The Nation Newspaper

Tag: corruption

  • ‘Take campaign on corruption to the grassroots’

    The Akwa-Ibom State chapter of Buhari/Osinbajo Supporters’ Club (BOSC), a socio-political platform, has been advised to intensify the enlightenment campaign against corruption and indiscipline by reaching out to people at the grassroots.

    National President of the organisation, Prince David Benjamin gave the advice while inaugurating officers of the state executive of the group in Uyo, the Akwa-Ibom state capital.

    Benjamin stressed that sensitisation campaign at the grassroots level was necessary because the call for change of behaviour towards corrupt practices concerns every Nigerian and not only the leaders.

    His words: “The ongoing battle against corruption and indiscipline is not just about the people at the top. It is about every Nigerian because the whole system is corrupt. The major objective of Buhari/Osinbajo Supporters’ Club is to preach the message of discipline and to eschew corruption to every Nigerian, particularly those at the grassroots for them to understand why we must shun corruption.

    “I, therefore, urge you the newly inaugurated executive officers of Akwa-Ibom State chapter of BOSC to play committed and dedicated role towards the actualisation of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption agenda. You must make sure that the message gets to all the nook and crannies of the state.

    “To change the people’s mindset is taxing; but I have the strong belief that we will get there; that we, as a people, will achieve the change that we have been yearning for.”

    He added that the group was open to Akwa-Ibom indigenes and residents that are already in support of the fight against corruption and indiscipline, irrespective of party affiliation.

    The Deputy National President of the group and a governorship aspirant of Katsina State, Alhaji Lawal Maina, wife of former deputy governor of Ogun State and member, Board of Trustees of BOSC, Mrs. Abosede Ogunleye were among the national representatives from the six geopolitical zones present at the occasion.

  • Nwabueze on corruption and national question

    My attention was drawn to Prof. Ben Nwabueze’s write-up on the Buhari administration’s war on corruption by Steve Osuji in his Friday, October 23 column in The Nation  titled: Nwabueze on Buhari: Elders as critics? The write-up may have appeared as some advice for President Muhammadu Buhari, but to the discerning, it was another tirade against the president’s anti-corruption crusade from the so-called Igbo Leaders of Thought of which the esteemed constitutional scholar is its public face – if not its sole member – going by the fact that the elder statesman is the only signatory to the organization’s always negative stance either through articles or advertorials on policy issues of the Buhari administration.

    The first strand of Nwabueze’s piece was his patently odious plea to Buhari and Nigerians in general that “corruption is not Nigeria’s Number One Enemy.” The other leg was his tutorials that our inability to recognize that the socio-cultural underpinning of Nigeria’s ethnic nationalities has always been the bane of our growth and development and not corruption, which he crystallized into what he called the “National Question.”

    For starters, Nwabueze marshaled all the strengths he could muster to advance his argument that eradicating corruption should not be our over-arching priority, but finding a lasting solution to the National Question. Like the strength of an octogenarian, Nwabueze’s vigorous defence of his National Question at the expense of the most egregious, in-your-face, and heaven-may-fall corruption never witnessed in Nigeria’s history that happened under Jonathan’s watch became feeble at best. It beats one’s imagination why Nwabueze would continue to discount the mood of the Nigerian electorate who wanted corruption to be concretely tackled once and for all. More importantly, our erudite statesman may have inadvertently frittered away his moral authority with his position on corruption. Nwabueze it was who, before the presidential election, told his Igbo nation that it would be in their best economic interest to re-elect Jonathan even when it had become very glaring to Nigerians and the international community that the “shoeless boy” from Otuoke had made corruption the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy. Before his first trip to the United States after his inauguration, it was the same Nwabueze who told President Buhari to “let bygone be bygone” by not lifting a finger against this hydra-headed corruption monster.

