London — Former Head of State General Muhammad Buhari has said the fight against corruption is beyond the capacity of President Goodluck Jonathan's administration.
In a keynote lecture on 'Stable Democracy and Nigeria's Economy' delivered at the Houses of Parliament in London last night, Buhari said the present government lacked the political will to fight the rampant corruption bedevilling the country.
He also said the Independent National Electoral Commission would not deliver on free and fair elections, and that INEC has a "cosy relationship with the executive and the judiciary."
Buhari said ahead of the 2011 elections, INEC requested and got N80 billion for elections and biometric data, but failed to avail the litigating parties access to the data on grounds on national security. He therefore said only the opposition, if they are strong enough, could stop rigging in the country.
He said though there was the need to restructure the country, "the problem with Nigeria is not the structure but the process", and described the clamour for more states as "dysfunctional" and out of place.
To get out of poverty and socio-economic quagmire in the country, he said, the government should focus on agriculture and provide the sector with all the necessary assistance to return the country to agricultural boom and halt the rural-urban migration.
Earlier, the chair of British African Development Programme, Lorraine Phelan, described Nigerians as a hard working people who are blessed with wealth but living in poverty. She said it was time for Nigerians to start "asking questions about and taking part in good governance. Nigeria must succeed."
In her remarks, the hostess of the lecture, Diane Abbot, said Nigeria was key to Africa's future, stressing that Nigeria's failure would not just be a failure of Africa, but that of the black race as a whole.
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URGENT NEED TO SET UP A SPECIAL COURT TO TRY CORRUPTION CASES – AN ANTIDOTE TO SHAMEFUL INDICTED ONES, LET LOOSE, ROAMING FREE The mentally sick hears only his or her own voice unfortunately hallucinating in horror of mind darkness. This sadly explaining the mindset of President Goodluck Jonathan, his economic team and hired political bulldogs putting pass mark on the nation’s economy, despite the nation wallowing in endemic corruption. Commonsense must however dictate to the reasonable, that there is no way an economy overhung with corruption can be seen or said developing. One’s primary cause of concern however is that of President Goodluck Jonathan constantly demonstrating week leadership with core self deceit seeing an economic growth through the blurred mirror of reasonable definiteness. No doubt to help President Jonathan and his team come to good sense on the nation’s situation analysis, it took real courage for US former President Bill Clinton to have of very recent come over to Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria to diplomatically speak out the mind of the International Communities that we Nigerians are corrupt and spendthrifts and that “Like 90 percent of the country has a very good resource but haven’t done well with the oil money” About the same time, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambers the former President of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) scathingly came to Port Harcourt Nigeria at 2nd edition of Professor Claude Ake memorial Lecture to tell us the home truth “linking the poverty level in Nigeria as well as dearth in public infrastructure such as roads to corruption that has eaten deep into fabrics of the country” As if to say “enough is not enough” for Nigeria on this matter of leadership seeing double on the nations’ economic retrogression, ahead of upcoming June meeting of Honorary International Investors Council, the Coordinator of the group, a British Leader of respect, Baroness Lynda Chalker who on meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa without mincing word disclosed that “ The private sector is very cautious and wants to see commitments. They want to see an end to terrorism in then North, end to the oil theft in the South and good governance in all the states” The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria Mallam Lamido Sanusi Lamido obviously determined not to let the opportunity escape him of timely saying it loud on the nation’s economy situations on Tuesday March 5 2013, as a special guest speaker at the Metropolitan Club in Lagos made it clear that “ We must join hands and fight corruption in all strata of the economy. It is causing distortion and destruction t the economy” With all the aforementioned rightful castigations of wrongful in the nation’s economy by highly respected individuals of global respect commanding, it have been proved without doubt that we are moving into fast lane of self annihilation in need of urgent redirection. The indentified major area of concern is notably corruption and on which the nation’s leaders are playing with kid gloves obviously because they are involved. Therefore to save our democracy and civilization from looming dangers, we must act fast and now with the national Assembly making a fast lane law to set up Two Steps Special Court of Fast lane Tribunal status, meant only for trial of Corruption cases; And which Court must be headed by retired Court of Appeal Judge of proven integrity and good records. At the first step court, the trial should not last more than three months whilst and an appeal from the initial trial court to the upper and final court to be headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge of proven integrity and good records, should as well not last more than three months. At least trial of a corruption case should not last more than 12 calendar months. This will in addition to ridding the nation of odium, send out a no nonsense signal on the need for righteous living by all. It makes nonsense of our judicial system seeing those already indicted for corruption and shameless stealing from the purse being allowed to walk and roam free, employing diabolical trial delay tactics to continue playing lead roles not only in the polity but employing the power of the stolen wealth to dictate the pace of our events and happenings. This sending the wrong message to those with inclination to crime and criminal activities and in particular our youths that crime pays. We must ensure that the business of crime and being corrupt does not pay and by all reasonable legal and lawful means ensuring that those indicted for the evil of corruption are not spared but timely prosecuted to logical conclusion irrespective of whom they are. Dr. Olapade Agoro (Aladura Patriarch) Owa’Tapa of Itapa Ijesa land, National Chairman, former Presidential Candidate, National Action Council (NAC)
Nice piece of article.