Before corruption kills Nigeria, by Tunde Abatan
During the period of electioneering campaign prelude to the 2015 General elections which ushered in President Muhammadu Buhari, one of his campaign programme and rhetorics was to stamp out corruption in Nigeria.
At all public forum, he made known his intention that if elected into office, he would continue the fight against corruption which was the norm in the country. He declares as a matter of conviction that unless Nigeria kills corruption, corruption would kill Nigeria.
As for the infantry General, the moment corruption is reduced or stamped out, the country would be on the march towards greatness.
Nigerians including your truly, indeed campaigned for and canvassed for this Fulani cum Katsina- born General with the hope that he will restore sanity into the Nigerian nation before corruption snuffs life out of what remains of Nigeria.
Their hope was then hinged on the no non-sense posture of the government of which he was the leader in 1984 otherwise known as the Buhari/Idiagbon regime .That regime to some extent restore discipline into the nations life.
Unknown to Nigerians, the main -man behind the tough mien of that short -lived regime was the late Brigadier Babatunde Idiagbon, then Chief of staff Supreme headquarters. The rest is now history.
READ ALSO: Frankly Speaking: Our insecurity, our negligence, by Tunde Abatan
However, barely one year into his government as a civilian president, this writer told those who cared to listen that by the time the man leaves power, the state of corruption in Buhari’s government would dwarf his predecessors in spite of his grandstanding before he came into power.
Buhari’s grandstanding to fight corruption made innocent supporters throw in their weight behind.
But from the first appointments he made and his ministerial portfolios it was as clear as crystal ball that nepotism and ethnic chauvinism which were his hallmark has laid the ground for corrupt tendencies in his administration.
At a stage, Buhari himself who entrusted his choice of appointees to his friend and fellow blue -blooded Fulani, the late Abba Kyari threw up his hands and declared that he wish he were younger and possibly running a military government like his military days he would have been in a better position to fight corruption.
Buhari’s handicap is not entirely his lack of relative knowledge of governance but because he choose not to use the expertise of his deputy, Professor Yemi Osinbajo whose performance in the three months he was away on medical treatment breathe fresh dose of life into his government known for its tardiness and indecision. Buhari’s kinsmen like Kyari and Mamman Daura became the ’cabal’ calling the shots in government.
Hence, it is not out of place to say that gross incompetence of his appointees bred corruption which made former British Prime Minister David Cameron to declare that Nigeria is a fantastically corrupt country in2016, just a year after Buhari assumed leadership.
Said he to the Queen,’we’ve got some leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries coming to Britain’. Nigeria and Afghanistan are possibly the two most corrupt countries in the World. Buhari in response to the public outcry that greeted Cameron statement said he was shocked at the statement by the number one British public official .
But his friend the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby intervened to save the public image of a visibly perturbed Buhari who never knew the rot in his government and the fact that the rate of corruption has gotten to the level and being performed under his watch after he assumed office. Said the Archbishop..’But this particular President is not corrupt,he is trying very hard’.
That the former British Prime Minister can say this even if unofficially to the Head of state portray the level corruption has sunk the country. He is in a position to know because beside some other western nations Britain is the recipient of the millions of money looted from Nigeria as they are stashed in British banks and some other banks in the United Kingdom.
Besides, Cameron is also in a position to know that Nigeria still come cap in hand to beg for foreign aids.
When such a leader knows that the aids sought were eventually looted by the leaders who are recipient of such aids, then something is wrong with such a country.
If the Archbishop could hold sway for Buhari in 2016, one wonders what he would have said when seven years later,Ahmed Idris, the man his friend appointed as the country’s Accountant General when he came on board with anti corruption crusade in 2015 was arraigned seven years later for stealing over N101 billion from the country’s coffers at a time the University lecturers under the aegis of the Academic Staff union of Universities, ASUU are on strike for asking the government to honour agreement freely in entered in 2009 on the funding of university education in the country .
While Idris and the EFCC were battling in court ,Adamu Adamu ,the Education Minister who himself confessed he knows next to nothing about Education when he was appointed by Buhari, walked out several times during negotiation with ASUU, while his boss Buhari pretended as if nothing is wrong with the country’s education system.
And here is a country where its AG have so much money in his pocket while the nation is battling serious economic hardship.
However,isn’t it surprising that few months ago when he was again re-arraigned by the EFCC now determined to retrieve the remaining N80 billion from him, Idris told the court he was surprised that the EFCC could still be after him despite collecting N30 billion out of the looted fund.
He was obviously expecting the anti-graft agency to ask him to go home and sin no more after collecting only a fraction of the money he stole.
As for me, Nigeria is the only country in the world where thieves who stole so much were given ‘slap on the wrist judgement’ and allowed to go home and sin no more.
Also under Buharis watch, the country through its CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele was raising money through Ways and Means to enable the Federal government pay workers salaries and fulfil some other obligations while the President looked the other way.
The country obviously was living a false life.
Today, Emefiele under Buharis watch is the first CBN governor to be arrested and clamped in detention in the history of the country.
He also has the distinction of being the first CBN governor in the history of the country to be publicly tried and indicted by a Federal High Court for having stealing so much that he was asked two weeks ago to forfeit over $2.4 million dollars in form of illegally acquired properties he couldn’t justify while in office.
All this happened under the watch of a man all Nigerians expected to put a stop to corruption high and low places.
