“Corruption denies public services, blocks opportunity, degrades infrastructure, and suppresses human potential.”—Baker Tilly
Corruption has become an irrefutable impediment to democracy and development. How any country handles this cankerworm goes a long way in appraising leadership’s readiness for genuine pursuits of progress or perdition. Our dear country, with the rabid proclivity of some powerful people for graft, is not insulated from this retrogressive menace. But is this country of ours getting the fight against official greed and corruption right?
This question has become pertinent in view of the recently unveiled stupendous assets reportedly owned and left behind by late Mr Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala. For my readers’ ease of reference, Alao-Akala is a Nigerian who retired as Assistant Commissioner of Police in 1995 to join politics after putting in twenty-one years of service. In politics, he served, initially as Chairman of Ogbomoso North from 1999 to 2002. He also served as deputy governor and later as governor of Oyo state between 2003 and 2011,
He died on January 12, 2022, at the age of seventy-one in Ogbomoso. And precisely four years after his demise, his spirit is being tormented by the struggle for control of the hard-to-believe assets he left behind by the children he sired and the wife he loved while alive. The social media has been set ablaze by the volume of strategic assets listed in Alao-Akala’s will.
We need to ask questions. How can a single individual, after serving as council chairman, deputy governor and governor acquire below listed huge assets as reportedly published by newspapers as listed in court documents:
Residence at No.1, Oba Akinyele Avenue, off Rotimi Williams Street, Old Bodija Estate, Ibadan: A five-star hotel in Ghana: Bungalow at Randa, Ogbomoso: Property at Opadoyin Lodge, Ogbomoso; Building at 32, Oba Adebimpe Road, Ile Itesiwaju, Dugbe, Ibadan; Property at No. 8, Samora Machel Street, Asokoro, Abuja; Property in Games Village, Abuja; Twin duplex in Ikeja, Lagos; Building at No. 4, George Street, Ikoyi, Lagos; Duplex beside Iponri Barracks, Surulere, Lagos; Plot at Water Corporation Drive, Oniru, Lagos; Guest house in Agodi GRA, Ibadan; Plots 1–4, Aerodrome GRA, Samonda, Ibadan; 7,000 acres of land beside Ibadan Golf Club; Building at No. 29, Osuntokun Avenue, Bodija Estate, Ibadan; Five-bedroom bungalow at Cele Bus Stop, Ologuneru, Ibadan; Property at Old UAC Building, Dugbe, Ibadan; Guest House at YOACO, Ogbomoso; Destiny House, Oremeji, Mokola, Ibadan; Destiny House, Ogbomoso; Deborah House, Sabo, Ogbomoso; Storey building at Starlight, Ogbomoso; Eternal Mega Filling Station, Ogbomoso; TDB Filling Station, Ogbomoso; Building beside Eternal Filling Station,Ogbomoso; NIPCO Filling Station beside A.K. Bello, Ogbomoso; TDB Gas Plant, Aroje, Ogbomoso; Land opposite LAUTECH, Ogbomoso; Parrot FM, Oke Bebi, Ogbomoso; Warehouse and farm in Ogbomoso; Land in GRA, Ogbomoso (held in care of Demola Alao); 140-23 160th Street, Jamaica, Queens, New York, USA; 19 San Juan Drive, Chafford Hundred, Grays, Essex, England; 1,000 acres of land at Ikoyi, Ogbomoso (including proposed site of Alao-Akala College of Health Sciences and Umera Farms); Olowolagba Microfinance Bank.
Alao-Akala allegedly acquired all these by virtue of having served his people in Oyo state. The state having served as capital of old western region is today crying for developmental upgrade. Yet, one retired policeman allegedly made so much wealth from serving them while majority of Oyo State people still live in abject penury and squalor. Many others across the country would have acquired so much more while others are still acquiring without being detected by our inept system. In this particular instance, Nigerians would not have known about this alleged humongous assets of Alao-Akala but for the dispute that erupted over his Will. Yet, the late Alao-Akala is not known to own any industry or to have embarked on any productive ventures while alive. Surprisingly at death, he was able to allegedly amass and leave behind such humongously property profile for his estate.
Several others that pilfered state resources to become billionaires and trillionaires are riding roughshod of our polity without being caught. They may never be caught till death and forever if their families have learnt something from the Alao-Akala family disputes over his Will. Shockingly, apart from the public hullabaloos that the family litigation generated, our society, disappointingly seems not interested in asking questions about how the late Akala came about such alleged stupendous wealth which if acquired during his tenure as council chairman, deputy governor and later governor were obviously gotten from the toil and sweat of the mostly suffering people of Oyo State that he once governed.
The carefree disposition to the Alao-Akala’s scandalous assets revelation clearly shows why our society may remain developmentally retarded and a haven of ‘turn-by-turn’ ‘chop, clean mouth’ and yahoo boys controlled system with the avoidable consequences of our society remaining in perpetual state of decay and decline. Unfortunately, corruption has been elevated to becoming a priority while honesty in public service and private life has become evil. We now wish away the issue of corruption as if it is no big deal. This underscores the primitive inclination that has eaten deep into the black man’s continent and responsible for its being in perpetual retrogression.
What we see as success is promotion of individual smartness that runs against our collective wellbeing. No wonder that the incident of ‘JAPA syndrome’ amongst our youths and middle age class maybe difficult to curb. Regrettably, while progressing countries built institutions to moderate the affairs of leaders, those countries already ingrained in corruption built individuals/leaders that see themselves as superior to institutions of state. This explains the possibility of leaders making a huge unexplained assets and still getting applauded by millions of their poor people. In Nigeria, being smart is euphemism for being adept at pilfering of state resources.
No one is naive to be advocating for a perfect system because no such exists in human history. The celebrated systems across the globe are not completely insulated from corruption. But why can’t we also have a preponderance of systemic good over the evils of corruption. Despite Ken Poirot’s long time observation that “Wherever there is power, greed, and money, there is corruption.” Blacks can resolve to be more institution-minded than the individualistic pilfering of our collective resources.
Like sugar attracts ants, money/resources, wherever it can be obtained, breeds corruption. It is greed for free bequests by individual members of the Alao-Akala family that made them reveal such devastating family details for the consumption of unsuspecting Nigerian public. Whether through the Alao-Akala family or by the relevant institutions of state, answers must be provided for salient questions regarding how the family’s patriarch acquired such humongous wealth.
Yours sincerely believes that societies need strong institutional checks to effectively restrain corruptive inclinations. How efficient these institutions of state are will definitely go a long way in determining the collective progress to be achieved. Further to this is the fact that our people should be conscious enough to know that a corrupt system can be challenged and changed, for good.
After all, that notable United Nations figure, Kofi Annan, once said: “If corruption is a disease, transparency is a central part of its treatment.” For the sake of societal growth/transparency in the fight against corruption, why is it that the Code of Conduct Bureau has not come out to tell Nigerians about whether and how Alao-Akala acquired those choice properties? We demand to know whether they were acquired during his service to Oyo State. Nigerians deserve to know how the former governor acquired his wealth during his life time because his family has given us reasons to ask.
Nigeria’s public life needs to be protected from corruption as rightly observed by Baker Tilly, graft “……denies public services, blocks opportunity, degrades infrastructure and suppresses human potential.” Nothing is farther from the truth.
• Sanusi, former MD/CEO of Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency, is currently managing partner at AMS RELIABLE SOLICITORS. (sms/whatsapp-07011117777)