    As much as it is within the rights of our eminent scholar to weigh in on issues of national importance with a view to giving the nation his perspectives that comes with age and rigorous intellectual analysis, the heart of the matter may be that Nwabueze is finding it very difficult to live down the fact of Jonathan’s electoral loss. It’s baffling that the same Nwabueze, who admitted that “the revulsion against corruption that has involved trillions of naira worth of crude oil pirated from the country’s oil wells by government officials and their agents/associates… [that] reached the highest pitch of outright thievery in the last years of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, and has given rise to widespread yearning for decisive action against it” would call the president’s war on corruption a “make-belief” that “rests less on concrete actions and results actually accomplished and more on propagandist talk…purposely designed to charm the minds and hearts of people, already eagerly yearning for action.”

    It is not uncommon for an octogenarian such as our revered legal luminary to have forgotten so soon that it was not his personal or intellectual influence, nor the votes of his South-east region of which he’s its Leader of Thought that threw up Buhari to once again attempt to clean the Augean stable, but the Nigerian electorate that gave Buhari the clear electoral mandate strictly on account of the “three fights” he said he would engage in if elected, which included wrestling down the corruption monster in accordance with democratic tenets. For Buhari to now act otherwise which is Nwabueze’s preferred option in his latest write-up, would have been grossly irresponsible and out of character for a leader who has been lauded around the world as having the highest integrity quotient in Nigeria’s leadership history. Buhari does not need “propagandist talk…designed to charm the minds and hearts of [the] people” who handed him the incontrovertible mandate to do something about corruption.

    It’s difficult for one not to wonder that Nwabueze’s ‘injunction’ to PMB to abandon his corruption war is not some frantic and insidious attempt to protect certain geo-political interest that predominated in the Jonathan administration and had used the opportunity maximally to cash-in. Otherwise, why was Nwabueze unhappy that Jonathan and some of his key ministers are being demonized with what Nigerians now know as facts? Nwabueze may have been relieved that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has shamed her enemies because she was not the Jonathan’s minister that allegedly carted away as much as $6 billion. But our former Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy may one day have her day in court because even though $20 billion may not be missing as alleged by the erstwhile Central Bank governor, now the Emir of Kano, she admitted that what was missing was $10 billion, which was never accounted for before the termination of a government in which she held the country’s purse strings.

    Since “President Buhari does not qualify to be hailed and idolized as liberator and national hero…unless and until he effectively and successfully comes to grips with the National Question which Nwabueze went further to describe “as Nigeria’s predominating and daunting problem [that have] been left largely untackled over the years”, one must wonder why our renowned constitutional scholar did not advise Jonathan to set up a real and authentic national conference that would have addressed the National Question once and for all when he had the golden opportunity to properly reposition the country in the six years he was in the saddle.

    Nwabueze’s allusion that the president’s “inadequate educational qualification, which disables him from understanding fully…the complex ideas and issues involved in governing Nigeria” was most disingenuous. It was a deliberate disregard and wanton disrespect for a man who had not only held all the important positions in the land including its chief of state, but a man adjudged by world leaders as having the right leadership credentials of integrity, discipline and incorruptibility. It’s such an unfortunate irony that these attributes were first identified in Buhari not by our acclaimed intellectual powerhouse like Nwabueze, but by some stark and hopelessly illiterate Nigerians from the arid north who would probably first turn a book upside down before they would struggle to pronounce even a word. Sometimes we can learn a thing or two from those we call ‘dummies.’ For Nwabueze to be asking President Buhari to focus his energy on the National Question at this material time is akin to a doctor first spending his precious time asking a patient on life-support about his relationship with his neighbours. Nigeria must be stabilized first by Buhari’s surgical operations of obliterating the Boko Haram insurgency, the killing of corruption before it kills her, and recalibration of the economy that will open up job opportunities for our teeming jobless youths. It’s only then that the nation can have the strength and energy to seriously address Nwabueze’s National Question.

    • Odere is a media practitioner. He can be reached at femiodere@gmail.com
  • Faces and phases of corruption

    Faces and phases of corruption

    WERE it to be a human being, it would have protested violently the terrible fate that has become its lot. It is clearly not by its own design. No. It is all part of the inequality and fairness that have ruled the affairs of man.

