In the aftermath of a reckless enterprise, the prodigal billionaire
encounters the swollen belly of his pride. He runs smack into sourness and
pain. He is afflicted by memories of worthless ego and of time that was a
waste. Thus when Borno billionaire, Mohammed Indimi, remembers his $14 million
(N4.2 billion) gift to American school, University of Lynn, he will probably
get overwhelmed by bitterness and the consequences of neglectful disconnect
with his roots. Indimi, a graduate of Florida-based University of Lynn, has
undoubtedly mastered the art of indifference to his roots, that is why he found
it very easy to donate a N4.2 billion world-class complex, the “Mohammed Indimi
International Business Center,” to the University of Lynn – as part of the
activities of the school’s commencement day.
Lackeys of Indimi justify his expensive gift to the institution claiming he
only sought to celebrate his daughters, Amouna and Hauwa’s graduation from the
school and the school’s efforts at imparting knowledge in them.
But pundits object to their explanation emphasizing that Indimi’s charity
should have begun at home. Natives of Borno and the businessman’s greatest
critics are no doubt miffed that the billionaire could deem it fit to make such
an expensive donation to an American university while the University of
Maiduguri experiences unpardonable decline.
The Borno billionaire, according to pundits, has never donated a plastic
chair to the University of Maiduguri or any tertiary in the Niger Delta where
he allegedly made his fortune from his stake in the region’s oil business. The
people of Borno find it difficult to understand how Indimi, a son of the soil,
could neglect his state with all its educational and socio-economic problems to
endow a chair and donate generously to a United States (US) university. Left to
them, the US university had no need for such generosity from Indimi but he went
ahead to squander $14 million on the needless project.
According to them, hundreds of internally displaced people in Borno state and
eth Niger Delta are in need of his Robinhood-like assistance from what he has
stolen from the people but he would rather squander money on frivolous projects
abroad.
Indimi’s action is a perfect example of how the Nigerian elite
under-develops Nigeria. The Borno billionaire allegedly made his fortune from
oil wells that one of his military dictator friends, gave to him. He is the
Chairman, CEO of Oriental Oil and Gas and he is reported as the 10th richest
billionaire in Nigeria. He is also a founder of many successful indigenous
companies and sits on the board of several privately owned companies
encompassing all sectors of the economy.
...thecapital
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