Former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, has said that the nation must stop treating corruption with kid gloves if she must experience rapid socioeconomic development.
She said that Nigeria must adopt a hard stance on corruption like China which executes those convicted of corruption.
Ojikutu said that such punishment when carried out upon conviction after impartial and diligent prosecution would help to serve as deterrent to others that might want to engage in corrupt acts.
She urged President Muhammadu Buhari to look towards stiffer punishment for corrupt acts during his second term in office.
In an interview with Sunday Vanguard, Ojikutu said:
“If you jail someone for corruption in Nigeria, the next administration will release that person, and this is what has been happening in Nigeria. But I believe that if people found to be corrupt after thorough investigations are made to face the firing squad or are hanged, this will serve as a deterrent. We need to start making examples. But like I said earlier, thorough investigations must be carried out and the trial must also be fair. It should not be a case of vendetta or persecution. Due process must be followed. If after all these have conditions been met and a person is still found guilty of corruption, then let him or her face the music. There is nothing wrong with death sentence for corrupt elements because through their own acts of corruption, they are also killing people.”
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Ojikutu also weighed in on the clamour for state police as panacea to the insecurity bedevilling the nation, saying that Nigeria might not be mature enough for such.
She noted:
“State police is what some people also refer to as community policing. There is nothing wrong with it, but it is a double-edged sword, state police can be turned into an instrument of terror against perceived opponents by state governors. State police is a good idea, but the fear of it being abused by state governors is there. State police is ideal but the question is, are we mature to have it in a clime like ours where some state governors behave like emperors?”