The incredible ‘goatness’ of being

The saga of a Tk 15 lakh goat with an impressive pedigree, followed by the unfolding of the jaw-dropping accumulation of wealth of an NBR official, may make us rethink our derisive attitude toward this misunderstood animal. I mean the goat, of course.

After all, we cannot deny that in Bangalee culture, we often refer to people who do dumb things as a "chhagol" (goat), going as far as calling someone the offspring of a goat (chhagoler bachcha), a term lost in translation: in English, it would be calling someone a "kid" (baby goat), which does not carry the same degree of humiliation.

We may have to rethink our "goat dismissiveness".

The town is abuzz about how the astronomical price of a goat the size of a small horse led to the opening of a gigantic can of worms and, for the media, a treasure trove of sensational stories. It was the son of the mysterious NBR member who had spilled the first beans that led to the revelation of his father's enormous real estate acquisitions and piles of cash made from shares. Like a typical rich spoilt brat, he made the mistake of bragging about the Tk 15 lakh goat he had acquired at a bargain price of Tk 12 lakh. A video clip of this went viral on social media, leading to intense speculations about the source of his father's wealth. The NBR official was eventually transferred to a post in another ministry as a reprimand for the embarrassment he caused his organisation, one presumes.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is investigating allegations of corruption against the official whose basic salary was Tk 78,000 a month. According to media reports, the person under investigation and his family's wealth include luxury resorts, a shooting spot and multiple bungalows. A report by The Daily Star reveals he also has three crore shares in at least 10 companies. He even talked about his success in the stock market in an earlier TV interview, surprisingly revealing that he had inside information about these companies, which is a violation of capital market regulations.

The goat incident also sparked off quite a bit of family drama when the official against whom these allegations were made initially claimed that the young man was not his son (just like the Michael Jackson song "Billie Jean") naming only the two children from his first wife. The media reported that the young goat connoisseur was his second wife's son. While he may have reacted badly to the stupidity of his offspring for exposing him, albeit unintentionally, it cannot be denied that he has been a generous father giving him a bevy of fancy cars and enough cash to allow him to buy 50-plus lakh taka worth of sacrificial animals, which obviously he also bragged about and was gleefully reported by the media.

He is also, no doubt, a generous husband considering the queenly lifestyle of his first wife, a retired government college teacher and upazila parishad chairman who lives in a white, two-storied mansion in Raipura and has even managed to get the road that leads to her home named after herself, according to a Daily Star report.

In fact, all the highly placed public officials against whom there are allegations of acquiring illegal wealth through dubious means (corruption is such a boring, overused word these days) seem to be ultra-devoted to their families. They buy luxury flats and resorts for their wives and children and go as far as bestowing lavish "gifts" upon their in-laws. Another official the ACC is investigating bought Tk 30 lakh and Tk 29 lakh worth of saving certificates for his father-in-law and brother-in-law, respectively. Meanwhile, his mother-in-law, a homemaker, has 10 bank accounts with transactions amounting to Tk 7 crore, as detected by ACC, no doubt thanks to her charming son-in-law. Now who wouldn't want a "jamai" like that?

These individuals are also champions of local tourism, building luxury resorts in the unlikeliest of places on acres and acres of land, giving the fun-starved public a nice place to go to. Sure, some of them may have forcefully taken away the lands of the poor and marginalised, but one must look at the bigger picture and see the bigness of their hearts (and wallets) that have given us these beautiful spots to visit.

The series of reports on the unaccounted-for wealth accumulation of public officials, some being the top bosses of very important government entities, gives the impression that the state's "zero tolerance for corruption" policy is finally in action. Maybe, but one cannot help but be a little sceptical of the official repercussions these individuals have faced—transfers to a different ministry, or a slight demotion to a lower grade, which seem a mere slap in the wrist for what would be considered a serious crime. The ACC, meanwhile, seems to be the lone hero in this saga—investigating the cases, freezing assets and accounts and sharing its juicy findings with a hungry media. Oh, and of course, let's not forget the unlikely heroes like our giant, magnificent goat which has definitely given these neglected animals a far more elevated status than ever before.

Aasha Mehreen Amin is joint editor at The Daily Star.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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