FLIGHTS OF FOLLY: PUBLIC MONEY, PRIVATE PLEASURE: The Hen That Took Her Eggs to a Faraway Land to Learn How to Hatch
FLIGHTS OF FOLLY: PUBLIC MONEY, PRIVATE PLEASURE
(By Ebikabowei Kedikumo – Ayakoromo Town, Delta State)
Report by GlobalEgberiMedia | September 26, 2025
🐔 The Hen That Took Her Eggs to a Faraway Land to Learn How to Hatch
In the Nigeria of today, a disturbing pattern continues to play out — leaders spending public funds on foreign trips that offer little or no tangible benefit to the very people who entrusted them with power. From Abuja to the remotest councils, the story is the same: funds that should mend broken roads, restock empty clinics, and repair crumbling classrooms are diverted to pay for flights, hotels, and allowances in the name of “training” and “capacity building.”
To capture this folly, let us turn to an age-old African folktale that carries a lesson for every leader.
🏞 The Folktale – A Lesson for Our Leaders
Once upon a time, in a quiet African village, there lived a hen who faithfully laid eggs every morning. The entire village depended on these eggs for food. One day, the hen made an announcement:
“I am travelling to a distant land beyond the great river to learn how to hatch my eggs better!”
The villagers were puzzled. “But, dear hen,” they said, “you have been hatching eggs here for many years. Why must you travel far away to learn something you already know?”
But the hen’s mind was made up. She gathered her eggs, crossed the river, and went all the way to the land of white snow. There she spent her days eating rich grain and sleeping on golden straw. When she finally returned, the villagers discovered that her nest was emptier, her eggs were fewer, and the community had gained nothing from her long journey.
🇳🇬 From Folktale to Reality – The Adamawa Case
This tale mirrors the current reality in Adamawa State, where the wives of Local Government chairmen recently travelled to Turkey to attend a “training” on how to support their husbands in running local councils.
Imagine that! As if the success of local governance in Adamawa now depends on lessons learned in distant Turkish conference halls, far removed from the cracked roads, collapsed classrooms, and dry water taps of their hometowns.
This is happening at a time when Nigeria preaches “LG autonomy” and “direct funding” from the Federation Account. Yet, what we are witnessing is not empowerment for the people — it is empowerment of the privileged, giving them the freedom to carry the eggs of development anywhere they please, even if the chicks are starving at home.
Millions of naira — money that could have revived healthcare centres, built boreholes, or supported rural farmers — have now been spent on air tickets, hotel suites, and Istanbul shopping tours.
⚖ The Bigger Problem – Misplaced Priorities Nationwide
Sadly, Adamawa is not alone. From Federal to State to Local Governments, this has become Nigeria’s special — misplaced priorities served on a silver tray of recklessness.
Why must such training be done abroad? Why must “wisdom” always be sought in lands where the grass is greener? The grass is not greener because it is wiser — it is greener because it is watered. And the grass at home remains dry because those who should water it have flown away with the bucket.
“Leaders are like drummers who beat their own tune using the skin of the community’s goats.”
Public funds are treated like personal inheritance. And when history calls for an account, the only legacy many of these leaders leave is a memory of how recklessly they spent what they did not plant.
🌱 A Call to Action
Development cannot sprout in a field where the seeds are flown abroad and never return to the soil. Like the hen in our folktale, Nigerian leaders must learn to hatch their eggs at home — under the watchful eyes of the villagers — so that everyone benefits.
Until that day comes, hunger will remain seated under the mango tree, unemployment will roam the streets, and broken promises will continue to sleep in our community town halls.
🖊 About the Author
Ebikabowei Kedikumo writes from Ayakoromo Town, Delta State, and is a strong advocate for responsible governance and grassroots development.
Tags: #Adamawa #LGChairmenWives #PublicFunds #RecklessSpending #NigeriaPolitics #EbikaboweiKedikumo #GlobalEgberiMedia
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