The Nation Newspaper

Tag: corruption

  • Corruption and unemployment

    SIR: When will Nigerians learn that the people governing this country do not care or love the citizens? In this time and age where recruitment can be done via the internet, an agency of government instead, decides to conduct a paper based test for thousands of suffering unemployed graduates. The sad menace of unemployment manifested during the Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment, resulting in many deaths and becoming a national embarrassment.

    The unfortunate deaths of many of our youths during the exercise demonstrated corruption at its best. The desperation of more than 693,000 youths to secure a job meant for 4,000 people represents the catastrophic nature of the country today.

    For crying out loud, Nigeria is said to be the sixth largest oil producer in the world but ironically, has more unemployed people than employed. This is sad. Recently, the suspended governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said NNPC had not accounted for $20 billion. This money could have been used to build factories in different states and create job opportunities for youths. The question is how can the nation move forward when our leaders are conniving to steal and loot our commonwealth?

    The time has come for Nigerians to join forces with anti-graft agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and others to flush out these termites that have eaten deep into the root of the nation. With what the EFCC has achieved since its establishment, if it is fully supported by the government and the people, corruption can be reduced to the barest minimum, which will be better for us all.

    It is time for the masses to stop celebrating these thieves who gives them peanuts when we can all enjoy much more. Nigeria needs a moral revolution because we are sick and tired of our future leaders dying every day due to the negligence of our leaders. We must all attack this monster which is designed to rob the youths of Nigeria a better future.

     

    • Ngozi Alexander

    Mararaba, Nasarawa State

  • Corruption, counter terrorism and restitution

    I want to show today that corruption and terrorism are two sides of the same coin, in that both tend to take by guile, greed or force what does not belong to the practitioners of either vice. Corruption takes the short corner to sidetrack the law and enrich the crook at the expense of the society. Terrorism sucks in innocent blood to get negative publicity or notoriety and achieve its bloody objective. Today however I want to show that both are the most dangerous and pervasive crimes and vices plaguing the civilised world as we know it today. For starters, I deliberately cast my net globally, to show that contrary to the normal chest beating of Nigerians that their nation is the most corrupt in the world just, as we once thought that Nigerians were the happiest people on earth because a US magazine said so, corruption in Nigeria may take a back seat given some of the issues on corruption we will analyse today. This does not mean that any nation can still outsmart Nigeria on vintage corruption per se. Our record here stays intact given last week end’s Nigerian Immigration Service – NIS- recruitment drive in which 1m unemployed youths paid 1000 naira per application form, for a vacancy of 3000 and 18 of them died in a stampede at the Abuja National Stadium during the recruitment exercise. I doubt if any nation in the whole wide world treats its youths, the future of any nation, with such callous indifference and brutal levity resulting in the premature deaths of young people, just because they want to earn a living and fend for themselves. I wonder if any restitution can ever atone for this monumental corruption of human capital sourcing and development, which has made a dark mark on Nigeria’s image amongst right thinking people in the world at large. Surely, the Minister of Interior and the NIS DG did not throw bombs but their recruitment strategy killed the flower of our youths just because they want to work under them. If that is not another form of terrorism then I need to be corrected. On stark terrorism however I still think Boko Haram remains the bloodiest and most callous terrorist group on earth given the killings of the 59 sleeping school boys in Birni Yadu. And, from all indications, their bloody stain on Nigeria’s sovereign reputation remains a crimson red on the white of Nigeria’s green and white flag in the comity of nations. It is in that light therefore that I will consider the Nigerian National Security Adviser’s new strategic approach on counter terrorism called Soft Approach to Counter Terrorism launched this week in Nigeria. The Nigerian soft approach to terrorism as articulated by the NSA says that Boko Haram was being funded by a wealthy minority bent on creating havoc between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria and the Soft Approach to terrorism will counter that and expose Boko Haram as indeed anti Islamist. Surely this is a pragmatic approach that has my total support as it means all hands will be on deck in the North and South to ensure that Boko Haram does not disintegrate Nigeria. This approach seems in tandem with what President Goodluck Jonathan told his hosts in Windhoek , Namibia this week on a visit to that nation with his wife. The Nigerian president admitted that he had treated Boko Haram with kid gloves and explained to his hosts that the Boko Haram menace has affected only three out of Nigeria’s many 36 states. While I admire the objective of the Soft Approach to terrorism as a counter terrorism strategy I pray that it will not be a continuation of the regretted kid gloves strategy that has made Boko Haram a household word for terror both in Nigeria and globally. The Soft Approach should compliment a robust and decisive military offensive that sends Boko Haram scampering like desert rats back into the arid Sahel from where it swept most unexpectedly into our Northern cities bringing blood, murder and tears. While still discussing terrorism, it will certainly astound the global business community to read what I am saying next. I am saying that Toyota of Tokyo, Japan and Boko Haram of Nigeria may be birds of the same feather. While Boko Haram is known for its bloody terrorism, no less a personality than Eric Holder the Attorney General of the US took Toyota to the cleaners for the mendacity of its corporate leaders in covering up mistakes on its floor mats and brakes of Toyota brands, which led to unintended acceleration and threatened the safety of millions of global Toyota car buyers and users. At the end Toyota admitted hiding safety defects on its cars between 2009 and 2010 and paid a whopping $1.2 bn to the US authorities to prevent further litigation and prosecution on the matter. Car makers making mechanical mistakes leading to recalls can be a dangerous night mare for car buyers not to talk of trying to cover up at the expense of the safety of millions of innocent car buyers. Buying the Toyota brand all over the world. Is this not case of corporate corruption tinged with some form of corporate terrorism.? I wonder if a recall is sufficient restitution in this regard as the buyer is denied usage of the car which has not lived up to the buyers’ expectation at the time of purchase, thereby casting a doubt on the integrity of the Toyota brand. Definitely the huge fine would be a deterrent but it should have been used to reinforce customer service and product quality at Toyota, and not lying idle at the US Ministry of Justice. Talking of idle funds reminds me of the story I read about a suit by the Bayelsa State government, asking the EFCC to return the money – 1.4 bn naira – seized from the former Governor of the state, Diprieye Alamieyesagha, to the coffers of the Bayelsa State. Now, to refresh our memory, this was the Governor that the incumbent President of Nigeria succeeded as Governor after the ex Governor was arrested and tried for money laundering and jailed abroad from where he escaped dressed like a woman to Nigeria. Now the money seized was for embezzlement and corruption and his state is asking for the return of the money as belonging to the state in, what looks like a genuine restitution. But the former Governor is said to be about the most influential politician in the state for now. So it is easy to see the destination of the Bayelsa returned money and restitution. And yet Nigeria is fighting corruption tooth and nail according to government spokesmen. Still on the fight against corruption, it is nice to know that as at the time the Centenary Celebration was going in Nigeria, some US attorneys released details of the stolen money stashed away in foreign accounts by former head of state ex General Sanni Abacha. I read then that the president said that the former military ruler was honoured with a Nigerian Centenary Award because the nation made the greatest economic growth during his tenure, hence the award. I find this very unacceptable for the simple fact that many books on money laundering and finance have always mentioned the kleptocracy and profligacy of the Abacha regime in a way that is shameful to the Nigerian nation. Such facts should be sufficient to keep Abacha’s name out of any Centenary’s Honor List. To now use economic growth as an index of performance and honor for him, is to white wash looting and embezzlement and give a bad name to Nigeria in the comity of nations in terms of measurement and recognition of transparency, integrity and public accountability. However as I mentioned before corruption is not Nigerian disease alone and I want to look at S /Africa and Guatemala in this regard. In S/Africa the anti corruption czar has accused the incumbent President Jacob Zuma of using about $23.4m of state funds unethically to renovate his rural residence where he added a ranch and other facilities recently. This revelation has come near election time in May and Zuma’s party, the ANC is still expected to win. This is not because S/Africans condone corruption as in Nigeria but for the simple reason that the ANC is the party of Nelson Mandela and is able to win 80% of the votes cast in any election in that nation anytime. But definitely President Zuma will sit up and I expect him to offer some restitution but since this is his final second term he will have to continue in office with his head bowed while still exercising power. But then I doff my hat to the brave S /African anti corruption chief for stating the facts so loud and clear, no matter whose ox is gored. In Guatemala however Alfonso Portillo a former head of state from 2000 to 2004 who stashed stolen money in the US was not so lucky as the US authorities not only exposed him but tried and jailed him for taking a $2.5m bribe while in office to recognise Taiwan. Now you have to wonder why and how a president in Latin America can take bribe over the recognition of a foreign nation in Asia and think that the world of diplomacy and the international community will not know. The man being a president could not have been broke. This obviously shows how greed can fan the acquisitive tendencies of powerful people such that it gets to a stage that they cannot resist the challenge of taking or stealing what is not theirs or stop doing what is illegal in the hope that detection will not be their lot. Surely for this former Guatemalan president the lesson to learn is that though the mills of justice may grind slowly, they grind exceedingly fine.

