12-2-2025.

Patriotism is the key word when it comes to ruling in developed countries, a concept far away from the concern of most African leaders. The concern that guides the conduct of many a leader in Africa is self enrichment, at the expense of service to the nation.The most indebted countries also happen to be the most developed in the world.

The top 15 indebted countries are also the most developed in the world. Some of them are the United States (US), Japan, Canada, Russia, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), France, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland, to mention some of them, but not necessarily in that order.

China, which is not in the line up, is today the global powerhouse in terms of engineering, technology, Information Technology (IT), warfare (state-of-art- gargantuan war equipment) and unimaginable wealth. But about 35 years ago the country was an ordinary Third World nation.

The narrative has immensely changed for better, because China has leaders that think about the nation and its people, at the expense of their own interests. The nation has achieved feats in engineering, construction, automotive manufacturing and designs that would be considered completely ‘impossible’ in some countries, including Nigeria under Tinubu.

The country of the Mandarin majority, today builds the fastest and more bullet trains in the world, builds the longest bridges and roads on some of the most inhospitable locations in the world, builds the largest container-carrying sea vessels in the world, other out-of-this-world infrastructure, and possesses the world’s largest pool of experts in many fields, who are hired around the world to work on some ‘impossible’ important projects.

The land of the Great Wall, China is about the only country that does not owe any country or organisation any money, but owed trillions of dollars by foreign nations, including the biggest debtor of them all, the United States (US). The new President of the US, Donald Trump, announced some sanctions against China that he was quickly to regret, forcing the Chinese leader to real out a string of sanctions against the US that may bankrupt (US) completely.

The simple reason behind the stagnation of most countries in Africa is the unabashed and rampant corruption that the leaders in government constantly engaged in. While leaders in the developed nations borrow money from the banks and other wealthy nations to take their countries to the next level of modern advancement, their African counterparts regularly borrow from the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the purpose of helping themselves to almost all the money, leaving virtually next to nothing for development of infrastructure in the country.

The norm by leaders in developed countries, is to borrow and invest in their countries for the benefit of now and the next generation. But in most African countries, they borrow from WB or IMF or both, to put the money into their pockets, and go ahead with the thought of the next election, which is why the Nigerian number one citizen emerged the number three most corrupt person in the entire world, after William Ruto of Kenya and a former Sri Lankan President, who emerged number two and number one, respectively.

African leaders are also vain, ostentatious and show-offs, who would rather bankrupt their nations to satisfy their whims and caprices everywhere they find themselves, in or outside their domains. This is exactly the characteristics of the CORRUPT drug addicted and pushing President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Tinubu is so vain that he wants every federal establishment, (civilian or military), property and what not, named after him. And sycophants are falling over themselves to oblige him. The way he is getting his way in the country, with the so called National Assembly (NASS) pocketed by him, it is just a matter of time before Nigeria gets its own late Idi Aminu of Uganda or late Sese Seko of  Those two late maximum dictators wanted to rename their respective countries after them. Before some people cunningly dissuaded them from doing so. Tinubu may be ‘begged’ by the sycophants around him to rename Nigeria after his own name, which he would ‘reluctantly’ agree to agree with.

Nigeria would then become ‘the Federal Republic of Tinubu. The security chiefs, who are all his ‘boys’, will not object. If anything, they will enjoy being called ‘Tinubu boys’, they would freely drop his name as the boss’s boys. After all, there was only applause from the pliant NASS, when the president commanded them to revert to the old National Anthem, written by a foreigner, and drop the one in use, which was written by a Nigerian.

Who knows, the Nigerian number one citizen might even consider persuading his African colleagues to drop the name ‘Africa’, and replace it with ‘Tinubu’. He has the money to buy them, courtesy of the humongous wealth regularly stolen from the citizens’s Commonwealth.

African leaders are so rich that their countries could afford for them an entire hotel for them and their retinue of aides in the expensive Lower Manhattan, in New York, US, during the United Nations (UN) meetings. But their ‘poor’ counterparts from highly developed countries, would settle in cheap hotels, or even in their respective consulates in New York to attend the same UN meeting.

This runaway corruption, larger-life fawning they get in office therefore explains the do-or-die and sit-tight attitude of most office seekers in Africa, where election promises are mostly about promises to build this, to complete that project begun by my predecessor, and so on and so forth. But in developed nations, which have long passed that Antediluvian stage, politicians in the hustings promise how to advance the interests of their countries on the international stage.

