Tag: Bribery

Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. Pray and work for their release.

Repeatedly we see democracy in action from the so-called cradles of democracy in the USA, France and now the UK where Theresa May unwittingly threw away her party majority and must link with a smaller party to rule effectively, losing many conservatives their seats. Not one of these democracies bribed, killed or even maimed a single citizen in the electoral process. It was all ‘Policy’ not ‘Physical’ or ‘Fiscal’ corruption.  Three elections, no deaths, no physical violence! Only the word violence was allowed and was quite vicious. Terms like ‘fake news’ were landmarks of the election process.

Nearly all 37 governments and even the much debated National Assembly (NASS) boast of their sometimes questionable achievements at half-time in their four year ‘game’. Let us all be more analytical and perhaps more critical, constructively of course, of all the governments nationwide. Politicians worldwide are known for turning failures into verbal achievements. As we in Nigeria prepare for our Election 2019, we require to take on board the issues of Election 2019 – BVN =‘Bribery, Violence, New Faces’. Election 2019:  No to Bribery & Violence and Yes to New Faces.

The application of the term ‘New Faces’ does not mean young faces but also trusted older persons newly introduced to politics on the basis of contribution, integrity, honesty and ability. However in general, Nigeria’s politics must shift towards a younger generation of politicians and a higher female representation. These were achieved at once in France where there is a 39-year old President who immediately appointed a cabinet with 50% women and several minority participants.  Even the old cry about ‘Experience In Government’ being a key qualification for government office has been thrown out in successful democracies and even in Lagos State where at director level, many ‘private sector’ outsiders have been introduced with good results cutting down the paraphernalia of government and action time.

Finally it is fully established as a myth that women are less corrupt than men. Equal bragging rights to ‘Corruption Maximus’ are shared by both genders. This is exemplified in Nigeria where some females elevated with admiration to the highest offices in banking, professions and political levels have disappointed us, ‘lost it’ and ‘gone as mad for money, power, possessions and buildings,’ as men when it came to corruption and even outstripping them often. However those rotten eggs are not sufficient evidence to deny womankind the right to have a 50% share in offices based on their percentage of the population. The country has millions of good honest hardworking women of maximum integrity, in the mould of the ‘Virtuous Woman’ who could really change the country if ‘opportunity knocked’.

Nigeria has had men as ‘Oga at the top’ of affairs for ever. Women in power and position have fallen short but many have been a credit. Men in power and position have fallen but many have been a credit. Many blame the women in the men’s lives for receiving stolen goods and money so easily to maintain extravagant lifestyles. Certainly the women in the lives of many corrupt men receive a sizable proportion of the loot but the man always keeps the majority. And women who steal do not give all to lovers. So women cannot be the catalyst for men’s corruption and vice versa. So let us put aside gender bias and ensure adequate representation of women in Election 2019 at all levels. If the women ‘mess it up’ they still would have done no worse than the men before them.

My Nigeria, Do My Morals Matter? MMM? Do Your Morals Matter, YMM? Certainly they should do. Examine yourself. Do you do the right moral thing? Every Nigerian who went to school here recalls ‘Expo’ -fake or real exam questions leaked and bought at huge cost before the exam. Who does not remember actual cheating students and actual collaborating teachers at exam time in many schools and examination halls nationwide?

Say this out loud ‘MMM’, ‘My Morals Matter’. A parent corruptly ‘child-age-lying’ on a form or corruptly facilitating an alteration on a child’s birth certificate is as corrupt as the parent offering a bribe to a teacher or willing to buy ‘Expo’ question papers or rent a mercenary to sit his child’s examinations or for the parent to cheat during at any point in an election. All corruption incidents are criminal offences. Remember to say and teach your children ‘MMM’.

Nigeria awaits immediate action to Halt Corruption in the Uniformed Services through holding the leadership responsible for the criminal corruption of subordinates.

Most politicians who loudly give anti-corruption advice are not immune to well-founded suspicion of corruption. We must each fight corruption. Each person goes to judgement, heaven or hell, as an individual not collectively!

The revelations on the distribution list of the $115m slush fund to facilitate or manipulate the 2015 election shows the number of hands of INEC officials, security agencies and all others whose hands are ‘stained and tied’ to the party by money that was not the party’s to give, it was stolen. The money was for development. INEC should punish, de-list, fine or suspend any guilty party of such a terror attack to prevent a further assault by any party on Election 2019.