The
Parable of the Rich Fool
There is a ‘shocker’ in
the news –please permit me as I interpolate the popular jingle by Indomie
instant noodles. ♫ Indomie like no other
♫ … Oh yes, you’ve watched the video making the rounds I believe; ‘owo
dollar’ like no other.
Apparently, Ikoyi area
of Lagos Island for so long has been a safe haven for proceeds of corruption.
It is only natural to imagine other locations as many as possible holding forth
similar stash of ‘owo dollar, owo poun’.
To bury cash beneath
the earth; or have money stacked away inside septic tank (known as soak-a-way)
and other crooked techniques devised to hid money are ways of men and women who
acquire money from unexplained and illegitimate sources.
These things are not
new.
Drug lords and the
likes are known for ‘remuremus’ they dump cash in most despicable and at the
same time funny spots, they spread monies in bath tubs, roofs, inside emptied
water-closet etc.
But what should we say
of those entrusted with public funds?
Officials who –by act
of commission or omission– mismanaged public revenue or those who abused public
office outrightly; a scenario which could be likened to Monkeys storming a barn
of bananas –they simply carted away resources meant for the generality of the
people.
Resources could go
round. More mouths could be fed and everyone could have bucks to spend.
Equity is achievable.
But it is often a tough call especially when greed seems to be more popular.
Let me share a story of
a man who ‘loved’ his wife dearly.
The pregnant wife was
in her last trimester, she was going to put to bed any moment. A humble family;
they have a kid with another knocking the door.
It is not all rosy, but
here we have a couple who believe that in life everyone must earn their
livelihood through their own hard-work.
Mr. Chika Luke – the
husband –works full time at a popular bank in Nigeria. He is a driver.
Around the time his
wife’s pregnancy entered the seventh month, the financial burden on him grew higher.
Mr. Luke needed extra funds for medications, and so on.
As expected, his wife needed
more of ‘his’ –time, finance, care, etc. And the thirty years old would do all
it requires of him to meet his wife’s needs but not at the expense of his
integrity. He is an upright man. ‘The joy Mr. Luke has as he anticipates his
unborn baby is immeasurable’.
Some weeks back he had
registered at the bank his interest for overtime.
It should be noted that
before the hubby made known his interest, the working hours officially span
between the hours of 8 O’clock in the morning and 4 O’clock in the evening
Mon-Fri.
Saturday May 23rd
2015. Mr. Luke received a call; the message was clear. His wife has been placed on one of the beds at the hospital. She was rushed
in shortly after she complained of unbearable discomfort around the lower
region of her womb.
His mother in-law has
done the right thing by swiftly alerting the neighbor who offered to convene Mrs.
Luke to the hospital.
Chika knew beforehand
that to concentrate at work, he would need to have someone watch over his
pregnant wife; so his mother in-law’s time and service came in handy.
That fateful day Chika was
behind the wheels –vroom on– a bullion van, he had come to work earlier in the
day to clock in for extra work hours.
A call came through and
immediately he got the message, uneasiness set in.
The security personnel
occupying the seat next to the driver noticed an unusual change in mood –Mr.
Luke didn’t waste time to share the information with the man-in-uniform.
The compassionate
policeman swung to action, he picked the walking-talking radio to alert his
colleague who was manning the driver’s seat of the patrol vehicle leading the
convoy.
By the way, Chika in
company of security personnels had just completed an assignment. He was escorted
to a location in Ikoyi area of Lagos Island where delivery of mints was made
inside an apartment situated in a high-rise building.
Immediately the
information regarding Mr. Luke’s wife reached the vehicle leading the convoy
–the pace increased.
Twenty minutes later –Chika
made his way into the bank premises. Expectedly, he clocked out and rushed off the
gate.
In this part of the
world, Government Hospitals are known to be starved of resources and other
necessities.
Hospital facilities are
in bad shape. Medical equipment is often obsolete.
Staffs are usually
overstretched. Specialist doctors are not readily available.
Mrs. Luke’s situation
became intense –awaiting the gynecologist –the nurses swung to action.
Chika, arriving at the
hospital, met his ‘praying’ mother in-law –worried and frightened. She wasn’t
saying much to Mr. Luke who was very anxious and curious. He needed answers to the
myriad of questions pouring out of his mouth.
Joining hands with his
mother in-law, the two couldn’t move beyond the waiting room.
None of the nurses were in sight. Their hearts became burdened. Who would answer the all-important question?
‘How’s Mrs. Luke doing? Has she given birth? What is the situation?’
Shortly after, a member
of the administrative staffs of the hospital ran passed Chika and Iya Bisi, the
mother in-law. He rushed into the ward where Mrs. Luke was believed to be.
Apparently, someone at the emergency room had ‘belled’ the administrative quarters.
Same man who ran in
seconds ago, ‘bolted’ out of the ward. I guess the information relayed to him
was straightforward… “Do all you could to
power the emergency room…”
That was going to be a
mountain too high to climb. The national grid had failed to power the hospital –consecutively–
for couple days. So, each ward is left at the mercy of low-capacity generators.
There is a high-powered
generator; big enough to lighten the whole hospital but it’s in comatose. It
has not been serviced for several years.
What should we say of
the situation, coincidentally at the time?
Fuel scarcity was
biting harder in the country: telecommunication companies threatened to shut down. Businesses
were affected; factories became graveyards. Productivity level dropped.
How much longer would
the nurses strive to keep Mrs. Luke alive? Electricity was badly needed to
power some equipment.
Few minutes later, the heart
wrenching news broke from the ward. Mrs. Luke had given up the ghost. It turned
out that the baby could not be saved as well.
I have never watched a
man wept like a baby.
Sorrow beclouded Chika.
I felt sorry for him! I couldn’t help but to move closer to offer a few words
of motivation and encouragement.
I headed home that
evening with a saddened heart; utterly disappointed at the kind of system we
run in Nigeria.
Nearly two years after,
Mr. Luke was stunned to learn that the money he convened to Ikoyi, which was
moved inside the high-rise building were proceeds of corruption.
In remembrance of his
late wife, he ponders on the watts of electricity $43million -if invested- could generate.
If 1 megawatts of
electricity cost $10million, that means, $40million would generate 4 megawatts
of electricity which could power close to 1000 homes.
Jesus Christ shared a
Parable of the Rich Fool. Please permit me to interpolate.
“The corrupt deeds of a
certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What
shall I do? I have no place to store my monies.’
Then he said, ‘This is
what I’ll do. I will find a secret location in Ikoyi, and there I will store my
surplus cash. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of money laid up for
many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him,
‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will
get what you have prepared for yourself?’
“This is how it will be
with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke
12 : 13-21 [NIV].
Boluwatife Adekunle
@boluzzz
