Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah must have had Nigeria in mind when he wrote the ninth verse of 17th chapter of his book, Jeremiah. The verse cogently captures the impenetrable depth of wickedness of the heart of man; man in low, middle and high places. The verse, a comprehensive representation of the conscience of man in its most corrupt and fallen state, says: “The heart (of man) is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.”
Despite the well touted anti-corruption campaign of the Muhammadu Buhari Administration, new revelations of official corruption unfurl virtually every day and in such weird ways that would make Satan himself turn green with envy in his abode in hell. This is because people don’t just steal, they steal in the worst ways imaginable.
When the case of Sabo Dasuki, a retired Colonel and National Security Adviser, NSA, under former President Goodluck Jonathan broke, many people thought Nigeria can never sink lower in the corruption swamp. The discredited ex-NSA allegedly fleeced billions of dollars earmarked for buying four Alpha Jets, 12 helicopters, bombs and ammunition to prosecute the war against the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East. Phantom contracts were reportedly awarded for the said equipment and munitions but were never supplied. Rather, the money was diverted and shared to politicians to prosecute the 2015 general elections, thus putting our gallant soldiers at the mercy of Boko Haram.
The heart (of man) is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.
Indeed, there is no bigger evil than when people are treated like disposables. Also, there is nothing crueller than when people do evil with generous smiles. Which is exactly what another big man has reportedly done in the same North East with funds meant for the rehabilitation of people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency.
As Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Mr. David Babachir Lawal oversees the Presidential Initiative on the (rehabilitation of the) North East, PINE. Rehabilitation of multitude of the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in the region is one of his committee’s core mandates. But after a fact-finding tour of the affected region, and a three-day public hearing, the Senate Committee on the Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East submitted a report that seriously indicted the SGF. Rather than put broad smiles on the traumatised faces of the IDPs, the Senate reported suggested that Lawal used his office to multiply the sufferings of the IDPs; a situation that has made many of the displaced person wish they had stayed back to live with the horror of Boko Haram. First, the Senate committee disclosed that “the entire procurement activities carried out by PINE in the North-East” violated extant Federal Government’s Financial Rules and Regulations. Second, “Most of the contracts awarded by PINE have no direct bearing/impact on the lives of the displaced persons apparently languishing in hunger, disease, squalor and other deplorable conditions in all the DPS.” ‘The projects,’ the committee further revealed, included two conferences on rebuilding the North-East and the purported “payment of N223m for the removal of invasive plant species in Komadugu in Yobe water channels.” Did you say N223million to remove weeds? What kind of weeds are these? Did they come from Mars and do they have their roots in the ocean? Are you as shocked as I was when I first learnt of these extraordinary weeds that gulped such a staggering sum to uproot? You aint seen anything yet as the Americans would say. The report also revealed that not only were contracts brazenly over-inflated, they were also awarded to companies owned by cronies, relatives and associates. In fact, one of such plum contracts was reportedly awarded to a firm owned by Lawal. Consequently, the Senate, last December 14, pressed for the resignation, probe and prosecution of the SGF.
Before I proceed, I need to make a confession: I’m not a friend of the current Senate. I lost interest in the upper chamber primarily because some characters who strut its space as leaders have failed the integrity test; woefully.  Most of them have defiled the sanctity of that hallowed chambers, ruling (and ruining) our lives with their filthy hands. Yet, it is said that he who comes to equity must do so with clean hands. My misgivings about the Senate, notwithstanding, I must acknowledge that there are still some oasis of excellence in the place. There are still senators who, by their contributions so far, have distinguished themselves as true representatives of their constituents. There are committees that have also acquitted themselves very well in their oversight functions.  That is why, on the extant matter of those trading with the tears and blood of the IDPs in the North East, I solidly support the Senate.
In particular, I support its call for the resignation, probe and prosecution of Mr. David Babachir Lawal.
But for the failure of wisdom on the part of some people, no one should have to go through what the IDPs are going through in their camps. Some of the shelters provided in some of the camps are not good for human habitation. Even if they are, they can never be compared with the comfort of the homes they left behind. Food and other basic needs, I also learnt, trickle in rations measured only to keep them from dying. Indeed, so serious are the sufferings of the IDPs that many of them would have loved to remain in their land and live with the horror they thought they had left behind. To them, death is better than the misery they daily endure in the camps.
Despite their harrowing experiences, which should naturally attract the sympathy of  men of good will, there are people who, according to the Senate report, still relish feeding fat on the miseries of the IDPs. The godless individuals make money from the tears and blood of the hapless IDPs. The more the IPDs weep, the fatter their bank accounts, at home and abroad, get. They dance. The IDPs die.
Of a truth, the heart (of man) is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. I know that no one can fathom the desperation and wickedness of a dead conscience. But one thing stands sure, and that is: there is an all-knowing, all-powerful Being up there who diligently rewards all mortals for whatever good or evil they do on this side of eternity.  Before God dishes His judgement to those stealing from the IDPs, however, it is incumbent on all conscionable Nigerians to rise up and shame the vampires. This is a task that must be done because the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. (Edmund Burke). All the vampires feeding fat on the funds allocated for the rehabilitation of the IDPs and the entire North East must be named and shamed. They must be brought to account. And whoever is found culpable must be brought to justice, no matter his or her connection to Aso Rock and the First Family.  I want to believe that the conscience of SGF Lawal is not dead yet. That’s why I’m offering this unsolicited advice: Sir, please step down and clear your name. That is the right thing to do at this point. It is the path of honour. And since you don’t have anything to hide, I presume, you should be able to return to your exalted position once you are proved innocent of all allegations. But if you are indicted, sir, you must have your day in court. You must also brace up for whatever punishment the law prescribes.
ON IBRAHIM MAGU…
I have watched with keen interest the brouhaha that tracked the refusal of the Senate to screen Mr. Ibrahim Magu, the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, based on a security report. Judging from the albatross hanging on the neck of the leadership of the Senate, it is easy to conclude that it is corruption that is fighting back. Just like many Nigerians have inferred. But I counsel that we make haste slowly in roasting the Senate on the Magu matter lest magu (thunderbolt) hits the Administration’s anti-corruption war.
We cannot wish away those allegations highlighted in the DSS’s security report on the acting Chairman. And like I have counselled in the case of SGF Lawal, Magu should not dismiss the Senate’s position as “balderdash”. Rather, he should take urgent steps to clear his name. Once that is done, the President can re-nominate him for confirmation since he is so indispensable that we cannot find a replacement.
I recommend this same thing for President Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abba Kyari, who is immersed in the roiling scandal of a N500million bribe purportedly paid to him by officials of the South African-owned telecoms giant, MTN. The bribe, according to reports, was a token to encourage the Chief of Staff to help MTN circumvent the full payment of the $5billion fine imposed on it for violating the country’s policy on SIM card registration. The act, the authorities said, infringed on Nigeria’s internal security.
Like Lawal and Magu, Kyari is still sitting pretty in his office, unfazed by this and other allegations. This portends a bad omen for Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign. It provides more fuel for those warring that the Administration’s anti-corruption war is lopsided, targeting only people outside the fold of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. These are dead weights that the Administration cannot afford to carry.
They will drown it and Buhari’s impeccable record in the swamp.
For that not to happen, the President must act fast, and act decisively. He must prove that he is still on the side of the people. He must prove that no mortal is indispensable.
God bless Nigeria.

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