Despite borrowing hundreds of billions of dollars from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund many times in the less than two years of his presidency, the claims made by many of the present revenue generating agencies of overshooting given targets, and the revenue from other current sources within the country, poverty and hunger however, keep rising by the day in Nigeria. These twin evils keep claiming the lives of many poor citizens (not a few of them the result of suicide) in the country, because most of all those monies is siphoned away to private accounts of the president and some of the powerful people in the corridors of power.

It could be observed in the in the increase in their ostentatious and flamboyant lifestyle, which are obscenely financed by the corruption ridden governments at both federal and state levels. 

THISDAY newspaper reported that President Tinubu had increased the 2025 budget from N49.7 trillion to N54.2 trillion, with the assurance by the NASS to quickly pass it this month.

Towards the end of last year, the Power Minister, who appears to be in the habit of blaming ‘National Grid Collapse’ for his monumental failure, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, claimed that the country needed N2.7 trillion to improve electricity to all Nigerians. Very big deal. That is probably preparatory to borrowing the money for stealing.

Let the corrupt’s attack dogs, including illiterate ones, answer the whereabouts of the humongous government money. While no sign of putting the infrastructure is in place in most parts of the country, there is no indication of the easing of the overwhelming poverty and the excruciating hunger in Nigeria.

In his write up on 4th February, 2025, titled, ‘UNMASKING THE HYPOCRISY: Nuhu Ribadu’s Shifting Stance on Corruption Allegations Against Bola Tinubu and Others’, a Political and Security analyst, Dahiru Yusuf Yabo, said that the “recent rebuttal by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, denying that he ever accused President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu of corruption during his tenure as EFCC Chairman is nothing short of a strategic revision of history.

“During his tenure, the EFCC investigated and indicted several governors for financial crimes, especially in the lead-up to the 2003 and 2007 elections. The agency released a list of corrupt governors deemed unfit for re-election, citing extensive evidence of financial mismanagement, fraud, and embezzlement. Among these high-profile figures was Bola Tinubu, then Governor of Lagos State, whose administration faced persistent allegations of illicit financial activities, including operating multiple foreign bank accounts in violation of the Nigerian Constitution. 

Barrister Dahiru Yabo quoted Vanguard Newspaper as saying that, “His recent denial raises serious questions about his integrity and whether his current role as NSA under Tinubu has influenced his selective amnesia. His claim that he never accused Tinubu, Akume, or Kalu contradicts the well-documented records of the EFCC’s activities under his leadership”.

The political and security analyst added that, “The corruption allegations against him resurfaced in various forms, including the controversial Alpha Beta Consulting firm scandal, the $460,000 forfeiture case in the U.S., and his involvement in the Remita e-payment system under Buhari’s administration. 

According to him, “Despite these unresolved cases, Tinubu not only retained his political influence but also installed key allies in strategic positions, ensuring that anti-corruption agencies remained ineffective against him. Even as President, the composition of his cabinet—stacked with individuals facing corruption cases—reflects a pattern of impunity”.

Even the traditional chief protector of Yoruba land, the tribal people of the Nigerian president, Chief Gani Adams, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of the Yoruba land, and a fierce depender of everything Yoruba, wrote to you an open letter on September 10, 2024, bitterly complaining about your many failed economic policies in the country, asking you to retrace your steps on issues of great importance to the people in the country.

Part of the letter reads, “When you came with the ‘Emilokan’ coinage in the build up to the 2023 elections, many Nigerians were persuaded that as a democrat exposed to modern way of governance, you will perform better than Muhammadu Buhari, a soldier who deepened the poverty levels of Nigerians and increased insecurity from 2015 to 2023. Today, events have proved that they were wrong. 

“President, to say the truth without minding whose ox is gored, you have really disappointed many Nigerians who thought you were the messiah they were waiting for. The facts are there to speak for themselves. On May 29, 2023 when you became the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigerians, the price of a litre of fuel was less then N200. Today, it is more than N1000. As the Minister of Petroleum, I ask you, what type of reforms is this?

“In May 2023, Naira to a Dollar was less than N740. Today, it is more than N1,600. Now, your two right-hand men when you were Governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, Wale Edun (Finance Minister) and Yemi Cardoso (CBN Governor) are in charge of the economy. What exactly are the fiscal, economic and financial briefings they give you daily to convince you that they know what they are doing in those two offices? 

“When Buhari left on May 29, 2023, many Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief that insecurity would soon become history. Pitiably today, from the North to the South, East to the West, the rate at which Nigerians are being abducted and some killed, even after ransom was paid, it was as if these blood-thirsty maniacs have just been unleashed on Nigerians from the hottest part of hell. 

