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By Aernan Lubem
Greed, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is an excessive and selfish desire for more of something – money, power, or possessions – beyond what is needed, often leading to harmful choices and eventual ruin. Few recent cases illustrate this definition as starkly as that of 39-year-old alleged drug kingpin, Shodunke Yetunde Simbiat, arrested by the NDLEA in Lagos earlier this month.
Despite knowing she was already on the radar of law enforcement following the arrest of her associates, Lookman Dauda and his wife Toheebat Dauda in May 2024 with consignments of cocaine valued in the billions, Simbiat reportedly chose not to disengage from the illicit trade. Logic and self-preservation should have dictated a retreat into lawful enterprise, especially after years of illicit profit. Instead, she pressed on.
Whether one calls it fate, karma, or simple consequence, her persistence in the drug trade ultimately led her into the arms of the law. The desire for “just a little more” often blinds individuals to risk, responsibility, and reason. In this case, it also exposed a troubling disregard for the welfare of her own children.
Investigators reportedly discovered that narcotics were concealed within her children’s living space—an act that goes beyond criminality into moral recklessness. Experts have long warned that storing illicit drugs in enclosed spaces can pose serious respiratory and health risks, particularly to children. Beyond the physical danger lies an even deeper concern: normalization.
Children raised in environments where criminal activity sustains comfort and livelihood may grow to see such acts as acceptable, even admirable. As the African proverb reminds us, when the mother cow chews grass, the calf watches her mouth. Exposure becomes instruction, and silence becomes consent.
The long-term implications are grim. Such children are at risk of becoming future users, couriers, or distributors—if they escape the health consequences of prolonged exposure altogether. All of this, driven by unchecked greed and the illusion of invincibility.
It is therefore significant—noteworthy even—that law enforcement intervention prevented what could have evolved into another generational cycle of drug trafficking. While the tragedy of personal choices remains, the disruption of a potential lineage of drug criminality is a reminder of why sustained vigilance against narcotics matters.
In this instance, the timely action of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) served not just as an arrest, but as a societal interruption—one that may spare innocent lives from a future shaped by the mistakes of one.
• Lubem writes from Makurdi, Benue state
