In 2017, the then Minister of mineral resources told us Nigeria lost about $9bn between 2014 and 2015 and the Buhari administration was putting up measures to curb the same guess what nothing has changed.
Whenever I hear Nigeria is poor. I laugh hysterically, only a few countries on Planet earth can match Nigeria in term of Natural Mineral Resources buried beneath us instead our old brigades have stamped rhetoric of poverty and negative image on Nigeria which has been meticulously maintained for years so they can keep collecting aids which are used for their personal needs. Nigerians must understand anything free is extremely dangerous. These aids and loans constantly given to Nigeria comes with high risks.
Beneath Nigeria is a whole lot of mineral resources which are yet to be exhumed, we have got quantum raw materials, despite this abundance Nigeria is perceived poor by the world media and international aid agencies have been persistently drawing an image of Nigeria as country mired in poverty and misery all thanks to our leaders and now 50% of Nigerians are living below the extreme poverty line.
How on Earth will a state like Osun, Kogi and Zamfara be poor?
How on Earth will any state in Nigeria be poor?
In 2017, the then Minister of mineral resources told us Nigeria lost about $9bn between 2014 and 2015 and the Buhari administration was putting up measures to curb the same guess what nothing has changed. Illegal mining activities are ongoing.
The same Fayemi had in 2016, promised to generate more than N3 billion through mining fees and royalty by 2017, but the ministry, however, contributed N3.5 billion to the Federation Account in 2017 but in 2018 a man was stopped at the Abuja airport with illegally mined gold from Zamfara worth N 1.12 billion en route Dubai. We never heard anything again that is 32% of our 2017 revenue with one man in 2018.
This wrong assumption is aided by our looting old brigade and some Nigerians who refused to push for renewal instead got stuck with a generation whose actions and inactions have impoverished Nigerian and Africans in general.
The security issues we have in Nigeria today was created by this same class of old brigades, they destroyed the educational sectors and looted all that could have provided the basics for Nigerians, every known agitation in Nigeria today was created as a result of bad governance.
Boko Haram which is constantly highlighted was fueled because some demons called old brigades. Billions of US dollars was earmarked for the decimation of these deadly terrorists but the money ended in Private pockets and Boko Haram grew and in the process, thousands of Nigerians were killed and millions were rendered homeless and poverty thrived. Rape and malnourishment were directly administered on a whole region with that singular act.
Over the last 58 years, we have had a lying set of leaders whose only agenda is to fill their pockets at Nigeria's expense. They stole everything for their unborn generation and we keep hailing them across every region. Nigerians should know there is no good thief. These hoodlums as I prefer to call them have continually kidnapped our Commonwealth which is in hundreds of billion of dollars in 58 years.
Good governance is not rocket science, Europeans, Chinese, Lebanese, Indians Americans ain't better than Nigerians they come here and use Nigerians to achieve their aims and desires.
Ettu Mohammed writes from lagos.