Dollar business

Back then, the British pound reigned supreme. This was at the height of the British Empire when the image of the Queen represented order and integrity. Her Majesty’s picture on a currency note gave it respectability and worldwide acceptance, thus making the British pound an “international currency”. In those days currency notes of many African […]

Back then, the British pound reigned supreme. This was at the height of the British Empire when the image of the Queen represented order and integrity. Her Majesty’s picture on a currency note gave it respectability and worldwide acceptance, thus making the British pound an “international currency”. In those days currency notes of many African countries also bore Her Majesty’s picture and were likewise accepted worldwide. Then along came the 1950’s nationalist movements, which led to independence in former colonies.  With this newly acquired status, Africans decided to do away with images of colonial monarchies on their currency. All manner of corrupt, inept, and sadistic African leaders uncontrollably printed currency notes adorned with their features in place of the European monarchies, and the world reacted accordingly. In no time at all currencies bearing pictures of African leaders became virtually worthless, and as colonialism and the British retreated with their pounds, the American dollar came into prominence.
 The US dollar represented freedom from colonial rule. It represented the strongest economy in the world, and our leaders bought into the idea that accumulating it in their palatial mansions was the solution to all their problems. What they failed to understand about the almighty dollar was that it isn’t merely a currency note. The dollar represents far more than that. It represents honesty. In the US itself dollars are only used in small quantities. Honest Americans don’t spend large amounts of cash, they use credit cards and bank transfers. Legally earned dollars are kept in banks. They are figures written on pieces of paper in financial institutions, quite different from cash. Americans believe that people who carry large amounts of cash are normally engaged in illegal activities. In order to preserve respect for their currency and respect for honesty, most top class establishments in the US don’t even accept cash! It’s been speculated that with the massive corruption in Africa and our love for “international currencies” there are perhaps as many, if not more, dollars stashed away in Africa than in circulation in America! Be that as it may even if Africa is truly awash with dollars, there can be no sensible explanation as to why a private aircraft with a non-Nigerian onboard flew out of our country with over $90 Million in cash purportedly to do business of behalf of the Nigerian people.
 Rather than merit serious consideration, the excuses for the fiasco advanced by Nigerian authorities warrant sober reflection as to the depth of decay in ethical leadership. Lord Lugard a former colonial Governor General of Nigeria credited with responsibility for amalgamation of the two protectorates once described African leaders as “lacking the power of organization” and being “conspicuously deficient in the management and control alike of men or business”. According to him they “love the display of power, but fail to realize its responsibilities”, and are “lacking in self-control, discipline and foresight, full of personal vanity whose thoughts are concentrated on the events and feelings of the moment”. Lord Lugard didn’t concern himself with forecasting the future so there is no way he could have known that a hundred or so years later his words would be vividly brought back into focus by the antics of the Jonathan administration. One of our major failings in this country is that in addition to idolizing incompetence, we readily accept ethical and moral laxity among public officials. Honour, principles and concepts of right and wrong behaviour in public service have long since been abandoned, so rather than act in a manner which best serves the public, our leaders feel entitled to act in their own personal, financial and political interest. The end result is that government at all levels is constantly enmeshed in scandals. To be fair such scandals aren’t unique to governance in Nigeria. What is unique is that while in other parts of the world at least one “big man” will bear responsibility and take the fall and sometimes even commit suicide out of shame, in Nigeria no one is ever made to pay the price. In our great nation the buck stops nowhere! No one should expect that the latest scandal involving dollars in South Africa will be any different. Despite quite evident monumental blunders, time and again government spokespersons attempt to muddle up issues with less than intelligent explanations of what went wrong, and sadly the cycle seems destined to continue.
 The US dollar is not our national currency, and we are continuously regaled with stories about foreign exchange controls, so the question remains, where did all the dollars come from? All major Nigerian banks have branches in Johannesburg so why the necessity for cash movement? Perhaps the most damning observation is that the funds could not have been insured because the money wasn’t declared to customs before departure. Incredulously if the plane had crashed the story of the clandestine cash flight would have remained pure rumour. Leaving aside the suspect origin and purpose of the funds, the cash movement violated the laws of South Africa and all known international protocols, as neither the Nigerian military attaché nor any member of the Nigerian diplomatic corps was on hand to oversee operations. It comes as no surprise that South African authorities have seized the funds and refused to accept the “ludicrous, laughable and untenable” explanations by Nigerian officials. Although our nation is now approximately 1.5 billion naira poorer, we can at least take comfort from the fact that rather than vanish, the money will be used for the common good of some Africans even if they are South Africans not Nigerians! What should really give cause for serious concern is that no one in authority can see anything wrong in their modus operandi.