  • Governors’ extravagant lifestyles encourage corruption- Ribadu

    Governors’ extravagant lifestyles encourage corruption- Ribadu

    Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the former Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Friday advised governors and other political office holders to avoid extravagant lifestyles capable of encouraging corruption.

    Ribadu gave the advice at a retreat organised by Gov. Rotimi Amaechi – led Nigerian Governors’ Forum in Lagos.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the retreat, the third in the series, was attended by six governors and four deputy governors.

    Governors Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Adams Oshhiomole (Edo), Abdul-Azeez Yari (Zamfara), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto) and Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), attended the retreat while governors of Imo, Osun, Ogun and Imo were represented by their deputies.

    Ribadu said the tendency by the citizens to indulge in corrupt practices would be minimised if leaders lived moderate lives.

    “Show us how to behave and we will follow you, if we have less private jets,we see you live in moderation, we will follow and copy you, ” the former anti-graft boss said.

    He said that corruption was a major threat to development, saying Nigeria would be far better fighting it.

    Ribadu, who contested the presidential election under the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2011, called on state governments to put in place mechanisms to check corruption in their respective states.

    He said corruption was a deep-rooted malaise which could not be fought by centrally-controlled agencies alone.

    He said that the active involvement of the states in the fight against corruption would check leakages and promote development.

    “The states can do more and achieve more in the fight against corruption because they control a substantial amount of development resources.

    “If they leave the fight to centrally controlled agencies alone, we will not get the desired results.”

    Ribadu also urged state governments to put in place a sanction regime to punish offenders to serve as deterrence to others.

    Also speaking, Justice Mustapha Akanbi (rtd), the former Chairman, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), said there was the need to strengthen anti-corruption agencies to fight the menace.

    Akanbi said corrupt leaders were powerful and influential and urged heads of anti-corruption agencies to muster enough courage to bring them to justice.

    “The heads of these agencies must have the political will to fight corruption.

    “Without courage, you can’t fight the menace; these corrupt people are powerful and it takes courage to fight them.”

    In his remarks, Prof. Akin Oyebode, a don, said impunity was a major threat to the fight against corruption in the country.

    He urged relevant anti-graft agencies to enforce the various anti-corruption laws by ensuring appropriate sanctions for offenders.

  • Compendium of Nigerian Laws on corruption, economic, financial crimes

    Compendium of Nigerian Laws on corruption, economic, financial crimes

    This authoritative, attractively packaged and well-researched work titled: “Compendium of Nigerian Laws on Corruption, Economic & Financial Crimes” is authored by Mr. Chuma C. Chinye, who is eminently qualified by virtue of his antecedents, profile and pedigree to write on the subject matter.

    Currently serving as the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry in Rivers State and having previously served at the Federal level in such capacities as the Special Assistant to the Attorney-General of the Federation, legal adviser and member, Board of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Chinye is qualified to write on the subject matter.

    Chinye was also the legal adviser to the joint Tax Board; Senior Special Assistant to the National President of the Association of the Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and project adviser to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on “Fix Nigeria Project”. He has nearly 25 years post-call experience and a record of impressive association with leading law firms in Nigeria.

    Chinye in writing the book sought to achieve far-reaching objectives. First, the need to inform and sensitise the citizenry on the applicable laws on corruption, economic and financial crimes to forestall ignorance; Secondly, the need to assemble all laws on the subject together; Thirdly, the need to develop the jurisprudence on corruption, economic and financial crimes; Fourthly, the need to make available traceable case law within Nigeria and other jurisdictions on the subject matter; Fifthly, the need to deepen discourse on the subject matter in order to promote intense analysis and consciousness, which is the bedrock of intellectualism; lastly, the need to improve the study and practice of law on corruption, economic and financial crimes across disciplines particularly in our universities.

    Analysis of Text:

    The work is in two volumes (Volumes 1 and 2). Both volumes of the compendium contain a wide array of legislations that impact on the subject matter laced “with comments, case law and cross-references”.

    Volume 1 running into 646 pages and terminating with the profile of the author covers eleven (11) chapters each of which examine different legislations. Volume 1 also contains about two hundred and sixty one (261) reported cases.

    Volume 2 containing chapter 12 to chapter 27 (16 chapters) examines other statutory legislations on the subject matter coupled with a consideration of two hundred and sixty four (264) reported cases all decided at various courts in Nigeria and abroad and is proof that indeed the Nigerian judiciary has indeed been very active in fighting Corruption, Economic and Financial Crimes . The book is also very rich in statutes, relevant rules and valuable materials on the subject matter of great jurisprudential value – a factor that may have impacted greatly on its quality outcome. In addition, this work is loaded in terms of types and weight of authority. It is a unique resource material in that being a compendium of Nigerian laws on Corruption, Economic and Financial Crimes, it no doubt constitutes primary authority on the subject. Fully loaded with comments, case law and cross references, it also alludes to secondary authority, both of which are of mandatory and persuasive import to the researcher and other users of the book.

    Altogether, the book examined 27 different legislations – an indication that indeed the author and his editorial team may have covered the field extensively on the subject matter.

