Nigeria has 36 states + the federal capital territory. But
corruption has assumed the 37th state. This definition is perhaps in an attempt to
explain the humongous stature, corruption has assumed in Nigeria, hence the
notion of corruption being the 37th state in Nigeria. Corruption is
a persistent phenomenon in Nigeria.
Two major factors are responsible for the rise of corruption
in Nigeria-the rise of public administration and the discovery of oil and
natural gas are two major events believed to have led to the sustained increase
in the incidence of political corruption in the country.
Other school of thought have however argued that the
military incursion into politics entrenched corruption into our socio-political
and economic life. But nearly 2 decades after the military left the scene,
corruption has continued to fester, despite what I may describe as lip-service
effort by successive administrations to bring corruption to a halt.
Nothing has really changed, even with the messianic “change”.
It’s mere politicking and political rhetoric. Most of the greedy and selfish
political elites that “supervised” the looting of Nigeria from 1999 to 2015,
are still within the corridors of power under a different political banner,
still basking in the lies of fight against corruption. It’s all a hoax.
The global anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency
International (TI) still ranked Nigeria low in its 2017 Corruption Perception
Index (CPI). The latest ranking has Nigeria in the 148th position out of 180.
The country, according to the CPI, scored 27 out 100, a figure lower than the
average in the Sub-Saharan region. CPI score relates to perceptions of the
degree of corruption as experienced by business people and analysts and ranges
between 100 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).
Just in November, 2018, a BBC report exposed how Nigeria
loses $6 Billion from corrupt oil deal linked to fraud. The oil giants Eni and
Shell are fingered to be proxy to those deals. And the country’s Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC continued to be the country’s cash cow and
bastion of graft, with millions of dollars in unremitted earnings, and its
continued refusal to open its books for an independent audit. This is despite
the president, Moh’d Buhari retaining the position of the petroleum Minister to
himself.
The reasons may not be far-fetched. Certain power cabals are
using the NNPC to purloin our common wealth, also a source of slush funds, to
prosecute political and economic interests.
When I said, nothing has changed, its indeed, because alot
of un-cleared allegations of graft on certain top officials of the present
Government abound. The Ikoyi-gate, the Maina-gate, the IDP Grass-cutter scam, continued
padding of the national budget, alleged foreign currency-round-tripping by
certain aides in the presidency, Missing NEMA (National Emergency Management
Agency) funds, about N19.4 Billion; allegations of re-looting of the Abacha
recovered loots; and that is just but a few.
At state government level, the governors are still
mini-gods, who receive slush funds monthly, in the name of security vote, which
are never audited. This is official corruption-state sponsored graft.
Most state Governors, with exception of very few,
purportedly still inflate contract figures, and collect the excess as
kick-backs. Make no mistake, this cuts across political party, ethnic/religious
lines. Corruption has no political, ethnic or religion boundary. We are all
familiar with the viral video series of Kano state Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje
aka Gan-Dollar, aka babanriga politician….LOL.
The governor was caught in the video series collecting dollars
cash, allegedly $5 Million, from a contractor, as kick-backs. Right now the governor has armed himself with
an ex-parte order, stopping both the publisher from further publishing the
video, and the state House of Assembly from probing the alleged videos.
Perhaps, the rot in the judiciary, the last hope of the
common man, is the elephant in the room. Nothing can be as bad as a corrupt
judge; or a fraudulent judicial system. Little wonder Chief Folake Solanke SAN once
pointed out that for corruption to be effectively tackled in the country the
fight has to be begin with the judiciary. The judicial process is the only
method by which erring members of the society can be made accountable and be
made to pay the penalty for wrongdoing. Hence, if the process is corrupted…alas.
It’s pathetic how ex-parte orders are sold to the highest
bidder, and how same courts of equal jurisdiction issue different ex-parte
orders on same issue. But thanks to
Justice Walter Onnoghen judicial reforms, the current chief justice of Nigeria,
taking steps to purge the judiciary of its bad elements, through the activation
of its self-regulatory capacity.
The private sector is not left out in the rot. Both the
organized private sector, and the informal sector, the untold story of corruption
is deep and transcend. Nigeria is almost synonymous with corruption, in the eye
of the international community. I say this with every sense of patriotism to
the state of Nigeria.
But there’s still hope. It’s never late, to say never. There
are strong points the government must stand on to wrestle grant to a
standstill.
The whistle blower policy is perhaps one of the strongest
points of the Buhari administration in its fight against graft. Whistle-blowing Policy is an anti-graft
programme that encourages people to voluntarily disclose information about
fraud, bribery, looted government funds, financial misconduct, government
assets and any other form of corruption or theft to the Nigeria's Federal
Ministry of Finance. The President, Muhammadu Buhari in his democracy day
speech claimed his administration’s whistle-blowing policy has helped to
recover over N500 billion. Though that figure has since been disproved as it is
inconsistent with the figures from the Ministry of Finance and figured from the
anti-graft agency, the EFCC.
However, the whistle blowing policy remains a deterrent to
corrupt practices, but the government must go a step further to legalize it, to
legitimize and strengthen out the terms and condition. I believe if this policy
is entrenched, it’s a master stroke that could help save Nigeria from greedy
men who brazenly deep their filthy hands into the till of the state.
More so, the Treasury single Account (TSA) has also helped in
keeping funds out of the reach of public servants. TSA refers to Treasury
Single Account, a public accounting system using a single account, or a set of
linked accounts by government to ensure all revenue receipts and payments are
done through a Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) at the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN). The TSA not only enhances the management of cash flow, but an
established chain of command also reduces room for leakages. It’s a way to go.
The EFCC, more than the ICPC has been doing a lot to enforce
its aims and objectives, but the commission should be less political, and must
avoid political influences. It’s grossly unprofessional for the commission to, for
instance, receive gifts/donations from any politician. Whether cash, land, or
other paraphernalia. And the recent allegation of the chairman of the EFCC,
Ibrahim Magu seen wearing an APC tag is both shameful, and not reassuring.
The anti-graft agency must disassociate itself from any
political affiliation and work towards strengthening itself as a strong and
bi-partisan anti-graft institution. It’s allegiance should be to the Nigeria
state and people, not to the powers that be. The institution must also show
fairness and decorum.
In closing: It’s important to quote the words of President
Moh’d Buhari, who once said, if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill
Nigeria. An empirical study have confirmed that corruption in Nigeria could
cost up to 37% of GDP by 2030 if it’s not dealt with immediately. This cost is
equated to around $1,000 per person in 2014 and nearly $2,000 per person that
lives in Nigeria by 2030. We must not allow this to happen.
Corruption is the reason Nigeria has the highest rate of
extreme poverty globally. The Brookings Institution reports that 87 million
Nigerians are living in abject poverty (World Poverty Clock). Though, it’s
arguable that mismanagement, waste, and lack of visionary leadership are also
culpable. But ultimately, corruption is at the heart of it all. When billions
of dollars are stolen and stashed abroad, or hidden in some dude companies
opened in names of personal aides and associates, to avoid being traced back
the principal; ultimately real infrastructural and human development suffers-
roads remain in state of disrepair, our educational institutions remain
under-funded, power available remains low, and hospitals are ill-equipped and
the list is endless.
But, we must take it back…we must take back our dear country
from this monster called corruption. Tomorrow may be too late. Taa bu gbo.
By Ugochukwu Ejugbo
No comments:
Post a Comment