Another great piece from Ugo Egbujo. Corruption by nigerian leaders has been at the centre of Nigeria's inability to make any meaningful progress.

It started from the beginning. Our corruption.

By 1956 Zik was already manipulating ACB for private gains.

The Sutton inquiry indicted him. ACB ran aground. He was let off because the colonialists liked the idea of NCNC, the only national party at the time.

And Zik was its backbone.

By 1962, Awolowo had been indicted for corruption by the Coker commission.

In 1954 the western regional marketing board was rich. Had 6.5 million pounds in its kitty. By 1962, Awolowo had run it aground and it was living on over drafts.

By 1965 , Tafawa Balewa was superintending a looting of the treasury at an industrial scale. His ministers lived flambouyantly. Politics was for personal profit. Tafawa Balewa was comfortable with grotesque corruption.

And I guess the press didnt care so much about the North. So Sarduana's hidden personal sins could only be seen in the relative manifest backwardness of his people.

By 1965, Chinua Achebe had already branded Nigerian politics a huge joke. His book - A Man of the People - captured the comedy , and prophesied a coup.

By 1976, Murtala had dislodged Gowon.

Gowon's government had needed 3 million tons of cement but it imported 16 million tons. And clogged the country with useless cement.
The nation bled billions of dollars in today's money.

Gowon had 12 military governors . 10 of them were found guilty of corruption!

Our past was bad. The founding fathers were not free of corruption.

Ghana, Zaire, Kenya, all same experience.

Africa must rethink their democracy.

We must find a hybrid that will work for us. Western democracy is not a good fit for Africa

Ugo Egbujo.

Hmmm

True. Food for thought!