    Subjected to scurrilous attacks by many, it bears its scars with unparalleled equanimity, even as more lashes come cracking on its bloodied head. It is scorned, abused and misused.

    But, let’s be fair – are we fair to “corruption”? Must it always carry the can of our greed?

    Whenever the military intervened in governance, the scapegoat was corruption. Every societal ailment is blamed on it. Indiscipline, examination fraud, collapsed infrastructure and many more, our leaders claim, have their roots in corruption and its corollary of bribery and fraud, not forgetting their cousins 419, theft, forgery and others of like connotations.

    The high and mighty talk about it. The poor pour their thoughts on it, ruminating on its effects and how it has kept them on their knees. Our leaders warn us that if we do not block its flourishing path, corruption will someday fight back, landing a devastating blow that will knock the nation off its feet with dreadful consequences. What really is corruption that has seized attention in this amazing manner?

    How many of us know corruption? Don’t we think it is all about people putting their hands in the till, grabbing for themselves and members of their families what should be expended for the benefit of the masses?

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan laboured so hard to let Nigerians know the difference between “corruption” and “stealing”, which they often confused, despite his passionate protestations. He never really succeeded as his administration was painted as corrupt and inept.

    The other day at the ministerial screening, there were many allusions to –unprovoked attacks on, I dare say – corruption. Former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola was asked if it was true that N78m was spent on a website during his administration. His Rivers State counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, following a question, said a teacher who took advantage of his student was corrupt.

    He provoked a torrent of questions. Can a teacher be corrupt if his students are not? Is a student whose dressing leaves so much to the imagination, exposing her cleavage, not corrupt? How insulated from corruption is the teacher whose pay cheque always arrives late?

    At the University of Ilorin anniversary, President Muhammadu Buhari warned lecturers to run away from academic corruption. What is academic corruption? Plagiarism? Or the type Amaechi was describing? Or concupiscence? Or stoking a strike when examinations are right at the door? Or sheer indolence?

    A politician, backed by the enormous power of the government at the centre, otherwise known as the federal might, turns an election into a war, killing and maiming many supporters of his opponent. He is proclaimed winner of the election –sorry for that slip; he is awarded victory. He visits churches after churches, proclaiming God’s faithfulness in his political life, kneeling down before clerics for blessings and leading the congregation to sing:

    He’s a miracle working God

    He’s a miracle working God

    He’s the alpha and omega

    He’s a miracle working God

    Ah! What a merciful God we have. He has the power to get anybody mocking His name to be struck by thunder, but He is full of mercy.

    Our man goes to Abuja in a desperate manner to compromise the jury sitting over his opponent’s petition against his bloody victory. His bid to see the Chief Justice fails. He launches a vicious attack on the integrity of his opponent’s camp and boasts that his election was endorsed by his people and sanctified by the Almighty. After all, he went to church for thanksgiving. Suddenly, the tribunal delivers a hammer blow- his election was rigged and it is nullified. His heart sinks.

    Heartbroken, he returns home to a deceptively defiant reception at the airport. He then goes back to church for another thanksgiving. Pray, what is this called? Electoral corruption? Religious corruption or corruption of religion?  Shouldn’t the clerics ask the politician to just confess his sins and sin no more rather than leading him on a thanksgiving revelry?

    Meanwhile, his opponent also gets a massive reception where he lambasts the poll rigger for borrowing heavily to finance his stay in office and starving the economy of funds by misapplying resources.

    Reception jams reception and thanksgiving jams thanksgiving.

    The other day, there were reports that two bankers had been arrested for allegedly managing proxy accounts that had N2.8b for Pension Reform Task Force chief Abdulrasheed Maina. This is not the first of such mind boggling allegations against Maina, who once shunned a Senate invitation and, strangely, evaded arrest by the former Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, who was directed to seize him. Thanks to our adherence to due process and rule of law as well as our incomprehension of the difference between “corruption” and “stealing”, Maina remains a free man. Whenever he feels harassed, there is always a crowd of people, some of them apparently ignorant of what pension is all about, carrying placards to excoriate the authorities for asking Maina to account for the billions collected by his task force.

