The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Anti-corruption

  • The church and the challenge of anti-corruption war

    There is no gainsaying the fact that religious pretensions do not shield anyone from the enticements of worldly pleasures and lust for dishonest enrichment. Greed does not know sex, tribe, age, religion or economic status. The religious leaders who partook of the Dasukigate largesse despite their sanctimonious facade, who were goaded-on by their avarice to engage in the pillaging of our common patrimony, are an eloquent testimony to this fact. These abject vassals, who don the toga of religious elites, are the ones the Chairman of Fresh Democratic Party (FRESH), Rev. Chris Okotie, labelled the grex venalium (the venal crowd) in an article he wrote in the February 8, 2016 edition of The Nation, which he aptly titled ‘Buhari’s battle against the venal crowd.’

    The piece in question clearly shows that Nigeria is under assault from a new form of economic insurgency—bread and butter spiritualists who receive ‘prayer welfare packages’ as a grant for submitting thei religious office to political adventurism. This is probably not their first dip-in-the-till for black monies; the prayers welfare package saga was just the episode in which they got caught: How sad!

    Much to the chagrin of many in the Christian fold, Rev. Okotie had repeatedly alerted the nation to this anomaly, which another pastor from the north, Borno-based Kallamu Musa-Dikwa, and later former River State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, alluded to when they disclosed that some pastors received a whooping N7 billion as their offering towards ensuring the return of Goodluck Jonathan to power. The voices of repudiation rang across the PDP and its supporters, but Dasukigate has given us a peep into the scale and truism of these allegations which robbed Nigeria’s treasury of an estimated $2.1 billion; a booty which former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), allegedly shared freely to anyone who was willing and ready to receive.

    Okotie’s article questioned the integrity of the pastors who displayed such depth of ecclessiastical indiscretion, brazenly desecrating the tenets of Christianity’s forensic right-standing by their display of unbridled greed. He wrote: “If Attahiru Bafarawa was the accredited agent of the Muslim prayers welfare package, who then collected on behalf of the multitudes of Christians? Who? Who is that Christian proboscis whose insidious suction availed

    himself of billions of naira on behalf of the followers of Christ? Who is that Judas, maybe Judases? What an irony that those who should scrupulously guide the people are themselves poisoning the water from which the flock would drink…”

    While Nigerians of different faiths were being slaughtered on the altar of Boko Haram, this lot congregated to share blood money under a pretentious ploy of offering prayers for the survival of a PDP candidate drowning in the pool of political ineptitude. Those prayers, if ever there were any, obviously failed to help Jonathan walk on water: He sank. Yet the battle to escape the clutches of lady justice has compelled Jonathan’s appointees, who are being prosecuted for these crimes against Nigeria, to engage the services of big legal teams funded with their loot to help subvert the cause of justice. In the minds of this venal crowd, justice can be bought at the right price. The callous pillagers cannot see any wrong in their activities, and their no-case submissions to the charges of graft against them unmask their unrepentant nature in the dehumanizing effects which their economic crimes have inflicted on the nation and its citizens.

    PDP’s 16-year reign is a case study in economic terrorism. Jonathan, during his six- year malarkey, displayed base propensities as a leader, rarely questioning expenditures, as if the treasury was a bottomless purse which he could use to service his coterie of political hangers-on, allowing all and sundry to dip in and take their fill.

    But could we have expected any better from a government led by a pack of thieving elite? During Jonathan’s tenure, rising oil income produced lower living standards, poverty, and the external reserves were drained to its barest minimum. The slew of anti-corruption probes became the logical response. To this, Rev. Okotie spared no words in voicing his support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign when he said recently: “We have an ex-general in power, who is an epitome of discipline and transparency. I urge Nigerians to support his anti-corruption campaign which aims to rid this country of PDP’s legacy of a government of the corrupt, by the corrupt, and for the corrupt.