    The book is also arranged in chapters for clarity with each chapter devoted to a consideration of a major statutory provision that impacts on corruption, economic and financial crimes. Chapter 1 discusses the Advance Fee Fraud and other fraud related Offences Act 2006 with the referred chapter enriched by introductory comment, commentaries on each of the provisions enacted including copious use of cross references, case laws, general and concluding commentaries on the salient provisions.

    Chapter 1 discusses the Provisions of Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related offences act 2006. Bank Employees, etc. (Declaration of Assets) Act No 24 of 1986 which is the subject matter of chapter 2 examines detailed provisions “…for the declaration of assets by employees of banks operating in Nigeria and to empower the president to extend its application to other categories of persons”. Chapter 3 examines code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act 1989 dealing “…with complaints of corruption by public servants for the breaches of its provisions”. Chapter 4 discusses Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2003 the legislation designed “…to prohibit and prescribe punishment for corrupt practices; and other related offences and to establish Anti-Corruption Commission”. Chapter 5 covers Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1999 detailing provisions “for the prohibition of sale and distribution of counterfeit, adulterated, banned or fake, substandard or expired drug or unwholesome processed food; and of sale, of drugs or poisons in certain premises or places”. Chapter 6 examines Counterfeit Currency (Special Provision) Act No. 22 of 1984 providing “…for penalties of counterfeiting in currency and other ancillary matters”.

    Chapter 7 discusses Criminal Code Act. Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. Chapter 8 covers Currency Offences Act, No. 14 of 1920 which is designed “…to prohibit certain acts tending to depreciate currency” . Chapter 9 discusses the Dishonoured Cheque (Offences) Act, No 44 of 1977 making it “…an offence for any person anywhere in Nigeria to induce the delivery of any property or to purport to settle a lawful obligation by means of a cheque which when presented within a reasonable time is dishonoured on the grounds that no funds or insufficient funds were standing to the credit of the drawer of the cheque, and for matters connected therewith”.

    Chapter 10 covers Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004 enacted to curb the menace of Economic and Financial Crimes. Chapter 11 discusses Examination Malpractices Act, No. 33 of 1999 and creates “… offences relating to examination malpractices and to prescribe penalties for such offences” with a view to addressing the incidence of examination malpractices in the country. Chapter 12 discusses Failed Banks (Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Banks Act 1994 with a view to providing a mechanism “… for the recovery of debts owed to failed banks and for the Trial of Offences relating to Financial Malpractices in Banks and other Financial Institutions” .

    Chapter 13 discusses the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 to ensure “… prudent management of the Nation’s Resources, ensure Long-Term Macro-Economic stability of the National Economy, secure greater accountability and transparency in Fiscal operations within the Medium Term Fiscal Policy Framework, and the establishment of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission to ensure the promotion and enforcement of the Nation’s Economic objectives; and for related matters” Chapter 14 dealing with Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995 strives “…to establish an Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market and to provide for the monitoring and supervision of the transactions conducted in the market and for matters connected therewith”. Chapter 15 discusses Freedom of Information Act 2011 designed “ …to make public records and information more freely available, provide for public access to public records and information, protect public records and information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the protection of personal privacy, protect serving public officers from adverse consequences of disclosing certain kinds of official information without authorization and establish procedures for the achievement of those purposes and ; for related matters” .

    Chapter 16 discusses Miscellaneous Offences Act 1984 which created “… a number of miscellaneous offences with stiff penalties and for the trial of such offenders”. Chapter 17 examines Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 to check the menace of money laundering offences. Chapter 18 discusses National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control Act 1993 which establishes “… the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control with the functions, among others, to regulate and control the importation, exportation, manufacture, advertisement, distribution, sale and use of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, bottled water and chemicals”.

    Chapter 19 discusses the National Drug Law Enforcement Act 1989 which established “…the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency to enforce laws against the cultivation, processing, sale, trafficking and use of hard drugs and to empower the agency to investigate persons suspected to have dealings in drugs and other related matters”. Chapter 20 discusses Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Act 2007, a legislation providing “…for the establishment of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) charged with the responsibility, among other things, for the development of a framework for transparency and accountability in the reporting and disclosure by all extractive industry companies of revenue due to or paid to the Federal Government”. Chapter 21 covers the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation Act 1988 which established “…the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation for the purpose of insuring all deposit liabilities of licensed banks and other financial institutions”. Chapter 22 deals with the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act 1960 designed “…to supplement the Penal Code of the Northern States in respect of matters within the exclusive legislative competence of the National Assembly, and for purposes ancillary thereto”. Chapter 23 discusses Public Accounts Committee Act 1987 “…to establish the Public Accounts Committee to examine the audited accounts of all offices and courts of the Federation and the Auditor-General’s report thereon and other detailed matters”. Chapter 24 discusses the Public Complaints Commission Act 1975 which established “…the Public Complaints Commission with wide powers to inquire into complaints by members of the public concerning the administrative action of any public authority and companies or their officials, and other matters ancillary thereto”.. Chapter 25 relates to Public Procurement Act 2007 enacted “…to establish the National Council on Public Procurement and the Bureau of Public Procurement as the regulatory authorities responsible for the monitoring and oversight of Public Procurement, harmonizing the existing government policies and practices by regulating, setting standards and developing the legal framework and professional capacity for public procurement in Nigeria, and for related matters”.

    Chapter 26 discusses the Recovery of Public Property (Special Provisions) Act 1984 which makes “…provisions for the Investigation of the Assets of any Public Officer who is alleged to have been engaged in corrupt practices, unjust enrichment of himself or any other person who has abused his office or has in any way breached the Code of Conduct for Public Officers contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

    The final chapter, Chapter 27 deals with Trade Malpractices (Miscellaneous Offences) Act 1992 creating “…certain offences relating to trade malpractices”. The book terminates with the rich brief profile of the author who is currently engaged in public service.

    These chapters examine holistically, the legislations in detail, their jurisdiction, and the penalty provisions including mechanism for enforcement. Each of the chapters is also laced with case law, cross-references and authoritative commentary on the statutory provisions considered drawing comparative analysis and case law materials from within and outside jurisdictions to enrich the subject matter.

    The comments of the author at the end of each of the chapters are useful commentary on the law providing a refreshing perspective on the analysis of the legislation being considered. These commentaries constitute secondary authority to the legal mind that are quite useful in legal research because the analysis can help the reader or researcher understand complex legal issues and also refer the researcher to primary authority of comparative jurisprudential value. Consequently the book is unique in that it takes the reader on an excursion of detailed examination of the legislations considered through the cases giving the reader a twin advantage of appreciating the salient statutory provisions contained in each of the legislations as well as judicial interpretations of those provisions through the cases. Thus, the practitioner, the adjudicator, the researcher, the student and the reader will find it handy and authoritative indeed.

    Strengths and Uniqueness of the Book:

    A compelling attraction of the book is the weight of commentaries either as introductory comment, at the end of each section of the statutory provisions examined, by way of cross-references or through the mechanism of general comment and finally by way of concluding comment at the end of the statutory provisions being considered.

    “The number “419” was derived from the Criminal Code Act which provides for the offence of “obtaining goods by false pretence” under section 419. Other sections dealing with fraud and involving false pretence under the criminal code include: sections 19A, 19B and 20. False pretence is defined under section 418 of the Criminal Code Act.”(See page 5, chapter 1).

