FIRE GUTTED ACCOUNTANT GENERAL’S OFFICE: AN ARSON OR ACCIDENT?

It is no longer news that the Capital Unit of the Treasury House where the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation is located, was gutted by fire on Wednesday morning, 8^th April.

      The Capital Unit in the OAGF’s office is where the money to be spent by the ministries, departments, and agencies of government are made and released.

      As would be expected, this incident sparked reactions, albeit, negative ones from the polity. The first vitriolic reaction came from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). According to reports gotten from highly credible national dailies, the party’s national publicity secretary made its position known by wondering why the fire incident should occur when it did.

      According to reports from the national dailies, the PDP was highly suspicious of the timing of the fire incident. They wondered why the incident should occur at the time calls were being made for “a forensic audit into the hazy oil-subsidy regime of the President Buhari-led administration for which trillions of naira are being claimed to have been spent”.

      The main opposition party’s spokesman, according to reports, went further by saying that; “this is in addition to recent demands”, into allegations of financial wrongdoings and fraud in relation to the alleged diversion of COVID-19 intervention funds and, the administration’s social investments programmes since 2015. He went further by saying that, the PDP spearheaded the demands by Nigerians to the National Assembly to investigate these social incentives programmes spending.

      Thus, the PDP demanded an unbiased investigation into the unfortunate fire incident.

 The body’s spokesperson wondered why the fire incident occurred a few hours after a normally “docile and pliant National Assembly” raised issues of suspicion of fraud and misuse of public funds running into multiples of billions of naira.

       Speaking on the same fire incident according to highly respected national dailies. The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), viewed the incident with huge disapproval. The body’s spokesperson wondered why the fire incident occurred a few hours after a normally “docile and pliant National Assembly” raised issues of suspicion of fraud and misuse of public funds running into multiples of billions of naira.

          The HURIWA spokesperson wondered why a fire would suddenly gut the OAGF’s office only hours “after the Senate uncovered an alleged monumental heist in the Federal Government’s school feeding programmes.” They insisted that a forensic investigation be carried out, to ascertain the true causes of the fire.

         The human rights organisation and other highly placed personalities in the human rights community were highly cynical about the timing of the fire incident. They couldn’t help pointing out how shoddy the management of government resources was. This they said was evident from the fact that media reports are always claiming that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), and other entities; claimed to have generated billions of naira in revenue for the government. Yet, the minister for finance still has to run helter-skelter, with cap in hand, seeking foreign loans. This makes the government’s position very watery.

           However, when all is said and done, was this truly an accident; or an act of economic sabotage? The answer to that will always be highly speculative. Now, let’s take a closer look at the issues.

         No government in the world, no matter how backward, deals with physical cash in its operations. Although countries like Nigeria are still relatively unsophisticated compared to the western world, money issues are mostly electronic. This means that no really significant sum of money could have been lost in the fire, except, petty cash used in running the office. It would be extremely absurd for anybody, no matter how disturbed, to torch a government building to cover up the stealing of petty cash.

          Conversely, the loss of extremely sensitive documentation would be staggering. Files, internal memoranda detailing sensitive instructions, sensitive intra-departmental policy thrusts, top-secret documentation, etc.; would definitely have been lost to the conflagration. Unless all documents also existed in soft copy, which is highly unlikely, given the sensitivity of certain documents, some things of importance are gone forever. Then there’s the issue of continuity, which cannot be done in an electronic format.

        However, the authority’s explanations that the fire was caused by a faulty air conditioning unit are also highly plausible; since that has been known to happen. Air conditioning units have reduced many houses to ashes. This is a fact. Unfortunately, the timing of the incident makes it highly suspicious.

        Whichever way you look at it, the losers in this unfortunate incident are Nigerians. So, what do you think happened? Let me know through your comments below.   

