The Nation Newspaper

Tag: corruption

  • ‘Why corruption still remains an issue for Buhari govt’

    ‘Why corruption still remains an issue for Buhari govt’

    Leadership of 19 registered political parties Wednesday gave reason why corruption is still a primary issue for the Muhammad Buhari’s administration.

    According to the political parties, previous attempt have not been as successful as they should be.

    The noted that the anti-graft war is crucial to the survival of the country.

    The political parties include Labour Party, LP, Action Alliance, AA, National Conscience Party, NCP, Democratic People’s Party, DPP, African Democratic Congress, ADC, Democratic Party of Nigeria, DPN, and MPPP amongst others.

    Briefing newsmen in Abuja Wednesday, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, LP, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abdulsalam, who read the text of the media briefing on behalf of the parties, said.

    “We want to put on record that we are solidly behind President Muhammad Buhari’s fight against corruption; a fight that we believe is crucial to the survival of our country.

    “In fact, the reason corruption is still a primary issue for the Buhari administration is that previous attempts have not been as successful as they should be.”

    They however noted that the way and manner the anti-graft agencies are carrying out the fight might scuttle the president’s noble intention.

    He said; “We however wish to note that this is not the first time that a president of this country would be declaring a war against corruption. We aver that one of the major obstacles in the fight against political corruption in Nigeria over the years is the way and manner it has been fought so as to give the impression that the fight is selective and targeted only at perceived enemies of government.”

    The political parties warned that “once an anti-corruption is perceived as politically motivated, then the entire war against corruption easily gets reduced to a means of settling political scores rather than genuine commitment to fighting corruption. We are afraid that if care is not taken, the President Buhari’s avowed commitment to fighting corruption may end up in the ways of his predecessors.”

    Citing the recent clearance of the Chairman of Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, Justice Danladi Umar by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) of allegation of misconduct, the political parties noted that the commission’s posture was a wrong signal arguing that it is only the law court that can do so.

    The parties therefore called on President Muhammadu Buhari to direct an immediate investigation to unravel the circumstances which led to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFFC, issuing the letter of clearance to Justice Danladi Umar over his alleged involvement in N10 million bribery scandal.

    On the ongoing trial of the Senate President, Abdulsalam said the political parties were not against his trail, stressing that “President Buhari needs to act now, not to stop Saraki’s trial but to ensure that the process of fighting corruption does not end up being even more corrupt than the corruption it seeks to eliminate.”

    The political parties however kicked against Justice Umar’s presiding over the trial.

    According to them, “We recall that the Chairman of the Tribunal has himself been under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on allegations of bribery and corruption.

    “We observe however that the preponderance of evidence that has been deployed so far against Dr. Saraki, including the Principal Prosecution Witness in the matter, were supplied by the EFCC.

    “What that means is that the Chairman of the Tribunal, Mr. Danladi Umar, is not only beholden to, but also under the control of the prosecution. Invariably, since Mr. Danladi Umar has the prosecutors ‘axe dangling on his neck, his ability to do justice to the defendant would be naturally impaired.

    “To make the matter worse, we noted how the EFCC, in an unprecedented act of desperation, hurriedly issued a memo re-activating a report to the AGF and SGF dated 5th March, 2015, which it now attempts to present as a clearance letter to Umar.

    “If this act alone does not confirm the grand collusion between the EFCC and the Chairman of the Tribunal to tilt the scale of justice against Dr. Saraki, then nothing would. However, if this case is about strengthening probity and accountability in public office, we fully support it; even as we insist that justice must not only be done, but be seen by all to have been done to all.”

     

  • Corruption is holding back Nigeria- UK

    Corruption is holding back Nigeria- UK

    The United Kingdom is fully behind President Muhammadu Buhari in the ongoing efforts by his administration to rid Nigeria of corruption, Mr Nick Hurd, the UK Minister for International Development, has said.

    Hurd told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday that fighting corruption was critical to transforming Nigeria’s future.

    “We have been very active in supporting President Muhammadu Buhari`s campaign against corruption in Nigeria and we think it is fundamental to transform the future of the country.

    “We fully support priorities that the President has given to tackling corruption in Nigeria.

    “We feel that corruption is absolutely the right priority and we want to support him in that, “ he said.

    The minister urged the federal government to focus on public sector reforms aimed at making corruption unattractive to workers and the general public.

    He pointed out that there was so much workers in the public sector could do to reduce corruption through effective accounting systems.

    Hurd told NAN that his country was working with the Federal Government and the Civil Society Organisations on attitudinal change in the Nigerian society.

    “We think corruption holds Nigeria back and for every pound that is taken out of the public system through corruption, is a pound that could be spent educating children.

    “It is a pound that could be spent educating girls and developing the health system that the country can be proud of.

    “That is the kind of attitude that we would like to encourage and, therefore, we support the President in that, “ he said.

    Hurd said that the UK Prime Minister David Cameron, like President Buhari, is also passionate to rid his country of corruption.

