In what language should I laugh?

Zainab Ahmed: Federal Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning

My late Uncle, Fidelis Olisaeloka Emelifonwu, used to say that a liar, has not started lying until he starts lying to himself. How best can I describe this latest faux pas from the Federal Government?

I recall my days in the Financial Sector, when the Central Bank of Nigeria,

started sending their staff as resident auditors to banks.

The Federal Government in sending Treasurers to Ministries , Departments and Agencies have only created an avenue to put money in the pockets of their dependants in the face of unemployment.

The way to go is to lead by example or let the status quo remain. I recall the early days of the Ndudi Elumelu power probe how contractors were feverishly mobilizing to site after long abandoning most of the contracts.

No sooner had the committee been enmeshed in a scandal of its own than the whole exercise collapsed like the proverbial pack of cards. 

This step again cannot turn out different so long as the whole society is about self first and show me your network and I will respect your networth.

That there is a shortage of revenue is down to the fact that our values are warped. How do we measure performance?

The most scandalous of the government agencies is the Department of Customs and Exercise. Repeatedly, they exceed their targets. Continuously smuggling thrives. The result is that the men of the Customs are cashing out big time, as evident by their lavish lifestyle.

So what then is wrong? In the case of the customs, should posting treasurers there be the magic wand?

That they exceed their target repeatedly shows that the targets are too low for an import dependent economy like ours. That the officers are cashing out shows the threshold that is yet to be tapped by the government.

These things are not rocket science but we are too busy building war chests for the next election to do the right thing.

The sooner we put on our thinking caps and build up virile systems, the sooner we get back our respect from the comity of Nations. To think otherwise is to build castles in the air.