BY COLLINS OPUROZOR
When Chinua Achebe concluded in his celebrated book, that the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership, he had premised his conclusion on the ravages visited on the country by certain corrupt elements within the corridors of power.
These are men of limitless avarice and greed. Political power is, for them, a mere pathway to primitive accumulation of wealth. All they seek is power, more power and power again, with a total focus on realizing their self-serving quest for treasury looting. Nothing more, nothing less.
Their dominance in the political space explains the painful paradox of Nigeria as a wealthy nation with poor citizens.
In 2018, BudgIT, through its project-tracking sub-section known as Tracka, made an exposé about suspected diversion of public funds and non-execution of funded constituency projects in Owerri Zone. Senator Samdaddy Anyanwu, who at the time represented the senatorial district in the National Assembly, was fingered. Note that BudgIT is the leading credible organization that offers accurate insight into where Nigeria's money is being spent and provides in-depth financial reports on the country's budgets.
In clear terms, Tracka questioned the whereabouts of the N490 million released for projects which Senator Anyanwu nominated in the 2018 budget. A line in their report alerted that funds had been released for the projects, and invited Senator Anyanwu to explain the state of the projects. Curiously, the Ikeduru-born Senator kept has mute over this issue for five years. Ahiazuwa!
A breakdown shows that the projects include N60 million for the provision of empowerment equipment for youths and women in Owerri Zone. Where are the youths who were empowered, and what does the equipment look like? This is pathetic!
Another N60 million was for the construction of lock-up shops at Nkwo Imo Market in Amaimo, Ikeduru LGA, with borehole and toilet facility. Today, are those lock-up shops in the said market? What about the borehole and toilet facility?
Again, N60 million was for the provision and installation of 500KVA transformers in various communities in Owerri Zone. Which communities benefitted from this and where are the transformers?
Further, N60 million was earmarked for equipping the skills acquisition centers in Mbaitoli and Ngor Okpala LGAs. Where are the centers? This is outrageous! If those skills acquisition centers were equipped, the young people in the areas would have found a route to economic self-reliance, thereby keeping the wolf of crime and youth restiveness out of our State. But the youths were willfully deprived by their own representative.
Continuing with the breakdown, another N50 million was for training and skill acquisition in cosmetic production for youths and women in Owerri Zone. Cosmetic production! Ahiazuwa! Where are the beneficiaries? Which cosmetic products are they making today? Or are they making for Samdaddy alone?
Also, N50 million was for provision of empowerment for widows and people living with disabilities in Owerri Zone, while N40 million was for procurement of heavy duty grader for rural roads rehabilitation in Owerri Zone. Where is the grader? Which rural roads have been rehabilitated by the ghost grader? Even the people living with disabilities were also deprived! Horrible!
Finally, while the sum of N50 million was for rehabilitation and repair of solar street lights for urban renewal in Owerri Zone, N60 million for was supply and installation of solar street lights in various villages of Owerri Zone. Where are the street lights? N490 million gone! To be clear, these issues are heartbreaking!
Much that we need strong institutions to stop corruption and punish offenders, it also important that the people themselves should take more interest in what their representatives do. They must begin to ask pertinent questions. For instance, the people of Owerri Zone should ask Samdaddy to suspend whatever pretenses he is making about running for governorship and explain to them what he knows about this N490 million scandal.
It is immoral for such weighty scandal which touches on the lives and wellbeing of Owerri people to remain uncleared, yet the man at the center of the whole debacle is moving around Owerri Zone with an old church song, asking them to make him Governor for peace to reign.
Owerri people cannot reinforce failure, abuse of public trust and vicious brutalization of public treasury! In short, the most appropriate campaign in this election for Owerri people is to rise and ask the anti-graft agencies: Is It Not Yet Time to Arrest Samdaddy? He needs to answer to this monumental sleaze that occurred under his watch as Senator representing Owerri Zone.
