I was welcomed into the lobby of my office block yesterday morning by a row of beautiful bouquets, roses and boxes of gifts. It was Valentine’s Day. Like Christmas, it was another day to send gifts to loved ones. As I walked into the elevator, I secretly prayed that God should put it in the heart of one of my good friends to send me the gift of my hearts desire. I waited behind well past my usual closing time in expectation of possible last minute surprises. The day came to an end and no one walked in with the expected gift.  Is God being partial? Does He love some Nigerians more than others? After all this same God sent some very jolly good friends of our incorruptible former (Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to saddle him with a token gift of almost ten million ($10,000,000) USD which he wisely buried in fireproof safes away from the envious eyes of the witches and poor people of Kaduna. The same Chineke answered the prayers of our former first Lady, our own mother of peace, the gorgeous dame Patience Jonathan and she received similar gifts of almost twenty Million ($20,000,000) USD in mint Benjamins, which she being wiser and being aware of the punishment visited upon the servant who buried talents in the biblical parable of the sower, elected to keep her gifts in Bank accounts of companies owned by her ever grateful domestic aides. So why can’t I be a lucky recipient of just a little briefcase filled with mint dollar notes just like Mr. Yakubu and other lucky Nigerians like him?

I am sure that like me several Nigerians may have asked similar questions in the light of the gift giving culture of our elites. Why do the elites extend their generosity to only public officers and not to the needy public? Isn’t this discriminatory gift giving an indication that the practice is not in all intent or purpose meant as an expression of love? Until any one of the dollars gifting Santa Clauses visit me with my own briefcase filled with United States Dollars I will chose to believe that this ‘famed generosity’ is unholy and ought to be treated in accordance with the Nigerian constitution rather than being applauded by those who refused to accept that ‘ohun ti oda oda’ (What is bad is bad).

The rules guiding acceptance of gifts in the public service was one of the earliest rules that I was introduced to during my induction into the public service in my mid teens. I recall specifically that we were barred from receiving any form of gratification from members of the public. We were told that if for any reason we received any gifts we were expected to report such to our bosses and submit the gift for onward appropriation by the ‘Organization’. The rule did not only apply to ‘officers’ but to our family members as it was assumed that family members could be induced into influencing the conduct of officers if they were allowed to receive unreported ‘gifts’ from members of the public. I assumed that this golden rule had changed over the years until I stumbled on a section of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.  Paragraph 6 subsection 1,2 and 3 of the 5^th schedule of Nigeria’ 1999 constitution states:

1. A public officer shall not ask for or accept property or benefits of any kind for himself or any other person on account of anything done or omitted to be done by him in the discharge of his duties
2. For the purpose of sub-paragraph (i) of this paragraph, the receipt by a public officer of any gifts or benefits from commercial firms, business enterprises or persons who have contracts with the government shall be presumed to have been received in contravention of the said sub-paragraph unless the contrary is proved. (Please note that the assumption under this paragraph is that the person who receives such gift ‘is presumed to be a bribe taker until otherwise proven’)
3. A public officer shall only accept personal gifts or benefits from relatives or personal friends to such extent and on such occasion as are recognized by custom.

Provided that any gift or donation to a public officer on any public or ceremonial occasion shall be treated as a gift to the appropriate institution represented by the public officer, and accordingly, the mere acceptance or receipt of any such gift shall not be treated as contravention of this provision.

In paragraphs 8 and 11 of the same section of the 1999 constitution, it was provided that

• 8. No person shall offer a public officer any property, gift of any kind as an inducement or bribe for the granting of any favor or the discharge in his favor of the public officer’s duties

• 11. (1) Subject to the provision of this constitution, every public officer shall within three months after coming into force of this code of conduct or immediately after taking office and thereafter – at the end of every four years; and

at the end of his term of office, submit to the Code of Conduct Bureau a written declaration of all his properties, assets, and liabilities and those of his unmarried children under the age of eighteen years.

• (2) Any statement in that declaration that is found to be false by any authority or person authorized in that behalf to verify it shall be deemed to be a breach of this Code
• (3) Any property or assets acquired by a public officer after any declaration required under this constitution and which is not fairly attributable to income, gift, or loan approved by this Code shall be deemed to have been acquired in breach of this code unless the contrary is proved.

So what is the connection between these sections of the Constitution and Mr. Yakubu et al? Simple. The ‘gifts’ he received while serving as a public officer should have been reported and handed over to the Agency where he served. In other words, the law provided it was not a crime that he received all those mint dollar bills provided he declared and handed ‘the entire gifts’ over to his employers.  Since he failed to do so, the law says he is a thief until he proves otherwise. In the case of the former first lady not being a public officer, it could be deduced that the givers of the cash gifts were trying to use her to influence her innocent husband, hence accepting and not declaring such ‘inducements’ is an act of corruption.

Truth be told, most of the people who are screaming ‘witch hunting’ over these two cases know within them that they are very bad cases. But this in Nigeria, everything is ‘Politics’ and one man’s thief is another man’s freedom fighter. My major concern is that as we play politics with wrong moral acts we are setting bad examples for our children. After all we all ask our children not to solicit gifts and to report to us when they receive gifts from neighbors, acquaintances and other people. How many of us will applaud a child who contravenes this simple parental injunction?