By Abadom Lawrence Amechi
THERE is a famous Sufi story about Mullah Nasruddin, a wise and humorous Islamic scholar. Nasruddin lost the key to his house. At sunset, he went outside and began crawling on his hands and knees, frantically searching the dirt under a bright streetlight.
A neighbour saw him and stopped to help. After searching for a while with no success, the neighbour asked, “Nasruddin, where exactly did you drop the key?” Nasruddin waved his arm back toward his dark house and said, “Over there. Inside my house.”
How can a government agency be made to part with 48% of its budget? Who collects these monies and where does it go? Are budgets simply padded for that purpose? How can an agency not recognized by law find its way into the corridors of power? How did it gain enough recognition to engage public officials and present itself as operating within government?
Shocked, the neighbour asked, “Then, why on earth are we looking for it out here?” Nasruddin replied, “Because what is lost in darkness can only be found in the light.”
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In Nigeria today, we take special pleasure in groping in darkness to look for what was lost in darkness — knowing full well we may never find it, and the public may never know the truth.
These days, it appears the actual responsibility of government spokespersons is to cast more darkness over issues that require public scrutiny.
One would expect that when an allegation is made against the government or any of its officials, it is the duty of government spokespersons to shine light on it. Citizens cannot be misled by watery explanations.
The PFIPC Case and the Rush to Defend
The speed with which Mr. Bayo Onanuga and Temitope Ajayi rushed to the press to defend Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and to cast aspersions on Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi while calling the PFIPC a fictitious agency is frightening.
No Nigerian can say today that Femi Gbajabiamila is guilty. But it is also too early to absolve him and others of any wrongdoing until a thorough investigation is carried out.
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The issue of PFIPC happened in the dark dungeon of government. The truth can only be found if the light of inquiry is beamed at it.
Any attempt to bury these allegations in the inaccessible coven of government can only suggest that there are more ghost agencies in the presidency. A thorough, independent judicial inquiry will switch on the light on this issue and ensure that we all know what transpired.
The explanations so far do not add up. At best, they make a mockery of bureaucracy by exposing the absence of safeguards.
The deliberate attempt to blame Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi and quickly accuse him of fraud in order to defend the presidency has only done more damage to the government. It appears this government specializes in scoring own goals. Are we not concerned about the impact this will have on investor confidence?
The scandal has revealed a system that is untidy, fraud-prone, irresponsible, incompetent, porous, and unorganised.
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If an agency like PFIPC actually exists, is it proper for the head of such an organization to offer a bribe before being recruited?
If what Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi alleged is true, how is he expected to recoup his investment? How honest and transparent can he be in the discharge of his duty? Nigerians need to know how much people pay before they are given public portfolios.
How can a government agency be made to part with 48% of its budget? Who collects these monies and where does it go? Are budgets simply padded for that purpose? How can an agency not recognized by law find its way into the corridors of power? How did it gain enough recognition to engage public officials and present itself as operating within government?
How did it reportedly find its way into the 2026 Appropriation Act with a budgetary allocation of ₦1.3 billion? How did it open an account with the Central Bank of Nigeria? How did it get office space in the Federal Secretariat?
The President should subject everyone connected to this matter — directly or indirectly — to serious scrutiny. This must include a transparent investigation of: the Chief of Staff to the President, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Accountant General, Head of Service, Director General of the Budget Office, the National Assembly, and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
If anything can be explained, it will be hard to explain how this agency got its budget approved in the 2026 Appropriation Bill. Budgets do not drop from the sky. They pass through ministries, the Budget Office, the executive, standing committees, appropriation panels, harmonization processes, plenary debates, and ultimately, the votes of elected lawmakers.
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Through this entire process, no one noticed any error. Have we become so careless? Or have we all been engulfed by the darkness of bourgeois democracy?
Our democracy seems to benefit those who know where the treasures are hidden in the dark covens of the state. Our democracy encourages the participation of everyone for the enjoyment of a very few.
Corruption wields enormous influence over Nigeria’s social, political, and economic life. It is growing faster than insecurity, with more people actively engaged in it, and the damage to the nation is astronomical. Worse still, corruption now exercises unimaginable influence over the three arms of government — the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary.
The institutions that are supposed to lead the fight against corruption and provide good examples for citizens are now the ones setting ugly examples. They have left citizens with no hope.
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Corruption breeds all manner of wrong and reprehensible practices: police extortion, brutality, and illegal detention; election rigging and vote buying; ghost workers; and now, ghost agencies.
Corruption also gives us damaged roads with potholes, port congestion, and files that never move in government offices. It gives us vanished project funds meant for development, dilapidated school buildings, and broken hospitals with no equipment. It gives us inadequate electricity supply, endless traffic, and endless queues in public offices.
A people that subscribe to a culture of “anything goes” or “the end justifies the means” will never build a good and just society. The philosophy of “take it, grab it, snatch it and run with it” cannot support the growth of a good society.
What a leader believes is reflected in the growth process of his or her nation. If the head is bad, then we are finished.
The duty of government is not to protect itself from the citizens. Citizens look to the three arms of government for moral, ethical, and just direction. The people want to be led, and they should be led on the right path.
But if the executive, legislature, and judiciary now specialize in dancing the macabre dance of corruption in public, then they can only lead the people in the wrong direction.
Under the APC government, Nigerians have lost trust in the judiciary and in a rubber-stamp 10th National Assembly. Many are only holding on to hope in the executive — an executive that now faces a barrage of serious allegations.
In just a short while, the weight of these allegations has become crushing. The IMF reported ₦8.83 trillion in off-budget spending. The World Bank reported that out of ₦84 trillion in revenue growth over the first 3 years of this administration, ₦34.44 trillion never made it into the Federation Account. These are not achievements to clap for but questions that demand answers.
The President should subject everyone connected to this matter — directly or indirectly — to serious scrutiny. This must include a transparent investigation of: the Chief of Staff to the President, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Accountant General, Head of Service, Director General of the Budget Office, the National Assembly, and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Pertinent questions must be asked, and Nigerians deserve answers. Until the light of inquiry is beamed into the dark house of government, we will keep searching for keys where they were never lost.
