Valentine Obienyem
I recently listened to the candid interview granted by Dr. Cosmas Maduka, the CEO of Coscharis Motors. In it, he revealed how certain government officials attempting to purchase vehicles from his company sought to inflate invoices – in some cases by as much as 100 percent. Dr. Maduka explained that his firm strictly rejects such practices, citing both ethical and moral imperatives. According to him, this uncompromising stance is precisely why many government offices prefer dealing through third-party intermediaries rather than directly with them.
What struck me most was the profound implication of this revelation: it lays bare one of the fundamental dilemmas of Nigerian governance. Consider the specific example he shared, where a state governor requested that the price of a vehicle be inflated from ₦40 million to ₦80 million. Such revelations provide a sobering window into how public resources are routinely siphoned through ordinary procurement transactions. If such brazen attempts at inflation occur over vehicle purchases, one shudders to imagine the scale of manipulation in major public contracts, road construction, and infrastructural projects where the sums involved are exponentially greater.
How much does the Nigerian public actually lose to inflated bills of quantities, unwarranted variations, and corrupt commissions?
The last time I checked, one of the public figures who had direct, multi-billion-naira business dealings with Coscharis Motors as Governor of Anambra State was Mr. Peter Obi. And this is precisely where the matter assumes national significance. If a company whose chief executive publicly prides himself on refusing to inflate invoices transacted business worth billions directly with Peter Obi’s administration without scandal, it speaks volumes about his financial discipline. To me, this stands as an unassailable testimony to the culture of prudence and integrity that political detractors have expended so much futile energy trying to diminish.
Peter Obi’s tenure as Governor of Anambra State offers an invaluable baseline for examining how he would manage Nigeria’s vast national resources. While his supporters and all lovers of progress point to his verifiable legacy of fiscal prudence and savings, his traducers are entirely entitled to scrutinize every facet of his administration and commercial dealings. That scrutiny, however, must be grounded in facts and objective records rather than malicious insinuations fueled by “canaic” spirit.
These financial safeguards are precisely why he was able to leave behind – according to transparent records and figures he has consistently cited – more than ₦75 billion and over $150 million in legacy savings for his successors. I often chuckle when critics argue that he should not have saved money because developmental needs were still unmet. The point is disarmingly simple: the money he prudently preserved may well have vanished into the pockets of more rapacious administrators. The core issue is never whether a state has enough resources to cover every need – for in a developing society, the demands are perpetually endless. The true test of leadership is whether a public servant can resist the temptation to pillage the treasury and instead safeguard public funds from being stolen or squandered. After all, after his savings, he still did more than other governors and was the best in the implementation of MDG, which covered diverse areas: education, health, pulling people out of poverty, among others.
Ultimately, Nigeria’s governance challenges call for a leadership anchored in discipline, accountability, and respect for public funds. When measured against a system riddled with institutionalized waste and procurement fraud, the record of fiscal stewardship exemplified by figures like Peter Obi offers a clear path forward. Nigeria does not merely need managers of resources; she needs custodians of conscience. And for a nation striving to rescue its economy from the brink of profligacy, a Peter Obi is precisely the kind of disciplined leadership she deserves.