    The legacy of corruption and insurgency may have been the twin malignant cancers which the Jonathan government celebrated with glee, but the silver lining which can translate into a full reversal of Nigeria’s fortunes and the tradition of corruption has obviously begun with the ongoing probes. This is one of many welcome manifestations of our party’s idea of a paradigm shift from the status quo.”

    Those who have accused President Buhari of selective persecution of Jonathan’s PDP appointees must remember that Jonathan’s government chose not to probe the governments before his. Neither did he investigate questionable practices within his government. Also, the claim, that the probes are concentrated in the federal arm of government cannot stand the test of scrutiny. Engaging the services of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the two primary agencies saddled with the task of ridding the nation of these vices, are not the exclusive preserve of President Buhari. By law, any citizen, especially a governor, local government chairman or councillor at state and local government levels, have the responsibility to ensure that these agencies pursue the requirements of justice against any official or past regime found wanting. It can’t all be about President Buhari. He has led the way, other arms of governments should follow suit, and Nigerians should likewise give the battle against corruption the necessary support for the sake of future generations.

     

    • Patricia Ariole wrote in from Lagos
  • Germany to support Nigeria on terrorism, anti-corruption

    Germany to support Nigeria on terrorism, anti-corruption

    The German government has said it will support Nigeria’s efforts in counter-terrorism and anti-corruption.

    It made the commitment yesterday when the German President, Joachim Gauck, led investors on a visit to the leadership of the National Assembly.

    “We believe that terror would not be defeated with military might alone. The Nigerian government needs to further foster good governance and ensure the prospect of a better future for its citizens”, Gauck  said.

    Mr. Gauck also said Nigeria, with over two million IDPs in  the Northeast, should reintegration the IDPs into society.

    He said the problem could schools and health care facilities.

    A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Mr. Sani Onogu, said  such infrastructure would give hope to the displaced persons.

    The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, earlier pleaded with the German leader and the European Union (EU) to assist Nigeria in counter-terrorism and resettlement of the IDPs.

    “Our country is experiencing the challenges of global terrorism. Notwithstanding the victories we have recorded, Boko Haram has continued to pose colossal  a national and regional security challenge.

    “We have much to learn from Germany and to gain from stronger Nigeria-Germany relation. So we call on the German government and the EU to support us to eliminate terrorism from the sub-region.

    “I believe that every effort is a paramount investment as the regional stability, security and development is tied to achieving global peace. We urge you to help us return our IDPs to their homes and reintegrate them into the society.

    “Let me use this opportunity to recognise Germany’s contribution to the Nigerian economy; from construction to technology, oil and gas.

    “The National Assembly is working hard to change our business and investment climate through several initiatives aimed at reducing the cost of doing business and the risks involved”, Saraki was quoted to have said.

     

  • Igbo group endorses Buhari’s anti-corruption fight

    Igbo group endorses Buhari’s anti-corruption fight

    The Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF), an Igbo socio-cultural organization, has thrown its weight behind the anti-corruption campaign of President Muhammdau Buhari.

    A statement signed by the Forum’s President, Augustine Chukwudum and Director, Planning and Research, Ugochukwu Obinka, made available to the Nation in Calabr Thursday, said, “after a meeting scheduled to discuss the ongoing ‘War Against Corruption’ by President Buhari’s administration, we have resolved to use this medium to indicate our support to the President on his daring approach to his anti-corruption crusade.

    “For the past six months NUF has been studying political events and approach by this administration to pressing issues affecting us as a people and the desperate need for change. The more pressing among these issues are insecurity, corruption and unemployment rate. So far, we commend the efforts to stabilize the economy and set it to the right direction.

    “Although NUF as well as many Nigerians expected more from the Buhari’s administration in this very short period, considering the time it took to appoint ministers etc, we also understand that political factors may hinder rapid change.”

    They urged Nigerians to exercise patience with the administration and expect to feel some changes as the years go by.

    They also urged the President to promote policies that will empower the youths with finance and entrepreneurial skills to help them be self-employed, eventually become employers.