    “Which is why next month, he (Cameron) is holding an anti-corruption summit in London and we very much hope that Nigeria will be well represented in that conference.

    “The conference will bring together world leaders to discuss corruption and their plans to tackle it in their countries; so corruption is a very big issue for us, “ he said.

  • Lessons, as corruption fights back

    The complaints about Buhari’s travels; his slowness to take action; his unusual reticence about issues that require proper verification; his attempts to take loans to fund the 2016 budget; etc., may be acting like the character of Achebe’s fiction who finds refuge in cynicism, when what is needed is forthrightness 

    The people had become even more cynical than their leaders and were apathetic into the bargain….Let them eat, ‘was the people’s opinion…It may be your turn to eat tomorrow.—Chinua Achebe in A Man of the People

    Serious-minded people would have to be foolhardy or over sanguine to expect corruption not to fight back with vigour in a country that has luxuriated in venality for decades. There was no time to learn lessons from General Buhari’s war against corruption thirty years ago: he was quickly removed from the scene before he could gather his weapons to prosecute the war.  Now as a civilian president, who has sworn to make the fight against corruption the core of his manifesto, he and official and unofficial members of his army against corruption should start learning lessons from the ongoing war to protect the country’s commonwealth.

    One year is not too short for political officers, technocrats, and party leaders who believe that corruption is inimical to the progress of the society to know that President Buhari cannot fight this big war by himself. Some cynics are already saying that Buhari is a one-man army against corruption. It was understandable to attempt to fight corruption with one loyal assistant that Tunde Idiagbon was in 1984 under a military system. In a democratic system, the political and social environment allows for plural voices including the voice of those the regime of change has set out to discipline: venal men and women in political and bureaucratic power.

    Clearly, the forces against the war on corruption are strong and well organised to deflect attention from the importance of such war or pooh-pooh the efforts that go into the various battles so far. Many people calling for speed on the economic front are forgetting why the economy is in its current parlous state: looting of the treasury by those charged to protect it in the past. Those who use social media to give President Buhari such appellations as Baba Go-Slow, Deaf and Dumb, Johnnie Walker, etc., are more interested in distracting him from the real problem that had caused all the economic problems they want Buhari to solve in a jiffy. Almost invariably, most of such critics of Buhari speak on behalf of: a few people that may have looted the nation’s purse for personal use or to create overseas savings for their children. It is reassuring that Mr. President has chosen to ignore those critics; otherwise, he would not be able to achieve anything about fighting corruption, an area that is certain to make many politicians and civil servants who have benefited from the governance style of the past uncomfortable.

    Contrary to popular expectation in a government dominated by members of the party of change, there seem to be members of the ruling party who are ready to shout down those bent on expunging corruption from the country’s public service. Otherwise, the majority in both houses of the National Assembly should have created a better working condition for the president’s fight against enemies of the state who have pretended for long to be servants of the state.

    Ironically, there are ordinary citizens, like the ones captured in Achebe’s A Man of the People. In a fictive counterpart of Nigeria mired in political and bureaucratic corruption in its infancy in the 1960s, Achebe’s narrator, cautioned those calling for morality in public service: “Let them eat…It may be your turn to eat tomorrow.” The complaints about Buhari’s travels; his slowness to take action; his unusual reticence about issues that require proper verification; his attempts to take loans to fund the 2016 budget; etc., may be acting like the character of Achebe’s fiction who finds refuge in cynicism, when what is needed is forthrightness. The subtext to many of the complaints being heard about Buhari, including those from the main opposition party reads more like finding ways to demonise the main man behind the war against corruption.

    Despite efforts by opposition members and some misguided ruling party members to make the fight against corruption look like overkill, the president and agents of change in his ruling party should listen to public opinion on the imperative to wage the war against decades of bad governance that has brought the country to its knees to the point of having to look for loans to repair its economy. Citizens are getting the impression that the government is more interested in catching just agents of stupendous corruption. Without doubt, identifying, prosecuting, and punishing big men and women who, to borrow Achebe’s phrase in A Man of the People, “have stolen enough for the owner not to notice” will help to serve as deterrence to would-be corrupt men and women in our public service. But the war on corruption needs to be taken to areas where the amount looted may not be humongous enough to be given names with the suffix of gate, such as Dasukigate, Badehgate, Amosugate, Oronsayegate, etc.

    For example, in what looks like a minor crime: the existence of ghost workers, citizens need to be reassured that the mania of having ghosts at every level of government is given the attention it deserves. Discovering existence of ghost workers is not new in the polity. Every government since the return to civil rule had found ghosts in our MDAs and had announced the removal of such ghosts from the payroll. No government has been able to give the names of those involved in hiring and paying ghosts. It is remarkable that the new minister of finance has not wasted time in dealing with this menace. But citizens need to be assured that those responsible for hiring ghost workers, paying them, and even giving them tenure-track appointments are identified by name and position. It may not be possible to identify the ghosts themselves (since ghosts have no identity), but it should not be hard for the current government to identify those who receive the salaries paid into the bank accounts of ghosts and those who assisted in opening checking or saving accounts for ghosts and paying money into such accounts. Once identified, such people should be made to return the money paid into such illegal accounts, before arraigning them in what may be an interminable court process.

