Nigeria, May 19 -- Most Nigerians go about their daily lives without knowing that Nigeria, like an individual with a personal bank account, has a special account called the Federation Account, a constitutional account into which every revenue collected by the federation is supposed to be deposited before being shared among the federal, state, and local governments. It is the financial heartbeat of the Nigerian federation. Yet few citizens know it exists, fewer still understand how it works, and almost no one is held to account when it fails.

And it is failing spectacularly.

What the Constitution Says

Section 162(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 provides:

"The Federation shall maintain a special account ...