    “We particularly urge President Buhari to create a political atmosphere where the three arms of government run independently with the rule of law strictly adhered to.

    “He should make more efforts in ensuring that the victims of Boko Haram are properly rehabilitated and catered for and their children reenrolled into school.

    “He should avoid being partisan in the fight against a corrupt system and thrive to build stronger institutions and not individuals. Individuals will leave but the Institution will remain, this has been a major mistake of previous administrations.

    “He should also encourage professionals, industrialists, business men and women and the youths to get involved in this process of change thereby attracting a new set of politicians with much better and corrupt-free pedigree,” the statement read.

  • Shifting gear with anti-corruption bill

    SIR: President Muhammadu Buhari recently made a proactive move in the fight against corruption by submitting a Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Bill 2016 and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill 2016 to the National Assembly.

     The need to eliminate corruption from Nigeria is one area that almost all Nigerians have reached a consensus considering its debilitating effect on the general wellbeing of the citizens.

     Until President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office, some conscienceless persons have brazenly helped themselves to the national vault at the detriment of majority of Nigerians. Of course, the consequences have been huge in terms of its negative impact on the lives of the people.

     The lack of good roads, adequate drugs in our hospitals, power outages, unemployment, poverty and general insecurity are all by-products of corruption. Usually, most of the funds needed to provide these services to the populace are frittered away by the greedy few, who use their privileged positions to amass enormous wealth that they may not even need.

      There is no gainsaying that the vice of corruption erodes and corrodes all sectors of the society, and the average Nigerian ultimately becomes the victim. For a very long time no Nigerian leader has made conscious effort to confront the malaise, until the coming of President Buhari.

     Of course, it has been said at different fora that corruption has a way of fighting back, yet as a people once we are resolute, and join hands with the present leadership, there is no doubt that the problems associated with corruption can be solved.

    • Chukwudi Enekwechi,

    Abuja

  • In the court of public opinion: Anti-corruption versus rule of law?

    Those calling for the supremacy of rule of law, regardless of the justness of the law or of the ethicality of the interpreter of the law, may be overlooking the danger that the call for strict constructionist view of the concept may hold.

    One of the most insidious of mythological civic narratives is that our leaders are selfless public servants serving a higher call and order. In a lesser quoted part of Lord Acton’s power/corruption axiom, he offers the chilling statement: “There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.” Generally, people employed in the public sector are not selfless public servants. They are simple people whose job it is to serve the public. They work for the public, but does that really ennoble them? By the evidence of corruption and venality arrayed about us, the answer must be emphatically, “No.” Yet we still fall prey to the mythology. High public office…. allows some to convince themselves and project to the world that they are all that!  No one is all that—and most everyone, including most everyone in public life, is a whole lot less than all that. And that is okay. But it is also why transparency is so very important— Joseph Ferguson in a foreword to Transparent Government: What it means and how you can make it happen by Donald Gordon.

    One word that is ubiquitous today in print, broadcast, and social media, more than ever before, is Rule of Law. Not since the death of Umaru Yar’Adua, a president who included running a government in compliance with the rule of law in his presidential mission, has the lofty phrase been so popular. When a word is repeated as frequently as rule of law has been since the new government’s efforts to fight corruption by investigating and prosecuting individuals who are suspected to have abused the country’s financial management principles and values, ordinary citizens who are not members of the bar or the bench should be wary. Like some of those who requested me to comment on ‘media-hyping’ of this phrase, I am tempted to look at George Orwell’s 1946 essay, “Politics and the English Language.”

    In Orwell’s essay, he raised many issues about the relationship between words and the meanings they are intended to convey. He said among other things: “Our civilisation is decadent and our language — so the argument runs — must inevitably share in the general collapse…. Political language — and with this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists — is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” Orwell’s assertion that political speech is more often used to conceal than to inform and often used to justify the unjustifiable may apply to today’s obsession by pundits in both traditional and social media with the rule of law as if it is an ideology-free concept.