    Anti-corruption agents in all MDAs and federal institutions should pay attention to illegal use of public funds. I sent my assistant to buy me some roasted plantain a few days ago. The paper in which the Booli was wrapped contained information that should be of interest to those in the ruling party who are serious about stemming or ending corruption in public life. The wrapping paper contained important information about a federal college of education in the Southwest. It reads like minutes of the council of the college in question. The college had bought bags of rice at Christmas time many years ago for local chiefs, ranging from the Kabiyesi of the town to major and minor chiefs. Some of the funds given to a federal college of education to improve teaching and learning had been used to buy bags of rice for traditional chiefs to eat. If this culture exists (as it must) in other tertiary institutions owned by federal and state governments, resources that could have been used to expand the frontier of knowledge in the country must be used habitually to maintain the stomach infrastructure of parasites in different parts of the country.

    Citizens should not leave the fight against corruption to President Buhari and his supporters. It is not just a Buhari/APC war; it is the war of men and women of conscience in our society. More than anything else, it is the stridency of public opinion that can assist the fight against corruption in the land. Like the war against Boko Haram’s terrorists, intelligence is of the essence in the war against thieves of state.

  • Why corruption fight must be sustained

    SIR: Majority of Nigerians are corrupt minded, corrupted and are defenders of corruption. They are selfish, partial and unjust. I find it very absurd when someone tells President Muhammadu Buhari to focus on the economy and not the fight against corruption.

    How do you move the economy forward when corruption is eating away at the economy? Is it impatience that is driving us crazy? We should be patient and cut this government some slack here because this is the first time I can feel a government that has the charisma to take the nation out the woods.

    The two major religions Christianity and Islam condemn corruption in all its ramifications. Common sense agrees that corruption is evil. Whatever woes we are saddled with today (including those from our past) is as a result of corruption. Corruption has denied us (the less privileged) of all essentials of life: education, power supply, security, safety on our roads, health; just name it.

    Until we learn to stop sympathizing with bad and corrupt politicians just because we are from the same geopolitical zones, state, village, religion, tribe or even family, we will continue to support evil.  We must also learn to support a crusader to fight evil even if he is from a religion, section or party we dislike.

    As for Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti, it’s normal in a democracy to criticize the government when the need arises. However, meaningful and constructive criticism is what we need, not when it becomes so childish and incessant the way Fayose is doing it. Fayose should stay calm and observe things, as it may turn out that his staunchest of opponent or enemy can do something popular for the good of the generality of the people. It doesn’t impress people when they know that you make noise just to be noticed or for people to say he is tough and fearless. Fayose should know better.

    Let’s call a spade a spade. Those shouting of selective fight are just looking for excuse to discourage the crusade and are nothing but corrupt and corrupted. We must eliminate as much as we can, sectionalism, tribalism and religious sentiments in order to move forward. The corruption crusade must continue and well-meaning Nigerians must continue to support it and let the sponsored and paid critics and groups go on criticizing. Buhari is not one to be distractible anyway. Those being used to draw the hands of the clock backward should remember that their children and grandchildren will definitely ask them as posterity also will. The fight must be holistic meaning from top to bottom. The EFCC must also take the crusade to the states and down to the local governments. That means taking it to the grassroots as this is the only way to nip it in the bud, because some of our politicians always start from the local government up the ladder to the states and federal government.

     

    • Mohammed Jibril,

     Kawo, Kaduna.

  • Global corruption, the law and the state

    It  would  appear-   from  the latest Panama Papers  Scandal involving the release of millions of deals by a law  firm  through  which the rich  and mighty use stolen funds by creating phony companies-  that  the  war  against  corruption in  Nigeria is just  the tip  of the ice  bag. Like  I  said  last  week  corruption  is  not  a distinctly  peculiar  Nigerian  malady  as some  people  would  have us believe. Indeed  the scale  of the  Panama Papers Scandal  seems  to  have  stolen   our  thunder and resolve to crush  corruption but   we  must  remain  focused  and resolute  as  a nation   and people   to   sanitise     and   cleanse  our  nation    and   society   of  the cancer   of  corruption.

    The   Panama Papers  leak involve transactions and  phony  companies’ fixed’ for the rich by a Panama law firm and  the import is even greater  than that of Wikki  Leaks  which  focused  on diplomatic information  and confidential  matters. Already  the  impact  has been global and volatile.  President Vladmir  Putin of  Russia who  was  not named but  whose friends were  credited  with  billions of dollars  has  rebutted  the Panama Papers  as transparent  but has nevertheless  said their release  was  a  plan by the west  to  destabilize  Russia. But  his  critics  have  pointed out that his friends and cronies  could  have been  fronting for him  and  keeping money  for  him   by proxy as is the practice  in tax  havens globally. Some  Nigerians  too  have been  named although I  will  not discuss  or name them  yet  as the  title  of this piece  has a different focus  on the state  and the law  in the face  of global  corruption which  I shall  look  at from the perspective  of the Nigerian state, the law  and its practice  in  Nigeria.

