Nigeria is the only country in the world where criminal enterprise thrives in our public institutions with flagrant impunity.
The perpetrators of this criminality in the public offices openly inflict unwarranted pains on Nigerians. They circumvent the extant laws with reckless abandonment because of their greed
This paints a horrible and glowing picture of the illegality that has been going on in the Central Bank of Nigeria over the years with successive leadership of the institution looking elsewhere, while the illegality and conspiracy in the illicit trade subsist amongst the trio,of CBN, commercial banks, currency buyers and sellers..
This more than a decade old criminal enterprise forcefully imposed on Nigerians is about the buying and selling of our national currency notes to Nigerians at cutthroat prices by currency sellers and buyers, planned and orchestrated by the CBN.
This illegality has been foisted on Nigerians by the CBN and commercial banks with denial upon denial, yet the trade has been booming unabated like the illicit drug business. On a rough estimate, between 1-2 trillion naira is made as profit annually by the perpetrators of this criminal enterprise.
The time has come for Nigerians to know why they can’t have access to new currency notes across the counter in any commercial bank like what was obtainable in the past in Nigeria and even abroad, despite the fact that huge tax payers money are being spent by the CBN.
The physical outlook of our national currency is very vital to the rest of the world because it’s our pride and when you come in contact with it, you are automatically attracted because of the features, including the cleanliness of the currency. We all travel abroad and see their currencies.
For more than a decade, the CBN has been circulating dirty notes to Nigerians and even foreigners. The sorry state of our smelling and dirty national currency can no longer be tolerated because it has continued to diminish our image home and abroad as unserious people..
The most agonising aspect of this criminal action of the CBN is that no one is saying anything. What we see in the social palaces is that during the weekends, new currencies are made available at social functions at cut-throat prices ranging from 50k for 15k, 100k for 30k, 200k for 60k.. .
It’s ironic that CBN, saddled with the printing and management of our national currency, including its distribution to commercial banks can’t explain why the currency can’t be obtained across the counter of any commercial bank but can be seen at social events every weekends at high costs.
This article is not intended to malign anyone, especially the crops of people that just came on board to reposition the CBN for optimal performance.
It’s also important to remind the new leadership of this institution who can’t claim ignorance of all manners of criminality going on in the CBN.They are also aware that the CBN was once respected for its probity and integrity, so the restoration of the integrity of the Central Bank of Nigeria remains sacrosanct and must be achieved within a reasonable timeline.
It’s time to put an end to the nightmares of Nigerians and foreigners who are in need of clean and new currency notes to be able to conduct their legal trades anytime they are desirous of doing so.
In addition, this nefarious trade should be condemned by Nigerians, and the government must work hard to fish out the perpetrators, expose and bring them to justice.
Furthermore, it’s highly disingenuous and unacceptable for Nigerians to be buying their own currency notes in their country when the currency notes were printed with taxpayers’ money in the first place.
A recent investigation conducted around the world shows that Nigeria is the only country where its national currency notes are being sold to the citizens.. This is highly condemnable. The collateral damage this criminal enterprise is posing to our international image and how it is inflicting pains on our national economy and Nigerians is beyond description..
The only option we have at the moment is by making sure that public institutions are driven according to laws and not by the whips and caprices of any individual personality. The CBN, NNPCL, the police, the Nigerian Navy, customs, Minting and Printing company, and several hundreds of our public institutions should be subjected to public scrutiny to ensure total compliance with their mandate when dealing with the public.
Enough of illegality and criminal in our public institutions! Enough of all manners of impunity in our public offices! .
It’s unimaginable that institutions created by law like the CBN, which were created to render services to the citizens, are now in the habit of tormenting and inflicting unwarranted pains on Nigerians. The case of the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, is very fresh in our memory. We mustn’t forget that there are many Godwin Emefieles in our institutions across the country.
It’s time we start exposing them by invoking the office of the citizens before we allow them to inflict pains on Nigerians with impunity .The incidence of passport racketeering at the Ministry of Interior just received the attention of our dynamic Hon Minister for interior Olubunmi Tunji Ojo (BTO). In less than three months in office, he has put an end to the criminal enterprise of passport racketeering. This is highly commendable
Another case of government corporation that deserves public scrutiny is the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).In the public view, it’s now a limited liability company, but in reality, the corporation is being run like a government agency.
NNPCL took huge sums of funds from marketers (running to several billions, if not trillions) late 2022,but failed to supply them product until they changed their price in June, asking marketers to go and add the difference.
Some of these marketers took money from the banks while others may have borrowed money from private lenders. When some of these marketers visited NNPCL to demand a refund or to be supplied their product at the old rate, NNPCL remains adamant.
This is a typical example of oppression at the highest level, using public institutions to oppress innocent Nigerians. It’s the height of executive recklessness by those in public office.
Let us not be deceived that immigration, CBN, and NNPCL are the only public institutions in Nigeria that are involved in these criminal enterprises in our country.
It’s an open fact that almost all our institutions created by laws to render services to Nigerians are used by privileged Nigerians to inflict unwarranted pains on Nigerians just because someone is in the public office.
There is no way we can be talking about some of our institutions that are running criminal enterprise without mentioning Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB.
I used to like the man at the helms of affairs in the institution because of his accountability prowess when he came on board. I have since found out that the man is more interested in generating funds for the government at the expense of our children.
Wait a minute. What is the relevance of JAMB in today world? It’s quite ridiculous that university institutions set up according to extant laws are not able to function in line with their mandate because of over regulations by JAMB and others.
In the process, our children are made to go through all manners of frustrations all because they are seeking university education. They keep extorting them here and there, which is a way of promoting their own criminal enterprise through public institution.
Why can’t we allow our children to seek admission from the university of their choice whenever they are done with secondary education? This is the case everywhere in the world. Why should our own be different from other parts of the world?
This is highly provocative and unacceptable in any civilised society. Those who think they are in public offices to amplify their ego with flagrant impunity by promoting criminal enterprise, all to sabotage the laws and inflict more pains on innocent Nigerians should remember that, one day, they will be called to account for their inadequacies. .
There is this misconception out there that people in the public offices are our bosses, so we must always line up and stand up to acknowledge them. This is highly untrue as public institutions are designed to serve the people, so those who choose to work in the public offices either on appointment or by election should always see themselves as servants of the people.
Therefore, they must continue to do the right thing by stopping the use of bureaucracy to torment or intimidate Nigerians whenever they come around to access services.
.Otunba Sola Olatunji, Chairman, Ikale Heritage Development Association, IHDA, writes from Lagos
