IN its determined effort to win the war against corruption, the Buhari administration launched its whistle-blowing policy in February. The aim of the policy, according to the government, is to increase exposure of financial crimes; support the fight against financial crimes and corruption; improve the level of public confidence in public entities and enhance transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
With the help of the policy, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered huge sums in local and foreign currencies in most unlikely places in different parts of the country. They include the $9.8m and £74, 000 allegedly kept by a former Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu in a building in a remote part of Kaduna and the $43m, £27, 000 and N23m cash stashed away in a residential building in Ikoyi part of Lagos, among others.
The policy, which makes it possible for the whistle-blower responsible for the recovery of such sums to get five per cent or more of it, has proved a master stroke in the administration’s war against corruption and, expectedly, has become one of the yardsticks for measuring the performance of the administration two years into its four-year tenure.
Applauding the policy in Abeokuta, Ogun State, a professor of Management and International Business, Angelicus Onasanya, noted that it is one of the ways the Federal Government intends to tackle corruption in public service. He, however, suggested some other ways to make the campaign efficient and effective.
Onasanya believes that the process of whistleblowing is not yet spelt out to Nigerians, urging the government to break it down and explain it in ways that would empower people to report corrupt practices whenever they are observed or suspected.
He also said there should be a measure in place to guarantee “perfect and incontrovertible assurance that those who blow whistle are protected.”
The policy, he said, should be extended to every facet of government’s activities and its agencies.
He also said Nigerians should be enlightened about where to call if they see a policeman demanding and accepting bribe on the road or at the station or they discover a civil servant who seeks gratification to perform his duty.
The former lecturer in a US-based university, added that Nigerians would also want to know what extent the government can go to rescue or protect them “if they run into trouble with whistleblowing.”
If these issues are addressed, he said, it would strengthen the whistleblowing policy and ultimately help to check the crippling corruption and graft in the nation’s official quarters.
In Abia State, residents of Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the state, expressed reservations about the recently introduced whistle-blowing policy of the Buhari administration.
Some Aba residents who spoke with our reporter said they were in support of the war against corruption which, according to them, is a clog in the wheel of economic, social and infrastructural development of the country.
They also faulted perceived one-sidedness of the war on corruption, saying it seems to be targeted at people seen as critics of the Buhari and APC government.
Dr. Charles Chinekzie, Chairman Aba chapter of Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), wants the war to be holistic while the money realised in the process is reinvested or channelled back into meaningful ventures of the economy.
He said: “The whistle-blowing policy of the Federal Government is good. But they must exercise caution. The people who are giving information should equally be sure of what information they are giving to security agencies. The monetary attachment is good, but people should verify their information or the source of it before raising the alarm.
“The process shouldn’t look or appear to be one-sided. There should be no sacred cows in Buhari’s administration. Those of them in his cabinet who have been accused of one crime or the other should be removed and made to face the law. They shouldn’t be allowed to roam free when there are heavy allegations against them.
“The monetary reward is very good. It will encourage people to expose the bad eggs among us. But people should not see this as a time to witch-hunt their enemies, and there should be proper sanction of people who gave the police and other security agencies wrong or misleading information.”
The Publicity Secretary of APC in the state, Comrade Ben Godson, who debunked the insinuation that the war against corruption was lopsided, described Buhari as the best President that Nigeria has ever had.
He called for support for the administration as well as the strengthening of both judicial and legislative institutions, stressing that a synergy between the three arms of government would promote accountability and good governance.
In Akure, Ondo State capital, a legal practitioner, Charles Titiloye, said the whistle-blower policy of the government is a clear testimony that the Buhari administration has nothing to hide.
According to him, it has beamed public searchlight on the treasures of our fatherland stolen and hidden by greedy politicians and their allies. He said the Federal Government should be consistent in this policy and should not shield anybody, no matter how highly placed.
Besides, he said, state and local governments should not be spared, no matter the political party in power, stressing that the money realised from it should be judiciously used to raise the standard of living in Nigeria.
An Anglican priest, Canon Isaac Awowole, described whistle-blower policy as a bold step to curb corruption in the country. The cleric called on Buhari’s government not to relent in its crusade against corruption in the land.
