- A Review By Babatunde Faniyan
There comes, once in a while, when,
from the recesses of a unique mind, there comes a “master” Book that generates an ‘earthquake’
in the land. Some readily come to mind: Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart; Wole Soyinka’s The Man Died; the William Shakespeare classics .
. .and many others.
Now, here is one in that class.
Any one aged 18 years and above knows what Corruption is. Everyone
talks about it; condemns it and sends curses at it and to the ignoble perpetrators of the scourge.
“Wars” are being fought against it all over the world –
including Nigeria, by our President
Buhari. In many cases however, Corruption fights back and we have on our hands, a war that is
yielding “mixed” reactions and “mixed” results.
No one, until now, has taken the
plunge to confront Corruption as starkly, boldly and comprehensively as in this book. Who
is this one who has penned this book?
He was born Daniel Oluwagbemiga
Melaye. He has been an activist from secondary School – a positive Reformative campaigner. Here is a Daniel who, by himself,
has plunged – not into the ferocious Lions’ Den – but into the
equally ferocious Den of Corruption.
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| Senator Dino Melaye (Author) |
He has gone to confront Corruption
eyeball to eyeball; to see how the scourge came to being; how it is wired, and how it has
developed to the menace it is today. He has dragged this monster out of
her den, made a comprehensive study of it – from God’s Creation in the Garden of Eden
through Ancient times to the Colonial Era; from the shape and colour of the scourge in different
countries of the world through the negative influences of the Colonial masters. . . . And, finally,
zeroing-in on our Nigeria.
In this book, there is a compendium
of all forms of Corrupt practices from the pre-Amalgamation era, through Independence, to the
present day. No one is spared in this fearless expository work. Who is this Daniel that has dared to
confront Corruption in this manner? What is his pedigree?
What gave him the courage to write
such an explosive book?
The first two chapters of the Book
will give the reader answers to these queries and satisfy every nagging curiosity. Yes, the author
is the same Senator Dino Melaye who, consequent upon a recent tiff at the Senate was a
target of several brickbats and mudslinging. When you really “meet” him in the first two chapters
of this book, it will be established to many a discerning
mind, that he is no doubt one of the
most misunderstood personalities in the land.
From Secondary School, an elder in
his community took a long, hard look at Dino Melaye and named him “Imole ” (Yoruba word for “Light”). This
went on to be his campaign slogan/war cry in subsequent years.“
Imole de!” (Light has come!) And the people will respond with a
roar: “Okunkun parada” (Darkness disappears!)”
Another elder described him as being
“honest and courageous” – a combination which he says, makes a man able to “go anywhere and
dare any challenge” With his war cry of “Imole de” and from his launch pad of Honesty
and Courage, Dino Melaye sailed into the House of
Representatives and later, into the Senate – defeating older, well established incumbents.
Antidotes For Corruption: The Nigerian Story, is a book no one can ignore, a work
all will admire – except, perhaps, those who are exposed in
the book, and who are bent on remaining unrepentant. All readers of this book, including
repentant corrupt persons will salute the courage of this Daniel inthe den of Corruption.
This is arguably the most
comprehensive study and expose on the phenomenon of Corruption yet. It researches on the different types
of Corruption, and in different lands. “From Sodom & Gomorrah of the
old testament, the Egyptian, Greek and Roman empires respectively and the Ottoman empire
of the 16th century. It is significant to note that these
corruption incidents were one of the
main reasons for the demise of the mighty Roman empire as well as the others already
mentioned, where the modern day type of corruption and nepotism as we know it, was reported to have
existed at all levels of administration”.
It probes the evolution of
Corruption; its development into a complex monster that has killed nations – and is threatening to kill
Nigeria. The Book discovers that Africa has
developed its own brand of corruption, with Nigeria more or
less at the helm.
Some of the other chapters in the
book include: Systematic Corruption with impunity in Nigeria; How developed countries corrupted
Underdeveloped countries; War against Corruption in Nigeria; How to Overcome Corruption.
The book goes on to proffer solutions
to the scourge – to free Nigeria from its stranglehold and set her on the road to achieving her
full potential.
A compulsory read for every
patriotic Nigerian and indeed every discerning citizen of this embattled world, this book will not
only be an eye opener to students of our higher institutions, it will also be an enabling instrument
for positive National Re-orientation for them as leaders of tomorrow.
Babatunde Faniyan, is a Lagos based author, publisher
and communication consultant
The Story of the Past Leaders of Nigeria since 1960 uptill date Since The Day of Obafemi Awolowo,Akintola and Others ,Nigeria has been Weakness Leadership of Till date, They are not lover of there People and There Nation but lover of Themselves up till date.
ReplyDeleteSenator Dino Melaye love His People at His Constituency the Result of your Past we determined That, How can Someone love His people Without Picking the Calls of his People? Without have A personal Relationship with People at The Grass Roots , None of There People Can ask of What they needs from there People because there is no way to meets them to share there feelings .
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