But the gale of corruption in Buharis government once again reared its head barely six months after the inauguration of new Ministers under President Bola Tinubu.
Betta Edu, the 38- years old medical doctor turned politician allegedly converted her brilliance to help herself with N585 million naira under her Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management. She obviously became the disaster .
For a young lady who exudes much confidence during the Tinubu electioneering campaign to deserve such an office.
But early in the life of the administration he betrayed those who entrusted her into responsibility but in a way portray her real intentions in the early part of the administration.
Her attitude speaks volume of the youths she claimed to be leading .
She was shown the way out early in the government and attempts she made to return during the recent cabinet reshuffle were frustrated.
Barely a month ago, Liyel Imoke, a former Minister under former President Olusegun Obasanjo tried to put a lie to the various claims that his administration spent a whooping $16 billion on providing electricity for the country.
According to Imoke who spoke at a national conference organised by the Guild of Corporate online Publishers in Lokoja, Kogi state said contrary to the above claims only $2-3 billion dollars was spent on the project and yet nothing has improved in terms of generation capacity of the different powers stations in the country.
Instead, the moment the power generation hits 5.5 megawatts ,the national grid would suffer a collapse.
This year alone the national grid which were all concentrated in Northern part of the country has collapsed eleven times.
What is wrong with us as a people.?
But Olanipekun Olukoyede, the EFCC chair spoke with apparent disgust anger and frustration few weeks ago when he attributed part of the difficulty in having power supply in the country to corruption in high and low places.
He said that in situation when government pay contractors to supply equipments of 9.0 grade ‘they will go and buy only 5gauge and installed by the contractor and before you shout Jack Robinson, the power grid would slip and the nation would be in darkness.
It has experienced grid collapse due to inferior materials eleven times this year.
By his summary, inability of the country to have stable power supply is as a result of corruption which also had its roots in over inflated and abandoned contracts.
Olukoyede said should he disclose to Nigerians the extent of corruption in the system, the country would be shocked.
But then from experience,it is doubtful whether Nigerians would be shocked about any disclosure he may make.
This is because they have had tales like that in the past and the country never burnt neither did stealing of public funds or other abuse of offices ever stopped. In Nigeria, it is life goes on.
It will be recalled that erudite Professor of political science and former chairman of National Electoral Commission, NEC under regime of self -imposed military President,Ibrahim Babangida said should he opened his mouth about happenings in the commission Nigeria would burn.
Awa spoke after he was been removed and today the level of corruption has not abate, instead it has doubled with much veracity and the country has not burnt.
Indeed ,after his boss, the military President left office, the nation was awash with claims that the $12 billion dollars excess money it made from crude oil during the Gulf war in 1991,has developed wins and flew out of the nations coffers.
The Obasanjo regime set up the Oputa panel to investigate through public hearing of cases and allegations like this but all end up like what Williams Shakespeare described as an exercise full of sound and fury dignifying nothing.
Neither the report nor any white paper was issued after the probe.
The recommendations are left to gather dust in the Presidency like many others before it.
This is beside several cases of theft of the nations resources that the national assembly has investigated and made recommendations but always end up where their predecessors ended up.
It is apparent that the national assembly itself has to grapple with questions of integrity of its leaders over the years. Neither does it have power of enforcement of its recommendations.
Nobody get punished or indicted as recommendations after each probe always end up to gather dust in the secret wardrobes of successive governments.
Since President Bola Tinubu came into power last year, states government he said has received quantum of money more than they ever touched as a result of increase in federal allocations brought about by the removal of subsidy on petroleum products from the Federal Account Allocation Committee, FAAC. Instead of succour to the people, the various state governments find alternative use of the windfall while their citizens are walloping in abject poverty and want .
Many of the governors have also refused to allow money trickle down to the local governments having cornered their funds as a result of the loopholes granted them by the State/local government joint account.
Corruption in Nigeria has become so endemic that it has entered into our psyche both on the national, sub- national level and among homes and families.
Then what is to be done and how should we go about it.
First, Nigerians at all levels must have an attitudinal change to corruption in all spheres because what comes round goes round.
If you bribe your way to get a public post or an appointment, it is obvious you can’t retain that job without offering bribe to grease the palms of those who helped you in the first instance and on a continuos basis. This is the root cause of frequent fights between former governors;god fathers and their surrogates etc.
Nigeria must also as a matter of urgency review the archaic laws on corruption and it’s vices as it has outlived its usefulness.
Laws must be made to extract punitive measures on looters commensurate with crime they have committed.
This should serve as deterrent. Absence of punitive measures beyond property seizure has encouraged looters of our commonwealth to remain brazen and audacious in their activities.
Drastic measures must be designed to address the destruction of our values if we must save our country and restore its humanity..
Thirdly, it is time we consider our governance system such that elected representatives are duty bound to reconnect with their people. The Parliamentary system which gives room for recall and control of the executive by the legislature to me is still the best not this system where both governors and President had the legislature at all levels under their whims and caprices.
Except we find a lasting solution to this malaise, we are far from escaping from this scourge of underdevelopment which corruption at all levels has plunged us.
Disclaimer
The opinions and views expressed in this article belong solely to the original author and other contributors. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or opinions of Neptune Prime.
Follow the Neptune Prime channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va74ZvU2v1IqKByXoX3d
Do you have breaking news, interview request, opinion, suggestion, or want your event covered? Email us at neptuneprime2233@gmail.com
