Nigeria goes to London 2012 Olympics
I will be missing out a great deal this summer if I fail to win a jackpot to fund my trip to see the London 2012 Olympics Games, shop all I can and enjoy all the leisure that the city has to offer, though am not good at gambling or yet to pass through the doors of a casino. However am sure that many of Nigeria’s government officials and politicians will not miss a dime of the entertainment and fun that the games will offer and will not ‘give a damn’ as President Jonathan wouldn’t to how much of Nigeria’s tax payers money they will spend to actualize this without actually doing anything that will benefit our performance at the games.
I can imagine the number of Nigeria’s government officials and politicians that will flood into London during the games as members of Nigeria’s usual large official delegation to sporting events especially when London doubles as Nigerians’ second capital, home, holiday destination and safest haven for hiding /investing and spending proceeds of money laundering by her political class. I am not to be deceived by the government’s recent announcement that there will be no official government delegation and ‘jamboree’ to the games. I am sure this is intended to douse any future media attention and criticisms from the public of the number of its officials that will be seen in London this summer. Government will be quick to remind us that any government official or politician seen in London during the games is either seeing his family – personal visit, attending an official assignment, on annual leave… and not there as part of Team Nigeria delegation, hence no tax payers money is carelessly spent. But we know that our treasury was looted to fund the super luxurious enjoyment.
Many of them will be there to see what investments to make especially as the UK government looks forward to investments and growth in its ailing economy after the games. While touring the Magnificent Olympic Stratford City in December 2011, especially the Westfield Shopping Centre (now the biggest shopping mall in the whole of Europe), I fantasized of owning some of the property in the complex including the halls and flats that would accommodate the athletes that adorned the formerly abandoned West Ham. I envisioned an economically revived East London after the games, the business interests I would hold, after a while I stopped and starting thinking of how many of Nigerian corrupt government officials and politicians would be ‘fortunate’ to buy into the property market there, but not until the London Olympics Committee decides of what to do with the structures after the games.
It will be no fantasy for them as investment capital will never be a problem, I am sure many of them have already made ready their funds, lawyers and agents of the likes of Bhadresh Gohil, Daniel McCann and Lambertus De Boer. Some who are yet to do so will take the advantage of last minutes global wire transfer traffic to UK banks for the games to move their loots across. It is hoped these will not be detected by either the UK security and counter money laundering units not to talk of the banks that are willing to have these funds at their end at all costs. The Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is also not prepared for this maneuvers as it is yet to grabble with lots of mountainous financial scandals (#FuelSubsidy, #FaroukOtedola, #PolicePensionFund, #CapitalMarket,…) it is currently ‘busy’ with.
The UK Police, EFCC, Nigerian and UK banks, Central Bank of Nigeria must at this time keep good track of all movements of funds to identify and stop the wire of illicit funds and save Nigeria from her unrepentant plundering greedy gluttonous corrupt treasury looters. In a case where the movement has been successfully effected, the offenders should be investigated and prosecuted with all needed evidence to forestall the situation where it took years for James Ibori’s investigation, prosecution and sentencing for money laundering charges. That way the UK government will save her tax payers millions of pounds in prosecution costs put at £40,000 per week and development aid through her Department for International Development (DfID) that ordinarily wouldn’t be needed if governments of recipient countries especially Nigeria should effectively utilize the resources at their disposal for development.
More importantly EFCC should expedite the process of bringing to justice other corrupt Nigerian government officials and politicians who have questions to answer with it to serve as a strong deterrent to many others that have the intentions to corruptly enrich themselves with public funds.