    The author also makes effective use of cross reference in explaining the meaning of false pretence in section 20 of the Advance fee fraud and other related offences Act when he writes:

    “For the definition of “False Pretence” see section 20 of the Act; also see section 418 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C38 LFN, 2004.”

    The further strengths of the book lie in the fact that the source materials are current and the force of the commentaries are quite authoritative. Reference to case law materials and effective use of cross references including comparative analysis of the jurisprudence of the subject matter of corruption, economic and financial crimes make the book a compelling research material for all stakeholders in the administration of justice.

    Indeed this book is a must read for all those who are interested in the subject matter of corruption, economic and financial crimes including how these offences impact on the developmental process. It is also useful for those interested in determining the ingredients of the offences that constitute corruption, economic and financial crimes and how those ingredients may be established for successful prosecutions of culprits. Prosecutors of these offences bordering on corruption, economic and financial crimes and defence lawyers would also find the book very useful. The wide diversity and dimension covered by corruption, economic and financial crimes are also fully illustrated with statutory and case law authorities for the guidance of all stakeholders in the administration of justice. The simplicity of style and language deployed by the author in writing the book also offers the general reader the opportunity of following the submissions and arguments raised in the book without difficulties.

     

    Concluding Remarks:

    Obviously impressed by the brilliance, experience, exposure and contribution of the author to legal knowledge including the strength of this work, the author narrated the seeming disappointment of the distinguished Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, who wrote the Foreword to the book, at the digression of the author from legal practice owing to public service– a factor which the distinguished senator attributed to the non-recognition presently of the author as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). Given the strength of this powerful work, I am in complete agreement with the sentiments on the author expressed by the distinguished senator who is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

    Notwithstanding, the author need not worry any further at the prospect of attaining this exalted rank very soon, for he has written a very useful book impactful on legal scholarship, development and law practice generally.

    This masterpiece is authoritative. The author has distinguished himself by writing this book which will no doubt make substantial contributions to the practice of law and legal commentaries that will no doubt become a major source of reference by legal practitioners, judges, law teachers and law students.

    The conclusion that can be reached without any fear of contradiction is that the author has greatly succeeded in writing a very useful book that would impact positively on the subject matter of corruption, economic and financial crimes.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Consequently, I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending this book to all stakeholders in the administration of justice.

    I therefore strongly recommend the book to all particularly all those interested in interrogating the subject of corruption, economic and financial crimes.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Limitations of the Book:

     

    The book is no doubt an assemblage of most of the relevant laws on the subject matter of corruption, economic and financial crimes. One surprising element, however, of this authoritative research material is that the author inspite of his busy schedule as a serving public officer has written a very useful book which may have sent a very powerful message to serving public officials not to use the excuse of public service to shy away from the intellectual empowerment of the society.

    Notwithstanding, since this is a review and no work is perfect without flaws, one may allude to few limitations of this highly resourceful material.

    The book itself is a print research tool and thus has the disadvantage of providing the easiest and most efficient means of accessing the information needed. The limitation however, which is common to print sources, is making sure the information is current. Most print sources of legal materials constitute books made with hard cover which makes it difficult to update them when the law changes. Since law is dynamic and thus susceptible to change, this new book may be out of date shortly, given the fact that our parliament is busy daily tinkering with these laws as new realities emerge. The author is therefore advised to bear in mind that he would regularly keep the book updated with soft cover pamphlets containing new information that will enable this compendium remain a relevant primary and secondary source research material.

    The author should also ensure that this book is available in electronic format and also on the internet, given the advance in technology.

    It is also important to note that this work focuses mainly on Federal Statutes. There is a growing literature/jurisprudence of legislative materials in the states impacting greatly on corruption, economic and financial crimes which the author ought to consider in subsequent editions of the book. This is based on the need to promote our state legislations in order to encourage practitioners to practice across the states of the federation.

    The author may also not have covered the entire field regarding relevant Federal Legislations on Corruption, Economic and Financial Crimes. Two of these readily come to mind. The first is the Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account etc.) Act 1982 prescribing “…the basis for distribution of revenue accruing to the Federation Account between the Federal and State Governments and the Local Government Councils in the States; the formula for distribution amongst the States inter se; the proportion of the total revenue of each State to be contributed to the State Joint Local Government Account; and for other purposes connected therewith”

    The second legislation not considered is The Finance (Control and Management) Act 1958 with detailed provisions “…for the control and management of the public finances of the Federation and for matters connected therewith”.

    Notwithstanding these limitations, the book can be a very useful source for researching federal statutes in Nigeria that deal with Corruption, Economic and Financial Crimes.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Fraud, corruption cause of health challenges’

    ALOT of food-related health challenges have been attributed to food fraud and corruption, a scientist, Prof Tola Atinmo has said.

    Atinmo, immediate Chairman, Federation of African Nutrition Societies (FANUS), said many firms were undermining public health policies. He claimed suppliers were also responsible for the problem.

    One way to solve the mislabeling problem, he said, was to use traceability to ensure labeling consistency. He stressed the need for food producers to invest in ensuring traceability of their products back through the supply chain.

    To this end, he said states should adopt laws to ensure consumers are not kept in the dark about where their food comes from. He said government should insist on product recalls and encourage food producers to invest in ensuring the traceability of their products back through the supply chain.

    Atinmo called on industry regulators to create a code of conduct for operators to uphold, including mislabeling or short-weighting product.

    He said integrity and fighting fraud in the system is about being able to make sensible risk-management decisions.

  • The mode of surplus extraction changed and corruption became the glue that holds things together: notes for young compatriots (2)

    The mode of surplus extraction changed and corruption became the glue that holds things together: notes for young compatriots (2)

    It the end of last week’s first essay in this series, I made the claim that when crude oil replaced export or cash crop production (together with industrial production of light consumer goods) as the medium of surplus accumulation by our political and economic elites, corruption became not only gargantuan and rampant but in fact became the means of massive distortion of income and wealth redistribution throughout all layers of the society in every part of the country. To this claim it is necessary to add a caveat, a qualification. It is not crude oil production itself that caused this epochal shift in how the social surplus is appropriated in our country, in how people became rich or poor. Crude oil production for export in and of itself has nothing inherently corrupting in it. Unlike Nigeria, many oil-producing countries of the world did not automatically and massively become corrupted by oil wealth. Examples are Norway, Venezuela and even some of the Middle East oil producing countries like the United Arab Emirates. As a matter of fact, historically speaking, in some countries of the world, oil wealth has greatly reduced the gap between the rich and the poor, between the powerful elites and the teeming majority of the given country’s urban and rural poor. Corruption has not vanished in such countries; indeed, it has not vanished in any country in the world and will probably never disappear from the face of the planet. But corruption has not in Venezuela or Norway or the UAE Gulf States become the glue that holds the society together in lieu of fair and just redistribution of wealth when oil wealth came to those countries. Why and how did this come to pass in Nigeria? That is the fundamental question.

