Timothy Akpoili
14 April 2005
opinion
Abuja — Government has clearly come out in full force to cage the corruption monster.
SINCE its assumption of office in May 1999, one of the major challenges the Olusegun Obasanjo administration has had to contend with is corruption, which cuts across the entire spectrum of the Nigerian society. Not only had the malaise become pervasive, it had eaten deep into the moral fabric of the society to the extent of being taken as routine habit.
Under successive administrations, particularly in the last decade and a half of military dictatorship, Nigeria took on the dubious reference as 'home of advance fee fraudsters [a.k.a. 419], 'ten percenters', money launderers, drug couriers or what have you. Transparency International, the global watchdog on accountability, has also consistently rated the country as one of the most corrupt nations in the world. Indeed, several countries in America, Europe and even Africa usually issue cautions to their nationals to be wary of doing business with Nigerians.
Corruption has had a debilitating effect on the country's march to progress. The situation degenerated to the extent that something had to give, one way or the other. It was either the nation received a generous dosage of regeneration or continued its descent into decay.
In the mid-to-late 1970s and 1984 until mid-1985, the Murtala-Obasanjo and Buhari-Idiagbon military regimes adopted drastic measures to rid the nation of corrupt practices. However, the efforts were both short-lived and rather lop-sided, as they tended to be sensational and focused primarily on public servants. Essentially, there was hardly any solid institutional framework for continuity. And as a universal adage reminds us, "The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools".
Meaningful development
Back in office as a civilian head of state, President Olusegun Obasanjo soon set the machinery in motion to give legal/institutional support to his campaign against corruption and similar threats to our meaningful development as a people and as a nation. Concerned Nigerians and Nigeria-watchers alike therefore, had great expectations when the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission [ICPC] and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] were constituted.
Soon, other measures and initiatives followed - tightening the noose on corrupt practices. Included here are the monetisation of Fringe benefits in the public service, Public Procurement Bureau, Anti-corruption and Transparency Monitoring Units in federal ministries and agencies, due process all of which are aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in the conduct of government business.
Initially, especially in the administration's first term in office, the war against corruption did not match the expectations of the generality of an understandably cynical public. The administration's critics, of course, had a field day describing the campaign as unserious and the agencies 'toothless bull dogs' set up principally to witch-hunt perceived enemies.
Then, without any warning, a gale seemed to have been set off, with mind-boggling revelations about the use of public funds to persuade public officers to perform what should be their normal duties. In one of the sordid details, the erstwhile Minister of Education, Professor Fabian Osuji was reported to have paid the sum of N55 million as 'PR' to the Senate President and some other members of the National Assembly to facilitate the boost and passage of the Ministry's budget for fiscal year 2005.
Other sordid details, revealed in a nationwide broadcast by President Obasanjo, were not only scandalous, but also provided a vista of hope for well-meaning Nigerians. Indeed, the President's broadcast stirred the hornet's nest. More is being revealed, heads are rolling, and more will follow. The erstwhile sacred cows are being exposed, and brought to book. In the meantime, a number of other corruption scandals in high places many believed had been swept under the carpet, are taking centre-stage - in the law courts!
It is important to point out that the war against corrupt practices will not be won if it appears to be selective. Looking at the public service, for instance, governance is conducted at the Federal, state and local government levels as well as on the executive, legislative and judicial tiers. No level or tier, with a clear conscience, can claim moral superiority over others.
By the recent public disclosure, a new vista has been opened in the campaign to enthrone transparency and accountability in the conduct of public affairs in our country. If this is not a hallmark of democracy, we need to be told what else is.
Alleged crimes
The broadcast also reveals a growing respect for institutional procedures for tackling crimes [or allegations of crimes] against the State. While, for instance, the President promptly fired the Minister whom he appointed, he also referred the matter to the appropriate agency. Ditto for the indicted legislators and civil servants. Hopefully, our respect for institutional structures as service providers would steadily take roots in our society.
Government has clearly come out in full force to cage the corruption monster. It has always had the powers, and has demonstrated the will, to do so.
As the saying goes, we are in this together. Our integrity, as individuals and as a people, is at stake. Let no Nigerian, living within or outside the country, who believes that he or she is not affected, one or the other, by the smear of corruption, is mistaken. President reminds us thus: "For as long as this perception [of corruption among Nigerians] persists, it is a stigma on all Nigerians, no matter the honesty and integrity of any individual". It is for this reason that we should support the administration by adopting the exhortation: "We shall not flag or fail, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength, whatever the cost may be; we shall never surrender".
God bless Nigeria and continue to guide the actions of its people -- the leaders and the led alike.
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