30 per cent for You
THE OIL fields may be on strike and the elected president in jail, but in Nigeria it is business as usual. Prince Ndidi Henry writes to me from his palace at 8 Sabo Road with a splendid scheme for getting $25 million out of the country. It has been set up with highly placed officials of the central bank, so no risks are involved. They will take 60 per cent of the cut. I am promised 30 per cent. What he needs now is the full details of my bank account. By coincidence, Engineer Joseph Arinze wants to do much the same thing with $34 million: `We have agreed to share the money thus (1) 30 per cent for account owner (You) (2) 60 per cent for us (The Officials). We will use your name to apply for payment and re- award the contract in your name.' The other 10 per cent, as with the prince's scheme, covers expenses. I gather that a suitably imposing letter giving details of an overseas account can come handy in Nige- ria, by way of raising credit. A variant is to own British Government stock and bran- dish the dividend warrants, which give orders to the cashiers of the Bank of Eng- land. 'Please,' writes the prince, 'this is a top secret business — don't expose it.'
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