    Indeed  corruption  has gone global and  has already  claimed powerful leaders  as victims while preparing  to  gobble  others  even  more  powerful and  hitherto thought  to be untouchable  and  above  board. The  Panama  Leaks  has claimed  the Prime  Minister  of  Iceland  who was  involved  in cleaning the banking system  but had phony companies  owned with  his wife  while still holding public  office. In  Brazil  as noted  last  week  the  President  Dilmar  Rousseff  is  fighting  for her political  life and this week a Congressional  Committee  gave the nod for  impeachment  proceedings  to start  against  her. Even  Brazil’s Vice  President  who  should take over  from Dilmar  in case of impeachment  is also to face investigations  on  charges  of  corruption  too which  means that the Brazilian political  system  and state  is under  siege  from the scourge  of  corruption and  this is a testy time  for Brazilian  law  makers  and the nation’s  legal  system.

    Similarly  the S African  President Jacob  Zuma    this  week  survived an impeachment scare  in  Parliament in that   nation  mainly  on the  majority  strength  of his  ruling  ANC  in  Parliament. Before  that  he  had  apologized  to  the  nation claiming that as at the time he was using state  funds to  renovate  his country  house he did  not know  he was violating the  constitution. For  now  all  what  one  can  say  is that every  dog   has its  day  and  Zuma   has  definitely  had  his way  this time  around. No thanks  though  to party  loyalty  and    rather  dubious   party   discipline  that  has   not this  time served public  good, transparency, and    even   public  discipline, which  should  be the choice weapon  to fight  corruption  globally, including  in  Zuma’s  and sadly  the   incorruptible  and   immortal Nelson  Mandela’s  S  Africa. Which  really  is a  great  pity.

    It  is  on that  note and  mood  that I charge into the topic of today  and  the self – given assignment  of  two  eminent  Nigerian  lawyers   to  burnish  the   public   image  of  lawyers  in  Nigeria. The  first  is Abubakar  Mahmoud,  a Senior  Advocate  of  Nigeria who  is seeking  the office  of  President of the Nigerian Bar  Association who  openly  lamented  that Nigerians think  that 90%  of  Nigerian  lawyers  are  crooks and who  promised  to  change  that perception or  image  if elected  President of the NBA.  The  second  is  veteran politician and lawyer  Ayo  Opadokun, a  brave  voice  against military despotism in  Nigeria who reportedly lamented  that the anti  corruption  war  has shown that  the legal profession  needs  to rescue its hard  earned reputation as a learned profession from  the jaws of  the  opprobrium  of  corruption  and  criminality. It  is in the light  of the concern of  these  two gentlemen for  the image of  their profession which  is  called ‘learned’  by its practitioners  that  I  look  at the  issue  of global  corruption, the law  and the  state.

    I  start on the premise  that  the law  is  the basis of  the rule  of  law and the state  derives its security  and  stability from observance and enforcement  of its laws.  A  government  or  the state or the political system therefore  must  monopolise  the use  of force  in maintaining  its  rule within its given territorial  area to assure its  territorial  sovereignty and integrity  as well as ensuring  the safety of life and property  in its area of control and jurisdiction. In Nigeria  today government  or  the state is  a democracy  based  on the presidential  system  of government with  separation  of powers into  the executive, legislature and  judiciary. The  executive  is  the presidency  which rules  while the legislature makes  laws and  approves budgets and  war expenditure while the judiciary  adjudicates  in litigations involving individuals, the state and institutions. Today  our  focus  is on the third arm of   government the judiciary not  only as the  temple  of justice  but in the way lawyers  and litigants  operate  there and  how  that  is affecting the  political  system  generally and  the  war  against  corruption  in Nigeria  in  particular.