    Are these two words: anti-corruption and the rule of law mutually exclusive or should they be bandied about as if each refers to something that is oppositional to the other? Partisan politicians are enthusiastic in emphasising the importance of rule of law at the expense of fighting corruption. In some cases, some media pundits are even asking President Buhari to refrain from fighting corruption, if doing so might jeopardise the non-negotiability of the rule of law. Understandably, ordinary citizens seem to be confused by calls for privileging of rule of law principle over rejection of corruption, even though the two camps are presumably shooting for the same thing, good governance.

    Two issues that have been raised by those who see themselves as whistleblowers against acts that show lack of respect for the rule of law since the beginning of the ongoing fight against corruption is the fact that some who have been given bail by the courts are denied the benefit of bail by the federal government. Undoubtedly, it is not encouraging for any government to do anything to suggest that it does not respect the independence of the judiciary. But one area that is often ignored is that the judiciary, like other sectors of the polity and society, also has its own bad eggs as it is in all professions and occupations in the land.

    Borrowing Joseph Ferguson’s concept of mythological civic narrative and Lord Acton’s assertion: “There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it, “it is logical to say that many of the politicians and media pundits who make efforts to privilege the principle of rule of law over the imperative of identifying, investigating, and prosecuting individuals caught with corrupt acts assume that the judiciary is right all the time. If time is taken to do forthright judicial criticism, it will be demonstrated that many judges use the space of discretion at their disposal to favour those accused of criminal behaviour and the sabotage of the state. For example, if it was not for the Administration of Criminal Act 2015, cases that have been put in the cooler in the name of rule of law since 2006 would not have seen the light of day, as they are now doing at the instance of the EFCC. The rule of law must protect all citizens. This is why most commentators emphasise equality before the law as the core of the political ideology that the law is the king as opposed to the king being law.

    It is citizens at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder in particular who have not enjoyed the principle of equality before the law that are now querying in letters to the editor section of newspapers and on blogs the new obsession with the rule of law on account of time between the approval of bail and the actual release of suspects by law enforcers. The masses seem to be wondering if the word rule of law is to conceal rather than to reveal, whether the repetition of the phrase is not an attempt to take attention away from efforts to fight corruption. Citizens who are enraged by the absurdity of appropriation of funds meant for improvement of the life of all or to fight Boko Haram’s war against the nation are worried that the elite are doing what they have always done best: create confusion or distraction in order to prevent any meaningful intervention by those committed to deter corruption through a crime and punishment initiative.

    President Buhari may not have provided a grand narrative of how he plans to govern the country, he has, undoubtedly, clearly stated that no change can come to the economy if and until looters of the economy and the polity in the past are made to return their loot. Many people would argue that If President Buhari had any personal interest in keeping certain persons in jail over the mismanagement of $2.1 billion approved for the purchase of arms to fight Boko Haram, he would or could have given those involved in the case a graver charge. They could have been charged for sabotaging the country at a time of war and thus endangering the population. And doing this would have kept everybody involved in jail until their innocence is proven, as such charge would fall under the category of capital offence.

    Historically, the ritualistic conceptualisation of rule of law had been challenged in the past in many societies. Thomas Paine once said in “Common Sense” that unjust laws threaten the religiosity of the rule of law, just as Henry David Thoreau said in “Civil Disobedience”: “Thus, under the name of Order and Civil Government, we are all made at last to pay homage to and support our own meanness.” Those calling for the supremacy of rule of law, regardless of the justness of the law or of the ethicality of the interpreter of the law, may be overlooking the danger that the call for strict constructionist view of the concept may hold. At a time that corruption has almost brought the country to bankruptcy and international receivership, it is necessary for pundits to be guided by Lord Acton’s axiom that the office may not sanctify the holder. In all the branches of government in our country: executive, legislative, and judicial, the office does sanctify the holders. The two bills being sent by the presidency to NASS may just be a good beginning in the journey to kill corruption before corruption kills the country along with the rule of law.

