Introduction Nigeria has never lacked for conversations about corruption. What we often lack, however, is honesty about its full spectrum. We condemn the petty thief with righteous fury, yet we whisper, sometimes even applaud, when the “smart thief” in high office plunders the nation with a fountain pen. Both forms of theft drain the lifeblood of the country. Both undermine the well‑being of the state. Yet only one group is routinely demonized, while the other is shielded by power, influence, and a justice system that bends like wet cardboard. This article argues that Nigeria’s crisis is not merely about petty criminality on the streets. It is about a culture that normalizes grand theft at the top while pretending to be shocked by the survival crimes at the bottom. Until we confront this hypocrisy, Nigeria will remain “every year, a child,” stunted while other nations grow with responsibility and dignity. Petty Thieves: The Condemned Faces of Survival Crime A few weeks ago, soc...
Nigeria’s poorest citizens are locked in a silent contest of survival against two very different but equally destructive forces. On one side stand the unregulated pastoralists whose cattle roam freely into farmlands. On the other side stand the political elites: governors, commissioners, and agencies, who bulldoze homes and seize ancestral lands in the name of industrialization, road expansion, and “development.” One group carries sticks and machetes: the other carries constitutions, bulldozers, and state power. Yet the outcome for the poor is strikingly similar: dispossession, hunger, and despair. The Pastoralist Problem: When Cattle Become Weapons Across many rural communities, herders release their cattle into farmlands as though the crops were planted for the animals. Maize, cassava, rice, yam leaves, legumes, everything becomes fodder. These are not just crops; they are the lifeline of families who depend on them for food, school fees, and survival. Humans eat crops. Human...