    It  is pertinent  to  note  that in Nigeria lawyers  are  well  regarded   as  well  educated  and  well  informed. It  is  not  unusual  to hear  admonitions asking if  you  are a lawyer on simple arguments  with a lawyer. Indeed  elderly  people  are  wont  to tell  you that you don’t argue  with a lawyer even if you  are an expert on a topic  that you feel a lawyer is dabbling into dangerously  ignorantly. It  is  therefore  highly  lamentable  that a SAN  is  seeking the presidency of the NBA on the platform  of rescuing the reputation of lawyers as  crooks  in society   and a much  older lawyer is sharing  that same concern.  But  then it is  not  a situation  to be wished away as it will  not, given the fact  that lawyers will always represent those involved in litigations with the EFCC on  corruption  charges  and over  50  lawyers  were said  to be present when  the EFCC  arraigned a SAN on  bribing a judge  recently. In  addition  the ongoing trial  of the  Senate  president as well as the way defence lawyers first walked out  and tried  to stall  the case on the issue of jurisdiction and  quorum up to the apex  court  and  tried  to repeat  the process after that cannot  but show  that lawyers  have  a penchant  for making an ass of the law in  Nigerian  and laughing all  the way to the bank  in  the process. How  that has  affected the image of the profession is the  root  of the quest of a SAN  for  the presidency of the apex lawyers  union and the fight of a veteran and  dogged  democrat  to salvage  the  remnants  of the reputation of  a profession  whose practitioners should  have known better that money  is  the root  of all evil. Lawyers  should  learn  that no  force in the universe can put  spilt milk  or  broken  egg  together,  and such  is the nature of reputations, even  of people and professions  of people claiming to be more learned  than  others in  the discharge  of their  duties  to  the state  and those  seeking their  services  in  the pursuit  of justice.

  • ‘Corruption insanity’ killing our economy, says Shettima

    ‘Corruption insanity’ killing our economy, says Shettima

    Bornu State governor, Kashim Shettima has attributed the poor state of the nation’s economy to large scale corruption.

    Shettima spoke of at the second day of the first National Forum on the Economy organised by Vintage Press Limited held in Lagos on Friday.

    He said President Muhammed Buhari is working hard to address the “corruption insanity”, adding that the Panama paper’s revelation is a tip of the iceberg.

    According to him, the economy of his state was brought down by Boko Haram with over  20000 men, women, kids killed.

    He said millions were displaced, along with destruction worth $6billion.

    “30 percent of the houses were destroyed in the state including schools, primary health centres, infrastructure, including  water supply  and electricity.

    He called for more investment in education, noting that it is vital because the few that are rich cannot be protected by the many that are poor.

  • VP, Ambode, Okorocha, proffer solution to Nigeria’s economic woes

    VP, Ambode, Okorocha, proffer solution to Nigeria’s economic woes

    Vice President Yemi Osibanjo, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, his Imo State counterpart, Rochas Okorocha and other dignitaries have identified measures to solve the economic challenges in the country.

    They spoke Thursday at the maiden edition of  National Forum on Economy organised by Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation Newspapers, held at Lagos Airport Hotel.
    Osibanjo in his keynote address blamed the nation’s economic challenges on oil dependence and corruption saying that the time has come for the country to look beyond oil and celebrate integrity over corruption.
    According to him, “It is pathetic that a nation with over 170 million people benchmarked its budget on the price of oil. We must look beyond oil because it disturbs us from looking to other sector. In order to move the country forward, we must reduce the FG and state dependence on sharing revenue made from oil sales.”
    He said government is fully aware of the overwhelming challenges confronting Nigerians, assuring that ongoing reforms at various sector is a pointer to the fact that the situation will soon be a thing of the past.
    “The foundation for a strong economy demands that we have appropriate fiscal policies that will help the country that is arising from a very low rate of VAT and a low taxpayer’s base. We are focusing on increasing the country’s taxpayers base. We are committed to expanding the tax net.
    “At the federal level, the implementation of the country’s 2016 budget will stimulate the economy rather than impose undue austerity on the citizens. For instance, 30 percent of the country’s budget has been earmarked for capital expenditure.
    “Non-oil sources comprising company income tax, VAT and others are expected to contribute N1.5 trillion which is more than the estimated revenue from oil. This is unprecedented in the history of the country.”
    Vice President said there is urgent need for the country to take full advantage of the oil sector, adding that rather than extract and exporting, the country must take full advantage of the oil sector and entire value chain.
    He explained that government would soon commence work on the Lagos-Kano and Lagos-Calabar rail routes, as well as 31 major road projects across the country, just as he stressed the commitment of the current administration to give a quantum leap to infrastructural development.

    He said the governments this year will focus on key areas such as oil and gas Agriculture, social investment among others to tackle the situation.
    Governor Ambode in his remark said the nation’s economy was at a critical threshold and thus, will require its leaders to think outside the box and come up with creative innovations that will trigger economic growth nationwide.
    He lamented the fact that previous governments at the federal level failed to take advantage of the oil boom to grow other sectors of the economy, saying that the fall in price in the international oil market coupled with many years of corruption has made the economy vulnerable.
    “It is very unfortunate that we wasted the golden opportunity to deploy the trillions of dollars earned from our oil exports to develop the critical sectors of the economy including power, agriculture, industries, solid minerals, transportation infrastructure among others.  No doubt, if we had done the right thing as some other oil producing countries did, keeping in mind that crude oil is a finite resource, we would not be experiencing the devastating effect of oil price crash on the scale we are experiencing it now.

