Corruption on the next level train

It is just like yesterday when President Muhammadu Buhari, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, among others, presented the All Progressives Congress (APC) agenda on economy, security and corruption to Nigerians in 2014. This presentation led to the exit of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from power with a landslide victory of APC at the 2015 general election. However, despite this victory, the menace still remaisn unabated as corruption continues to grow more wings.

On January 23, 2020, Transparency International ranked Nigeria as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Nigeria scored 26 out of 100 points making the country the 34th most corrupt country out of 180 countries assessed by the global anti-corruption watchdog in 2019. The report continues to witness serious criticisms from the government, despite being the true picture of corruption in Nigeria.

For instance, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on January 24, described the report as unfair, untenable and a pointer to the failure of TI to take into consideration the efforts of the government to tame corruption, especially in the light of the increasing number of cases filed in court and jail terms secured in several convictions against corrupt persons.

In the same manner, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) faulted the ranking and described it as jaundiced and illogical, considering the year under review by TI, where the EFCC secured a remarkable 1,268 convictions, including that of a former state governor and a serving senator who was convicted for defrauding his state to the tune of N7.65billion.  

While this account seems to be true, the level of multi-dimensional corruption in Nigeria shows that the TI report is the truth. In fact, the only error that might have occurred, if any, could have been an under reportage of corruption. This is because corruption in Nigeria is visible to the blind not to talk of those with two eyes opened.

Recently, there was news of how two bullion vans entered the residential building of one of the founding fathers of APC in Lagos state on the eve of the 2019 general election. Though, the amount of the money in the vans and their mission were not disclosed but it is of general knowledge that money is election and election is money in Nigeria.

In Nigeria, the more money spent by a candidate most times in an election determines the victory. This has been the bane of the nation’s development and one of the reasons corruption and poverty continue to grow more wings in the land. 

Where there is massive poverty automatically there will be corruption. In August 2019, the World Poverty Clock reported that the number of people living in extreme poverty in Nigeria has jumped to 91.16 million. Similarly, the last data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2018 shows that 23.2 per cent of Nigerians are unemployed.

No wonder, corruption continues to change method despite the chorus of those who claimed to be anti-corruption crusaders. Apart from poverty which seems to be the propelling force for corruption in Nigeria, the lack of political will to extend the war against corruption across all the classes of the society plays a crucial role in sustaining the monster. This is complemented by the issue of ethnicity and religion revolving around the nation’s political space. 

Most people have accused the current government of appointing more people from a section of the country to juicy and important positions, especially the security sector, which is another form of corruption because it negates the principal of Federal Character designed to encourage even development.

President Buhari in 2015 seemed to have agreed to this term when he said that he cannot leave those that gave him 97 per cent votes to attend to those that gave him five per cent which based on African mentality is correct but totally negates democratic principles and the oath that brought him to office.

In an heterogeneous country like Nigeria, appointing people from a particular section to fill the important positions at the detriment of the principle of Federal Character is another form of corruption which is not only inimical to the so called war against corruption and poverty but also to the unity of the country itself because it creates countries out of country.

Femi Oluwasanmi,

Ibafo,

Ogun state.

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