What wealthy Nigerians owe their nation (3)

I  said to my early morning caller: “Mr Naija-Man, what do you say is to be done about the wasteful extravagance and lack of direction of Nigerians with money?”

“Well, I do wish the wealthy of Nigeria, no matter how they acquired their wealth, would not just consume their wealth with these extravagances. I wish they would have a bit more ambition, more vanity, more class. Then they would want to immortalize their name, leave behind them something of lasting value, some institution by which they can be remembered when they die.”

“Who’s talking of dying?” I said. “If they got their wealth just yesterday morning, as you say, then they are hauling the sack of money on their shoulders as they run to hide from the local or international police . . . .”

“Don’t you wish!” Naija-Man retorted. “Truth is, nobody is chasing them. The ‘local police’ are nowhere. The high-placed guardians take their share of the loot. The low-placed footsoldiers dare not open their mouths. Everybody, I mean EVERYBODY knows exactly what is going on but no one dares say a word. As for the ‘international police,’ aren’t they the receivers of the stolen money? Isn’t all the money laundered, dry cleaned and neatly stowed away in the bank vaults of the prim and proper anti-corruption-certified ‘international community’? Give me a break, Mr O. J.!”

We had run round a big circle. Before me was a familiar-looking stone wall. I felt foolish. Embarrassed. What to say . . . .

“So . . . what is to be done?”

Naija-Man took a deep breath that reverberated through every particle of the handset.

“Nothing—except to try and persuade the wealthy of Nigeria to look abroad for models of what the rich can accomplish by leveraging their cash, credit, political influence, business skills and goodwill. What might have been home-grown models were stunted or stonewalled out of existence by the chaos that has reigned at the top for 50 years.”

“Doesn’t it matter how they acquired their wealth?”

“I already said that most of that money is bad money. Stolen money . . .”

“Can bad money do good work?”

“It most certainly can—if the person manipulating it knows what he is doing and applies the money to positive ends.”

“Can a thief and embezzler direct his loot to positive ends?”

“Already we see fledgling samples of it right here in Naija. Oyibo-land is full of it. The inescapable requirement is to love your country so deeply that although you once defrauded it, you would now devote half of your ill-gotten fortune to help transform it from a ‘failed postcolonial state’ to a ‘modern industrial state’.”

“Another miracle? How is that to be achieved?” 

“Study the process in those countries that achieved a comparable transformation, copy what they did and adapt it to suit Nigerian conditions.”

“You mean as in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea?”

“Exactly. Those Four Asian Tigers industrialized in approximately two decades. Earlier, Japan did it (their second time around, recovering from the devastation of World War II) in three decades. By slow and steady application, India did it in five decades. And hidden behind their ‘bamboo curtain’, China not only industrialized in five decades but emerged as the world’s second largest economy and the global manufacturer of choice. These miracles were not achieved through prayers in churches, mosques or temples—and certainly not through extravagant consumption and waste—but by clearly articulated goals, detailed and careful planning, determination to stay on task, relentless application of resources to achieve measurable targets, prolonged hours of work, sweat.”

I was overwhelmed. “But these were programs of the state, the powers that be. What did they have to do with the rich of those places?”

“Well, you must know that everywhere in the world, the wealthy class and the political class work hand in hand—if in fact they are not the same. Rarely do they work at cross-purposes. They make the laws to favour their individual as well as group interests. And whatever economic policies and programs are initiated, they make sure they get the lion’s share in investments and profits. They plough their wealth, whether honestly or dishonestly acquired, into ventures that would multiply their wealth while at the same time providing products and services for the general populace and tax revenue for the state.”

“So you think the wealthy of Nigeria should do the same?”

“Yes. Industrializing Nigeria, transforming it into modernity, is their particular responsibility. Working individually or in teams, the rich should invest their wealth in agriculture and food processing and manufacturing. This alone will create millions of jobs. The workers will require decent housing, efficient public transportation on a network of good roads and railways, clean drinking water, good medical care to stay healthy and work hard, and relaxing entertainment and leisure. All these necessary services will be provided at affordable rates by the wealthy entrepreneurs.”

“Isn’t it government that normally provides such social services?” 

“Government is just a name,” said Naija-Man. “Remember, government and the wealthy class are two sides of the same coin. Government is controlled and driven by the wealthy class.”

“So, government can get the wealthy class to pay for these services through taxes levied on their profits?”

“Supplemented by taxes paid by workers in those business ventures . . . .”

Onwuchekwa Jemie