    In responding to that question as the primary topic of this continuation of the series that began last week, I must again stress that my reflections in the series are primarily addressed to the younger generations of Nigerians, especially those born after 1980. Any Nigerian who had come of age by that date knew a vastly different country. Corruption did exist, and sometimes in quite spectacular forms and expressions. But it did not remotely have the chance, the now seemingly inevitable reality of being the means of the redistribution of wealth and hence the glue that keeps everything together in economy and society in the oil-rich but poverty stricken country the country we now know and perforce have to transform.

    The root cause of the epochal shift of corruption in the political economy of Nigeria can be simply put: with oil wealth, surplus accumulation by our elites that was not based directly on the exploitation of farmers and workers became possible. Yakubu Gowon’s infamous statement in the period is particularly relevant here: money is no longer our problem, he said; our problem is how to spend it. Concerning that infamous statement, I have often thought that Gowon would have been right if he had only added the word, “wisely”. That is to say if he would have said something that posterity would never forget if he had said our problem is how to spend our new-found oil wealth wisely. But he did not say that and the reason he did not was because he was bragging petulantly about Nigeria’s emergence as one of the most important oil producing countries in the world; he was saying that with our new-found oil wealth, the powerful nations and forces in the world and in particular the West, could no longer condescend or dictate to us. Alas, that portentous statement of Gowon reveals a lot of what he personally and virtually all of our political and economic elites do not know about the production and maintenance of true wealth, as distinct from illusory wealth in all the nations and among the peoples of our planet. This is the fact that, all expressions and forms of waste, squandermania and conspicuous consumption duly acknowledged, true wealth in our world is always tied to the production of real, life-enhancing and humanizing value. Let me explain.

    To create true wealth, you must work, you must create value. It helps in particular if your work either enhances existing value-creating work or indeed creates new ways of making work better and more productive. And it so happens that currently in our world, we are living in an epoch in which unprecedented innovations in technologies of knowledge production and the micro-processing of tools, appliances and operations of production in all areas of the circulation and exchange of goods and services between the planet’s regions and nations are the primary engines of wealth production. In the great universities, research institutions and frontline innovative “research and development” corporations of the world, new techniques of producing knowledge and making work more prodigious are being discovered and introduced into the marketplaces of the planet. The results, the ramifications are not always unambiguously positive and people all over the world still have to fight for equality of opportunities, justice and dignity. But it does help a lot if one’s nation and region of the world is abreast of these developments, these innovations in how real and sustainable wealth is produced. It is almost banal to say that our country, Nigeria, lags far behind in these developments. The cause, unambiguously, lies in the fact that oil wealth in Nigeria brought with it a massive devaluation of work as the creator of true wealth and value, especially when corruption became the means of an atrociously unfair and unproductive redistribution of wealth.

    I now come to the specific issue of corruption as the means of wealth redistribution in oil-rich Nigeria. In this regard, I find the statement made by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo as the Federal Commissioner of Finance at the end of the Nigerian-Biafran civil war portentous. What was the statement? Awolowo said, with his characteristic dry sarcasm, that as far as he was concerned as the Finance Commissioner, no soldier died in the civil war because from start to finish, every kobo of every soldier’s salary was paid. The statement goes to the heart of the fact that in oil rich Nigeria, you not only don’t have to work to earn legitimate money, sometimes you don’ t even have to be alive! Beyond this, you don’t have to work; you don’t have to create value to become immensely rich and well-off. I think most adult, thinking Nigerians know this fundamental reality of their oil-rich but poverty stricken country. Everyone knows that it is not what you know, it is not what you can truly contribute that matters; rather, it is a question of who you know, what connections you can make with the rich and the powerful in whose hands lies the control of the oil wealth. And everyone knows that everybody wants to join the winners, those who are making it even in the midst and the thickness of widening circles of poverty. There is even an evangelical, Pentecostal denomination known, precisely, as “Winners”. But if this is all a well-known and widely discussed reality of wealth and poverty in our country in the last three and half decades, what is not fully appreciated is the fact that when things have gone this far in a country, it signifies that corruption has become the means of wealth redistribution and therefore the glue that holds everything together, a glue that we must dissolve completely the sooner the better.

    One of the reasons why corruption in oil-rich Nigeria is not generally and widely recognized for the atrocious means of wealth redistribution that it is can be traced to the fact that it is often confused with or explained away by link with genuine aspirations for growth and development throughout Nigeria, especially in the vast hinterlands of the land. Let me give two particularly crucial examples: state creation and the often resultant or accompanying creation of state universities.

    At the onset of oil wealth in Nigeria, there were four regions and about twelve universities in the country. As the oil wealth began to flow abundantly placing us in the position of the sixth or seventh largest oil-producing country in the world, we very rapidly moved from the four regions to twelve states, then nineteen states and then finally the current thirty-six states. Concurrently, the twelve federal and regional universities grew at an astronomical rate to dozens of universities as each new state created one, two or three more universities in each state, all within the space of slightly more than two decades. In the modern world, no other country in the world has seen the same rate, number and rapidity in the creation of states and state universities. The ostensible justification was the legitimate aspirations of our peoples everywhere in the country for bringing political administration and education closer to our localities and communities across the length and breadth of the country. But the actual results do not in the least indicate that those legitimate aspirations have come anywhere close to fulfillment. Indeed, in precisely the same period, poverty, economic marginalization and political alienation of the masses of our peoples have increased tenfold in nearly all parts of the country. Meanwhile, what has really happened is that the national cake has been further shared, further redistributed among the elites throughout the country. Every single state administrative bureaucracy in the country has grown beyond rhyme and reason and redundancies and sinecures abound aplenty. Indeed, in most states, recurrent expenditure which consists primarily of the payment of salaries and emoluments, run as much as three times the size of capital expenditure for real growth and development. And in the universities, a vast professoriate has been rapidly created with the result that quantity now far outweighs quality, as every single professor reading this article knows deep down in his or her consciousness and conscience.

    The profile that I have given of state and state universities creation as means of corrupt wealth redistribution is a profoundly saddening thing for me to state. But it needs to be said, especially as this profile constitutes the tip of a vast iceberg. In next week’s concluding essay in the series, I shall indicate other instances, other ramifications of what I have shown with the profile of state and universities creation. And I shall also give an indication of what we might do or should begin to do about the problem, the crises.

    Biodun Jeyifo

    bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

  • ‘Agbaso was not impeached because of corruption’

    ‘Agbaso was not impeached because of corruption’

    All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) chieftain Chief Martin Agbaso is the elder brother of the impeached deputy governor of Imo State, Sir Jude Agbaso. He spoke with reporters in Lagos on the Okorocha Administration, the allegations of bribery against the former deputy governor, the investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other issues. EMMANUEL OLADESU was there. 

    What is the latest on the investigation of the bribery allegation against former Imo State Deputy Governor Jude Agbaso by the EFCC?

    In the third week of March, last year, my brother, Mr. Jude Ikechukwu Agbaso, the former deputy governor of Imo State, was accused of receiving N458 million bribe from a Lebanese contractor.