    The cesspit of robbery that is pension administration is covered in a cloak of corruption. Is it not all simple stealing? Or fraud? Or both?

    A father once sang his adopted political son’s song to high heavens, threatening to bring hell down to earth should his son lose an election, but when the son lost, the old man changed his tune. First, he said he would not die because his party lost an election. Then he said his son was weak and could not fight corruption.  What do we call a father who abandons his son? Morally corrupt?

    Anti-corruption campaigners are deploying all manner of tactics to fight their battle. I got on my phone the other day a message urging the government to reinvigorate the war against corruption. There are two pictures of an ageing woman, deep hollows in her cheeks and her face a mixture of light and dark. Her complexion is the type called “yellow fever” in the language of the late songster, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Just beside this is another picture of the same woman – good looking, far younger, attractive and light complexioned with a heavy red, glossy lipstick lifting her face.  Above the two pictures is the caption: “Mr President, as you look for corrupt politicians in Nigeria, try and arrest the make- up artist who arranged this ‘organised crime’. Nigeria must be free of this. EFCC and ICPC copied.”

    A friend of mine has just informed me about a renowned professor’s plan to launch a massive research into “the dialectical analysis of corruption in Nigeria’s economic crisis: Facts and fallacies”. Among others, he is to examine the relationship between “stealing” and “corruption”, why the former attracts instance justice, otherwise known as jungle justice, and the latter takes just a stroll to the courtroom where lawyers argue on why the rights and privileges of an accused person should be protected in a circus that often fails to end – a vivid flashback to Fela’s “Authority Stealing”.

    A corruption suspect can even go overseas and continue to have a nice time, until the authorities believe they have had enough. At home, even if he is convicted, he may not go to jail – that seems to be for ordinary thieves, pick pockets and car snatchers. He only needs to get a doctor to declare that he has been struck by some terrible ailment. From the courtroom, he drives to the best hospital in town and sinks into a bed at the VIP section –air conditioner, satellite television (to ensure he doesn’t miss his favourite premiership team’s game), dedicated nurse and all that. He cools off, until the Court of Appeal determines whether he should go home or seek justice (for wrongful incarceration) at the Supreme Court.

    Corruption will someday urge a court of competent jurisdiction to grant it a perpetual injunction restraining our leaders, their agents, privies, officers, officials or whomsoever assigned the duty of maligning it to desist from so doing or be committed to prison.

    Dear reader, will corruption find a willing judge?

     

     

     

  • Lawyer advocates death sentence for corruption

    Lawyer advocates death sentence for corruption

    A Rivers-based lawyer, Mr Abdulkareem Dauda, has said that an amendment to the law governing corruption to impose death penalty on convicted corrupt government officials and others was justifiable and desirable.

    Dauda said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The legal practitioner said death sentence for those found guilty of corruption was justifiable, considering the multiplier effects of corruption, which destroyed every sector of the society.

    He added that “if an armed robber who kills one or two persons or robbed at gunpoint gets a death sentence, what of a corrupt government official whose action destroys many lives?.’’

    He said corruption was a more dangerous offence than armed robbery and should, therefore, attract stiffer punishment in order to deter others.

    “In my opinion, corruption should attract death penalty. People who are saying that corruption should attract death penalty are justified when you look at the many consequences of corruption on the society.

    “When armed robbers attack, they rob an individual or a few people of their valuables and may kill in the process and the offence attracts death sentence.

    “However, corruption kills several people, destroys the economy of a nation, health and social systems and affects several people’s lives, exposing them to various kinds of diseases and even death,’’ he said.

    Dauda concurred with a recent comment credited to former civilian governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, that 80 per cent of Nigeria’s problems would be solved if corruption was eliminated.

    He also said that “President Muhammadu Buhari is a man of integrity and the proper person that can rescue Nigeria from the syndrome of corruption.’’

    The lawyer further stated that the fight against corruption should also be extended to the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, if government must win the war.

