Given the myriad of socio-economic and political challenges that bedeviled the nation in the past year. Nigerians said goodbye to 2016, wishing and hoping that nothing like it comes back again. With the economy having progressively transitioned from recession to depression, perhaps the Buhari-led APC government will acknowledge the loud and persistent calls for urgent action to chart a new economic direction with a clear fiscal policy; the absence of which has been one defining attribute of the current administration which is lamentable, like the non-fight against corruption. Given the monstrous nature of the scourge of corruption in Nigeria, the ostrich fatalism by the President moaning over corruption fighting back is defeatist and not the appropriate way to tackle an endemic problem. If the perception outlook of corruption in Nigeria is to improve in 2017, Buhari must seriously address the threat posed by corruption to Nigeria’s future. Certainly he can do better than he has done in tackling corruption.
Given the quantum and gravity of the situation, the president’s lamentations proffer no solution to the problem of corruption in Nigeria and reeks of self-defeatism. President Buhari, a retired military general, is in a better position to appreciate the art of war. A general in the fog of war cannot be taken seriously when he constantly complains that his enemies are fighting back. The President is in charge and should decisively confront the scourge instead of lamenting in seeming exasperation. Nigerians want concrete results. Did Buhari expect corrupt Nigerians to fold their arms and watch themselves destroyed with their ill-gotten wealth? Before embarking on the anti-graft war, he ought to have known that this would be no tea party. It would not only task his government’s energy, it would fight back to the death.
That corruption is pervasive in Nigeria is indisputable. In its 2015 corruption perception index, the global anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International (TI) ranked Nigeria as the 136th most corrupt country in the world among the 168 countries studied. On the sidelines of the Conference on Climate Change (COP22), in Marrakech, Morocco, while having a meeting with US Secretary of State, John Kerry, Buhari bemoaned the fact that the perpetrators of corruption were viciously fighting back. Buhari merely stated the obvious: that corrupt Nigerians had built a formidable arsenal of illicit wealth, which they were deploying against the government on diverse fronts. On the face of it, there was nothing new that Buhari said about corruption that has not been in the domain of public discourse.
Corruption aims mainly at the conduct of public business in a manner beneficial only to government officials and their cronies and turns them to mere sinecures. Good governance is its first major casualty, giving rise to a criminalized economy, decrepit infrastructure, worsening insecurity, impoverished citizenry and a totally disoriented polity. It diminishes the stature of Nigeria and assails the pride of its citizens in the comity of nations. This is a tragedy for Nigeria; and there’s little doubt that Nigeria’s economic and security challenges are partly rooted in widespread poverty and unemployment, which in turn, are outcomes of pervasive corruption.
The ubiquitous symbol of pervasive corruption; the alleged arms deal otherwise tagged Dasukigate, became our own reality check in 2016. Even as Dasukigate and other corruption cases meander through the judicial system, the system itself has become the postal child of the non-fight against corruption. The abuse of privileges, positions and the instruments of justice, such as the perpetual injunction, which courts grant to people accused of corruption, have become so pervasive as to constitute obstruction of justice. The situation is so endemic that the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has appealed to lawmakers to amend the EFCC Act to extricate the commission from restrictions imposed by perpetual injunctions. This is a huge challenge in a country where the fightback from corruption is constantly seeking to frustrate and derail the anti-graft war.
Nigerians are not fooled by official pretences to fight corruption. They know, based on their own experiences, that their country is one of the world’s most corrupt. Sadly, corruption investigations by both the legislative and the executive arms is increasingly regarded by Nigerians as a ploy by committees to wring “protection fees” from officials in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) rather than a genuine attempt to expose or bring the corrupt to book. Despite countless probes, hardly is any Nigerian being punished, except those caught abroad for corrupt acts committed in Nigeria. There is no coherent agenda for fighting corruption in MDAs or making the anti-graft agencies more effective.
Regrettably, and despite the concerted effort on the part of the President to tackle graft, it is the view nowadays that corruption is on rampage and things have never been this bad. The government’s inability to arrest the galloping corruption accentuates and strengthens the malaise, thereby making the anti-corruption agencies a huge laughing stock. It is not an exaggeration to say corruption walks tall in Nigeria today as though it is no longer a crime to indulge in it. A government poised to fight corruption will not be selective in its prosecution of suspects. The government’s attitude has strengthened the conviction that it has ample accommodation for and no problem at all with the menace. Indeed, it has shown that it is actually comfortable with condoning it, if you belong to the right ethnic group or belong to the correct political party.
There should be a sober response to corruption by public officials; and the buck stops at the President’s desk. The President should strengthen the anti-graft agencies and demand optimum performance from them. It is clear they no longer command the same respect as of old and carry on more like a toothless bull-dog, nowadays. Also, the independence of the judiciary and that of the police must be ensured so that any person, found culpable of any crime, no matter his rank and status can be arrested. That is the purport of the rule of law. And that is the quintessence of democracy. The New Year 2017 offers another opportunity to stop living a lie and seriously address corruption. To continue with business as usual is to lead Nigeria into despondency and anger. Buhari has the ultimate and unique responsibility to build the confidence that politics and public offices are not primarily a means to fleece the citizens. He must take the lead in saving Nigeria from corruption.
If corruption and impunity are to be a thing of the past, President Buhari needs to take bold steps to ensure rule of law is the reality for everyone. Prosecuting corruption will restore faith among people who no longer believe in the institutions that are supposed to protect them. Transparency and accountability must go hand in hand when tackling corruption. Progress and credibility in the anti-graft war can be won only through concrete, well-thought-out strategies and not cheap sloganeering.
