Nigeria Is Not Poor; It Is Plundered.

By George Omagbemi Sylvester

“A Forensic Look at Grand Corruption, State Capture and Why the Ballot Remains Nigeria’s Most Powerful Anti-Looting Tool.”

Nigeria is often described (both at home and abroad) as a poor nation. That description is not only misleading; it is INTELLECTUALLY lazy and MORALLY dangerous. Nigeria is not poor. Nigeria is systematically plundered. What masquerades as poverty is, in truth, the cumulative outcome of decades of grand corruption, elite impunity, institutional decay, and a political culture that privatizes public wealth while socializing suffering.

The long list of scandals. Nigerians now recite almost casually with Abacha loot, Diezani Alison-Madueke, James Ibori, fuel subsidy frauds, NDDC trillions, NNPC opacity, central bank scandals, budget padding, security vote abuses; are not isolated events. They form a clear pattern: state capture by a predatory political elite.

As the late Kenyan scholar Ali Mazrui once observed, “Africa is not underdeveloped; it is over-exploited and internally as much as externally.” Nigeria is perhaps the most painful illustration of this truth.

Looting as a System, Not an Accident. The thefts Nigerians discuss are not market pickpocketing; they are industrial-scale extractions enabled by weak institutions and political protection.

The Abacha loot, recovered over several decades from Switzerland, the UK, the US and other jurisdictions, runs into billions of dollars, officially acknowledged by Nigerian and foreign governments. The very fact that stolen public funds had to be repatriated from foreign vaults is itself an indictment of governance failure.

Diezani Alison-Madueke, former petroleum minister, remains at the center of multiple forfeiture cases in the UK and Nigeria involving luxury properties, cash, and assets allegedly linked to corruption. Several courts have ordered interim and final forfeitures, underscoring that these are not mere rumors but judicially examined matters.

James Ibori, former Delta State governor, was convicted and imprisoned in the United Kingdom for money laundering which is one of the clearest international confirmations of Nigerian elite corruption.

These cases alone debunk the myth of Nigerian poverty. Poor nations do not produce billion-dollar looters. Only resource-rich but poorly governed states do.

The Normalization of the Scandal Economy. From fuel subsidy frauds to the NDDC’s unaccounted trillions, from budgetary insertions to security vote secrecy, Nigeria has normalized what political economists call a scandal economy with a system in which corruption is not an aberration but a routine cost of governance.

Former Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi warned years ago that “Nigeria’s problem is not lack of resources but lack of discipline and accountability.” His warning proved prophetic. Revelations around the Central Bank, the opaque operations of NNPC over the years, and audit reports showing trillions in “UNRECONCILED” figures reinforce a disturbing pattern: when oversight disappears, looting accelerates.

The controversies surrounding the Kolmani Oil Project, the Nigeria Air project and disputed figures in the power sector all point to the same structural problem; projects announced with fanfare, funded with public money and later surrounded by opacity, denials and silence.

When Anti-Corruption Becomes Selective. One of Nigeria’s gravest challenges is not merely corruption, but selective accountability. Anti-corruption agencies often act swiftly against political opponents while cases involving powerful insiders stagnate.

Renowned Nigerian historian Professor Toyin Falola has argued that “A state that punishes theft among the poor but negotiates theft among the elite is not fighting corruption; it is managing it.” This perception (whether fully accurate or not) has damaged public trust and weakened civic morale.

Cases involving former governors, ministers, heads of agencies and senior civil servants often drag on for years, creating the impression that justice is negotiable. Meanwhile, Nigerians are told to endure austerity, subsidy removals and tax increases in the name of fiscal discipline.

Poverty as Policy Outcome.

The human cost of looting is not abstract. It is visible in:
Collapsing public hospitals

Underfunded universities and prolonged strikes

Youth unemployment and mass migration

Insecurity fueled by poverty and state weakness

As Nobel laureate Amartya Sen explains, “Poverty is not just lack of income; it is the deprivation of basic capabilities.” In Nigeria, corruption directly strips citizens of these capabilities; health, education, safety and dignity.

When trillions vanish from oil revenues, power budgets or development agencies, Nigerians pay twice: first through stolen resources, and second through deteriorating public services.

The Myth of Scarcity and the Lie of Austerity. Nigerians are constantly told there is “NO MONEY.” Yet history shows that money appears whenever political elites are involvedwith lots of luxury convoys, private jets, overseas medical trips and inflated contracts.

Political economist Claude Ake once warned that “Those who control the state in Africa often see it as an instrument for primitive accumulation rather than public service.” Nigeria’s experience fits this diagnosis precisely.

Austerity imposed on the masses alongside extravagance for the elite is not economic necessity; it is moral failure.

Votes, Accountability, and the Last Line of Defense. Elections in Nigeria have too often been reduced to moments of transactional politics; like rice, cash, T-shirts and slogans. Yet history is clear: no reform survives without political accountability.

As American jurist Louis Brandeis famously said, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” In Nigeria, the ballot remains the strongest form of sunlight available to ordinary citizens.

Voting wisely is not about party worship; it is about demanding:

Transparent budgeting

Independent institutions

Swift and equal justice

Asset recovery with public reporting

Until looting carries real political consequences, it will continue.

A Final Reflection: From Plunder to Possibility.
Nigeria’s tragedy is not destiny. It is choice. Nations poorer in natural resources have built prosperity because they chose accountability over impunity. Nigeria can do the same.

The question before Nigerians is no longer whether corruption exists, though it does, abundantly and demonstrably. The real question is whether citizens will continue to legitimize it through silence, cynicism or compromised votes.

Nigeria is not poor.
Nigeria has been robbed repeatedly.
And only an awakened, principled electorate can end the robbery.

As political philosopher Hannah Arendt warned, “The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after the revolution.” Democracy requires constant vigilance, not episodic outrage.

If Nigerians use their votes wisely, corruption will no longer be a lifetime appointment, but it will become a career-ending risk.

That is how nations are reclaimed.