  • Anti-corruption war: Perpectual injunctions shielding high-profile persons will be vacated — Sagay

    Anti-corruption war: Perpectual injunctions shielding high-profile persons will be vacated — Sagay

    The Federal Government is putting in place measures to remove perpetual injunctions stopping the trial of former Plateau State Governor, Chief Joseph Dariye, and other high- profile persons in the country.

    Also, the government has identified and educated a group of judges to handle anti-corruption cases, with a view to enable them demonstrate a high level of expertise and further fast-track the hearing and adjudication of cases relating to misappropriation of public funds among others.

    The Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay, disclosed this yesterday in Lagos, during the 2016 January Members Evening, a programme organised by the Institute of Directors (IoD) of Nigeria.

    While delivering a paper titled: ‘’Integrity and the Administration of Criminal Justice Law in the Fight Against Corruption,’’ Sagay said the idea would help in speeding up the trial of politically corrupt individuals among other people convicted of gross financial malpractices.

    He said the government is interested in probing high-profile looters who have stolen several billions of naira, and not those who stole, for instance, millions of naira or chickens.

    He said the Supreme Court has left one out of the eight  high-profile corrupt cases the government is investigating on technical grounds.

    According to him,  problems such as incompetent prosecutors,  filing of preliminary injunctions by lawyers prosecuting the cases on behalf of his clients, especially past and present public officers,  frequent adjournment of cases, among others, have stalled the efforts of the government to bring corrupt people to book in Nigeria.

    He said there cannot be more than five adjournments in the life of a case, observing that anti-corruption cases were found to have been adjourned severally, with negative implications on Nigeria that lost several billions of naira to corruption.

    Sagay said cases are being delayed for two, three, five years or more, due to frequent filing of preliminary injunctions and adjournments by some legal practitioners.

    ‘’ A group of judges, with proven expertise in the areas of trial and adjudication of corrupt public officers, has been identified and educated by the government to handle anti-corruption cases. The fact that the judges are selected does not mean others are corrupt.

    “When cases are delayed as a result of preliminary injunctions, or adjournments, it is either the person that is standing trial is dead, or the judge presiding over the case has retired. When this happens, another judge is bound to take up the case. This results in another round of delay,’’ he said.

    He said some Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SANs) threaten and intimidate judges, arguing that the development is not healthy because it hinders expiation of judicial matters.

    ‘’ Some SANs specialised in the area of intimidating judges. When that happens, the accused becomes politically rehabilitated. The result of all these is what we refer to as ‘prosecution fatigue’, he said.

    The former Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Benin, said there are many civil servants in Abuja who cannot explain how they got money to build their houses.

  • WAI Brigade joins anti-corruption war

    The War Against Indiscipline (WAI) Brigade has pledged the support of its members for the Federal Government’s campaign against corruption and indiscipline.

    WAI Brigade Lagos State Commander, Comrade Gabriel Adeoye, said this at the organisation’s annual patron investiture programme in Ikeja, Lagos on Saturday.

    He called for a nationwide sensitisation for attitudinal reorientation to help check anti-social behaviours.

    Adeoye said: “The endemic level of corruption and indiscipline in Nigeria is worrisome. The reports all over the nation are discouraging and only a very determined government can reverse the trend.

    “To achieve this, the government needs the support of the entire nation as well as dedicated organisations like WAI with gallant presence in all local areas.”

    He said the crusade against corruption could be made effective through aggressive enlightenment programmes, punishment of offenders and national commendation for exemplary behaviour.

    Adeoye added: “The War Against Indiscipline in the ‘80s was a classic example of orientating the people towards fresh cultural reorientation and attitudinal renewal.

    “In inculcating discipline in public places, Nigerians learnt to queue at bus stops, petrol stations, banks, shops, and even water taps.

    “The WAI Brigade volunteers are ready and committed to assist the Buhari administration in this crusade. It will not happen overnight, but it is achievable.”

