Abubakar Atiku

With all the chaos surrounding the Trump administration, it’s easy to lose sight of smaller scandals that are going on around us.

For example, few people paid attention when former Nigerian Vice President Abubakar Atiku reentered the country a few weeks ago. There is a back story around the incident, which is indicative of how corrupt America has become.

During his first stint in the Nigerian government, Atiku ran afoul of the American government for transferring $40 million to the United States. According to documents presented to the U.S. Senate, Atiku is supposed to have gained the $40 million during his time in the Nigerian government. Atiku, who is currently running for president, was also implicated in the bribery scandal that sent Rep. William J. Jefferson to prison on a 13-year sentence. (Jefferson kept some of the money in his freezer.) According to the report to the Senate, Atiku funneled the money through his wife Jennifer, who used to reside in an expensive Washington, D.C. home.

In case you didn’t know, Nigeria is a kleptocracy, and if you get elected to government office, many people take it as a chance to dip their fingers into government funds. Basically, getting elected to the government is an easy way to get rich. This has been going on for more than half a century.

Previous administrations reacted to Atiku’s shady dealings by barring him from entering the country and bringing him up on money laundering charges.

But that was then. Now, the Trump administration is in charge, and it’s obvious that everything has its price. According to Popular Info, Atiku was able to enter the country again after he paid a Washington, D.C. lobbying company more than $1 million. He also stayed at a Trump hotel, which helped make the wheels move a little more smoothly. Atiku’s trip was arranged by lobbyist Brian Ballard, a friend of the president.

And it’s not just Nigeria. Russian oligarchs, such as Oleg Deripaska, sunk money into both the Trump campaign and the GOP, so they could free up money frozen by sanctions.

When Atiku had a problem that needed to go away, he paid a lobbying firm to fix it. In Nigeria, he would have simply given a government official a suitcase stuffed with cash. But either way, it’s money in exchange for services.

Atiku’s dealings are indicative of the problems in the U.S. government. Western governments like to point the figure at African countries for being corrupt. But that corruption doesn’t happen in a vacuum. When African leaders loot the coffers, it’s usually done with the knowledge of international bankers and Western politicians. Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s company Halliburton has also been implicated in a bribery scandal in Nigeria.

As I have said before, corruption exists in America, it’s just more sophisticated. When Atiku had a problem that needed to go away, he paid a lobbying firm to fix it. In Nigeria, he would have simply given a government official a suitcase stuffed with cash. But either way, it’s money in exchange for services.

Other countries have also figured out that money is the key to Trump’s heart. But they don’t hand him cash, they just give his children sweetheart deals. For example, the Chinese government has granted Ivanka Trump 16 trademarks, while the United States is engaged in a trade war with them! The Saudis have indirectly put money in Trump’s pocket by renting out entire floors of his hotels. The only thing Trump hasn’t done is openly transfer money from government coffers into his accounts — yet.

But foreign governments have got the message, America is willing to play ball — if you’ve got the money. Trump makes decisions based on how they enrich him, not on how they help America. According to AlterNet, Transparency International, an organization that rates countries on corruption, recently changed the United States’ rating to 71. Nigeria ranks at no. 144.

“A four point drop in the CPI score is a red flag and comes at a time when the US is experiencing threats to its system of checks and balances, as well as an erosion of ethical norms at the highest levels of power,” said Zoe Reiter, acting representative to the US at Transparency International. “If this trend continues, it would indicate a serious corruption problem in a country that has taken a lead on the issue globally. This is a bipartisan issue that requires a bipartisan solution.”

So, it’s not America first, it’s Trump’s pocket first.