By Adeola Aderounmu

If you are one of those following news from Nigeria, you would have heard about a $3 Million dollar bribe involving one crook called Farouk Lawan who is a member of the Nigerian National Assembly.

Either by trap or whatever means this thief was caught on camera collecting a down payment of $600K.

This fool and thief is supposed to be a member of the committee that probed the oil subsidy scam rocking Nigeria under the feeble Jonathan administration. If you are interested in all these useless stories you have to do more goggling and reading of Nigerian newspaper or online news sites.

My own take is that Farouk Lawan is a thief and he is not alone. Almost all Nigerian politicians are thieves because they are involved in giving or taking bribes daily.

Even the oil magnate Otedola who is the other player in this ugly scenario is not a saint but he can claim that he is a businessman and that the problem in the oil industry is the problem of the Nigerian government and not his.

My grievance is with the Nigerian state, a failed aggregation of familiar enemies who are led all the time by tropical gangsters in uniform or mufti.

The other day Obasanjo called all of them (including himself of course) thieves and robbers and some people almost called for his head.

But Obasanjo is right. Nigeria is rulled by robbers and thieves in disguise. He was once one of them and wherever possible he continues to pull the strings to put these thieves and robbers in places.

While Nigeria last the immunity clause is a license to steal and loot. While out of office no one talks about the monies that thieves like Farouk Lawan have stolen. It took the British government to nail the notorious James Ibori who became a governor despite being an ex-convict and a known rogue!

What Farouk Lawan has done is the norm in Nigeria. These crooks who have re-packed themselves as politicians are always stealing money to build houses and empires in Nigeria and abroad.

A camel will go through the eye of a needle before you will find a Nigerian politician or top public servant who does not help himself/herself.

Nigeria is in a hopeless situation because corruption reached a new height under Goodluck Jonathan. The earlier the bunch of thieves in Aso rock and across all government houses in Nigeria are swept away, the better for the future of the unborn generation.

With what they have in Nigeria today, the country is very hopeless. Moreso because Farouk Lawan will walk free the same way Babangida who stole more than 12 billion dollars walked free. Babangida even committed treasonable felony when he cancelled the June 12 1993 presidential elections. In Nigeria it pays to be a political criminal! You steal big and live big. What a country!