Ndume: It’s only in Nigeria that politicians are celebrated for stealing money

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’ (prostrate) 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.