    “I strongly believe that before the anti-corruption crusade can succeed; the president has a lot to do in terms of cleansing the enforcement agencies, especially the police, EFCC, ICPC and the judiciary.

    “We have seen corruption cases where suspects are charged to court but because the police may have been compromised and cannot conduct investigation properly, the judge cannot convict the accused.’’

    He, therefore, suggested the setting up of special courts comprising reputable, steadfast and incorruptible judges to handle corruption cases.

  • Buhari’s fight against corruption legitimate, says Kumuyi

    Buhari’s fight against corruption legitimate, says Kumuyi

    THE General Superintendent, Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM), Pastor Williams F. Kumuyi, has described President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s fight against corruption and insurgency as “legitimate and necessary”.

    Kumuyi, who spoke with reporters at the end of a combined service of the church at the Abia State Polytechnic Playground, Aba said: “I am a layman when it comes to politics. But from what we can see, I believe that the President is in the right direction and if we support him, with our comments and in other ways, I believe that we will see all these things brought down very quickly.”

    On how the church can help the President and other leaders in the fight against corruption, Kumuyi said: “When we say the church, we are not just talking of buildings; we are talking of people that come to church who also goes to offices.

    “And for the church to support, preachers should teach our people to learn how to contribute positively to the progress of the country anywhere they are and so if you are a governor, commissioner, teacher, minister and among others, be your best for the country.

    “Don’t think of what you can get out of the place that you are working, but how to contribute to the place to support the efforts of the government.”

    The cleric advised politicians to always remember to fulfill their campaign promises.”

  • Corruption: Ali reads riot act to Customs officers 

    Corruption: Ali reads riot act to Customs officers 

    The Comptroller- General of Nigeria Customs and Excise, Col Hameed Ali (rtd), has warned officers of the agency to desist from acts of indiscipline and corruption.

    Ali spoke at Idiroko in Ipokia local government during a familiarisation tour of Ogun Area Customs Command.

    He urged men of the command to adhere strictly to the rules and regulations of the agency in the discharge of their duties.

    He said: “The basic thing is discipline especially in a Para-military organisation like ours; without discipline nothing can be achieved.

    “I want to say that in customs service today, discipline is lacking. I am not saying that all the officers are undisciplined but some of those that are undisciplined are the one giving us a bad name.

    “Enforcement is lacking, people commit infractions. Many of our men collect money under the table and that creates the impression that we are corrupt in the eyes of the public.”

    The Customs boss went on: “Henceforth, there would be zero tolerance for corruption and indiscipline.

    “When you do any of these things mentioned, we would punish you. Any officer caught taking bribe or conniving with smugglers would not only be charged to court and jailed but would also forfeit their illegally acquired property.”

    Ali also warned Customs officers to desist from rejecting new postings and training programmes.

    According to him: “Under no circumstances must any officer refuse to be posted or refuse to go to where he or she has been asked to serve.

    “You should desist from refusing to attend courses because training is also part of career development and uplift.

    “Promotion shall henceforth be based on courses attended, promotion examination and evaluation of performance.”

    Ali went on: “I have also discovered that some officers have been promoted two steps above their colleagues because they have godfathers; that would henceforth stop because it is setting the service on the path of indiscipline.

    “Officers will be moved or redeployed every three years and gone are the days when junior officers would look at their senior colleague and spew out words of insubordination without being punished.

    “Officers must strictly adhere and apply the law governing our operations at all times. My parting words are that you must have integrity, be honest and transparent.

    “When you imbibe these three virtues, chances of going wrong in the discharge of duty will be minimised.”

    The leadership of licensed freight forwarders in Idiroko community called for rehabilitation of major roads leading in and out of the border area as well as reduce import duty.

    Ali urged them to comply with the federal government’s policy on import duty for a mutually beneficial relationship with Customs service.

  • ‘Address the Nigerian question before fighting corruption’

    ‘Address the Nigerian question before fighting corruption’

    The Prof Ben Nwabueze-led Igbo Leaders of Thought have said the Nigerian question must be tackled before embarking on the ‘all-important’ fight against corruption.

