By Zik Gbemre

It has been said that the best way to identify the true character, personality and self-worth of a man is when he has access to money and power. It is when people, including those that you think you know very well, have money and power that you know who they truly are. We see this reflect in different shades and levels across every aspect of our Nigerian society. That is why today, we have become a people who value money (regardless of how it was made by the individuals concerned) more than anything else. As such, the sacred values like humility, hard work, diligence, honesty and integrity that once held our society together, have all been replaced with their opposites. Leaving our societies decaying daily without us even realizing it.

I am sure many of us have seen a cropped picture, which has gone viral online, showing The Queen of England and Wales on one hand, and the wife of a supposed Local Government Chairman on the other side. With the caption that reads: “This is Queen Elizabeth of England and Wales, the Queen of the world’s most civilized nation carrying her handbag and umbrella herself. While in Nigeria, an ordinary Local Government Council Chairman’s wife will have Aides to carry her handbag and hold the umbrella for her. Nigerians, where did we get it wrong?”

When I saw the said picture, the first thought that came to my mind is how shallow and worthless many people have fallen and become in this country. And we see this sort of nonsense all around us by our supposed political leaders and elites. And one begins to wonder why do we always blow things out of proportion in this country? Why are we so wasteful and misplacing our priorities, creating more problems and complicating things for ourselves and society?

This is why we have become people that are crazy for Titles, and Awards (even when the persons do not merit them), as if their life’s worth and self-esteem are tied to those ephemeral things. If we were to strip some persons (especially elites and politicians) all of their ill-gotten money/wealth, Status symbols/Class/Titles/Awards, their self-worth and self-esteem will amount to zero.

Only last weekend, precisely on Saturday November 28th, 2020, in Ekrerhavwen-Agbarho Community, Ughelli North area of Delta State, a cousin of a former Delta State Governor (whom I wound not want to mention his name here), attended the funeral ceremony of Mr. William Ikanone. And you needed to see the long entourage, with more than 20 armed Police Officers and Security operatives in plain clothes, that were with him for just that event. One begins to wonder who were these people, the said former Governor and his cousin, before 1999? What were their status and class in the society back then? Apparently, they were never significant. These people all started stealing Delta State money to make themselves feel better and relevant in the State. Their families then were not significant, neither were they known as billionaires. Not until they came into Government. Today, the family of the said former Governor and his cousin, have all become billionaires through having access to Delta State’s collective wealth.

I have always advocated that these ‘public thieves’ need to be shamed and stoned in public, whenever they are seen in public events showing off themselves with the wealth and resources of our Communities, State and nation, which they ought to use for development purposes that would benefit all and sundry. The emergence of these ‘illegal billionaires’, especially in Delta State, is the reason why the State, despite receiving the highest revenues in the region for years now and still counting, is still grossly underdeveloped, and its poverty-stricken people. The day our people will wake up from their slumber and start shaming and stoning these public thieves and illegal billionaires, is the day we would start seeing the needed changes we all desire of our society and people.

Zik Gbemre.

December 2, 2020

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