Canon Awowole, however, urged government to be accountable of all looted and recovered funds, adding that they should be ploughed into development projects.
A woman leader and Iyalaje of Ikare-Akoko, Hajia Risikat Mohammed, said the policy will curb corruption. According to her, looting of treasury by people in the corridors of power was the bane of the present economic crisis in Nigeria.
Another legal practitioner, Bayo Awe, said the whistle-blower policy should be supported with legislation while he appealed for transparency in handling corruption cases. Awe hailed Buhari’s government for its bold steps in tackling the menace.
Jos, Plateau State-based politician, Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, described the whistle blowing policy as the major engine that propels the anti-corruption crusade of the Buhari government. He noted that the entire citizens of the country are becoming excited over the policy because of the discoveries that have been made using it.
He said: “It is an understatement to say that the policy is the most successful so far. However, government must think ahead and work with people of relevant skills to improve on the efficacy of the policy.
“You know that stealing has gone scientific, so government must also be smart. This is a deterrent measure which has the capacity to reduce financial fraud to the nearest minimum.
“To make more widespread impact, the policy should be decentralised. It should be extended to states and local governments because financial corruption is not restricted to the federal level. Worse stealing may be discovered in the other tiers of government. The policy will work better in the states and local governments.
“I also called on all Nigerians to embrace the policy for it is for the good of the common man. Government should also do more to protect the whistle-blowers so they will not be victimised.”
In Ekiti State, a university teacher, Dr. Emmanuel Adetifa, threw his weight behind the whistle-blower policy which has led to the recovery of humongous cash in many places across the federation.
Adetifa slammed those who accuse the Federal Government and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of resorting to media trial to try corruption suspects. He contended that the fight against corruption must be given wide publicity by the media to send a message to the public that it is no longer business as usual.
Adetifa, who is of the Department of Public Law, Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, explained that provision of good governance by government at all levels would discourage corrupt practices among citizens.
Responding to the allegation that the anti-corruption drive is selective, Adetifa said: “It depends on the person making the allegation. You have to look at the personality of the person making the allegation, because some people now use that as a defence mechanism.
“I don’t agree that government is making too much noise about fighting corruption, because if the government is not doing it that way, some people will not be checkmated.
“The corruption battle must be given the publicity it deserves because the citizens must know that government is fighting corruption. You can see that this whistle-blower policy is really working.
“There is no other way to it because corruption has become the in-thing in Nigeria. Whistleblowing is working magically because people know that they are under surveillance and it is because of the publicity being given to it.
“But I want to state that good governance is a factor in tackling corruption. Because if this is not available, you are merely scratching the problem in the surface.”
Speaking along the same line of thought, the Chairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) in Ekiti State, Prince Tunji Ogunlola, described the whistle-blower policy as a “huge blessing to the fight against corruption.”
Ogunlola said the policy has given citizens an opportunity to assist the government in fighting corruption since government cannot be in every place at the same time.
He said: “This policy is the masterstroke to deal with the hydra-headed cankerworm of corruption that has been defying solution for ages. I also want to describe it as a huge blessing to the fight against corruption.”
“The whistleblower policy is a win-win situation. It is victory for the government that is determined to stamp it out and victory for the patriotic citizen who exposes graft with the reward of five per cent of the looted cash.
“Many Nigerians are poor and performing this patriotic duty would help alleviate their poverty even though we have some Nigerians who decline the reward.
“We can all see that the policy is working with the huge cash recovered within the short time it came into force. We should all commend the Muhammadu Buhari administration for this wonderful innovation to fight graft and sleaze to a standstill.”
But a public affairs commentator, Muyiwa Ariwajoye, urged for caution in the implementation of the whistle-blower policy. He said some citizens could raise false alarm and also use it to tarnish the image of innocent people.
Ariwajoye said: “Although the whistle-blower policy is being hailed in many parts of the country, I have some reservations about it because there is no good policy in Nigeria that cannot be abused by its citizens.
“Some individuals could raise false alarm that somebody is keeping custody of looted funds and this may not be true. In fact, some Nigerians have used the whistleblower policy to raise false alarm which was well reported in the media. Besides, the lives of those volunteering information could be endangered.”