            

                   

THE POISONED HAPPINESS (PART 4) (FICTION)

To really enjoy the story read Parts 1,2&3 first

      Although some people hinted at this, I knew that it wasn’t true. I had seen Vicky, and I knew she didn’t need to use charms on any man. I guessed she would be between 25 and 27 years of age, and she was truly beautiful. She was very light-skinned, in fact, in Europe, only her features would have given her away as a coloured person. She had the face of an angel and, a body and figure that could only have been designed by Satan himself. I have never seen any woman who could have competed sexually with her. Giorgio wasn’t under any magic spell; he was simply besotted. He was a middle-aged man who had fallen hard for a sexually attractive younger woman and was trying to relive his youth through her.

      Things reached the climax about a week later. Giorgio had not come home for about four days, and Maria was worried. So, she decided to go and check up on him in the office. When she got there she walked in unannounced, and she was greeted by a scene out of a horror movie.

      Vicky was wearing high-heeled shoes and was naked from the waist down. She was bent over from the waist and was holding her ankles. Giorgio was standing behind her; he was also naked from the waist down. He was “doking” her vigorously.

      Maria was too stunned to talk or react. The people coupling saw her but continued their exertions in disdain of her presence. They simply didn’t care.

      She left the office in a daze. I don’t how she managed to drive to our office without having an accident. In between sobs, she told me about the whole sordid scene she had witnessed. I gave her two sleeping tablets and told her to calm down. After she fell into a troubled sleep, I went to see our parish priest. By the time I came back, Maria had left. I called her and found her at home. I advised her not to do anything crazy.

 Vicky was wearing high-heeled shoes and was naked from the waist down.

      Maria simply packed up and left Nigeria with the children as soon as she got home. The strange thing was that Giorgio was completely oblivious of the fact that his family had left him for Italy. He just carried on as if everything was normal. He was completely mad. His desire for Vicky was like possession. Giorgio was completely in her power.  I was completely mystified.

      I tried desperately to reach Maria in Rome but was unsuccessful. Her brother said that she trying to come to terms with the situation, and should give her time. I was worried and ashamed at the same time. Although it was unjustified, I felt guilty about what had happened. Yusuf told me that this was unreasonable. However, I still felt that everything was my fault.

      About three months later, Yusuf came home with some disturbing news. Giorgio, Yusuf, and a lot of other people including security agents were searching for Vicky. Apparently, Vicky had made Giorgio transfer all his personal and cash assets to her and, had then vanished into thin air. Vicky had disappeared with everything including the company’s cash and paper assets. The business simply collapsed.

        Investigations later revealed that Vicky had absconded with a young man who had been working in Giorgio’s company as a member of the accounts department. He had actually been employed by Vicky with Giorgio’s approval. She had told him that they were cousins. They had run away with US$7 million.

       Giorgio went into a deep depression and suffered a massive stroke. He died before help could get to him. His corpse was flown back to Rome where he was buried in the same church he had married in.

        I had thought that this was the end of this horror story, but it wasn’t. About two years later, I got a surprise call from Maria. She sounded upbeat and happy. I cautiously asked her about how she was doing, and she filled me in with what happened after Giorgio’s death.

       A lot of people in Rome had been very unhappy about what had happened to Giorgio and Maria, and some “friends” decided to take up the matter.

       The “friends” and their “friends” came to Abuja and, traced the money all the way to the United States where Vicky was living with her boyfriend in baronial splendour. They were both picked up, and “persuaded” to return the money they stole. This they eagerly did. A little over US$6 million was recovered from them. But that was not the end of the matter. Somehow, Vicky and her boyfriend got themselves involved in an FBI “sting operation” and, an FBI agent had been killed. At this moment, they are serving life sentences in American high-security prisons. Their lives might as well be over. It was nemesis!!!!

