By Zayd Ibn Isah

Something quite unusual happened in Ethiopia recently that prompted many Nigerians on social media to start asking, “God, when?” This is because the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, which is the largest in the country, experienced a technical glitch which allowed people to withdraw more money than what they actually had in their bank accounts. Even those who had no money in their accounts were able to withdraw and transfer substantial sums unhindered. Apparently, over $40 million was lost during the period of this freakish glitch. And the glitch in question was caused by a routine system update inspection, according to news reports.

There is a popular saying amongst my people that mushrooms don’t grow for those who have teeth, which simply means that opportunities don’t often come for those who would utilize them well enough. I bet you that if this sort of technical glitch were to ever happen in Nigeria, the figures would run into billions of dollars. At this point, there are many Nigerians who are mocking the Ethiopians for not looting enough, for not taking enormous advantage of such a “daily manna”from heaven. Interestingly, Ethiopian students were the biggest beneficiaries of the glitch as many of them took big slices of the national cake.