It is instructive to remind Obasa and the house of thieves that public money is for government services and projects. By their corruption, we are all affected. It threatens the sustainable economic development, ethical values, and justice in Lagos State.
Nigerian politics is defined by moral bankruptcy, rampant nepotism, sheer incompetence, mass corruption, assault on the truth, and pure evil.
Nigerian politicians go into politics to enrich themselves, families, and friends. The political class believe they are invincible and above the law. Political corruption in Nigeria is all about money and dishonesty. Nigerian politics is extremely crooked, dangerous, and diabolical. Local, state, and federal governments are being suffocated under a tsunami of corruption.
An expose by SaharaReporters revealed that the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, used N17m of state funds for monthly maintenance of his personal residence, guest house, and office. According to the report, Obasa approved the sum of N47.5m per quarter to pay social media influencers to publicise activities of the House. Enraged by the reports, Obasa according to SaharaReporters, paid thugs N50m to burn down SaharaReporters’ Civic Media Lab in Lagos.
No Speaker in all the 36 states House of Assemblies is free of corruption. Corruption is what keeps them in office. Corruption is what keeps them going. Corruption is what they know how to do best. But it is hard to beat Obasa’s repulsive malfeasance when it comes to sheer volume. Obasa’s monthly robbery of Lagos State is an unparalleled achievement. For Obasa to be able to move such huge amount of money every month without any interception or interruption by any of the three arms of government portrays Lagos State House of Assembly as a house of festival of culture of corruption.
The unrestricted looting of the Lagos State treasury by Obasa shows the level of moral decay that has permeated Nigerian society. Our politicians use their position and power to steal resources meant for the people. There are two dimensions to the looting of the state treasury by Obasa. Embezzling public fund immensely benefits him personally. Members of the APC controlled assembly are generously enriched by the plundering of the treasury. It’s a case of Speaker Obasa and the house of forty thieves!
The words of the French economist and author, Frederick Bastia, rings true for the Obasas of the world: “When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.”
How the hell is Obasa able to access the state treasury at will like his own personal ATM? What happened to checks and balances? What’s the role of the state Accountant-General? What did Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu know about the monthly heist of the treasury by Obasa? Why has the governor failed to address the issue since SaharaReporters published the expose? Over to you Governor Sanwo-Olu, Lagosians need answers!
One sacrosanct fact about Nigerian politics is that our politicians scramble for power. They kill for power. They are not driven by a desire to serve but to steal. People of my generation have never seen such evil people like the people currently running the affairs of Nigeria at all three tiers of government. This is not the Nigeria we grew up. These group of political terrorists masquerading as rulers are from the pit of hell.
It is instructive to remind Obasa and the house of thieves that public money is for government services and projects. By their corruption, we are all affected. It threatens the sustainable economic development, ethical values, and justice in Lagos State. It is the surest way to destabilize Lagos and endangers the rule of law. The action of Obasa and other corrupt law makers undermines the institutions and values of how democracy works in Lagos State. Most importantly, the poor in Lagos State suffers most the harmful effects of treasury looting by Speaker Obasa and others. Obasa has a case to answer.
History will remember Obasa’s speakership as a true relic of grand corruption.