As we elect the next president in 2023, we should carefully diagnose the failure of the Buhari administration's anti-corruption agenda.
It is the greatest irony that under a regime that clamped many PDP politicians into jail for corruption, its ultimate underwriter of probity and accountability is being held for massive corruption beyond what the administration has accused officials of the previous government for. It betrays a deep seated lack of understanding of the pathology and dynamics of corruption in Nigeria that the Buhari administration has not just failed in its anti-corruption war, but has complicated and compounded corruption in Nigeria.
With the report that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested the accountant -general of the federation (AGF), Mr Ahmed Idris, for allegedly stealing N80 billion, the focus should necessarily turn on the reputation of the Buhari administration that came into office as a response to outrage at the Jonathan administrative failure to control corruption. This is not the first allegation of massive corruption against high officers of the Buhari administration. The first secretary of the government of the federation (SGF) was disgraced out of office and is now being prosecuted for stealing millions of naira. The director of the intelligence of the administration was also forced out of office for alleged involvement in millions of dollar found in a flat in highrise apartment in Lagos. These and more arrests and prosecution of top officials of this administration speak to the notion that eitherPresident Buhari is not an anti-corruption champion, as alleged, or he does not understand how to fight corruption. Something is basically wrong with this administration's commitment to and understanding of the virus of corruption. Not even the learned vice president seems to have a clue about the social pathology of corruption and how to counter it.
The complete failure of the anti-corruption campaign underlines the centrality of the rule of law and due process in building a clean and effective state. There is nothing better than due process and the rule of law for the stability of society. They are better than charisma and even a spartan lifestyle. Buhari's administration is now officially the most corrupt in the history of modern Nigeria. This is because the government disregards the rule of law and due process. It wrongly considers passion and advertised sternness, without principled action, as the fundamental of disciplined and honest leadership. But these mask deep-seated corruption. The story of Ahmed Idris and other massive cases of corruption underline the misdirection of the Buhari administration in the fight against corruption. My personal encounter with the embattled AGF shows the tragic illogic of the corruption war.
During the early months of the Buhari administration, I was still the chairman and chief executive of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Ahmed Idris was newly appointed the accountant general of the federation. One day I got a summon for an urgent and important meeting of some chief executives with the vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo. I made an inquiry about the meeting and understood that it was about mortgage funds placed with Aso Saving Limited. The owner of the company then, Chief Tunde Ayeni, was a well known supporter and friend of President Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The hostile takeover of government by APC meant onslaught against anyone who had anything to do with PDP. Those of us who were appointed by a PDP government were viewed as thieves. The new administration so much politicised corruption that it spent over a year not fully taking over the federal bureaucracy and not robustly governing, because of resentment against PDP appointees.
I prepared for the meeting and took all necessary documents to prove that every decision I took as NERC chairman was in strictly compliance with the law and in the most transparent and honest manner. NERC had won awards for transparency in procurement and regulation, so I wanted to prove these were no fluke. So I got ready for the showdown.
I challenged the governor of CBN on the argument that mortgage institutions should not hold mortgage funds of public agencies. I showed him that it is mortgage institutions and not commercial banks that understand the mortgage market better and that all over the world they are used for mortgage transactions. Why should we vilify appointees of a previous government who showed sound judgement?
At the meeting were the governor of the Central Bank, the account general of the federation and other heads of accountability institutions and government agencies. The meeting was chaired by the vice president who accused the chief executives of misconduct by placing public funds in Aso Saving, a distressing company, thereby imperilling those funds. Before the meeting, the CBN has issued some kind of instruction for funds to no longer be placed in the bank and the firm implementation of the Single Treasury Account policy. The fact is that partly because of the aggression of the new government against Mr Ayeni, there was some kind of run against the mortgage company.
As part of the indictment, the accountant general was vehement that it is contrary to law for anyone to open any account in a mortgage bank and anyone who did so must be prosecuted for opening an account without the approval of the AGF. He vowed that his agency does not give approval to open accounts in such entities. The governor of the Central Bank added to the indictment by arguing that mortgage funds ought to go to the commercial banks and that the CBN does not recommend such mortgage institutions like Aso Savings, because they are not stable. Everyone of those officials pandered to the bloodletting of the Buhari administration.
I had to respond. First I showed with documents that the decision to engage Aso Saving as a mortgage firm had nothing to do with politics or corruption. We advertised and four mortgage companies applied and were shortlisted. To keep to the highest standard of workplace democracy and comply with procurement laws, I asked all the staff to vote for the best firm. Aso Savings won. I later wrote to the governor of the CBN to determine the liquidity and prudential qualities of Aso Saving. The CBN wrote back to say Aso Savings had 40 per cent of the market and that it was number one in the industry. We later wrote to the accountant general of the federation for approval to open an account with Aso Savings, and it gave the approval. I reprimanded the governor of CBN and the AGF for encouraging the bloodletting and not being courageous to say that these decisions were right decisions. I challenged the governor of CBN on the argument that mortgage institutions should not hold mortgage funds of public agencies. I showed him that it is mortgage institutions and not commercial banks that understand the mortgage market better and that all over the world they are used for mortgage transactions. Why should we vilify appointees of a previous government who showed sound judgement? At that point the vice president calmed me down and said I should not brother much since NERC followed all the necessary due process and obtained all the necessary approvals.
It is a reminder that as we elect the next president in 2023, we should carefully diagnose the failure of the Buhari administration's anti-corruption agenda and elect a president who institutively knows that the answer to corruption is not passion or self-assurance but better rule of law, more reinforcement of due process and more and better oversight mechanisms.
After the meeting, no other action was taken on the matter. Or at least, no one invited NERC again. But, what surprised me most was that high ranking public officers could play dead-brain because of the politics of corruption. When I showed the AGF the approval by his office, all he could say was that it was not him who did that and he would review whether the letter was original or not. Of course he knew it was original and the previous AGF issued it properly. But everyone had to key into the mood of pretending to be holy. The point is that these corrupt officials hid themselves in praise-singing and the Buhari cult-following to pretend they were committed to fighting corruption. All that mattered to them was the political bloodletting, not reorganising government to reduce graft. It is not a surprise to me to learn that the man who was an inquisitor against us that day has been arrested and detained for massive corruption. It was evident to me that day that his holiness posturing was just a pretence.
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It is the greatest irony that under a regime that clamped many PDP politicians into jail for corruption, its ultimate underwriter of probity and accountability is being held for massive corruption beyond what the administration has accused officials of the previous government for. It betrays a deep seated lack of understanding of the pathology and dynamics of corruption in Nigeria that the Buhari administration has not just failed in its anti-corruption war, but has complicated and compounded corruption in Nigeria.
Sitting that day listening to the top officials of this administration goof about, looking for who to entrap in their bloody political war, I knew that a day like this would come when the hunter becomes the hunted. But this is not about gloating over the misfortune of an overbearing, self-righteous public officer. The lesson goes beyond that. It is a reminder that as we elect the next president in 2023, we should carefully diagnose the failure of the Buhari administration's anti-corruption agenda and elect a president who institutively knows that the answer to corruption is not passion or self-assurance but better rule of law, more reinforcement of due process and more and better oversight mechanisms. Whether we conceive corruption as a result of collective problem of action or a feature of low democratisation, the rule of law and faithful application of due process are its answers.
Buhari's singular error is to misconceive the political economy of corruption and stride off on the white horse of 'Mai gaskiya'. Ahmed Idris is an eloquent testimony that it is a failed strategy.
Sam Amadi is an associate professor of Law and director of Abuja School of Social and Political Thought.
