone who is owing her workers for months now, but she is more interested in buying a new jeep to add to her collection of cars and I feel like shooting her.

They won't pay salaries and they are wasting millions of naira on buying properties in the US and the UK and pampering their mistresses and girlfriends and I feel like shooting them and their girlfriends and mistresses, because they are the cankerworms of the corruption destroying Nigeria.

The EFCC has found out that three commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the national directors: Mohammad Abubakar, Faruk Umar, Anuka Emmanuel, and Ken Akaegbu have stolen billions of naira. http://allafrica.com/stories/200702160675.html

But INEC is owing many of the employees.

The guy is a Minister - the government pays for his trips and his accommodation - so he is not paying the hotel rate out of his own money. This has been done before he became a Minister and this will continue to be done - this is Nigeria. I am sure Nigeria is not the only country whose high ranking officials stay in that hotel, at least the guy doesnt stay in his own home as some people do - e.g. the VP.

Dude,

You totally missed the point.

@ Big B1

So what is the point?