It is not news that the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah, appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, to answer for overpriced bullet-proof BMW limousines presumably bought in her name.

With the air disaster, the near miss and suspension of airline operator licences that made October 2013 arguably the worst month of Mrs Oduah’s tenure, the crisis of confidence was compounded with the purchase of unnecessary vehicles by a cash-strapped independent agency under her ministry.

After numberless claims and counter-claims from many government agencies with none of the at least five stories lining up, she appeared and said whilst she approved the transaction, she annotated with, “Approved. Do the needful.”

‘Do the needful’ might well become a meme, but ‘Do the needful’ could mean anything from doing due diligence to exculpating oneself from responsibility if the whole issue blows up as it has done, overshadowing President Goodluck Jonathan’s pilgrimage and visit to Israel, last week.

However, rather than attempt to add another story to this scandal with the aim of creating a Nigerian version of Arabian Nights and a story for bedtime, we should ask ourselves the hard questions: what is so wrong with our country that things like this can happen, and happen, over and over again?

Impunity is slowly becoming an acceptable way of life in Nigeria. The battle against corruption has become a joke and government officials entrusted with positions of trust are now very happy to use those positions as they deem fit, as against the way the Constitution of the Federal Republic expects them to. A Constitution they swore to uphold.

Impunity as a way of life is, if looked at dispassionately, acculturated and etched, skin-deep within the population. We don’t seem to see anything wrong when one of us breaks the laws, so long as there is something for us to personally benefit from it.

This is exemplified by the comments made by Rita Obu, the President of Goodluck Jonathan Women Support Group, during a protest by her group in support of Stella Oduah, when she asked: “Have the men exposed other political office holders who are also riding bullet-proof cars?”

This is no way to prepare future leaders of the country.