By Ibrahim Mohammed
Corruption in Nigeria from available records is endemic cutting across public and private sectors. Abuse of office for personal gains has retarded the country’s development.
So, when President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in 2015, with a promise to fight the scourge, many had high hopes,given his reputation as a no nonsense leader.
Four years down the line, Buhari’s supporters however insist some gains have been recorded! However, several critics say the President’s anti-graft seems not to be yielding quite the expected results yet,
Better still, given the hype created by the Buhari administration to stamp out corruption in the country and the marginal gains in this regard, the government has come under barrage of criticism by many who believe that the anti-graft war is not biting well. And, in some cases critics say the administration’s fight against corruption is tainted with favoritism along ethic or political lines. Uncomfortable as this may seem, the underlying lesson is that Nigerians expect the anti-graft war to be stepped up.
Newsdiaryonline recalls that former President Olusegun (the nation’s leader from 1999 to 2007) whose administration established the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) as well as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) like his successor Dr. Goodluck Jonathan before Buhari gave the restoration of accountability especially in the public sector priority attention. However, the duo also scored low marks by local and international watchers.
Since 2015, one of President Buhari’s unique selling points is the fight against corruption. This major component of his administration became a major subject for discourse especially in the build up to the 2019 presidential poll which he won.
Now, that Buhari has a second chance to govern Nigeria, expectations are once again high as all eyes are on the administration’s fight against corruption. The President’s recent public statement that he can decide to be “reckless” because he does not need any body’s vote again may have raised eyebrows as people look ahead.
However, 2019 will end in a manner that suggests that the President’s fight against corruption seems to be indeed getting a “reckless” bite. For instance, Dr. Orji Kalu, a former governor of Abia State and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defector to the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) was on December 5, 2019 handed a 12-year term by a Federal High Court siting in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre.
The trial judge Justice Mohammed Idris convicted Kalu on 39 counts of N7.2 billion fraud and money laundering preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The EFCC prosecuted Kalu together with his former Commissioner for Finance, Jonnes Udeogo, who got 10-year jail term and a company, Slok Nigeria Ltd for 12 years. On October 31, 2016, the commission preferred a 34-count charge bordering on N3.2 billion fraud against them. But the charges were on July 16, 2018, amended to 39 counts with the sum increased to N7.2 billion.
The slow pace which the nation’s judiciary grinds is also a subject of great concern to the Buhari lead administration as well as pundits. Delays in the prosecution of corruption cases in the country is common place, fuelling widespread accusations of complicity to harm twist the ongoing war against corruption.
In any case, the recent conviction of Kalu a serving Senator has punctuated the once flourishing assertion that mere cross carpeting from another party to the ruling APC can save a former public office holder facing corruption charges or immune them from being charged.Or so it seems.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to promoting transparency and accountability in the use of Nigeria’s natural resources even though in March this year it projected a rise in acts of corruption under Buhari, it however, may have seen a new vista of hope following the high-profile federal lawmaker’s conviction.
“What we see now is that the judiciary is trying to live up to expectations, what must be done has to be done,’’ says Executive Director of SERAP, Mr Adetokunbo Mumuni.
SERAP in a 57-page report released early in the year in collaboration with UKaid stated that “the numerous interviews with the general public and the experts point to a level of appreciation of the deleterious ramifications of graft in the country over the decades. On the flipside, this provides sufficient public goodwill to the federal and state governments to tackle the vice.”
For Professor Akin Oyebode, who chaired the report’s public presentation in Lagos, the SERAP report had put Nigeria on the spotlight.
The country no doubt, has always been on the spotlight for its appalling corruption profile. For instance, a government agency the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently sent tongues wagging with a recent report that an estimated N675bn was paid in cash bribes to public officials in 2019.
The report issued on December 6, after a survey by the NBS and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime indicated that out of all Nigerians who had at least one contact with a public official in one year before the latest survey, 30.2 per cent paid a bribe to, or were asked to pay a bribe by, a public official.
According to the report “this means that, although still relatively high, the prevalence of bribery in Nigeria has undergone a moderate, yet statistically significant, decrease since 2016, when it stood at 32.3 per cent,” and cash continues to be the dominant type of bribe.
“More than 93 per cent of all bribes paid in 2019 was paid in cash, a slightly larger share than in 2016.
“Overall, it is estimated that a total of roughly N675bn was paid in cash bribes to public officials in Nigeria in 2019, corresponding to 0.52 per cent of the entire Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria.”
Nigeria’s Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, at meeting with journalists in Abuja, recently put up defence for the government saying the administration’s fight against corruption “is total, comprehensive and dispassionate devoid of any political or ethnic sentiments or inclination.”
However, in what may seem like an acid test for the government’s anti-graft war in the coming year or beyond considering the slow pace of justice dispensation in the country, Malami, added that about 22 former governors are either on trial or facing investigations over allegations of corruption.
Although, many are of the view that the nation’s anti-graft war is not being fought with the right strategy and vigour, the government prides itself as having recovered over N200 billion, as well as secured 890 convictions so far.
Considering the pillage public office holders have visited on the country’s treasury, the recovered sum, seems to grossly fall short of the amount stolen from Nigeria’s coffers.
Since the country gained independence on October 1, 1960 about $582 billion have been siphoned from public treasury, according to a British think tank, Chatham House, which was quoted in an article entitled, “Catch me if you can, African kleptocrats are finding it tougher to stash cash in the West,” published in October 10, 2019 edition of London based The Economist Magazine.
Earlier, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had told journalists that ‘‘the situation is dire and the time to act is now. For example, between the period 2006 and 2013, just 55 people allegedly stole a total of 1.34 trillion Naira in Nigeria. That’s more than a quarter of last year’s national budget.”
Mohammed, explained that out of the stolen funds, 15 ex-governors were alleged to have stolen N146.84 billion, while 4 former ministers stole N7 billion, 12 former public servants, both at federal and state levels, stole over N14 billion, eight banking Industry officials also allegedly N524 billion, while 11 businessmen were accused of N653 billion fraud.
Given the massive cash in possession of treasury looters and a very high propensity of law enforcement agents as well as judicial officers to collect bribe, pundits say the government needs to up its game in the fight against corruption. Otherwise, treasury looters may buy their way to escape the long arm of the law.
Corruption in Nigeria has robbed the country of good education and healthcare systems, infrastructure amongst other basic amenities.
Considering the enormous challenges facing the Nigerian state, and the dire need for quick fixes to bring the country back on track, President Muhammadu appears to be a man with an unenviable job. But judging from the body language and the telltale sign from Kalu’s conviction, Buhari seems set to tackle the menace of corruption.
Newsdiaryonline, recalls that two former governors Rev jolly Nyame, Chief Joshua Dariye of Taraba and Plateau states respectively were last year convicted of corruption charges brought against them. Besides,a former governor of Ekiti State, Mr Ayo Fayose is also amongst others high profile Nigerians being tried for alleged corruption cases.
Nigerians are therefore keeping their fingers crossed to see how well the Buhari-led administration will handle the prosecution of about 22 ex-governors facing trial or being investigated on allegations of corruption in the coming year or beyond.
