Mr Hunny is a whiteman. He spent his entire youth-ages working ceaselessly, both day and night to make ends meet for his family. He is not stinking rich but, of course, trying to keep his head above the water. Just of recent, he got duped on the internet by one swindler who feigned to be an agent for a building consultant company in Manchester. As a result of the scenario, he was critically pulled back. His financial status was never stable again. This is what we hear and view on media everyday, making us to believe that the only kind of economic and financial crime that exists is Cyber-crime, popularly known as YAHOO.
“This country, in 2012, was estimated to have lost $400 billion to corruption. In the same year, Sunday Ehindero, a former Inspector General of police in Nigeria was probed for embezzling 16 million Naira” a reliable source online published. That was in the past nine years. Till today, this menace persists still in Nigeria. Unarguably, the first proceeding to fighting any problem is unraveling its cankerworms. Hence, the need to enumerate some causes of economic and financial crime. The causes are unemployment, economic hardship, lack of contentment, discouraging salary structure, poor-child upbringing of children as a result of single-parenting, poor ethical orientation during induction for new security officers, especially the Police; and unhealthy usage of computer softwares, which contravenes the reason upon which the establishment of the EFCC hinged—to investigate financial crimes as well as bring to note any person(s) caught in the act. I never support cyber-crime nor those perpetrating it; never will I. But it is highly disheartening to see some security officers making “Yahoo boys” their main target, leaving some stones amidst beans like the exposed officer Kyari, Sunday Ehindero, among others who are but bad eggs in the police and security section of the country. Having highlighted the causes, how can the crime that is ravaging the country be fought? The foregoing question shall be addressed deeply in the body of this essay.
To start with, if there is going to be a day when economic and financial crime will end in Nigeria, that day, the government must have raised eyebrow to reforming the legal provision bounding on both the crime and those shaddled with the responsibility of curbing it. The Nigeria police law needs to be reviewed and updated with impelling alacrity. These demoded laws have not been amended since they were first promulgated and implemented in 1943. This would help to reinstate the clarification on the grounds upon which searches, arrest and detention be instituted against any person(s), as indiscriminate and unjust searches and arrest cum illegal extortion by some security officers constituted the major prompt for the Nationwide 2020 Endsars protest. Therefore, reforming legal provision is highly recommended as it will not only end financial crime but also prevent future protest-related-crises.
Withal, the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission needs to imploy transparency in its duty. To be transparent, in the sense that, it should start carrying masses along in their processions via the media. What we do read on headlines of newspapers is ” today, EFCC recovers ten thousand dollars from an alleged Yahoo boy, probes and charges him to court”. The following week, we read him sentenced to five years imprisonment coupled with hard labour and that ends the plot. I suppose it should not be done that way, the EFCC should not conceal its plans on what the whooping amount of money recovered from criminals are being used for. But over years, reverse has been the case as some officers sit round a table and share the “national cake”, in their voice. Funnily enough, too many officers of the institution in charge of fighting financial crime trade their integrity for money from these perpetrators. Why?
Furthermore, the Nigeria government, in order to prevent intensifying the bane should reform the salary structure of those who are employed in the engine room of the country. Such people include: the police, the EFCC officers, staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission as well as the Lecturers. Why am I saying this? The government only formulate policies; their execution lies with these people. Nigeria cannot have a rigging-free and fair election without first devising a hitch-free means of payment for those at the helm of the service. How does one expect someone who is famished and sweating profusely under the 40°C Sokoto sun to rebulf bribes offered by a fine-looking juvenile, while he has his family being seriously knacked by hunger at home? And in the end, the meagre will end up being paid behind schedule or halved even. This has really aggravated the rate at which these officers are being lured into high-handedness and corruption.
To round it off, the world generally, before now, was safe, particularly, when our fore-fathers whom we all said are complete ignorant barbaric, and unlettered. During their era, history made us know that a trader would leave her goods by the roadside for a prospective buyer to come. When such a buyer comes, he knows the price value by counting the number of stones placed beside the produce and drops the amount on the spot. Unless the seller comes around, if the money should move an inch from the spot, a raging wind must have made it to. Compare the scenario to nowadays, when thieves break into people’s house in the day to siphon all they’ve worked for. What have we got to learn from this? In the olden days, there was moral and fear of whatever they referred to as a god but no education. Today, education is in place amidst moral lackadaisical and devastatingly, people dare God. Parents should help curb economic crime by constantly checking their children. Checking their attitude towards wealth. This will go a long way at mitigating financial crime, if taken into consideration.
To round it off, the world generally, before now, was safe, particularly, when our fore-fathers whom we all said are complete ignorant barbaric, and unlettered. During their era, history made us know that a trader would leave her goods by the roadside for a prospective buyer to come. When such a buyer comes, he knows the price value by counting the number of stones placed beside the produce and drops the amount on the spot. Unless the seller comes around, if the money should move an inch from the spot, a raging wind must have made it to. Compare the scenario to nowadays, when thieves break into people’s house in the day to siphon all they’ve worked for. What have we got to learn from this? In the olden days, there was moral and fear of whatever they referred to as a god but no education. Today, education is in place amidst moral lackadaisical and devastatingly, people dare God. Parents should help curb economic crime by constantly checking their children. Checking their attitude towards wealth. This will go a long way at mitigating financial crime, if taken into consideration.
Writing evolves from thought, and so, a thinker was born in that land of virtue, Osun state, Nigeria. Ridwanullah is a lover of God and His creatures, including nature. Thusly, this preoccupated most, if not all of his works. He is a level1 Law student of Bayero University, Kano, Kano state. He was the winner of MSSN 2019 Best Essayist Award. He won Barr Mahmud Kola Adesina SAN AMIS Osun state Best Essayist Award in 2020. His works—Tornado years and Without Despair earned him first place in the Stars prize, 2020. He was 2nd Essayist of the Year 2019 at Brain builders International. His works are up, and coming on Spillwordsmag, Almirath Magazine, the shallowtales review, Feeds lit, inter alia.
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