THE POISONED HAPPINESS (PART 3) (FICTION)

To really enjoy the story read Parts 1&2 first

With both families now in agreement, Giorgio and Yusuf entered into discussions. This went on for about a month. Everything was discussed in detail, especially, the corporate and political infrastructure of the business. Giorgio secured the necessary technical support and Yusuf cemented the necessary political and bureaucratic pillars that would make the business a success. Both husbands visited Rome and Abuja several times to fine-tune the business and, within six months they had a workable business machine in place.

        A year later, Giorgio, Maria, and the children relocated to Abuja, and business commenced in earnest. Maria partnered me in my interior design business and we were having the fun and times of our lives. It was like when we were in the university, we were reliving our youths. The men were also having their fun. Money was rolling in, one job after the other was being done. Life was good.

       Seven years later, and completely out of the blues, things began to go sour. Maria came to my house one evening, very distraught. I calmed her down and listen to what she had to say. She claimed that she believed that Giorgio was having an affair. She said that he was now coming home at odd hours and, he always seemed to have “foreign” smells on him. She said she was getting tired of his lies, and his excuses were becoming ridiculous. I told her to be calm and watchful. She should also have a serious heart-to-heart with Giorgio, she should remember that they’ve been together for a long time.

 Giorgio’s madness now seemed total.

       A week later, Maria told me that she had information that Giorgio was having an affair with his secretary, who was employed six months earlier. I knew she was not given to flights of fancy, and whatever she was saying was the truth. I advised her to take the matter to our local parish priest. She agreed to do so and did.

       However, things didn’t get better. Giorgio continued with his bad behaviour. He continued to behave horribly, coming back to the house at odd hours. Things got to a head when Maria asked for housekeeping money. Instead of paying it into the account meant for that purpose, as usual, he told her to come to the office. After a bitter argument, she reluctantly agreed.

      Maria went to Giorgio’s office the next day as agreed, only to meet his absence. He left a message that she should collect the money from Vicky. This really infuriated her, but she went and confronted her tormentor. To her chagrin, Vicky had the guts to ask her what she needed the money for. Maria was so furious that she beat her up, took all the money in the office and wrecked the place.

      Giorgio was very mad when he got home. He scolded Maria and they had a terrible fight, and they weren’t on speaking terms for a week. The situation at home became progressively worse and it started affecting the children. The hostile atmosphere was very palpable.

      Giorgio’s madness now seemed total. He went everywhere with Vicky and the whole city was agog with scandal. This was a very horrible time for Maria and the girls. Imagine the shame of everybody knowing and seeing, that your husband is openly having an affair.

       I told my husband to do something about the situation, in fact, I begged him. In fairness to Yusuf, he did his best to correct Giorgio’s errant behaviour but; Maria’s husband was beyond salvation. His behaviour at home and in public became more and more obnoxious. It was as if he had been bewitched.          

This amazing story is to be concluded in Part 4. Watch out!!!      

       

THE POISONED HAPPINESS (Part 2) (FICTION)

To really enjoy the story read the Part 1 first

This couldn’t work out because Yusuf was on a government scholarship and was ready to return to his country as soon as he finished his studies. On my part, I was ready to follow him anywhere he went, even to the ends of the earth.

      When it became obvious to my parents that I was going with Yusuf, come what may; they accepted the inevitable.

     We got married in my neighbourhood church in 1988, and less than a year later returned to Nigeria.

     Around the same time, I was getting involved with Yusuf, Maria was also falling in love. Maria’s beau was a young and handsome civil engineer called Giorgio. Giorgio worked in his uncle’s construction firm. He was a nice, easy-go-lucky chap with curly red hair, something very unusual in an Italian. Maria and Giorgio had a fairy tale romance and got married around 1989, just as I was leaving for Nigeria with Yusuf.

       In Nigeria, the federal government took up Yusuf’s employment and, his rise within the bureaucracy was very rapid. By 1992, we moved from Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria to Abuja the country’s capital. All this time, I was in constant communication with all my family and friends in Italy. This was before the internet, so all communication was by telephone and snail-mail. Maria and I were still very close and, the distance didn’t change anything.

