A BRIEF HISTORY OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA…..
1. 1960 – 1966: Sir
Abubakar Tafawa –
Balewa’s tenure – no
public funds stolen
2. 1966: Major – General
Aguiyi Ironsi’s. brief
tenure – no public funds
stolen
3. 1966 – 1975: General
Yakubu Gowon’s tenure
– very little corruption
creeping in
4. 1975 – 1976: General
Murtala Ramat Muhammed’s tenure –
zero tolerance for
corruption and indiscipline
5. 1976 – 1979: General
Olusegun Aremu Matthew Okikiola Obasanjo’s tenure –
rulers started owning
large properties running
into millions of dollars
6. 1979 – 1983: President Shehu
Shagari’s tenure –
characterized by weak
leadership. Ministers
and other top functionaries had a field
day looting all the lootable public funds and properties even
though the President
himself was not stealing any dime!
7. 1984 – 1985: Major –
General Muhammadu
Buhari’s tenure – zero
tolerance for corruption,
indolence and indiscipline. Corrupt
politicians were jailed a
minimum of 100 years
in prison each!
8. 1985 – 1993: General
Ibrahim Badamasi
Babangida’s tenure –
freed all the corrupt
politicians jailed by
General Buhari. These
same freed politicians
are majorly the same
set of politicians ruining
Nigeria now. During
Babangida’s tenure public funds were being
carted away by public
servants like confetti.
In one fell swoop, about 12 billion dollars
mysteriously vanished!
9. 1993 – 1998: General
Sani Abacha’s tenure –
five billion dollars and
more stolen in his five
years tenure
10. 1998 – 1999: General
Abdulsalami Abubakar’s
11 months tenure -About 2 billion dollars
were alleged to have
been stolen. Anyway
the man is among the
wealthiest people in the
country today!
11. 1999 – 2007:
President Olusegun
Matthew Aremu
Okikiola Obasanjo’s
second tenure – His
bank account grew from twenty thousand
naira after emerging
from prison to being a
multi-billionaire with
choice properties in
Nigeria and major cities
of the world. Public
infrastructure declined
massively and
gangsterism became
the order of the day.
Corruption prospered
massively in his tenure!
In one fell swoop, 16
billion dollars just
vanished, allegedly for
electric power projects
but darkness was
supplied and is still
being supplied in large
quantity! In another
mysterious disappearance the sum
of 300 billion naira (2
billion dollars) meant for
road projects also
vanished into thin air!
12. 2007 – 2010: Late
President Yar’adua’s tenure – A quiet reserved and the
messiah that did not
live long to be! The
noiseless tenure. Overturned
corrupt sale of Nigeria’s
refineries to Obasanjo’s friends
Dangote and Otedola.
Ordered EFCC to go after anyone
which got Obasanjo scared
and calling him a traitor.
Went after overturning
corrupt sales of Abuja Hilton
to Transcorp. When he took ill
more acutely all of a sudden after pursuing
the corrupt cabal including Obasanjo
he suspected poisoning from
Obasanjo’s kitchen staff and
fired them.
13. 2010 – Present:
President Ebele
Goodluck Jonathan’s
tenure?
What is your assessment ?
-by Abu Khaalid, *edited