What Would You Do If Your Spouse Told You He Stole N100m From Government?

Marriage counsellors say it is normal for people to share their workplace experiences with their spouses; in fact, they are supposed to act as confidants to each other. Assuming their spouses confide in them that they stole N100m from government coffers, some Nigerians told SATURDAY PUNCH what they would do

I will order her to return it
Prince Oladayo
That money doesn’t belong to her and she doesn’t have the right to have stolen it in the first place. That’s a criminal act and can lead her to jail. If she goes to jail, how will she enjoy the money? Wouldn’t that affect the reputation of our family? I cannot encourage her to keep the money. She must find a way to return it to the coffers of the government. It’s the people’s money and should not be spent for personal use. I will order her to return it.

I hate greed and corruption
Sharon Enyi
One thing I’ve observed is that government officials who steal are never satisfied. They are always greedy. Even if they have millions in their account, they are never okay. Is that a life? On the other hand, men with ideas rule the world. Look at people like Bill Gates, what greed will drive him to steal government’s money when he has ideas that can give him billions? It is poverty-minded people who steal because they don’t ever think they can make it without being corrupt.

It’s risky to spend such money
Odeniran Femi
First, I would ask her whether anyone else in her department or ministry knew about it because for her to have stolen that kind of money, some people would have been aware of it. If she said yes, then it must be very risky to spend such money. If she said no, then I cannot really say what will happen, but I will ask for God’s grace to resist the temptation.

I don’t want his confession
Funmike Ojewale
I don’t want his confession. If someone steals what doesn’t belong to them, is it not the proper thing for them to return it? It is when people want to seek for support that they confess such a thing. Ideally, he should have simply gone ahead and confessed to the government and return their money. I don’t want my husband to steal before he makes me happy, so he should do away with unclean sources of money.

Stealing is different from corruption
Eki Lucky
Like one of our former presidents would always say that stealing is different from corruption, that’s just the scenario here. This is just stealing and that doesn’t mean my wife is corrupt. As a matter of fact, I hate corruption with passion. I would tell my wife never to try such a thing again because doing it more than once is what can be termed corruption.

I’ll tell him to return it
Wale Rachael
There should be no debate about this. He should quickly return the money before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission goes after him. But if he’s willing to spend the rest of his life in jail, he may not yield to my suggestion. It’s just that he’s going to bring shame on our family and may affect the future of our children somehow.

Reputation is better than ill-gotten money
Ibirimo Obiene
I value someone’s reputation more than any other thing. How could she even have thought of such an evil thing? The Bible says a good name is better than gold and silver. That is my opinion about life. It is not about how much you can gather, but how much impact you make while you live. Stealing from the government is not a way of impact; it is destructive. I would ask her to return the money immediately.

He should return the stolen fund
Ada Rejoice
I am not going to encourage him to steal. In fact, I don’t believe a man must have millions of naira to make his wife and family happy. I will persuade him to return the stolen funds but if he doesn’t take to my advice, he should be ready to bear the consequences of his action. The mentality of ‘it’s-our-share-of-the-national-cake’ must end.

Our system doesn’t encourage returning such money
Solomon Ivoke
So many people who have stolen the wealth of this country blind are still walking on the streets like the rest of us. They are not bothered because they have not been arrested and jailed. Imagine someone stealing N1bn and asking them to pay N1m out of the money for bail, they still get to enjoy the remaining N900m. if my spouse is arrested, we can bail her out with N100,000 and the case is over. I am not saying this is what I will do, but I am just saying until we have very strong anti-corruption checks in place, we cannot move forward.

I don’t want a thief husband
Awotunde Biodun
I don’t want a husband that steals, whether from people or from the government. It’s a shameful act that should never be encouraged. When a man steals, his children too may likely take after him in future. So what sort of foundation is that? Of course, that kind of money can be tempting to resist, but if you have the fear of God, you won’t steal from people. You will work hard to make your own money.