 Little did I know then that my seeming act of benevolence would be the disastrous seed that would destroy a close, loving, and kind family.   

      By 1995, we were both mothers of three daughters each. Maria’s husband was now a partner in his uncle’s construction business, while my Yusuf was not doing badly. The two families were progressing nicely and everybody was happy.

      After the transfer of power to civil rule in 1999, my husband found himself in a position where he could exert considerable influence on the nation’s policymakers. With this in mind, we started thinking of expanding our fortunes.

      In Nigeria, the government is the biggest customer of any good or service, and the best goods or services to sell to the government are either related to oil or infrastructure. Nigeria is an infrastructure poor country, and as strange as this may sound given the country’s economic resources; the need for construction work was enormous. With this in mind, I discussed the idea of inviting Giorgio to Nigeria with Yusuf. My husband thought this was a good idea, and told me to discuss it with Maria. I agreed to do this.  I called and discussed my thoughts with her, she liked it and, promised to discuss the issue with her husband.

       Maria called back a week later. She said that she had spoken to her husband about our discussion, and he liked the idea. The plan was that they will come to Nigeria, make their fortune in 10 years, and retire rich in Italy.

      I was thrilled to hear this. Imagined all the fun that Maria and I would be having within the high-octane expatriate community in Abuja. Little did I know then that my seeming act of benevolence would be the disastrous seed that would destroy a close, loving, and kind family.    

This amazing story is to be concluded in Parts 3-4. Watch out!!! 

ARE COVID-19/CORONAVIRUS PROPHECIES REAL?

The coronavirus appeared suddenly, completely out of the blues; and is ravaging the world. As of the last statistical count, over 300,000 have been infected and more than 20,000 have been killed; and there seems to be no end in sight for the pandemic.

      Social media has been awash with stories, prophecies, and conspiracy theories related to COVID-19. However, the most interesting of all are the prophecies related to the pandemic. The most interesting ones are related to three individuals, namely, Michel de Nostradame a.k.a Nostradamus; Dean Koontz, and Sylvia Brown. Let’s look at what they had to say and, what people are saying, starting with Nostradamus.

      Michel de Nostradame a.k.a Nostradamus was a 16th-century scientist and philosopher who made predictions about the future in four-lined poems called “quatrains” around 1555 and 1556. Check out these two amongst many, which seem to be related to the COVID-19 pandemic and, tell me what you think of them.

      The first goes like this –

      “From the vain enterprise honour and undue complaints,

        Boats tossed about among the Latins, cold, hunger, waves,

        Not far from the Tiber the land stained with blood,

        And diverse plagues will be upon mankind.”

According to prophecy aficionados, the interpretation of this cryptic poem is as follows -

Line 1: From the vain enterprise honour and undue complaints – This refers to the alleged artificial creation of the virus and, the stupidity of the reality.

Line 2-4:         Boats tossed about among the Latins, cold, hunger, waves,

                        Not far from the Tiber the land stained with blood,

                       And diverse plagues will be upon mankind.   

This refers to the people of the Mediterranean, especially Italy. The River Tiber runs through Rome and Italy and, the way the disease has ravaged the region is a classic example of a plague.

So what do you think?

       The second Nostradamus prophecy goes like this –

        “The sloping park, great calamity,

          Through the lands of the West and Lombardy,

          The fire in the ship, plague, and captivity,       

           Mercury in Sagittarius, Saturn fading.”

     Prophecy aficionados claim that the correct interpretation of this cryptic poem is as follows –

Line 1: The sloping park, great calamity, - According to reports, Hankou Jiangtan Park in Wuhan, actually slopes down to the river and, people can walk into the water. The supposed accidental release of an alleged bio-weapon is the supposed great calamity.

Line 2: Through the lands of the West and Lombardy – Everyone knows that the West is America, Europe, Australasia and Lombardy is in Italy.

