Lifestyle Fueled By Corruption, By Bamidele Ademola-Olateju

Money from corruption fueled the countless homes in Banana Island, Parkview and Lekki Peninsula. As I took my morning walk, I noticed the sprawling empty houses. Whenever they stole, they invest it in real estate. As I pondered on this. Many Range Rovers passed me by. I started counting. I counted 38 Range Rovers along my way and I shook my head in disgust and disbelief.

Nigeria will never be great until we all begin to spend EARNED INCOME. The average annual household income of a Range Rover buyer in the United States is $515,000. That is a stinkingly rich person. Most likely an executive of a publicly quoted company or a high flying business owner. How many homes earn that kind of money in Nigeria ? Yet they buy Range Rovers and Mercedes G-class. True, many of the Range Rovers on the roads are used, even then, a used Range Rover is not cheap! In the last decade, the aforementioned areas have gained notoriety as the abode of corrupt money given the palatial homes and
luxe lifestyles. Money that could have gone into building infrastructure, public schools, hospitals, improving the quality and delivery of servicesetc.

This faux lifestyle is built on nothing. It can’t continue and things must change. The anti-corruption drive, should not just be about pursuing people for corruption. If we don’t want anger of the oppressed to consume the thieves and the hard worker, we must set and maintain a new standard for transparency.

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