Let’s all collaborate to kill corruption
It has been said that power corrupts, but absolute power corrupt absolutely. In a country like Nigeria, the power to govern the people is vested on one person, the president. The constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria categorically places the power of the executive to the president. But the president as the head and […]
It has been said that power corrupts, but absolute power corrupt absolutely. In a country like Nigeria, the power to govern the people is vested on one person, the president. The constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria categorically places the power of the executive to the president. But the president as the head and commander in chief cannot steer all the affairs of the country alone by himself. Hence the constitution again, conscious of this responsibility and fact that the president cannot do it alone requires that ministers, heads of government agencies commissions and other parastatals and advisers be appointed to help the number one citizen carry out those responsibilities of executing all the government activities.
One of the cardinal agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari is fighting corruption to the minimum. The president was even quoted saying, “if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us.” It is true that corruption is one of the main challenges our dear country is facing. Also, there are efforts by the government through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, (ICPC) and other anti-corruption agencies to bring this monster to its knees.
The Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu said sometime at the National Democracy Day Anti-Corruption Summit that “the activities of the anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria have been remarkable since the inception of this administration in 2015 and this is a reflection of President Muhammadu Buhari’s determination to completely eradicate corruption in Nigeria.”
The acting Chairman of the EFCC made this comment in his welcome address on 11th June, 2019. He added that “the achievement of the EFCC, for instance has been tremendous. The tireless efforts of the commission’s officers and men culminated in securing multiple convictions and recovering of funds and properties worth billions of Naira. The convictions secured by the commission since the beginning of this administration reflect a positive progression. In 2015 the commission secured 103 convictions, 194 in 2016, 189 in 2017 and 312 in 2018. From January 2019 to date(June 11) the commission has secured over 406 conviction and recovered several assets worth billions of Naira. For an ordinary citizen like me, these achievements are no “doubt tremendous” and “reflect a positive progression.”
There is no gain saying that the EFCC has achieved so much in this fight against corruption even though, the task ahead is more challenging than the one we are facing for the reasons that as the EFCC fights corruption, corruption too is fighting back and two, there is always a change in technology where the corrupt seem to be a step ahead to avoid arrest and prosecution. The laws or rather the court too has been a challenge in the fight against corruption as it has been agreed even by those in the judicial system.
Commenting on the integrity of the Judiciary, Honorable Justice Ayo Salami OFR in a paper on ‘The Use OF Public Fund in Election Litigation and The Integrity of the Judiciary’ said “the integrity of the judiciary has recently become a topic for serious discussion considering the related events surrounding the judiciary and the conduct of its officers. The notorious issues of prolonged, delayed or hijacked adjudication of appropriate justice has made Nigeria’s and indeed, the international community, lose faith in the country’s judicial system’s ability and capacity to adequately fight corruption.”
Almost all of the challenges this country is facing is attributed to corruption; from the leadership and governance challenges to the provision of basic social amenities by the public office holders. We are all witness to the devastating effect of insecurity in Nigeria. People are being kidnapped on a daily basis while others were killed in their farms by armed robbers and bandits. The ordinary citizen on the street is mainly the one who pays all the price of corruption. It hits him through bad roads, poor health facilities or even none, lack of educational facilities, lack of this and lack of that and most of all this is the lack of security of their lives and properties, hence the quote by Pope Francis against corruption when he said “corruption is paid by the poor.”
It is my hope that for us as a country to effectively win the fight against corruption, the most important thing to first of all do, is to collaborate. As citizens who pay the price of corruption we all have to collaborate with the relevant agencies. The judiciary, the security agencies, civil society organizations, the international communities must all come together in this fight against corruption. We should all volunteer to give information on any suspicious corrupt activity by suspects. We should not engage in any form of corruption, we should not give and not receive and we should also report any act of corruption.