Katsina State And The 720 Goats: How Governor Masari Is Taking Advantage Of The Poor’s Pains To Perpetrate Corruption – CACOL

The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, has described the recent distribution of 720 goats to women in Katsina state under its Women Empowerment Scheme as a suspected move to use the unfortunate situation of living of women to perpetrate corruption.

According to news reports, the Katsina State Government distributed 720 high breed of goats worth N104 million to women under its Women Empowerment Scheme. This was disclosed on Tuesday in Katsina at the launching of the Scheme.

Mr. Debo Adeniran, the Executive Chairman of CACOL said, “the level some of our so-called leaders can shamelessly degenerate to achieve their self-aggrandizing ends is very shocking and embarrassing. This is clearly a ‘clever’ case of pretending to be humanitarian in order to help victims of the corrupt mode of governance that is responsible for the poverty that pervade our country while also robbing them.”

He said “it is insulting to our collective intelligence for Katsina State to have the audacity even with present anti-corruption frenzy to carry out this obviously fraudulent move. A simple mathematical analysis exposes the fraud behind the step. If the total sum used to purchase 720 goats is 104 million naira, this translates into about 145,000 naira per one goat, now where in the world would one goat cost 145, 000 naira no matter how ‘high breed’ the goats are?

“Against this background, we are calling on the relevant anti-corruption agencies to investigate the whole episode of the story which we advise should include an independent step to find out the actual cost of the goats internationally. We say this because the explanation for this fraud may be that the goats were imported because they are special ‘high breeds’ which we do not have in the country.”

Concluding by buttressing CACOL’s position, Adeniran said, “our independent research reveals that a special breed goat costs about $150 translating into about 60, 000 naira internationally at most. We are therefore blowing the whistle on the cleverly hatched plot via this medium for the attention of the unassuming people of Katsina State in particular, the anti-corruption agencies and Nigerians in general.”