allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Countering the Corruption Tsunami (Page 1 of 2)

When the National Assembly (NASS) started the probe into the power sector especially with regard to the $16 billion wasted in by the Obasanjo's administration, a Nigerian who is resident in America sent me an e-mail, thanking God for giving him the foresight to migrate to the US in the wake of the 1990's.

He likened the high profile corruption in Nigeria like an earthquake that is likely to sink the nation in the nearest future. He also likened it to a hurricane that devastated the United States of America a couple of years ago. I paused for a while and decided to reply the e-mail taking due cognizance of the fact that Nigeria is a nation under siege and ruled by "thieves".

My reply was informed by the fact that as a nation, we seem to have chosen stagnation rather than development, as our leaders continue to breach public trust with impunity. Far from being a pessimist, my personal experience for the past two decades shows that in more sense that one, our leaders are economic opportunists who have portrayed us as a ' thieving nation" - a nation not governed by even an ounce of morality, perpetually wrestling with arrested development, her huge resource endowments notwithstanding.

My reply read thus:

My friend, since the tsunami swept through Indonesia a couple of years ago, the world woke up to unravel the tyrannizing and damaging effect of that destructive wave resulting from earthquake or volcanic eruption. Against the background of the devastation that accompanies tsunami; many people would have wished it never happened. In order to stem the tsunami, most nations have put in place technologies that provide early warning signs heralding the monster.

Corruption (like tsunami) has laid waste many lands. Ghana's economy was rendered impotent by corrupt leadership in the 1970's through the early 1980's. Ghanaians strayed into Nigeria to serve as teachers, cobblers or menial workers in Nigeria and other neighboring countries. The black star that was bright in the days of Nkrumah was eclipsed by nearly two decades of mismanagement. It took only a courageous J.J. Rawlings to save Ghana from utter collapse. Ghana is just one example that was devastated by the Tsunami of corruption. Presently Zimbabwe is undergoing a similar harrowing experience.

The lesson is that no matter how well endowed a nation may be, corruption is the single greatest killer of the economy, of the collective destiny of a people and a stagnating factor in terms of development in the real sectors of the economy. In Nigeria, corruption is a silent killer, perhaps deadlier than heart attack.

Since the Abacha days, Nigeria has been under the enthusiastic scrutiny of the international community. At that time, Nigeria was largely seen as a pariah, with all the manifestation of a failed state but what really brought Nigeria under the eager watch of the world was the high corruption profile of her leaders.

Under the Babangida regime, Nigeria's gulf crisis wind fall was frittered away without basic accountability. The transparency mechanism of the junta was so weak that nothing was ever accounted for. Babangida has gone down in history as one of the most corrupt leaders Nigeria has ever produced. Even Abacha could not conjure the temerity to probe him because they were partners in crime. In Nigeria leaders try to out do themselves as far as corruption is concerned.

In 1975, Murtala Mohammed toppled the Gowon regime essentially to reverse the corrupt credentials of the leaders. Murtala seemed ready to wage a genuine crusade and to reposition the economy but he was ousted in a brutal coup and his anti-corruption record obliterated. The so called Obasanjo legacy would not have been possible if Murtala were alive.

The ethical revolution of the Second Republic did not deter the Umaru Dikkos, who through the import substitution and export promotion policy constituted a corrupt cabal. The economy was undermined in two ways. First there was lack of accountability in the importation of rice and other essential commodities, and secondly, the award of contract never followed "due process" because of the ten percentile syndrome. Attempts to revamping the economy were bastardized by corruption.

So far only the Buhari-Idiagbon regime showed some determination in fighting the scourge. The war against indiscipline found expression in the prohibition of narcotics, incarceration of corrupt public officers and purging public institution. The regime was overthrown by a conspiracy between some capitalists whose economic interest had been short circuited and their military apologists who felt threatened by the crusading zeal of the duo.

For the past eight years, the Obasanjo administration fought corruption through the EFCC, ICPC and other regulatory agencies such as NAFDAC. At a time most Nigerians though OBJ was sincere even though he treated the crusade as a "holy war" but administered selective treatment based on personal relationship. Even the EFCC leadership towed the same unenviable road.

As a nation corruption has eaten up most public institutions. In the area of physical infrastructure provision, corruption has led to the construction of sub-standards roads, hospitals and schools power supply has become elusive. The economy is melting down; it is severely blighted by unemployment, inflation and lack of development. Startling revelations have been made regarding the award of contracts and expenditure authorization without due process, but Nigerians know that President Yar'Adua will not have the temerity to investigate the acronym OBJ because of its aura of invincibility. Only the Granges and their cohorts can be court marshaled.

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