    It said while the war against corruption remained important, other vital issues like poverty, illiteracy and insecurity, which remains unanswered, should not be neglected.

    Prof Nwabueze, who spoke on behalf of the elders after the group’s meeting at Modotel Hotel in Enugu, noted that the war against corruption distracts from other national issues arising from the dysfunctional federal system.

    Nwabueze said: “Everybody is thinking that all we need is to fight corruption. It is important but it is not our primary problem. The primary question is that there are other issues more important than corruption. We have the question of illiteracy, poverty, insecurity.

    “Important as the war against corruption is, we believe that there are other issues that overshadow corruption. Another is the question of what we call the national question; this means the problem of evolving Nigeria into a nation. Nigeria is not a nation, it is a state. We all want to belong to that state but we deceive ourselves always by thinking and painting the picture that we are already a nation, we are not.”

    The constitutional lawyer said the major problem had to do with coalescing the over 389 ethnic nationalities into one nation, adding that almost every Nigerian would be happy to see the country unite as a nation.

  • Fed Govt cautions insurance brokers on corruption, money laundering

    Fed Govt cautions insurance brokers on corruption, money laundering

    The Federal Government has urged the new leadership of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) to ensure that their insurance broking function is not exploited as a vehicle for corruption and money laundering.

    Commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mohammed Kari represented by the Deputy Commissioner for Insurance, Finance and Administration, George Onekhena who spoke during the inauguration of Kayode Okunoren as the 18th President of the NCRIB, said insurance broking profession holds the potential of facilitating economic growth.

    He urged the new president to put in place necessary logistics that will ensure that brokers comply with all the laws of the land.

    He stated that as professionals, brokers should take equitable interest in discharging their duties in the interest of all the stakeholders.

    He enjoined brokers to recognise their role in insurance penetration especially as it includes the development of financial inclusion.

    “They should recognise their role as employers of labour and to improve their quota to the resolution of the economic problem that is affecting this nation today,” he said.

    He told the new president that his position is critical to enthroning the change mantra in the sector, noting that he has a role for the future in maintaining the code of ethics and compliance with relevant laws and regulation guiding the insurance industry.

    He assured brokers of cooperation as regulator in facilitating their growth and development.

    In his inaugural speech, Okunoren said his tenure will be  ‘A regime of consolidation and progress.’

    He stated that NCRIB will collaborate with the government on risk management.

    He said: “In view of the pivotal place and role of government in growing the industry and providing social benefits to the people, the NCRIB in the course of this regime will collaborate with government, particularly in availing it with its repertoire of knowledge in risk management, to support relief and operational efforts in the event of losses occasioned by fire and other hazards.

    “We intend that the collaboration would be a win-win situation whereby government would be able to latch on the expertise of brokers in taking proactive steps against disasters when they occur.

    “It is my strong belief that government could transfer the burden of compensation to victims of disasters if insurance is given its due place. This effort will free resources for other progressive ventures and aid the prudential fiscal thrust of government.”

    Speaking on professionalism, he said the first consideration for him would be the advancement of professionalism in the insurance broking profession.

    “As the professional arm of the industry, brokers cannot afford to fail. We shall view and promote professionalism in its holistic form. “While reckoning with the fact that paper qualification is the first step towards professionalism, more attention will be paid to issues such as ethical adherence, image, comportment, business relationship amongst operators and continuous education to buoy up the competencies of brokers.

    “In fact, we shall promote a blend of learning and interpersonal relationships. Whilst individual brokers will continually be attuned to their professional responsibilities, the regime will also concern itself significantly with how brokers are perceived by the clients or the public. It may be noted that the horizon of brokers today has been significantly affected by the image clients conjure about the practitioners.

    “Suffice to state that the wrong and degrading perception of brokers has been responsible for the wrong treatment usually meted to them in bidding for business, unlike other professionals. This must stop. In order to restore or promote the integrity of our practice, this regime will strengthen internal disciplinary process to ensure that members adhere strictly to ethics and integrity in all their professional undertakings,” he said.

