I AM MONEY

Do I need to introduce myself? Who is he that does not know, crave or want to possess me? Is there any acceptable medium of exchange or means of payment other than me?

 

MONEY

I am money. I bestow honour and power on those that possess me, for by that they are wealthy, affluent, rich, the haves. I can take any form - coin (gold, silver, etc.), metal, paper note, even electronic.. - and still retain my essence and influence on people. Who is he that can be sated enough as to resist having more of me? Can anyone resist my lure - public and private officers, politicians, everyday people and even those attired in clerical raiment? Wherever I am dangled beholders do unbelievable things to possess me. Insatiable Desire. Many have amassed so much wealth, through illegal means, which they or their scions could hardly ever spend. Corruption.

I cause enmity, haughtiness, and vanity in people of means. Everything revolves around what you can do with me. Without me, destitution is your lot. I am the motivating factor in every coup d’etat. How many governments have been overthrown or kings dethroned because of me? 

Of all the things in the world I am the most sought after; kept secure and bolted in banks, safes, and recently, in bizarre places like deserted buildings and even graveyards.

When some of those who want to rule offer themselves to serve, as they say, it is, oftentimes, only a euphemism for pilferage, to betray the trust reposed in them. I am behind the mask of their political masquerade. Thus, bereft of moral values, such politicians flout any law, mundane or Devine, to ascend to the throne. There is no red line, imposed limits or sanctuary that they will not approach and exceed; they are votaries of all deities if offerings at their altar, including human sacrifice, will guarantee INEC’s Certificate of Return. 

I am money with which the youth are so besotted that they are at the complete disposal of politicians for thuggery and disruption of the electoral process. I am embittered by the vileness of those who offer me to the youth together with drugs, as inducement to anarchy, for their self aggrandisement, as I marvel at the gullibility of the recipients who put their lives into ruin for the benefit of people who will desert them after the swearing-in ceremony, to remember them only after four years during another election season. But do the youth have option when my access to their pockets has been screened even for the graduates among them? The progenies of those who goad and drug them to violence during elections are certain to be gainfully employed when they return to the country at the end of their study in prestigious institutions abroad. But the political thugs are used and dumped with scars, drug addiction and despondency as trophies from the electoral battlefield. All this vaunting by those in authority concerning job creation is silent on where I come in to play the role a thank-you-message in a brown envelope. For one to get their letter of employment they must be willing to part with N300,000 to N1,000,000 subject to how juicy the source of the provisional appointment of appointment is. 

The wickedness of those who desire to rule in exploiting my influence is not confined to the youth; men of God are not immune. Clergymen, when they debase their calling with the love of me, possess a special trait of sniffing my presence. The prospects of having me amply elicit special prayers, speaking in tongues, declaration to the Holy Ghost in the mighty name of Jesus, as well as counting million of prayers in rosary beads and recital of the entire Qur’an hundreds of times. Only in pursuit of me in clandestine ways will make men of God to be partisan and openly support a particular political party or a specific candidate. These are rather men of Gold. 

I relish the craving of the men of God for me even when that desire is secreted behind the facade of asceticism. By their spiritual authority, men of God are repositories of right conduct, impartiality and good counsel to all, especially to those vying for political office and those in authority. They are shepherds of the herd; they do not alienate or repel any member of the flock by declaring support for one against the other. That neutrality must be embraced by instructors in religion, otherwise they lose the reverence of their flock because of me, which is a great loss because I am not real; I am ephemeral. Only the fools among people sell their conscience at the price of their honour and integrity. 

I am money; I’m always on the move. The peak period of my movement is during political campaigns when the election fever reaches a pitch where uncertainty reigns. Politicians use me to induce electoral officers into ‘unwholesome roles’ in general elections. INEC had to suspend 205 staff for this reason. We have seen, in a state in the South West, how someone with ‘huge stash of money’ made personnel of the military and the DSS rig elections in favour of a particular political party during the 2015 elections. The gory details contained in the infamous recordings on the derailment of the democratic process are still refresh in your minds. I was the vehicle employed as douceur, together with the promise of promotion to the officers involved to cause that political quagmire in the state and the nation at large. 

What about the electorate? Like the case of the youth, the politicians target the electorate with a trifle of me in vote buying expeditions especially on the election day. These monsters should be hurled, by the electorate, with _pure water_ sachets for the destitution they had wrought rather than receive a pittance from them for their votes. These are not people’s representatives; the political class is a band, a confederation for permanent interest which is me. They are one and the same when it comes to ways of access to me. They fight on the pages of newspapers and on television screens in the day time, but wine and dine at nocturnal meetings in Abuja. The unknowing gets into unnecessary conflict and acrimony with their compatriots due to differences in Nigerian politics, when the protagonists are one and the same people united in pursuit of one object - _me_. 

When will the youth educe that they are only a pawn amidst many other pawns like the clergy in the hands of politicians for their power game? Why will you kill a fellow human being for a few silvered coins at the behest of one who is the actual enemy of both of you? 

I advocate a total rejection of me to all when it comes to violence and vote buying. Reject me whenever I am offered you by people who want to disrupt the political process for their selfish gains. But where you must, collect me, eschew violence and vote according to your conscience! 

Date Published: Friday, December 7th, 2018