Possibly one of the most profound books I read last year was "Other People's Money" by Emile Gaboriau (Read FREE E-book version
HERE, courtesy of Project Gutenberg) I just couldn't put down the book (well, the BN Nook version) no matter how tired I was. I also took notes (something that slowed down my reading, but it was well worth it) because from page to page, I just couldn't believe what I was reading. Emile Gaboriau, who is
considered the Father of Detective Fiction and lived during the 1800s was describing in so much detail something that has become so normal in Nigeria today, i.e. individuals entrusted with funds belonging to other people, using the said funds to "service" their aristo chicks.
In Nigeria, I suppose the equivalent would be politicians frittering away public funds on "private" matters. The whole thing just brought to mind the saying that "Nothing is new under the sun." I really believe that now.
Do you ever wonder what the aristo chicks use the money lavished on them for? Well, your guess is as good as mine and it features the usual suspects:
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Jewellery
- Hair (Yup! Using hair that was once on another human being's head can cost more than a pretty penny)
- Electronic gadgets (Latest phones, and all the other gadgets that promise eternal bliss, but don't)
- Vacations and Trips to exotic destinations
- Boutiques filled with ... Yup! You guessed right: Some of the items already mentioned above (I guess these chicks have some ambition after all *irritated hiss*)
Upon all the curses that people hurl at them, these "ladies" end up as First ladies (to Governors), etc, while hardworking Nigerians with "zero-aristo-ambition" have to wake up to face the music of hikes in prices of just about everything (think "removal of fuel subsidy"). But I guess, if it isn't your money, you can spend it like there's no tomorrow, right? Is there any justice in this world? Just wondering ...
