Share the stolen money and you will be transformed from thief to hero

When your salary is $25,000 a year, you cannot exactly be called rich. When, with that salary, you get some expensive toys for yourself, then eyebrows are raised. How do you afford luxury properties, fleets of Rolls Royces, a Bentley and a Maybach, first class travel, private boarding school fees and a private jet worth $20 million?

This story is fact stranger than fiction, and is drawn from the country with the largest churches in the world — Nigeria — the land of my birth. The person of interest is James Ibori, whom Reuters describes as follows:

“Ibori’s criminal career started small, when he was caught in 1991 stealing from a till while working as a cashier at Wickes, a home improvements store, in London. In 1992, he was convicted again, this time for handling a stolen credit card. Ibori then returned to Nigeria where he became involved in politics.”

He eventually became a governor. The exact amount that Ibori stole is still a mystery, but it is put at something in the neighbourhood of $250 million.

Reuters goes on: “From starting off as a petty thief with his hand in the till at Wickes, who could not afford his monthly mortgage repayments, he ended up as a property tycoon who led the lifestyle of royalty.”

Eventually it all caught up with him and he was arrested and sentenced to prison, not in Nigeria but in the UK, on charges of theft and money laundering. Sentenced with him were his wife, his mistress and his lawyer, who all helped him steal through shell companies around the world.

After serving four years out of a 13-year sentence, he was released from the UK prison and returned to Nigeria.

On his return, the Punch newspaper in Nigeria had this to say: “A chartered private plane will fly him to Warri and he will land at Osubi airfield operated by Shell.”

The former politician would be received at the airstrip by supporters and sympathisers who have lined up to welcome him back.

“For now, it is going to be a quiet ceremony. An elaborate reception will be organised later for him at Oghara, his hometown,” said one of his associates.

It is important to note that while in prison, Ibori still influenced the politics of his native Delta state.

Today, he is rich and influential and has access to power. Why? Nobody cares what you stole and how you made your money. The important thing is to share it and you will be amazed at how you will move from thief to hero.

Ibori is not alone. The continent is littered with so many who are thieves but who have sanctified their thievery through supposed good deeds.

There was one who had been locked up, but when he was released he held a thanksgiving service in church and the place was full of so-called leaders of the nation. What is wrong with us?

We have seared consciences. We justify the means with the end. This corrupts our values as a people and by so doing we create the perfect environment for corruption to thrive. As long as there are no consequences and an environment in which we celebrate wealth alone and not the process of becoming wealthy, the continent of Robin Hoods is here to stay.

How do we fix this? We need to become more process-minded. As Africans, we have an appetite for things that we do not produce. It is why we export raw materials and spend billions of dollars to import finished products every year. If we do not develop a culture of process in little things, we will produce a society (as we have done) that has no regard for how true wealth is created.

Just as we export crude oil only to import refined petrol, and export cocoa beans to import chocolates, in like manner we will continue to consume whatever Robin Hood has to give us.

He or she could be the biggest thief, but as creative Africans we have a different dictionary for these words. When you steal a phone or a chicken, you are a thief. When you steal in millions you are corrupt. But when you steal in billions you become a community elder, a national hero and a king maker. Once again, welcome to Africa, the continent of Robin Hoods!