As it took off in May 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had three focal areas in mind: revamping the economy, fighting corruption, and securing the nation.
Under security, the Federal Government under Buhari has been given kudos for its giant strides.
First it claimed that it was able to reclaim all the local governments under the control of the insurgents, Boko Haram, in the Northeast where their flags were…hoisted since the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The government has also been applauded for facilitating return of many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their villages and towns abandoned under Jonathan’s administration.
It again showed its prowess last Wednesday when the government succeeded in negotiating unconditional release of over 105 Dapchi secondary school girls out of the 111 abducted from the Government Girls Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State on the 19th of February, 2018.
But the main opposition party and other individuals, last week, were quick to describe what happened in Dapchi in the last one month as government manipulation, arranged abduction and arranged release of the schoolgirls.
While the main focus of this write-up is not to determine whether the successes claimed by the present administration in security are real, imaginary or manipulated, it aims to dwell on the other two main goals of the administration.
As many Nigerians await full economic development of Nigeria, it may become a mirage and impossible to realize unless corruption is tamed.
Despite fighting corruption in almost three years since May 2015, like a cancer, it has refused to give way.
Among the measure put in place to check corruption in the country in the last three years include implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), streamlined payroll system under the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), and the whistle blower policy.
While billions of naira is said to be saved with the implementation of TSA, a total of 511 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are said to be captured under the IPPIS, with staff count of 607,843.
The implementation of the IPPIS, is also said to have resulted in the reduction of ghost workers syndrome, enforcement of compliance with due process on employment of staff in MDAs, and prompt and timely payment of salaries and remittances of third parties payments.
Through the Whistle blower policy, the Federal Government is said to have recovered N7.8 billion, $378 million, and 27,800 pounds.
Beside corruption fighting back, the fraudulent ones in the system have continued to devise new methods to beat anti-corruption strategies put in place.
Even with the successes recorded towards blocking leakages in the system as claimed by the government, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the 7th Presidential Quarterly Business Forum for Private Sector stakeholders at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. last Monday declared that present corruption in system is still posing great danger to economic development.
Apart from corruption still waxing strong under the current dispensation, he revealed that the Nigerian economy is still experiencing adverse effect of massive looting and corruption that took place under Jonathan.
Osinbajo said “But I want to talk about what I think is probably the biggest problem but which we for some reason hardly talk about when discussing our National economy. This is grand corruption in the public finance space!
“Sometimes, the way we talk about the Nigerian economy, it appears like it is the economy of say Norway or Sweden, where all things are equal. Even when we refer to what has taken place in our economy, we almost sound as if this is a normal business environment, a normal public finance environment but that is not the case.
“I don’t think that any considerations of our economic development can be properly or honestly done without fully analysing the role of grand corruption in the public finance space.
“So despite record high levels of oil prices, very little was invested in infrastructure and record levels of leakages were recorded, especially in the past few years. This is the fundamental issue in our economy. Corruption affects everything, it even affects judgement as to what sort of infrastructure to put in place or whether to even put infrastructure in place or whether it would be completed. It is so fundamental that we cannot even think of our economy, without thinking of what to do about it.
”Sometimes when we talk about our economy, we say that we have relied on a single commodity, and that is one of the reasons why we are where we are. Yes, that is true but it is the fact that the proceeds of that single commodity were regularly hijacked consistently by a few. That is really the problem. If we spend the proceeds of that single commodity the way we ought to spend it, we won’t be where we are today.
“That most of the proceeds go to rent seekers, who invest little in industry and production. So for example, I’m sure many of us are familiar with the so called strategic alliance contracts with the NNPC and NDPC, the promoters of the companies made away with close to 3billion US dollars, almost a tenth of our reserves at one point!
“There is no way if someone made away with that amount, a tenth of your reserves, that there won’t be a major economic shock! If we don’t deal with it and talk about it, how do we really discuss our economy in any real honest way with a view to ensuring that these things do not happen again?
“In one single transaction, a few weeks to the elections in 2015, the sum of N100billion and $289million in cash were embezzled by a few. When you consider that in 2014, when oil prices were an average of $110 per barrel, only N99 billion was spent on Power, Works and Housing, and in one day, N100 billion was issued and people essentially shared it and N99 billion was spent on Power, Works and Housing.
“When we talk about our economy, we talk about it like it is normal but it is abnormal by every standard, completely abnormal. Nobody should talk about the economy when you have these huge leakages and corruption; corruption that makes what you allocate to capital and infrastructure nonsense.
“From the presentation of Minister of Finance, N14 billion was spent on agriculture in 2014, transportation N15 billion. The total spend on capital in those critical areas was N153billion and in two weeks to the 2015 election, N150 billion was shared and essentially shared! So if your total capital spend is N153billion and you can share N150 billion, let’s face it, that is completely incredible! It is the sort of thing that doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world.
“When we talk about the economy, we absolutely must understand that is the problem. Today with less revenue, we have increased capital funding by 400% in Power, Works and Housing, Defence, Transportation and Agriculture. Economic analysis in Nigeria is either fraudulent or ignorant if we do not bring the money lost to corruption into the maths.
“This is what distinguishes this administration from any other. It is the fight against corruption especially in public finance. And I can say that with all sense of responsibility, if you have a President who is not corrupt, at least 50% of your financial problems, especially in public finance, is over. This is what I have seen, and I can prove it with facts and figures.
“If the President is corrupt, the entire financial system of the country is compromised, that is what we have seen from the figures. That is an absolute important point that we must take into account.
“I am not saying that corruption under this administration has been completely dealt, certainly not. Where corruption has become systematic, you can’t deal with it all in one fell swoop. In any event you still have to deal with corruption fighting back, the system fights back, it is both an internal and external fight, and you have to be steadfast and strategic to win the battle.
“There is no way you have a system that has consistently thrived on corruption and proceeds of corruption and public finance in particular that will just roll over, no! It is a system that had actively dealt on corruption and the system affects all aspects of governance. So clearly trying to deal with it is not a walk in the park.
“I want to say that task has already begun and being done consistently, I believe that going forward in the next few years, no matter how we slice it, if we stick to policies especially in controlling excesses and corruption in public finance, this country will make the kind of progress it deserves to make with all of the resources at our disposal.
“If we stick to a policy that ensures that as far as public finance is concerned, there is no impunity, and we hold people to account, I am absolutely confident this country has everything it takes to make the sort of progress that we deserve to make as a nation,” he stated.
But the Jonathan’s camp swiftly denied the allegations against the immediate past administration, demanding Osinbajo to substantiate his claims.
It is hoped that corruption in the country will not be allowed to kill the economy.
With the natural resources at its disposal, it is high time Nigeria develops economically and rank high along top global developed economies.