    The commander enumerated the achievements of the Lagos State command in the last one year to including the monthly sanitation exercise enforcement, collaboration with the police, training of officers, creation of new departments and annual camping programmes.

  • Kano CAN backs anti-corruption war

    The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kano State, Bishop Ransom Bello, yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sustain the war against corruption.

    The cleric, who addressed reporters at the Calvary Life Assembly headquarters in Kano during the closing ceremony of CAN’s annual week of prayer, said while it was imperative for Christians and Nigerians to support the war against corruption, the Buhari administration should not be partisan in the anti-graft crusade.

    He advised the President to call for the arrest of past looters since the inception of the Fourth Republic, wondering why past administrations did not investigate and probe the Halliburton scandal, which he noted made Nigeria a laughing stock in the international community.

    Bishop Bello said President Buhari had the moral justification to start the war against corruption because he is honest.

  • NBA hails Fed Govt’s anti-corruption war

    NBA hails Fed Govt’s anti-corruption war

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has expressed its support for the war against corruption of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. It likened it to the many legal battles fought in the court by the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi.

    The association described as shocking the revelations emanating from the $2.1 billion arms scandal.

    It said the late Fawehinmi would have filed many applications in court against those indicted if he were alive.

    The chairman of the Ikeja branch of the NBA, Yinka Farounbi, Chairman Organising Committee of the Chief Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture/Symposium Committee, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, spoke at a news conference at the GRA Bar Centre of the NBA, Ikeja Branch to announce activities for the lecture holding tomorrow in Lagos.

    Farounbi said: “If Gani was alive, he would have looked for applicable laws and file one suit or another against all these people who are being linked with corruption in the country to serve as deterrence and to ensure they do not get away.”

    Olumide-Fusika said people like Fawehinmi should not be forgotten  and suggested that his law chamber at Ajao Estate, Anthony Village, Lagos should be turned to a national monument so that up coming generations can learn from what he stood for during his life time.

    On the annual Gani Fawehinmi lecture, Olumide-Fisika said  the former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, renowned writer, Odia Ofeimun are among eminent Nigerians that will delivers papers at this year’s  lecture being organised by the (NBA) Ikeja Branch.

    According to him, the theme of this year’s lecture which will take place tomorrow at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja is: “The collapse of public education: The past, present and future prospect of the Nigerian State.”

  • Soyinka confident in FG’s anti-corruption fight

    Soyinka confident in FG’s anti-corruption fight

    Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Saturday expressed confidence that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration would fight corruption conclusively.

    Soyinka said this when the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, visited him at his home in Lagos.

    He said that the level of exposure concerning corruption under the Buhari administration showed that government was really tackling the vice.

    According to him, the country had never had corruption exposed at this scale before.

    “We have not had a case where it had been alleged and increasingly proven that money supposed to be spent on defending ourselves, our nation, our neighbourhood, has been shared among individuals.

    “We never had experience where we were in a state of critical emergency where children are being kidnapped under our noses.

    “Never had there been in a situation where we are helpless and our soldiers are sent to the front to defend our very existence and we are not backing them up with conduct that shows integrity and commitment.

    “Because of these reasons, corruption is really desperate and has chosen to fight back, but I am confident that corruption will be resolved,’’ Soyinka said.

    He advised the Federal Government not to relent in its effort at bringing all those who looted the nation’s treasury to justice, adding that it should not be cowed by deliberate attempts to frustrate the anti-corruption crusade.

    He described as “insulting’’, news accusing him of engaging in corrupt practices, and said that he was ready to face appropriate legal authority if properly invited.

    Soyinka decried the deplorable condition of the National Arts Theatre in Lagos, and said that a Private-Public-Partnership may be the solution for the resuscitation of the national monument.

    On his part, the minister expressed the government’s resolve to develop the arts industry.

    He said that the ministry was currently strategising on how to tap into the opportunities and potentials in the culture and arts industry to create jobs for Nigerian youths.