Line 3:  The fire in the ship, plague, and captivity, - Ships are symbols of commerce and wealth. Fire in the ships symbolizes the destruction of these, for example, stock price plunges and obstruction of global trade and activity. Plague is the coronavirus and, captivity is the social and physical lockdown of countries and cities.    

Line 4:  Mercury in Sagittarius, Saturn fading. – According to astrology freaks, this line supposedly refers to a period of waning?...

So what do you think? 

Prophecy freaks are falling over themselves trying to predict the pandemic's rise and fall

       The second supposed prophecy we will look at is that of Dean Koontz who published a work of fiction in 1981, titled, “The Eyes of Darkness”. In Koontz’s novel, the Chinese had an ultra-secret bio-weapons manufacturing laboratory in Wuhan. It was there that a deadly virus called Wuhan-400 was created. So do you think Koontz saw into the future when he wrote that novel?

       The last prophecy we’ll be looking at (although there are many, many more), is that of late American psychic, Sylvia Brown. Brown published a novel in 2008 titled “End of Days”. Here is an excerpt from the novel which people are claiming proves that she saw into the future – “In around 2020 a severe pneumonia-like illness will spread throughout the globe, attacking the lungs and bronchial tubes and resisting all treatments. Almost more baffling than the illness itself will be the fact that it will suddenly vanish as quickly as it arrived, attack ten years later, and then disappear completely.”

        So what do you think?

THE POISONED HAPPINESS (FICTION)

This very pathetic but, true story, was narrated to me by a friend of the victim. The lady who told me this story is an Italian woman and married to a Nigerian. Her name’s Sonia. This is Sonia’s story. 

I was born in the suburbs of Rome. The neighbourhood was middle class and, childhood was great. We all knew each other and, it was like living in one huge extended family. This was how I met Maria, my friend, the person whose story I’m now telling you.

      Maria and her family lived two houses away from ours. Both our fathers worked in the same Agnelli Techniko plant situated a few kilometres outside the city, and our mothers were good traditional Italian housewives. We both belonged to large nuclear families and, even larger extended families. In fact, you could say that Maria and I had a lot in common.

      With such similar backgrounds and being born and growing up so close to each other, it was natural that Maria and I were not just neighbours, but friends; almost like sisters. We both attended the same Catholic basic and middle schools. Later on, we were both fortunate to be admitted into a university in Roma.

      Even though Roma has been the greatest city in the world for over two thousand years, and we were indigenes of this great city; attending the university was a unique experience for both of us. At the university, we were exposed to people from different parts of the world. The staff and student population at the university were like a tiny United Nations, with scholars and learners coming from different parts of the world; just like in the days of the ancient Caesars. It was in this environment that our lives changed.

My decision to marry Yusuf was very disturbing to my parents and all my friends.

      I was in my second year at the university when I met Yusuf. Yusuf was a young and exotically handsome African who hailed from the northeastern part of Nigeria. He was studying engineering on a government scholarship and had just a year left to finish his programme. Our meeting was both strange and funny. I had just finished confession and was leaving the church when this tall African fell in step with me. He said that he would have loved to be my priest and know what a lovely creature like me had to confess. The way he said it and the expression on his face, made me burst into laughter; and that is how we hit it off.

      Over the next few weeks, we kept seeing each other and, within a few months, we were inseparable and deeply in love. It was at this stage that we decided that we were going to spend the rest of our lives with each other.

      My decision to marry Yusuf was very disturbing to my parents and all my friends. My parents couldn’t understand how I could decide to marry an African, abandon my family and everyone I knew, to return to Nigeria with him. They used every trick in the book to try and dissuade me from marrying Yusuf; including committing suicide and pretending to have a stroke, but nothing worked. My brothers threatened to harm Yusuf, but I made it clear that if anything bad happened to Yusuf; something bad would happen to me. After some time, they shifted ground and gave their permission for the union, but they insisted that we remain in Italy.

 This amazing story is to be concluded in Parts 2-4. Watch out!!!