    Then, I, in very clear terms, said that my brother had nothing to do with the bribery. It was Rochas Okorocha who approved the contract, awarded it, paid the said contractor N1.3 billion of Imo State money without due process, without even an award letter or any form of advance payment guarantee. So, the curious thing at the point was, why would a man who did all this, who got all the benefits that were unprecedented from the governor, go to the deputy governor who was away in India on official assignment, and give him a bribe of almost 40 per cent of the money collected? That didn’t make sense to me. And, I said that, we, as a family, would do every thing humanly possible to get to the crux of the matter; we would do everything to find out who took this money, where the money is domiciled and who the beneficiaries were.

    Then, the news broke. The EFCC, after putting us through grueling, painful, eight months of investigation, finally cleared my brother or any Agbaso for that matter, of any wrong doing, of any involvement whatsoever in the alleged bribe scandal. Again, this man went to the Imo State House of Assembly and said to them: “I am a Lebanese contractor. I have taken N458 million of Imo State money and given to the deputy Governor.” They kissed this man and told him to walk away and began hunting a deputy governor who knew nothing.

    Okorocha said that, as long as Jude Agbaso remained the deputy governor, his life was at risk; that Agbaso could kill him. This is someone whose deputy governor was impeached, someone who got into office on the same ticket as you, was impeached in the most brazen manner, malicious and mischevious manner, in a show of shame that this country has never seen before.

    Are you saying that the impeachment did not follow the due process?

    Before the impeachment panel could even sit to look at the papers, a report had been sent to the House of Assembly. Before the House of Assembly could finish the process, a deputy governor nominee had been selected. Before the man could say Jack Robinson, a new deputy governor was sworn in and yet, the governor said he didn’t know anything about it.

    Was there an agreement on one term between you and the governor?

    There has been a catalogue of anomalies committed by the administration of Rochas Okorocha. You are just determined to destroy my name in the eyes of the Imo people and Nigerians. You had an agreement with me that you were going to be governor for four years and we both signed this agreement, which was witnessed by the National Chairman of the APGA. And you made this pronouncement in churches, in halls, in stadia; everywhere you said to people that you had an agreement with Martin Agbaso that you would be governor for one term, and after that, the governorship would go to Owerri Zone, which rightfully should produce the next governor.

    Instead of doing that, you are looking for a way to tarnish my image. But, it’s not going to work because there is a God out there, who rules in the affairs of men and women. You can’t continue to mislead the people, and lie your way through life as if it’s business as usual.

    Could you shed more light on the so-called EFCC’s clearance of Jude Agbaso

    For the first time in this country, somebody was accused of something and the person wrote to the EFCC, the ICPC to come and investigate him. He said: “If you find me guilty, jail me. But, if you find me innocent, say it so I can clear myself. Now, the job of the EFCC is to investigate the matter. When they are through with investigation, if they find you wanting on any of the allegations, then, they take you to the the court for prosecution. The `EFCC has concluded this investigation and found nothing. The money, which was said to have been given to you as bribe, was lodged in two accounts; one in Dubai and one in Lebanon. We know where these monies are. The EFCC has confirmed that Jude Agbaso did not commit the crime. Joseph Dina himself has said in a written statement that he did not give him bribe. If Jude Agbaso committed any crime, the EFCC would be prosecuting him in court.

    What is your next step now on the matter?

    First of all, I owe the people of Imo State a big apology. I was misled by Governor Rochas Okorocha. I did not know his antecedents before I went into an agreement with him. By everything he has done in Imo State, he has shown that he is a person who does not honour agreement.

    What I saw was a philanthropist, who trains other people’s children. And I believed that, if he could do that, when he gets into a position of authority, our people would be better off. Everything I did was to propel Imo State forward. Because I was already in court for three and half years, fighting a legal battle over elections I won in 2007, I was not prepared to go into an election in 2011. This guy came and, with his normal talk-talk, I thought we had a good candidate. Please, Ndi-Imo, I am sorry for bringing this man. He brought himself and I helped him. I thought it was the best thing to do at the time. But that is the limit of a human being. I could not see tomorrow.

    Now, he is saying that Jude Agbaso was incompetent. How can you say that a man is incompetent when his boss, the governor, was the one who brought the contractor, paid him, awarded the contract without any advance payment guarantee or letter of award.

    This payment did not go through the ministry at all. By the time the commissioner who was the deputy governor knew what was happening, the money had been paid. In fact, the first N200 million that was given to that man was paid in cash. So, how do you say that such a man is incompetent?

    Is it true that the governor paid you for the APGA ticket in 2011?

    I expected an apology from Rochas Okorocha. Yet, instead of apologising to someone who invested heavily in his campaign, and to the young man who has worked with you, you try to destroy him. Instead of apologising, you’re even undermining the letter which exonerated him. The most shameful thing that has come out of Rochas Okorocha’s mouth is that he paid Martin Agbaso for the APGA ticket. I gave Rochas Okorocha my word that I would help him become the governor. I funded his campaign. I brought people to give money. I don’t want to mention their names so I do not embarrass them. How can someone who he is now owing money for funding the campaign be the same person he gave money for ticket?

    Everybody saw me canvassing for votes in every village. My house was the command headquarters for the elections; everything was done in my house. What thank you do I get? You try to destroy my family name. And you see him singing church choruses and quoting the bible. When it’s convenient, he quotes the Qu’ran. Who is he to keep trying to mislead Nigerians and assume that we are foolish?

     

  • Receivers of stolen crude, embezzled funds guilty of corruption, says Okonjo-Iweala

    Receivers of stolen crude, embezzled funds guilty of corruption, says Okonjo-Iweala

    As the 2015 elections draws near and politicians strategise to win public offices, Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has disclosed that businessmen support politicians in return for contracts and resources.

    She identified financing election campaigns as one of the root causes of corruption in Nigeria and Africa.

    Mrs Okonjo-Iweala made this observation at a TEDx Euston event in London.

    TEDx Euston is part of TED, a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan “ideas worth spreading”.

    TED was founded in 1984. There are many TED events around the world and traditionally distinguished and high achieving speakers are invited to speak on something they are passionate about that is important and impactful. Previous speakers have included Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore, Gordon Brown, Richard Dawkins, Bill Gates, Bono, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and many Nobel Prize winners.

    According to her, “one of the root causes of corruption in the continent is the way we finance or do not finance elections properly. We have adopted systems that demand that politicians’ campaign. Campaigns cost money. But where does that money come from?”

    She noted that “if we don’t find a legitimate means of supporting campaigns, then all sorts of ways are found to do this. It could be, by engaging business people who support an individual, a system or a party and then later on, they have to be rewarded through contracts or other means that may actually not help but undermine the economy and development.”

    It is also corruption for a business man to support a politician in return for inordinate access to contracts or resources.

    However, she said Nigeria and Africa in particular has not “found an answer to this problem. It means we haven’t begun to have the kind of conversation we should have. If we don’t solve this problem, people will continue to find unorthodox means of financing their elections, of financing the implantation of democracy. And this very means may be the root of some of the corruption we do not want, which may totally affect the way we do business.”

    In the case of Nigeria specifically, she said “Yes, we have problems”. Corruption undermines development in Nigeria and the continent at large. It deprives us of resources with which we can fight poverty and create wealth for people.”

