Making the best of a bad situation

Some difficult questions are, however, quite disturbing not the least of which is: just how deep is the rot? How much has actually been stolen? The figures are mind boggling and the billions too many. Add to these all the billions not remitted to the Treasury but looted at source. Then you have the 60 […]

Some difficult questions are, however, quite disturbing not the least of which is: just how deep is the rot? How much has actually been stolen? The figures are mind boggling and the billions too many. Add to these all the billions not remitted to the Treasury but looted at source. Then you have the 60 to 70 percent of the capital budget going to corruption and kick-backs. How more brazen could they be, and at what stage would they have stopped? How stupid did they really assume we all were? Even if Jonathan had won, could they really have survived as a government? Some people are even trying to fabricate a very strange position that some “understanding” was brokered in the last minute obliging Buhari not to probe Jonathan and his cabal. How on earth can Buhari be asked to “forgive” them, and allow them to keep all the loot when it is not his? Nigerians agree that a line should be drawn, meaning that the rapacious looting must stop from this point on. Does that mean he must not recover what is recoverable? How else would others learn not to commit the similar crimes in future? People should know that they would be punished for criminal acts or wilful negligence. The decision to investigate the pillage, and legally recover what can be salvaged, and ensure that never again would our nation be so blatantly raped, is indeed the right one.
There are problems however. One that stands out very clearly is the level of competence of our anti-corruption officials especially those in Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Department of State Security( DSS). Their investigation and prosecution skills need to be sharpened. Very often the crooks escape justice not just due to compromised judges, of which there are many, but because of lousy investigations and shoddy prosecution. Retaining more expensive lawyers just would not be enough if the evidence is lacking or poorly put together. The looters would just use a part of their criminal proceeds to hire better ones. These address what to do about the corruption that has already taken place, or is on-going.
The second set of problems relates to those President Buhari requires to work with, so as to put a stop to this shameless looting; who could he use to usher in the changes we so much desire. It is even said that this is why he is yet to put together his executive team. In an interview with Ahmed Joda tittled “We found corruption everywhere” the Sunday Trust of 21 June 2015 quoted the former “Super Permsec” and Chairman of Buhari’s Transition Committee as saying; “The biggest (problem) in my view is corruption; it is everywhere. There is no department, no ministry that can be said to be free of corruption. There is nowhere that fraud does not take place on a daily basis. It has become embedded in the minds of the people because the rule books have been thrown away and everybody is doing what they like. Nobody follows the rules anymore.”
On the slow process of selecting those to help he said; “In the past, when you were prepared to ignore security reports as had happened in the recent past in Nigeria you can appoint anybody, but Buhari says he is going to work with perfect people and then he appoints someone only to discover a week later or a month later that there is really no way you can keep him there; what happened? How did the man get there? But I am not making excuses; I am talking to you as a former civil servant who has had some experience of how things are done.”(Emphasis added)
It appears this is the approach being followed. Chris Agbambu, writing in the Nigerian Tribune last week, stated that “revelations by investigation teams … revealed shocking security reports on the alleged fraud and misappropriation of funds by 33 nominees short-listed by President Muhammadu Buhari, with only three said to have passed the corruption test.(O)f the 36 ministerial nominees pencilled in and those submitted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) hierarchy and sent to the DSS, EFCC, ICPC, CBN, the Force Criminal Investigations Department (FCID), and the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) for forensic screening, only three nominees came out unscathed.”
So, what should President Buhari do? Much as I hate to say it, it may be necessary for the President to work with imperfect people; after all, only the Almighty is perfect. I am sure he knows that, and he is only trying to get the best of the bad lot we have almost all become. There are still many reasonably honest ones out there, and he has to keep on searching for them. The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born, says the title of Ayi Kwei Armah’s book, but I am sure there must be some reasonably handsome enough to chose from. PMB e can mitigate the situation by ensuring that even after he appoints them he keeps an eye on all of them, publically shaming and prosecuting them when and if they deviate. The master-craftsman uses the tools available; he makes the best of any bad situation.
Most critical, in my view, is the need to (re)build institutions. The rules are there, the processes and procedures are spelt out. New and better ones can be added. However, we should have structures and public institutions that can work, self-adjust and be capable of supervising and correcting themselves. Yes, we expect PMB to perform miracles but we also know he is only human. Yes, there are still giants and supermen and super women but this is the age of strong institutions, correct procedures and due processes. Also, many of the politicians that put their money into APC may be expecting to reap handsomely. Others have fixed, superficial understanding of problems yet think their answers are the only ones that are correct. The problems are indeed many and the plethora of advise unlimited. Thus far he is succeeding in rebuilding our trust in government, which is a good start.
So many stones have been thrown on our path. As a nation we must deal with them. We can throw them back at the enemy, grumble that they are blocking our way and allow them to be real obstacles. We could also put them to good use. PMB, as the Chief Architect, must lead the way so that we can use these stones as building blocks, erect functional structures and build bridges to the future. The time is short, the materials are insufficient and the tools may not be the ones we would have loved; but the job must start in earnest.