By Victor Emejuiwe
SIR: Since the return to democracy, the fight against corruption has remained on the agenda of successive governments. Corruption is believed to have been responsible for the economic downturn, poor infrastructure, insecurity and massive unemployment plaguing the nation. Despite the quantum of money generated from crude oil, mining and agriculture, with potentials to rake more income from internal generated revenue of companies and individuals doing business in Nigeria, various governments have not been able to meet up with their responsibilities of providing infrastructure, security and social services to the people.
The Obasanjo administration brought in reforms in procurement, fiscal governance and the setting up of anti-corruption agencies. The Goodluck Jonathan administration also made efforts to fight corruption by establishing structures in the public service to check corruption. They include the Integrated Personnel Payroll Systems (IPPS) designed to check ghost workers among civil servants, the Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) etc. The Buhari administration has tried to implement some of the reforms introduced by the previous two administration such as the use of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), BVN, IPPIS but have failed to introduce new reforms that will address the loopholes in the existing ones. Indeed, it has deployed more energy on arrest and prosecution, naming and shaming, imposition of executive orders on targets and restrictive economic policies.
This strategy only succeeded in inducing apprehension among well-meaning investors. It also contributed to the worsening economic fortunes of the nation. It left most people in and outside government to identify other secret ways to perpetrate acts of corruption. It also led to more persons getting into the dragnets of the EFCC and ICPC, which increased government budget for litigation.
For Nigeria to win the war against corruption, the approach must be less combative and more preventive. It must be less vindictive but more systematic. The government of the day must identify the leakages within its systems and deploy structural reforms to make it even more difficult for those working for the government to manipulate. The structures should include information sharing. The government must be ready to share information with its citizens on all its transactions.
Information sharing helps build trust and confidence in government. Accountability and transparency must be mainstreamed in all government transactions and this should cut-across all agencies of government. To be accountable, government personnel must subject themselves to accountability by declaring their assets openly before they assume office and after every four years in office.
Finally, the structures should eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks that arrogates undue power to government personnel who have interface with the public.
- Victor Emejuiwe, Centre for Social Justice, Abuja.
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