A Hero Goes Home To Rest• The Effect Of Drug Money On Nigerian Economy, By Ugoo Nwachukwu

Photo of a Nigerian executed in Indonesia being laid to rest

saw someone somewhere vilifying and accusing the dead of not being a hero but I can tell you that this young man is a hero to me.

I am not always politically correct and hence I may not say what you like.

That Nigerian economy has not collapsed is because of drug money and 419.

Let me clarify. Among the youth growing up in the cities between the ages of 16 to 35, about 30 percent are in what they call "street". In this street, they buy data, buy laptop, and then start looking for people to scam from all over the world.

You only need to go to western union or moneygram of each bank to discover for yourself the magnitude of this business on the Nigerian economy. Every second, every minute, a young boy or girl is withdrawing money from Western union or moneygram. The line does not seem to end. I have never gone to western union or moneygram of any bank without having to wait endlessly and forced to grease the palms of the teller before I complete a transaction.

In fact, the federal govt not wanting to loose out on this bonanza, deviced a means of benefiting from this 30 billion dollar a year enterprise by denying to pay these boys and girls in dollars but mandates banks to pay them in naira, thereby converting these earning to Nigerian foreign exchange earnings.

Now, let's sit back and relax. 419 is stealing and the Nigerian economy would collapse today without these "looted funds". The country benefits from international criminal activities.

Now, let go to drugs. A drive around lekki, VGC, and other parts of Lagos, will tell you what drug money is all about. There is no part of Lagos that drug money did not help build. In fact the leader and landlord of Lagos state Tinubu is a well known drug lord. He made his millions before going into politics through drug. He still has a pending case in the USA regarding his drug money and would have been executed if the event happened in indonesia. But he is the King of Lagos and lord of Nigeria. One of the most influential PDP senator is a well known drug baron. We all known him.

Now let's talk about the criminals who kept Nigeria the way she is today. The politicians who have ruled Nigeria from 1970 till date. They are all criminals and thieves. But you worship them.

They took the people's resources, allocated them to themselves, to their children, and to their friends. They build mansions, share bags of rice and many people go bowing down to them. These are common criminals commanding the loyalty and reverence of the people they stole from; abomination!

These politicians are the single reason why these boys go into 419 and why the remaining turn to drugs. Between a drug dealer and a 419 which is a lesser offence? One is stealing and the other is selling a prohibited substance. Both are bad but one is worse than the other.

In the olden days in our culture, these politicians will be tried in the market Square and summarily executed by firing squad. This young man who did something that was prohibited will be asked to appease the land.

If this young boy had committed this crime in the UK, he would have gotten 4 years imprisonment and would have been out by now. He died because he committed this crime in a sharia country.

So the summary of my writeup is that this young man went on a suicide mission to help himself and his family because of the condition the thieving politicians have put this country.

He is a hero because if h3 had stayed back and had no job, he would have joined with others and protested for a better life and he would have been killed all the same by the Nigerian police working for the criminal politicians. He chose to sacrifice his life for investments and capital projects.

I think he is hero, you think whatever you like. If you think he is not a hero then you must first kill all the politicians and 419ers.