By Sunny Ikhioya

IT was the late Dele Giwa, who in those days of yore, wrote that Nigerians have become immune to shocks. They are capable of the impossible – with the dire challenges facing us as a nation – we were once rated as the happiest people on earth.

The conspiracy of silence or if you like, apathy, that has followed the inability of the NNPC to reconcile the 10billion – some say it is now 20billion – unaccounted for income, into the federation account is therefore understandable.

But, should we continue like this and expect to grow as a nation? Why is the account so difficult to reconcile? Is it not an issue of simple debiting and crediting? Income and Expenditure? With an array of over a hundred accountants, in the NNPC, ministry of finance and the Accountant General’s office – most of them chartered and with heavy remuneration packages – Why is the account so difficult to reconcile?

We criticised Sanusi Lamido for challenging a government that he is part of, accusing him of ” bad belle” politics. It is over two months since the allegation was made, and they have not come up with a detailed submission on what happened to the money. We can fault Sanusi’s style, arrogance and beliefs but we cannot ignore his message.

We must know what happened to the 10billion dollars. A lot can be done with that money to alleviate the sufferings of the people. Even the elusive power sector can improve significantly, if availed with a percentage of such fund. The people must know what happened to this money? We have celebrated impunity and official looting, in this country for too long. People steal our money and flaunt it at us, collecting chieftaincy and other types of award. Our leaders and so called successful men have become bad role models. If you do not conform to the “in thing” culture, you are regarded as a failure. Should we continue to allow a few people inflict ‘rape’ on the majority of Nigerians, by their despicable quest for blood money?

Our foreign reserve has gone down considerably and the naira is on a free fall – as I write this, it is =N=170 to $1 – The oil money, through the NNPC is what the collective depend upon. How can we survive as a country, if this kind of looting is allowed to go unchecked?

If the other sectors of the economy are active, the situation would have been different – let us say, the agric is operating at full potential, not the lies we are being told, you are encouraging agriculture and the price of poultry feed is growing at an alarming rate, a bag of feeds, that sold for N700 now sells for  N2,500, and you say you are encouraging agriculture. If only we can put our tourism potential to good use and explore the opportunities therein.

Unfortunately, all of our potentials are yet to be tapped, the only one available to the people -oil – is being mismanaged by a few people, should we continue like this?

NNPC is our cash cow, if we handle it irresponsibly, the country will collapse. So, we must collectively demand for the missing money. In doing so, we are asking such simple questions as: What is the reporting format/structure in the NNPC accounting system? Do they raise papers/vouchers for business transactions? Where are these vouchers? It is claimed that, we cannot ascertain the true state of our oil production figures, if this is so, the one being quoted by Sanusi is not being disputed by the NNPC, why is the NNPC dilly-dallying with the reconciliation? Is there a deliberate cover up? What action has the ministry of finance taken to bring the reconciliation to a true conclusion? If there are no cover ups, why are people not being queried for this national embarrassment and disgrace?

NNPC is so significant to the survival of this country, it is in fact the jugular arm, therefore, people running the parastatal or establishment, must be those who have a good measure of integrity. There must be openness and sincerity of purpose, something that affects the whole nation, should not be treated by a cabal in a cultish fashion.

That is why we must join Femi Falana, to demand for the true position of the money. It is time for well meaning Nigerians and civil society groups to come out with one voice, to demand for what belongs to the collective.

Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities (ASUU), where are you? This is the time for you to come out and lead. It is not only when it concerns your personal well being, that you take to the streets. The opportunity to lead the people is now, let everyone of us with one voice, come and demand for our money.

Let us put an end to recklessness and impunity, nobody is above the collective, nobody is above the law.

*Mr. Ikhioya, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.