    According to Okonjo-Iweala, “when a public servant diverts resources from the state budget or national budget and siphons them abroad, removes them from doing the work and any good for the people. This is corruption on the part of the person embezzling public fund at home and also those receiving it abroad.”

    “When people steal our mineral wealth, be it crude oil or other natural resources in any of our countries on the continent and they divert and send it abroad; that is corruption on the part of those stealing and receiving” she said.

    All of these she said undermines development and the very fabric of our society, and if we want to deal with some of the root causes of corruption, “we have to think of how we can finance that very good that we want. I want us to start a conversation about it.”

    To start a conversation, she pointed at a possible source of election campaign financing by suggesting that “a certain percentage of each of our countries’ revenue to be dedicated to this purpose and that people need not run around to look for means and stress themselves to finance political parties or election campaigns, but that it is a legitimate public good that we have said we want in each country we want democracy. Therefore we must find a legitimate way to support this.”

    She noted that “if we can use technology to solve our problems; if we can think and put together knowledge that puts us ahead, why can’t Africa be a leader in thinking and innovating legitimate ways on how to finance election? We have to take responsibility.”

  • Igini: We need death penalty for corruption

    Igini: We need death penalty for corruption

    In this interview, Cross River State Resident Electoral Commissioner Mike Igini, who reflects on the centenary celebrations, laments that successive governments have abandoned the governance framework bequeathed by the founding fathers. He also contends that the country needs a virile federal constitution to resolve its crises of nation-building and development. EMMANUEL OLADESU met him.

    What is your position on the centenary celebrations?

    It is an apt opportunity to ask ourselves why we abandoned the governance framework bequeathed by Sir Alhmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr. Nnamidi Azikiwe after series of conferences where they finally agreed to promote rapid development and settled for the federal system of government. Why is it that we have refused to reconcile ourselves and build a country of equal opportunity for all? Our reality is that, after these many years, we have not arrived at a consensual agreement of who we are, what we want to be and where we want to go. We are still grappling with the intricacies of nationhood. We are yet to be at peace with one another after 100 years. In other words, we have not realistically formulated a common acceptable shared vision that would generate common determination to achieve common goals. Every group in virtually all parts of the country is making demands on the nation and the reality of Nigeria in the 21st century is quite different. The idea of a national discourse or dialogue has not been fully embraced. We should confront our realities, accept our mistakes, correct them and move forward boldly. We can only do that by formulating an acceptable constitution.

    Can we confront the leadership challenge in Nigeria?

    In conceptualising leadership, we must first be mindful that leadership is about being effective in meeting collective goals of society. The goals that a leader wants to meet are the key to effectiveness. Now, in the leadership of nations, the goals that must be met are numerous and complex. So, no person has the capacity to meet all these goals without many informed inputs. It is the rule of the inner cycle in leadership and getting the inner cycle right that some people refer to as the core group around any leader. The history of very successful leaders is the history of competent members of the inner cycle around the leader and not having a coterie of people, who are more interested in money making and spending more time in acquiring property, instead of critical thinking on key issues of public administration.

    One of the most successful United States President of our time, Bill Clinton, had in his inner cycle exceptionally competent six Jewish Americans during his two terms as the governor of Arkansas and during his eight year s in the Presidency that recorded the highest economic records. The task of leadership is very serious. It requires knowledge and competence and inputs of different people with varied competency and proficiency. The effectiveness of leadership therefore, is reflected in the quality of advice and information, which such leadership gets and utilises from his inner cycle or think-tank. When such an nformation is provided, the leader must make optimising decisions by scanning these inputs, and considering them and their alternatives.

    The national conference is about to hold. What are your expectation?

    I agree that centrist policies are not good for our progress. This is why I advocate that, among other things, the civil society advocacy must focus on two key deliverable. These are increasing bottom-up participation for development through increased subsidiarity and improving the control mechanisms for making the leadership at all levels of the three arms of governance more accountable and less susceptible to impunity. This is necessary, since all federal states are so created because of an acceptance of the diversity of the components of such states and an embrace of the strengths, which such diversity offers to the whole. I believe we have retreated from that fact because we have acquired a mind-set of wealth sharing rather than wealth creation. There should be further devolution of responsibilities from the centre that is overcrowded with obligations on matters that should be handled better at local levels. The colonial government had a strategic interest in centrism and only fostered federalism to give a satisfying semblance of diversity to the subjects. But, having become independent, rather than invest in each region to become more self-sufficient and self-sustaining, the post independent elite, particularly from the Second Republic, have concentrated on amassing personal, rather than collective wealth and power. That mind-set must change because Nigerians will only embrace our diversity when they realise that we need every part of the country because of what each part offers, and that we are stronger when the sum of our collective contributions is greater than the contributions of the individual parts. To reach that point, we must aim towards a balanced development that creates wealth from all parts to enrich the collective faith, through self-sufficiency of each section and not the excessive strengthening of the center, which leads to an excessive struggle for central power which elites see as a grand prize.

    Some of the problems in the polity often begin within the parties.Why is it difficult for INEC to promote and deepen internal democracy in our political parties?

    From my experience, it appears that politicians prefer chaos to order. Perhaps, they feel that order will not be in their favour. Otherwise, how can we explain the sudden removal of Section 87(9) that gave the INEC some quasi -dministrative powers to ensure internal democracy and, instead, they introduced a proviso to Section 31 of the Electoral Act, to the effect that, whatever list submitted to INEC as candidates cannot be rejected for any reason “whatsoever’’ whether there was a primary election or not. What then, do you want the INEC to do, given the existence of such a law? The only beneficiary of chaos is chaos, because one chaos will beget another. But, if all accept order, then, in the end, the system will benefit and a stable system is beneficial to all because everyone will be subject to the same rules of engagement. The impunity with which political parties retreat from the requisites of internal democracy is bad for the party membership, because the only thing that sustains growth in party followership is when party members know that they have a reasonable chance of predicting how the rules work in their parties and that these rules will sustain. They should be able to tell how such rules can be modified when it does not serve the required purpose for which it was made and needs to be changed, because when a rule is inadequate it will require amendment, but the process of doing so must not only be fair but seen to be fair by all stakeholders, so there should always be give and take, trade-offs for the collective good but it should be balanced and not opaque.

    How can corruption be tackled efdfectively in the country?

    Any society that accepts corruption as an article of faith will never attain its full potentials. As I have just related in regard to electoral offences, a significant stumbling block to the anti-corruption battle of all kinds in Nigeria is the sense of impunity built by years of a lack of effective judicial consequences. No doubt, there have been many convictions for crimes in Nigeria. But, regarding fraud, especially the type of fraud which threatens our economic growth and development in many dimensions. The judiciary should lead the way on that count. That is why we have separation of powers with the judicial arm and that is why democracy is always qualified with the mantra “and the rule of law” , for as St Augustine insisted, a country is nothing but a gang of rogues without the rule of law. The rule of law should start from amongst the elite. First, there should be some unacceptable conduct among the ruling elite for which sever sanctions, including excommunication from leadership roles should be agreed among them as a convention. Then, in the larger society, this conviction will be used to promote and enforce the extant laws. Where the fight against pernicious corruption is not a shared elite value, a society will come to ruinous end. When the elite share such a conviction, it is regarded as enlightened self-interest.

