Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south senatorial
district, says corruption has remained endemic in Nigeria because politicians
who steal money are celebrated for doing so.
The senator spoke on Sunday in Kano during an interactive
session with journalists.
He added that in developed nations, people question the
source of one’s wealth, but in Nigeria, you are venerated for flaunting
ill-gotten wealth.
“Our major challenge in this country is corruption. Up till
now, we have no law that can proactively or even reactively address the issue
of corruption in the country,” he said.
“If you see somebody
in our system, especially in politics or government, and he is not corrupt,
then he is lucky that he is God-fearing.
“Otherwise, it is only in Nigeria that you steal money and
you walk freely, and then you are celebrated.
“If you come into an area like this, people would start
lobbying you and do ‘dobale’ (genuflecting) for you and he knows that the money
was stolen.
“It is only in this
country that somebody had no money yesterday or last week, but the following
week he buys 10 cars, buys jets and his brothers would fly with him, his mother
would fly with him, his uncle would fly with him, and they would say Allah has
blessed our son.”
The senator said he has made several attempts to pass a law
on unexplained wealth in Nigeria, but that his efforts “never saw the light of
the day”.
He said he even approached a former head of state for help
to no avail.
“Up till now, there is no law on Unexplained Wealth Act in
Nigeria and there is no Executive Order on Unexplained Wealth in Nigeria,”
Ndume added.
He also bemoaned the pervasive hunger in the country, while
calling for an increase in crop cultivation to fix the problem.
“There is hunger in the land and up till now we have not
cultivated up to five per cent of our land… blessed land in Nigeria,” the
senator said.
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