Oga, Societal Ills Have Always Been With Us

In the days of People’s Club, we saw how questionable wealth was celebrated. It has little to do with Society’s “level of education”.

We are talking about values. What a people value reflects in all their dealings. Those days it was drugs, or 419 backed by ritual killing. Later, it became doing shady business with Military Administrators who over bloat invoices and shortchanged the masses. Then came the “Wonder Banks” wherein Depositors’ funds were preyed on heartlessly, until Soludo came and fixed that one.

Today, we are in the 2nd generation of Internet fraud business. The first was largely around Business Email Compromise, Identity theft and cyber dating. Now, we have crypto and other investment fund scams. In all this, there is a criminal socialisation that makes successful “fraudsters” want to announce themselves and control the social narrative.

 In the People’s Club era, most of the successful fraudsters divested into businesses of different kinds, largely importation of FMCGs. Some others, especially those who worked with the Military came into politics following the transition into civilian rule in 1999.

Today, successful fraudsters are also divesting into Entertainment/Showbiz – Music and Skits; Real Estate and Logistics. Few of them are also attempting politics. However, the pervasive nature of connecting digital footprints does not make public service an attractive venture for this generation of fraudsters.

One thing is central in all generation of dubious and fraudulent individuals, they are loud and showy. You know, they believe “poverty has to be shamed”, therefore the desire to announce their triumph over poverty underpins the boisterous displays and abuse of crisp cash.

We should not allow these lots set the agenda. So many of us believe they should continue to be exceptions and not the norm.

– Mazi Ejimofor Opara writes from Awka, Anambra State.