    “We are now being forced to do, with pains, what we should have done with ease years ago. The task of charting a new direction for the economy is not going to be a tea party. Various policy options must be identified and assessed on the basis of our current situation and needs.  Moving our economy forward requires thinking outside the box and doing things differently. We need creativity, innovation and the courage to take difficult and tough decisions.

    “The leadership of the country at national and state levels must have the courage to take tough decisions and make sacrifices in the near term which will, in the long run, make our economy stronger and sustainable and, consequently result in prosperity across all regions of Nigeria,” he said.

    Recommending strategies to improve the economy, Governor Ambode said that the nation must begin to explore and expand the opportunities that abound in inter-State relations and strengthen regional competitiveness by maximizing economies of scale, regional optimization of assets and endowments and mitigation of afflictions and natural disasters.

    He listed other viable areas for inter-State collaboration to include transport infrastructure to facilitate market linkages, education, market development, human capacity building, security and intelligence sharing, saying that it was high time to move away from an oil driven economy.

    “Prior to the oil boom era, Agriculture was the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy and contributed about 65 per cent to the country’s GDP and represented close to 70 per cent of total exports. Through farming, Nigeria was able to feed its population while major cash crops were exported to earn foreign exchange.

    “From the cocoa and rubber plantations in the West, the groundnut pyramids and cotton in the north, to palm oil in the east; each region was identified by its economic areas of comparative advantage which were collectively harnessed towards ensuring food security and inclusive growth across the country.

    “Given our current economic challenge, I believe it is time we take a cue from our old ‘playbook’ for a viable ‘game plan’ to revive our national economy. States and regions must once again begin to leverage on their respective areas of comparative advantage by establishing partnerships towards establishing inter-State or inter-regional commodity value chain. We must re-start inter-state/regional cooperation,” he said.

    Governor Ambode said that Lagos has already taken the bull by the horn with its recent partnership with Kebbi State aimed at developing a commodity value chain that will see the local production of 70 per cent of Nigeria’s rice needs with a multiplier effect that will ensure job creation, the development of ancillary industries as well as strengthen the Naira.

    The Governor however added that for regional integration to thrive a functional modern rail and water transportation system must be in place, noting that movement of goods, materials and people by road was not only inefficient but fraught with risks, safety hazards and detrimental to the roads.

    Earlier in his opening remarks, Chairman of Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation Newspaper, Wale Edun said the forum was put together not just to lament the challenges facing the country but for government and members of the critical sectors of the economy to dialogues and chart a way out.

  • Activists decry corruption in property rights enforcement

    A coalition of civil society groups, One Voice, has urged the government to make land acquisition and transfer easier so as to reduce corruption in property administration.

    It said enforcement of property rights laws is weak and subject to abuse by officials.

    “Acquiring and maintaining rights to real property are major challenges,” the coalition said at briefing in Lagos by its Media Committee Chair, Pastor Adedeji Adeleye.

    The group said recording keeping by government agencies on land transactions is poor, and the process very slow, while legitimate fees are as high as 15 per cent of land value.

    “It is standard practice to hold land in corporations in order to avoid high fees, cumbersome bureaucratic procedures and corruption when the land is sold.

    “Attempts must be made by the federal and state government to correct these anomalies and make land acquisition easier,” it said.

    One Voice said while Nigeria’s legal and regulatory system is generally consistent with international standards, “enforcement of rules and legislation is often inadequate and inconsistent.”

    The group said the government must enhance protection of intellectual property in the face of dwindling oil prices, adding that a country can still develop without oil, as Singapore demonstrated.

    “As part of efforts at redeeming the economy, the Buhari administration must institute zero tolerance for corruption in all aspects of the public sector. Attempts must also be made to mainstream the private sector into the anti-corruption policy framework,” One Voice said.

    On transportation, One Voice urged the government to complete the inland waterways to reduce pressure on the roads; and to revive the rail system.

    It called for reforms in the tax system to end corruption in assessments and imposition of arbitrary levies that encourage tax evasion; as well as changes in Customs administration to make the process of clearing goods less cumbersome and prone to corruption.

  • Power, corruption and impunity

    The  decision  of the highest  court in S Africa   this week  that the  country’s President  Jacob  Zuma  has failed  to defend, protect  and respect the constitution by  diverting  public  funds    up  to 15m   pounds to renovate his house   forms  the basis  of our  discussion today. The  court  likened  the public  protector that brought the case to court to the biblical  David  fighting the Goliath of  Impunity  that is corruption. That  is a description after  my  heart and should  be a source of encouragement to the anti  corruption brigade in Nigeria led by the EFCC  and  the   hard  working prosecution team of   the  Code  of  Conduct  Bureau [CCB ]    and   the Code  of  Conduct  Tribunal  [CCT]  in  Nigeria. The  judgement  in S Africa  has  serious implications  not only for that nation  but for the rest of Africa  and indeed  the whole world on the  workings  of  democracy, the rule of law and the establishment of transparency  in  governance in any part  of the world.