“As the Commander-in-Chief,the rising spate of insecurity across the country has put to question the kind of briefings you get on daily basis, especially, from the Inspector- General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, the Chief of Army Staff, General Taoreed Lagbaja,and other Security Chiefs on their modus operandi to send these killers to where they belong?

“In August, many Nigerians came out to express their frustration on the way you are governing them. Today, some of those arrested have been charged with treason. In the Comity of Nations, who does that? Is that the way governments are overthrown, with placards? Human rights activists are being harassed by security agents on a daily basis and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have become soft targets of sycophants who speak sweet words to your ears for selfish reasons. 

“Many Nigerians know the ‘radical’ role you played when you were Governor, and even after 2007, when you galvanised and mobilised them to challenge the status quo at the national level. Now that you are in government, protest has suddenly become a criminal offence. God is indeed Great!!! The plain truth is that the recent fuel price increase by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), an agency which is under your office as the Petroleum Minister, is an attack on Nigerians. 

“Obviously, your administration is becoming indifferent, insensitive and unresponsive to the plights of millions of Nigerians who can no longer meet their daily needs. This is a brutal assault on the sensibility of Nigerians. I think you and your party should be sensitive to the plights of Nigerians. 

“Mr.President, don’t you think the wicked and draconian increase in fuel price, especially, at this time that Nigerians have been pushed to the wall, is a huge recipe for crisis? Nigerians can no longer bear this economic hardship any longer.

 “I am writing this letter to you because of the pressure I am going through from millions of Nigerians, who erroneously, believe that I don’t want to tell you the truth because the two of us are eminent Yoruba citizens. The truth is that the perverted, opaque, unintelligible, wicked and corrupt handling of the petroleum sector and continuous increase of fuel price under your administration (with the NNPC threatening us the price will still go up) without due regard to the laws of the land and wellbeing of Nigerians is akin to telling Nigerians to go to hell. 

“Mr.President, if a few of your advisers are telling you that all is well, I can confidently inform you that they are your enemies. Former President Buhari was here and Nigerians proved to him that they were bigger than him. If you don’t reverse this ugly trend immediately, soon, the situation may trigger further hardship across the country. 

“Under your watch as the President, the APC-led administration has consistently shown itself to be anti-people, unconcerned and deaf to the agonies of millions of Nigerians. Today, more than 75 per cent of Nigerians have sunk below the poverty line. Businesses are collapsing like a badly-arranged pack of cards and the centre can no longer hold in many households. With over 32 per cent inflation rate and close to 40 per cent unemployment rate which are expected to rise further with the latest dictatorial increase in fuel price, it is obvious that your administration offers no hope to Nigerians. 

“In the past 16 months, your administration has been using propaganda, power of coercion and rough tactics to oppress Nigerians. For how long do you honestly think that despotic strategy will last? Since last year, you have visited many countries, the latest being China. Do you think your foreign counterparts treat their citizens the way you are treating Nigerians? 

“Mr.President, remember your promises to Nigerians during your numerous campaigns to all the nooks and crannies of this great country? In just 16 months into your administration, your campaign promises have suddenly become failed promises? Your Excellency, do you remember an Austrian-German who became the Commander-in-Chief in Germany in 1933? Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945? 

“Hitler, an elected democrat, quickly transformed a democratic republic into a constitutional dictatorship. The Fuhrer vowed to destroy democracy through the democratic process. And he did with the destruction of Germany in 1945. Before the destruction, the Nazi leader disabled, then dismantled the Weimar Republic. The Fuhrer crushed political opposition, destroyed the economy and ultimately undermined Germany’s democratic structures. 

“When Hitler became history on April 30, 1945, Germany was in total ruins. But due to the determination of Germans, today, that country has the biggest economy in Europe. I hope I am wrong but I see a linkage between what happened during the ascendancy of Hitler into power and what is happening in Nigeria today. Anyway, Nigeria is bigger than any individual. Mr President, the time is ticking. Ask this simple question: Are my reforms working?”.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will go down in the world’s Hall of Infamy, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Joseph Staling of the Soviet Union, who massacred at least 20 million of his compatriots and impoverished many, Mussolini of Italy who teamed up with Adolf Hitler of Germany to exterminate at least 6 million Jews. The two also impoverished millions of their own citizens.

To ease the suffering and hardship in the country, many wits have resorted to telling jokes about the difficulty of surviving in Nigeria these days, under the President Tinubu regime of impunity. One of the favourites, which is trending on the social media, says that, “Getting Rich Has Been Postponed Until Further Notice, What Matters Now Is Survival!!!”

May God ease the suffering of the poor Nigerian citizens, who are afflicted with the overwhelming poverty and the pervasive hunger that have become a constant in the country.

Malumfashi wrote from Katsina.