Corrupt officials must be punished

One should pity PMB in view of the herculean tasks ahead. When a leader has to face ignorant or mischievous followers who place their selfish interests above the larger one, it is no tea party. If wishes were horses beggars would ride.  So it would appear to government functionaries when they are placed on public trust. Public funds are the horses they want to ride to the land of their dreams, rightly or wrongly. It would appear also that very few among the Nigerian ruling classes understand the adage there is no free lunch.
The ruling class ignore the fact that those free lunches must be paid for by someone. They do not imagine that to own expensive cars, country homes in choice places with billions in local and foreign currencies just like that and at no cost is an illusion. If one analyses their personal balance sheets, he will go nuts.  There is no statement logic when one scrutinises their balance sheets. A huge asset in properties and cash without corresponding accounts payables and liabilities to explain how the capital formation came about. 
The assets build up have to be financed by someone. Who are they? They are from cash balances of Nigerian citizens who own the federation account. At the state and local levels, it is the indigenes that are the bona fide claimants. They must realise that as “public servants” each employee has a price tag and can be calculated over his period of service. This includes the president, governors and all. Anything that accrues out of the contractual package is like free lunch paid from the treasury that belongs to millions.
There is no reason whatsoever for a functionary to help himself out of it. If done amounts to abuse of trust or theft from the commonwealth. It is critical to understand that this is morally and spiritually unacceptable. Any caught in the illegal transfer of funds to his/her or a proxy account outside his pay has committed a fraud. If caught should he go free? It would appear to the wishes being horses to Nigerians a hero has emerged. Is he really a hero or a burglar? Taking what does not belong to you is not a heroic act. It is beyond shameful acts and calls for sanction.
Engr. Abubakar A. Fari
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