“If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us.” This was one of the opening lines that heralded President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration into office in 2015, shortly after defeating a sitting president.
President Buhari, in his inaugural speech on May 29 in the same year said: ‘’I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.’’ These lines were applauded by all and sundry who raised hope among teeming Nigerians that the Messiah had come to correct the ills of the country.
A Transparency International report dated February 2018 said Corruption is getting worse in Nigeria, according to the latest corruption perception index (CPI) While the country scored 27/100 and was ranked 136th in 2016, the latest CPI scores Nigeria 28/100 but with a rank of No. 148 out of 180 countries surveyed.
Everyone knows that corruption impacts on the poorest and most vulnerable in society the hardest. It is ordinary citizens who suffer most when the corrupt steal funds intended for public services like infrastructure, healthcare and education. Or take back-handers to award lucrative contracts to their cronies. One in four people around the world say they have had to pay a bribe to access public services in the past twelve months. But, in the Nigerian context people don’t fight back against corruption,
As a Nigerian, one thing that I hate most is corruption in all its ramifications and always believes that the president would fight it effectively as he has always been preaching. Indeed, corruption must be seen as a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation. To understand its level in the country, Nigerians are a living witness that in any address made by all serving and ex-presidents, they claimed to fight against corruption. “We are committed to transparency and accountability.” But despite these promises from the leaders, still, corruption has eaten deeply in the country. To understand how this cancer has eaten deeply in our society, honouring transparency and accountability is no longer fashionable, and corrupt people don’t feel bad about their actions, because everybody else is doing it anyway. Those who choose not to do it are considered cowards and becoming a laughing stock in the society.
Sometimes a leader tends to rely too much on past experience that seems useful, but in actual sense, it is dangerous for him. However, even the sworn enemies of the President believe that he is not corrupt, but the only pointed finger at him may be his “indecision.” And it is often said indecisiveness may be a death sentence for a leader. There are many leaders with good policies who fail miserably due to their inaction, and inaction they say open up doors for failure and at the same time, keep leaders shut. The more indecisive a leader is the more policies stagnate.
On several occasions, President Buhari had reiterated that he would fight just and total war on corruption without selective approach, but the corruption has fought him back in the last three years. In spite of the president’s good intentions toward the country, due to what can be called indecisive action on many issues that ordinary Nigerians would expect to see him act like when he was a military Head of State, but such inaction cost the nation the very best of his good intention towards fighting the menace.
As we have all seen, PMB is fighting corruption but more corruption has appeared; This has led to frustration amongst Nigerians who are irritated with slow pace of progress and the selective nature of the fight. Less than a year into his admistration, Buhari’s government faced its first test in fighting corruption when a court of competent jurisdiction fined a South African Nigeria base Telecommunication giant MTN to pay Billion of dollars to the government, but some invisible cabal destroyed this and did what they felt was best for themselves leaving Nigerians in the lurch.
Buhari instead of punishing them, shielded them from any wrongdoing and they went scot free.
CBN’s secret recruitment: we the poor ones that spent several hours in the polling stations just to ensure Baba has a second chance to shoot at the presidency, witnessed secret after secret in every government employment drive such as CBN, NCC, SEC to mention a few, where recruitment was conducted secretly and only the children of well-to-do Nigerians were given offers without due process being followed.
Again, Baba looked the other way and didn’t even order for the suspension of the employment drive. There was also the Grass cutting scandal where the issue of most expensive grass cutting and diversion of several trucks of food for IDPs in the ravaged North-East and awarded contracts running several hundred million of naira to suspected companies linked to him and had corruptly benefited from contracts that arose from the Presidential Initiative for The North East by then Secretary to the Government of Federation Engr Babachir.
Baba jumped out and made himself the unofficial lawyer for Babachir and even cleared him of any wrongdoing. Until after outcry from Nigerians, PMB setup the investigation committee headed by vice president which the committee found him wanting but Baba looked the other way until massive pressure mounted on him before he acted on the committee reports.
President Buhari sacked him but didn’t surrender him to the EFCC to put him on trial.
Another demoralizing scandal that rocked the nation was the NIA safekeeping money apartment; Oke facilitated the agency’s acquisition of the swanky Ikoyi apartment where agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) discovered more than $43 million in cash in the wake of the EFCC’s discovery of the funds President Buhari ordered that Mr. Oke be suspended. Maina’s reinstatement back into the nation civil service which involved AGF and CoS and $25billion contract awarded by NNPC while Buhari was in a sick bed in faraway London without knowing acting president input.
I was a staunch supporter of the president for good 16 years, but i’m not a blind hailer or supporter. Straight from my heart, i’m not induced with the way the administration is conducting its war on corruption because the brawl is not moving fast enough. Notwithstanding the high-profile corrupt Nigerians pending at various courts, only two were convicted presently with various prison terms those convicted are not among the administration’s most high profile corruption cases like Defencegate, Dasukigate and PDP campaign funds, still three years into the administration, there have been no convictions of the alleged looters.
The truest thing about the president is that he is not a thief, but the fact remains that leadership requires more than that as Nigerians need a leader in every sense, a leader who will be a rallying point for the whole nation not for few and a leader who also needs to inspire citizens to be at their best. Still I believe that the president’s well known credentials of being incorruptible and honest as he has not been found wanting in any responsibilities assigned to him.
For the administration to achieve desirable goals there is need for the administration to have a clearing house for speedy prosecution of Corrupt Cases while faultless cooperation that is signally lacking today should be forged among EFCC, ICPC, POLICE, DSS and Judiciary for sharing intelligent , information and prosecutions strengthening. There is need for the president to allow institutions that has a similar passion for the war and ignored all the sinister suggestion as a result of infighting for the supremacy between inter securities agencies and those that are sheep in the wolf skin within the government.
Need for the administration to work with individuals that have a similar passion toward the war and other anti-graft agencies whose intend to work and scheme a positive image for the war. There is need for reforming nation’s system of criminal justice this change will deal current reality on the war on corruption while the nation’s judiciary needs to be strengthened in line with administration derived war on corruption.
As a matter of fact, no matter how Buharists and admirers want the administration to succeed almost every day there are stories that makes them shiver with the way the administration handling critical issue that has affected Nigerians. For President Muhammadu Buhari to achieve desirable goals there is need for him to ditch some of his inner aide and other members in his cabinet that wrapping their selfish interest above the administration interest. The action and conducts of this invisible cabal within the corridor of power are only projecting a negative image for his war at home and abroad. I know blind supporters, hailers can insult me and call me all sort of things, but in reality Nigerians are alienated, angry and fed up with the way the fighting corruption is being conducted by the administration as there is not much convince pointer supporting once fearful General Muhammadu Buhari achieving his war on corruption the fighting corruption proved too difficult for him to achieve and Nigerians are alienated, angry and fed up but in real sense the corruption is fighting back.
Dukawa can be reached at [email protected]