The alarm bell on the rate of corruption in Nigeria sounded by the
United States, though hardly surprising, is scandalous and unacceptable,
given that Nigeria’s diverse and growing security challenges are partly
rooted in widespread poverty and unemployment, which in turn, are
outcomes of pervasive corruption. The damning disclosure on how the
administration of President Goodluck Jonathan frustrates the efforts of
the anti-graft agencies, notably the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) in combating graft is contained in the US Bureau of
Democracy, Human Rights and Labor 2013 Country Report on Nigeria. This
blight on the image of Nigeria is a reflection of the dismal failure and
sad inability of the government to tackle corruption and deploy
Nigeria’s wealth to the socio-economic betterment of its citizens; and
this should worry the president. Jonathan must understand that progress
and credibility in the fight against corruption can only be won through
concrete, well-thought-out policies, not cheap self-eulogizing slogans.
The report painted a picture of the deep-rooted nature of corruption
in Nigeria and noted specifically that corruption is on rampage and that
it has never been this bad. It went further to take a swipe at the
Nigerian judiciary where it claimed that justice too is for sale.
Section 4 of the Report titled: “Corruption and lack of Transparency in
Government” stated that “the EFCC faced several frustrating setbacks in
2013.” The report gave several accounts of how the current
administration has frustrated justice against even convicted persons in
corruption cases. But the presidential pardon, granted convicted
ex-Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, was classified as
the most offending action of the Nigerian government. “By granting him a
pardon, President Jonathan has paved the way for Alamieyeseigha to run
for another elected office or to hold other appointed offices.” The
report also stated that the EFCC is being used to target persons “who
had fallen out of favour with the government, while those who were in
favour continued their activities with impunity.”
A greater tragedy is that when corruption is raised either by
Nigerians or outsiders, the reaction of the government has typically
been one of denial of the patently obvious; or combative defence,
instead of dignified silence; or better still, a solemn resolve to do
something about the cankerworm. Last year, the presidency dismissed the
report as “parachute researches” limited by absence of any knowledge of
Nigeria and its affairs. The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) even
viewed the report as an insult, but, in contradictory terms, agreed
that corruption was pervasive and that the party had been “fighting” the
scourge, obviously with little success. Of course, only the PDP knows
the tools with which it has done the fighting. Many of the examples
cited in the report are common knowledge and irrefutable.
However, it is to be noted that this is not the first indictment of
Nigeria over corruption. Indeed, since the inception of the fourth
republic, the nation has come under scrutiny over corruption. In its
2013 corruption perception index, the global anti-corruption watchdog,
Transparency International (TI) ranked Nigeria 144th most corrupt
country in the world among 177 countries studied. In 2012, Nigeria
ranked 124 out of 170. The point must however be stressed that
corruption is a serious socio-economic and political issue that was used
in the past as a justification for military intervention and therefore
remains a veritable source of instability in the nation. The time has
come for the government to tackle this challenge headlong. There is need
to articulate a national strategy, which must begin with exemplary
conduct of the President, who must claim the moral high ground through
self-purging. Corruption, apart from being systemic, is also partly a
question of character failure, and the presidency is pre-eminently a
place for moral leadership.
What the times call for is a grand strategy with the anti-graft
agencies on the frontlines. Firstly, those accused and under
investigation by the EFCC for corruption should be speedily and openly
tried and, if found guilty, punished to deter others from treading the
same path. Until and unless the outstanding cases are conclusively
prosecuted without delay, lessons are neither taught nor learnt. In this
regard, the EFCC should press for early amendment to the EFCC Act in
order to set time limits within which all EFCC cases should be resolved.
The EFCC should also work out cost-effective ways of disposing cases.
For example, Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), as a rule, should handle
pro bono publico at least one EFCC brief annually. Nigeria needs all
hands on deck in the fight against corruption.
Second, and provided any suspect is certain to speedily face justice,
the EFCC should abandon passing the buck and seize the initiative by
developing the capability to detect corruption at the early stages. The
task is simple, considering that the US National Security Agency (NSA)
monitors the gargantuan worldwide telephone conversations and text
messages with a view to nipping terrorism in the bud. The EFCC should,
therefore, shake off its indolence, which appears to be its signature
now and work earnestly to bust and minimize corruption. The anti-graft
agencies must stay awake for the dream of a corruption-free Nigeria to
come true.
In addition, a “Naming and Shaming” process should form part of the
strategy. Corrupt public officials must not only be identified and put
on trial. They should be publicly stigmatized and kept on an Eternal
Roll of Dishonor, because corruption is driven partly by the absence of a
sense of shame. Furthermore, the proposed national conference should
restructure Nigeria in ways that are expressive of fiscal autonomy for
the federating States as the over-reliance on oil revenues by all strata
of government has fuelled corruption that has afflicted the country
since the discovery of oil. The grand strategy should also include
capacity building for anti-corruption within the bureaucracy of
government, especially horizontal accountability, which involves
annulling and righting actions and inaction of state institutions.
Above all, the proposed strategy should include remodeling Nigeria’s
politics, removing its current commercial value and making it attractive
only to genuine servants. Politics has now become the only business and
this desperation for public office fuels corruption in ways
unimaginable! Central to this is a drastic reduction in the cost of
governance in the executive branch, the legislature and the civil
service. The journey may have to begin by expunging from the national
psyche a mentality in which politics is perceived and practiced as the
only business with the highest returns. Of course, attitudes must
change. And the breakdown of values must be addressed through the family
system and a nationwide school curriculum that emphasizes ethical
re-orientation. This is necessary to keep the future of Nigeria away
from the claws of corruption even as the battle goes on to wrestle its
present from its jaws.
As the Jonathan administration winds down with its eyes on 2015, the
President must raise the stakes. He must confront all the obstacles and
demonstrate the will to rise to the occasion and pick only men and women
of integrity to serve Nigeria. Now is the time to break from the past
because presidential dilatoriness invites unholy pressure which
crystallizes into wrong appointments as has been seen time and time
again with this administration. Every leader must lead by example and
Jonathan owes himself the duty of not being an exception. So far, he has
been. The President has the ultimate and unique responsibility to build
the confidence that politics and public offices are not primarily a
means to fleece the citizens. He must take the lead in saving Nigeria
from corruption.
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