    What type of serious consequence ?

    The way we are going now, with our value pyramid upside down; a society where money is everything, no sense of shame and nobody is afraid of anything, except death, we may have to go for death penalty. Going to prison do not seem to scare this tribe of treasury looters because there is sufficient money to live well in prison and after serving. Those who do the wrong things that endanger our collective wellbeing are the very ones that would tell to you to go to court and boast of their influence and how they will stall the trial through frivolous legal applications upon applications up to the Supreme Court . Even in our churches now, pastors would announce during thanksgiving that members should take their personal effects when dancing to the altar because of the fear of stealing even in the house of God. This is how terrible our society has declined. In addressing this problem, we should adopt these three approaches in addition to others. Firstly and curatively, we should ensure that proven cases of corruption are met with maximum judicial consequences. Secondly, preventativel measures by ensuring that regulative and normative control measures in both private and public sectors are in place and effectual and are reviewed from time to time.

  • When corruption corners leadership and security

    It is always a thing of joy when an economy is growing and performing as planned and the dividends of democracy, hard work and diligence are consumed as and when due in any nation in any part of the world. Hard work and growth galvanise wealth and its enjoyment, usage and distribution. However, it is in the management of wealth and who has it, when, and how, that the problem of corruption arises to throw spanner in the works for even the best planned economy, again, in any part of the world. Today we look at the way and manner corruption has bedevilled the political, and economic management of some nations in recent times and, how it has in turn, taxed the leadership styles of such leaders in such a way as to threaten the political stability and security of their nations. These nations are Turkey, Brazil and Nigeria which are rich or well off in terms of economic bounties, endowment and natural resources and Central African Republic – CAR- a poor nation whose mismanagement by its leaders has turned it into a failed state, whose leader on Thursday was asked in a meeting in another nation, namely Chad, to resign for sanity to return to the CAR. In the last few days and weeks, the leaders of these nations have been in the news with the cross of corruption dangling around their necks like a modern, proverbial sword of Damocles. In Turkey a rattled but powerful PM Reccep Tayyip Erdogan sacked 350 police bosses in many Turkish cities for the way and manner they have brought corruption charges against and arrested sons of his ministers leading to the resignation of three of such minsters – with one of them saying on his way out of office, that the PM too should resign. In Brazil, President Dilmar Rousseff had to assure FIFA President Sepp Blatter that Brazil’s stadia will be ready for the World Cup this year, whereas protests and city riots in 2013 over corruption and inequalities in the Brazilian nation had stalled construction of stadia and sports facilities needed for the World Cup in Brazil this year. Nigeria presents a different scenario amongst the nations being considered here. The Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is unrattled or unfazed by corruption charges especially those concerning the Aviation Minister who was also reported to have changed her credentials several times over on the internet this week, in response to accusations that she did not attend a school in the US which said it never offered the Accounting degree in her credentials. Indeed the Nigerian President said he is a good example of how anyone can reach the top in Nigeria as all that is needed is education. He also emphasised that those calling themselves’ progressives’ in Nigeria qualify for the tag because they are criticising him and he is not bothered by that as the economy is on course. CAR too provides a different kettle of fish in terms of political mismanagement and injustice leading to anarchy arising from religious violence. The Interim President who was forced to resign at a conference of neighboring states in Chad was the first Muslim president in a nation where 50% of the population are Christians and only 15 % are Muslims. Already over one million people have been displaced in that nation with many Nigerians sent packing home by the crisis. These then are just the tip of the ice bag of the quagmire these nations and their leaders face in their battles with the stigma or reality of the cancer of corruption in their polity. It is necessary to now dilate on how they have reached the sorry pass that is now rocking their various political and economic systems. In Turkey’s case the PM – Reccep Tayyip Erdogan – is confident that the police are using corruption charges to smear the integrity of his government and has ignored calls for his own resignation. He surely has cause to be that confident because his party the Justice and Development Party- AKP – has won three elections back to back and he is preparing to be nominated for the more senior position of President of Turkey having exhausted his constitutional term as PM. He however should not be too confident on that score as he has stepped on a few powerful toes in the way he has used his sweeping mandates at the polls . Indeed what has emboldened Erdogan is that he has emasculated the army which is the guarantor of Turkey’s secularity under its constitution handed down by founder Kemak Ataturk in 1923. Under Erdogan’s three terms many generals in the Turkish army have been tried and jailed for plotting coups. Erdogan had the support of a religious leader now in exile in the US as well as that of the police in rounding up military officers and trying them for treason and jailing such officers. Now the religious leader and the police are at loggerheads with Erdogan and it can not be business as usual in Turkey’s volatile politics. This is because the army is lurking and licking its wounds at the hands of Erdogan but bidding its time to strike with the sword of secularity. Will these corruption charges or saga be the death knell of the hitherto success story of the Erdogan- AKP era that had an Islamist party that used the power of elections to successfully handcuff Turkey’s military into a toothless bull dog, afraid to re-enact its time honoured duty of using coups to protect Turkey’s secularity? Surely time will tell, and very soon too, if you ask me. In Brazil, FIFA’s Sepp Blatter said he cried foul over Brazil’s state of preparations for the 2014 World Cup because he said Brazil had more time than any previous host to prepare for the tournament. In addition Brazil is to host the 2016 Olympics and it is both competitions that have brought out the anger in Brazilian youths about corruption and quality of life in Brazil. At the last Confederation Cup in Brazil last year, which was expected to be a test-run for this year’s World Cup, there were protests at the venues and stadia in Brazil. On being interviewed, Brazilian protesters complained of the high costs of the construction sites and the level of corruption in Sports administration in Brazil. A well known Brazilian soccer star called one of the bosses of the Brazilian soccer administration a thief. The protesters also accused the government of presiding over high transport costs and long hours for poor Brazilians in commuting to and from work while executing fantastically expensive stadia projects in the midst of dismal poverty. Luckily Brazilians have a president they can vouch for in terms of integrity and honesty and she has pushed through the Parliament reforms and palliative measures to fund infrastructure, transportation and education from and beyond. President Dilmar Yousseff has also assured FIFA that soccer is the main sports of Brazilians and that the Brazilian Stadia will be ready for the 2014 World Cup. Although I am not a Brazilian I urge Brazilians to believe their president and give her time to clean up the mess in their soccer stable as soccer is one of the high revenue earners for the Brazilian economy all over Europe as at this point in time. Nigeria’s fight against corruption has been an endemic and half hearted one. Right now many Nigerians feel that the fact that the president has not sacked his Aviation Minister is sufficient proof that the fight against corruption has derailed totally. In effect then the Nigerian President reminds one of Frederick the Great of Russia who once told a visitor to his palace – My people and I have reached an understanding which satisfies us both. They are to say what they like and I am to do as I wish. That seems to be the attitude of the Jonathan Administration on corruption and that is a great pity indeed given its reverberating effect on the political stability and security of a great nation like Nigeria.