It’s Only In Nigeria That You Steal Money, Walk Freely – Senator Ndume

Senator representing Borno South at the National Assembly, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has decried the level of corruption in Nigeria.

According to NAN, Ndume made his position known while briefing newsmen in Kano on Sunday.

The senator said corruption has remained endemic in Nigeria because politicians who steal money are celebrated for doing so.

He said: “Our major challenge in this country is corruption. Up till now, we have no law that can proactively or reactively address the issue of corruption in the country. If you see somebody in our system, especially in politics or government and he is not corrupt, then he is lucky to be God-fearing. Otherwise, it is only in Nigeria that you steal money and you walk freely and you are celebrated.

“If you come into an area like this, people would start lobbying you and prostrate before you even when they know that the money was stolen.

“It is only in this country that somebody had no money yesterday or last week, but the following week he buys 10 cars; buys jets and his brothers would fly with him, his mother would fly with him, his uncle would fly with him, and they would say Allah has blessed our son.”

Ndume said he had made several efforts to pass a law on unexplained wealth in Nigeria, stating that such endeavours never saw the light of the day.

He said he approached a former head of state if he could sign an executive bill to that effect but he declined.

“Up till now, there is no law on unexplained wealth Act in Nigeria and there is no Executive Order on it,” Ndume said.

He expressed concern over the hunger in the country and called for an increased cultivation of food crops to address the problem.

“There is hunger in the land and up till now we have not cultivated up to five per cent of our land, Nigeria is blessed with massive arable land,” the senator said.