    A  youth  leader expelled  from  the ruling ANC in  S Africa and  now an opposition leader of the  party called  Economic Freedom  fighters, Julius Malema has declared in jubilation that President Zuma cannot continue as President and that  if he comes to parliament he will physically challenge him by pushing him. Whether  President Zuma  takes up the challenge or not is not an  issue here. What is important is that the court in S Africa has shown clearly that no one is above the law in a democracy. The  court  even went on to chastise Parliament for not doing its duty of checkmating the president on misuse of public funds as it should  have,  as part of its constitutional  duty,  and asked the errant president of S Africa to return the embezzled  money  within 60  days.

    It  is  necessary  to  compare  what  is going on in S Africa  with events in Brazil  where  the president is facing looming impeachment over corruption charges including the manipulation of budget deficit figures to  win reelection  for her second term and the resolve of the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari  to scrutinize the  2016  budget figures already  passed by our  legislature before fixing his signature of approval as the executive  authority. Which  sounds  like putting the cart  before the horse but  is really a case of once bitten twice shy.

    Firstly,   the way  the  S  African  political  system  reacts to the decision of Constitutional  Court will  be a  good  test  of the quality  of the rule of law and use  of democratic   power in that nation. Julius  Malema  has  asked that Parliament be dissolved, the president should be sacked and fresh elections held. But  that is largely wishful  thinking because the ANC would still  win because blacks  are in majority in S Africa  and would not lose that majority  for a long time. There  have  been calls for Zuma to be relieved of his duties and replaced like  his predecessor   Thabo  Mbeki, and that may be the real  workable political  solution .It would  also serve to show Zuma that corruption  does not pay   after  all, for it was  to preempt such charges against  him as Vice  President that he executed  the  palace  coup that removed his predecessor from  office   before  the end  of his second  term. Now  the chicken  has come home to roost  and the nemesis of corruption is  hanging on his neck  like the proverbial  sword  of Damocles. The  third  option is for the ANC to pardon Zuma after returning the money and to expect politics to go on as usual.  That  would be a tragedy  for the rule of law and   a clear  misuse    and   abuse   of democratic power.  Certainly  that would overheat  the S African political  system and polarize the ANC. It  may  indeed  be the death  knell of the sure majority  that made Zuma think  he could get away  with murder on the renovation  matter.  It  will also  send a clear  signal to the world that Africans are perhaps  not ready for majority democracy  and that would be most  unfortunate  indeed.

    With  regard  to Brazil  the president is fighting for  her political life, if  not indeed her personal  freedom as there have been  calls for her to be impeached for padding the budget   deficit   figures in her re election bid. So  padding the budget  is  not a distinctly  Nigerian corruption or malady.  But  after corruption charges at the Brazilian oil giant  Petrobas  swept the  Brazil,  involving the former President Lula da  Silva who incumbent   President   Dilmar  is protecting by making him her  Chief  of Staff, the coalition  partners of the ruling Workers Party of Dilma  and  Lula have withdrawn their support  in Parliament and the threat of impeachment is real for the incumbent Brazilian  president, Dilma Rousseff. Seven  of her ministers  have resigned and the cabinet  is wobbly while  the only silver lining on a  cloudy political  horizon  was the decision by  Brazil’s Constitutional  court to take on the trial  of  Lula which  was Dilmar’s original  ploy in bringing Lula to her cabinet in the  first  instance. Whether that court  will play  ball with  Lula and Dilmar and give them succor and longer political  life in Brazil or  like the S African court strike  a blow at  impunity and  corruption  is the interesting political  drama   unfolding before the world  in the next  few months or days in soccer  loving Brazil and we are watching very  keenly.

    With  regard  to  President  Buhari  going through the budget figures  even  after legislative  approval  he  should  not  be distracted by those calling for speedy implementation as what is worth doing is worth doing well. Even  the legislature which gave approval  was reported  to be still working on what it has approved  and  passed  to the presidency.  Of  course that is simply  to prepare a fall  back position for an  anticipated executive rebuke on padding. Nevertheless the  presidency should look at legislative fringe  benefits and constituency  allocations  and prune or jettison them  altogether as they cannot be executed without executive fiat. If  we lose revenue because of fall in oil  prices the best thing to do is to cut  administrative  costs across board on  all  arms of government   to  improve earnings  and  accruals to projected  budget revenue. That  is cutting your  coat according to your cloth and size. Once  again  long live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Corruption: Their functional perspective

    Corruption: Their functional perspective

    Barely two years after the euphoric celebration of the independence that was supposed to usher in life abundant, life for the average Nigerian was anything but abundant.  Bowing to necessity, the Federal Government proclaimed an austerity programme that reflected the Nigerian condition, which Highlife maestro Victor Olaiya captured in song.

    In rough translation, the lyrics went like this:  Times are hard/There is no money out there/Men are yearning/Women are yearning/Everyone is yearning for money.

    From the hardest-hit in the population came this question poignantly and insistently:  “When will this independence end?”

