THE ROBBERS OR THE LEADERS? THE WISE ELECTORATES OR THE SELF DECEIVERS?

THE ROBBERS OR THE LEADERS?
THE WISE ELECTORATES OR THE SELF DECEIVERS?

I have been with divided opinions since the arrest of the notorious kidnapper aka Evans. While I was cracking my brain I remember there was another notorious and more deadly criminal recently arrested who during interrogation said and I quote,

 “The first operation I went with the gang was at Uguruta Junction on the Port-Harcourt International Airport Road. We attacked some vehicles conveying a huge sum of money in foreign currency. We killed all the policemen escorting them including a man the police identified as the Regional Manager of the bank where the money came from. After that operation, I was given N3 million as my share…”

The person who made that statement was a man nicknamed White Witch, who had participated in 15 bank and bullion van robberies and made millions.

His ambition was to retire from robbery into politics. And he almost realised that ambition but for nemesis.

He was arrested around this time last year shortly before his swearing in as a cabinet member by a state governor:

“Two weeks before my arrest, I was shortlisted as a Special Adviser to the Governor, and we were waiting for him to return from his trip abroad so that he would swear us into our various offices. I did not know that the police had got to know about my activities.”

If he had not been bursted, one day, he probably would have become the governor of his state, appointing his gang members as commissioners.

I wonder how many White Witches and how many of the now very popular kidnap don, Evans, we willingly elect every four years into our lives.

A former senator who is a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police once declared that the National Assembly was a tank of confirmed criminals.

He got elected into the Senate, looked around and the faces he saw were those of his former suspects in violent crimes. He famously declared that there were armed robbers in the chambers. Shocked Nigerians, as usual, gasped but moved on to the next drama.

That was in the legislature. Among the more audacious executive, how many felons do you think could have been laundered into Government Houses?

Some people are heirs to the throne of Satan but society celebrates and venerates them. Some have come and gone with crowns of life leadership on their heads. At their exit from power, they keep the chain unbroken, handing over to their gang members. The results have been reigning dynasties of criminals.

Imagine if Evans, the doyen of kidnapping business in Nigeria, had contested the last elections, he would have won and would have escaped into real heroism, especially if he built dubious bridges and distributed cash and rice to all who caught his fancy. His 40th birthday would have been marked with lectures delivered by the brightest professors around with a honorary doctoral degree as the icing on the cake.

And getting into government would not have prevented the felon from continuing his bloody business. Indeed, it would have enhanced and sustained it. He could kidnap anyone, including his Accountant General and then collect ransom from his state. A whole month’s statutory allocation may go into that. No EFCC would harass him for paying it out. It is a humanitarian gesture.

As a governor, he would have immunity from suspicions, from investigations and from prosecution. He would have deeper insights into how to restructure his business for greater efficiency. He wouldn’t have issues on how to hide the billions from the ransoms. As a governor, he would have several options. He could own a bank or banks, give loans and kidnap the loanee. He could own and license a bureau de change to legally handle his dollars and convert his government naira to euro and pound sterling. He could  even start selling dollars back to his victims who may need to pay ransom in hard currency.


You can be evil for a very long time. Sometimes what nails the vampire may not even be the bloodiest of his act