    Okunoren said in view of the changing operational environment that has continued to affect the broking practice, his administration will be proactive in relating with relevant regulatory and government institutions whose activities impact on members.

    He added that relationship with NAICOM will be strengthened with initiation of regular interactive platforms to discuss issues affecting brokers, rather than being reactive in their approach.

  • Corruption: We are all involved!

    SIR: Mention the word, corruption and people generally think it is all about embezzlement, fraud and theft of funds by only those in the public service. There is a need for a change in mindset by realising that impunity and corrupt practices are not limited to government officials but all facets of our social life.

    No doubt, many Nigerian leaders have been accused and reprimanded over issues of fraud and illegal acquisition of wealth but how many ordinary citizens, how many working class individuals and small scale entrepreneurs have ever been sanctioned for fraud? How do we describe the impunity and corruption that take place when a parent arranges a ‘mercenary’ to write examinations for his/her child or ward? How do we describe a scenario where a taxi driver mistakenly gives N200 to a passenger as change instead of N100 while the passenger keeps quiet and never refunds the over-payment? Are these corrupt practices by government officials?

    Is it the leader or the follower that is guilty when we decide to beat the traffic light simply because nobody is watching? Or, how do we call someone who tells his/her child to lie to a visitor that he/she is not at home when he/she is actually relaxing in the living room?

    Why do we blame political office holders that engage in corrupt practices when as in-laws, friends, colleagues, religious leaders, traditional rulers, family (both nuclear and extended), neighbours and so on, saddle them with litany of demands?

    Do we blame politicians for a teacher that offers marks-for-sex? Or, the female student that seduces her lecturer with the intention to obtain free marks? Why do we still blame government officials for being corrupt when we too cheat other people in our own little way?

    What moral right does a man that sells fake and adulterated drugs to his fellow being have to say a politician is corrupt when he/she is equally guilty of dishonesty? What do we say about a fuel marketer that hoards fuel products, only to sell at the ‘black’ market? Or, a trader that buys litres of kerosene at official rate, keeps at home and stored to be resold to others at an exorbitant price. So, who is greedier? Is it the politician or the poor fellow that prefers to hoard and resell at exorbitant cost to others? Or, the worker that resumes at 9.45am but tries to manipulate his/her resumption time to 7.45am while signing the attendance register?

    We often criticize our Very Important Persons of oppressing the people whenever they use sirens on the road.  At times, we even curse them and say nasty things about them, for trying to beat the traffic; but do worse thing by following after them to beat the same traffic?

    One can go on with other examples; the point I’m trying to make here is that it’s not only those in public leadership positions that engage in corruption and impunity. As a way forward, there is the need to have a rethink before we blame others. Corruption is not only limited to the politicians, many people engage in the practice directly or indirectly. It is a social problem that should be curbed with the co-operation of all and sundry because the government and the anti-graft agencies cannot do it alone. Both the leaders and followers should stop trading blames, brace-up, be fully prepared to end impunity and corruption in our nation.

     

    • Adewale Kupoluyi

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

  • ‘Corruption has reduced Nigeria’s economic worth’

    The Executive Secretary of Apapa Local Government Area, Mrs. Bolaji Dada has urged the residents to support government anti-corruption war to build a vibrant economy.

    She said corruption has become an endemic disease, noting that it has reduced the worth of Nigerians as potential investors in global economy.

    She added that if the war against corruption is adequately prosecuted, the country will bounce back.

    Dada maintained Nigeria is an economic giant in Africa but has been reduced because of the mismanagement of the economy in the past.

    She said: “The price we have to pay towards enjoying the eagerly awaited dividends of democracy is to support the government in power which has vowed to return the economy on course.

    “Our President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode are doing their best for the country and Lagos State to ensure the economy is stabilised.  “They need to be supported in the efforts and our cooperation is vital to the success of their economic blueprints.”

    She stated that without the sacrifice from all stakeholders, the efforts would be constrained. “Not even in Freetown do we have everything free. Everything comes with a price.”