    Some 50 years later, Nigeria is in the grip of an economic convulsion. There is no money in town is what one hears everywhere.  The little money in circulation has lost much of its purchasing power.  Try to shave a Naira or two off the price of a bunch of bananas or a pineapple or a piece of yam from the roadside vendor, and what you get is a polite rebuke.

    “Oga, you never hear say dollar don go up?  It is never “Oga, you never hear say Naira don fall?”  It is almost as if the dollar is the national currency, not the Naira.

    A government that came to power promising Change has made exposing corruption in public life its first order of business.  What has since come to light is that the word “corruption” is a wholly inadequate metaphor for the systematic and remorseless looting of public assets during the preceding administration of Dr Goodluck Jonathan even as it chanted ceaselessly that it was on a transformative mission.

    Jonathan and his team transformed Nigeria all right, but into the most debauched kleptocracy in recent memory.

    Just when you think that the most brazen instance of corruption has been uncovered, the next day’s bulletin reports another instance of corruption on a scale much larger, wrought by persons occupying positions of power, influence and public trust.  The following day brings fresh revelations of the same kind, only vaster in scope and more ingenuous in execution.  The day after that is guaranteed to bring more revelations that will stagger even persons gifted with the most larcenous imagination.

    It was heartening when it began.  The new sheriff is living up to his billing.  Finally, someone who has the will and the credibility has taken on the monster.  He may not slay it, but he will tame it over time and create an environment in which public funds will be spent for public projects, instead of ending up in the capacious maws of officials and their confederates.

    Lately, however, Nigerians are getting less and less impressed.   They have begun to question the methodology and even the motive of the anti-corruption drive.  Those who concede that the anti-corruption agenda signals a new direction nevertheless point out that it does not even begin to translate into the Change they expected the new administration to launch.  They say yester- year’s problems are still with them, intractable as ever.  Many are dispirited, and not a few are disillusioned.

    “Na anti-corruption we go chop?” they chorus.

    But that is the more constructive version of the anti-corruption critique, rooted in legitimate expectation of a coordinated and sustained assault on the problems that make life in Nigeria a daily grind.

    There is another critique that has to be judged frankly subversive.  It states unequivocally that Nigerians were far better off in the time of unbridled pillage.  Its blunt demand?  Bring Back Our Corruption. The battle cry even comes with a hashtag, this vulgar imitation, trivialisation even, of #Bring Back our Girls, the campaign to secure the release of the Chibokgirls still being held in parts unknown by Boko Haram.

    Theirs is a functional perspective on corruption, built on economic calculations of the rawest kind with stomach infrastructure at its core.  Here is their anthem:

    With Corruption a bag of pure water was N80

    Without Corruption a bag of pure water is N150

    With Corruption dollar was N180

    Without Corruption dollar is N400

    With Corruption I have 20hrs electricity at low tariff

    Without Corruption I have seven hrs electricity with 45 per cent increase in tariff

    With Corruption keke to my house takes N50

    Without Corruption keke to my house takes N100

    With Corruption smallest indomie was N40

    Without Corruption smallest indomie is N60

    # IStandWithCorruption

    #Bringbackourcorruption.

    The shrinking content of the Titus sardine brand seems to have hit the #BringBackOurCorruption Brigade particularly hard.  Originally there were four pieces of fish; then it was reduced to three, and now it is two.  “In years to come, you will open a can of sardine and see ‘Try Again.’”

    Their case, as I see it, is founded on the well-known fallacy of post hoc, ergo propter hoc, Latin for”after this; therefore because of this.”Its classic formulation is:”Since event Y followed event X,  event Y must have been caused by event X.”

    Applied to the present case, the Bring Back Our Corruption campaigners are saying in effect that since the cost of everything skyrocketed after the anti-corruption drive went into full throttle, the escalation must have been caused by the drive to curb corruption.

    Nor does their misapprehension end there.

    During the period that serves as their reference point, the oil market, though less buoyant than before, had not collapsed.  Oil revenues provided the foreign exchange that catered to the huge national appetite for imports and kept the cost of consumer goods and services stable.  The sharp fall in receipts from oil heightened the demand for scarce dollars and exerted great pressure on the Naira, resulting in a fall in its value.

    The fall was exacerbated by desperate speculators hoping to force a devaluation of the Naira so they could make a fortune on its woes, but were checkmated by an adamant President Muhammadu Buhari.  Now some stability has returned to the Naira.

    The campaigners are willfully ignorant of this trajectory.  They are unlikely to be deterred by an appeal to facts or by serious argument.They are unlikely to be moved by a showing that if  Nigerians fared better – if they could feast on noodles and sardines — when the system was mired in corruption, they could have upgraded to caviar and Champagne if corruption had been less pervasive; that the answer to their privations is not more corruption but less.

    At this rate, it cannot be long before they demand that corruption be proclaimed a national ideology since, in their reckoning, it is sure to guarantee life more abundant for them and their children and their children’s children.