The present APC administration is in a catch-22 situation as far as fighting corruption is concerned. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has since declared that he had inherited fPMB’s assets and liabilities, signaling that he is ready to embrace both the good and the bad from his predecessor’s government. The lofty projects including the AKK gas pipelines, the railway rejuvenation, both narrow gauge and standard gauge, the refurbished refineries, increase in Nigeria’s maritime borders, equipping the Nigerian Army especially the Nigeria Airforce, decimating Boko Haram, etc are some of the laurels that have been passed on.
Like any other administration, of course, there’s the good, the bad and the ugly. Some of those who were entrusted with the management of government’s resources in the previous government betrayed that trust and short changed the Nigerian people. The sleaze uncovered in the ongoing CBN investigations are mind boggling, and it is more than clear now, that most public servants need psychological evaluation and treatment, when the preposterous amounts of money siphoned under different guises are taken into account. The former CBN boss had ways and means of allegedly manipulating approvals and policies, of course, not acting alone, to allegedly rape our common wealth, and divert it to private investments in banks and offshore accounts. Godwin Emefiele was not alone and it would be heinous and hypocritical to prosecute him alone.
Seven months into this administration’s first year, there are allegations of massive corruption levelled against some of the president’s appointees. Hajiya Halima Shehu of the Social Investment Programme is being accused of diverting N37 billion. Her supervising minister, Dr. Betta Edu, is also being accused of siphoning N3 billion. There’s also the issue of placing N500 million in a private account of an official of her ministry, for disbursement to beneficiaries, which screams of lack of transparency and mismanagement of public funds.
In the same ministry, Dr. Betta Edu’s predecessor, Hajiya Sadiya Farouk, is also being accused of mismanaging N37 billion. Hajiya Halima has since been suspended and is being investigated by the EFCC. Halima has had quite an ordeal from the onset, when her appointment by Mr. President was suppressed. Her name was substituted, up until when Mr. President got a wind of what had happened, and he intervened, and had her brought back as the CEO of the NSIPA. There has also been this long running battle of moving her agency away from the Humanitarian Ministry to the Presidency. Her tenure has been enmeshed in one too many challenges from the beginning, and one can say she saw this coming (her suspension).
If the present administration is anywhere near gaining the trust and confidence of Nigerians, then it has to be seen to be fair in its fight against corruption. A selective approach to the prosecution and persecution of individuals alleged to have embezzled public funds would amount to being clever by half, and condoning corruption. No one is going to believe the government, if officials of the previous government are being prosecuted for the same alleged crimes that present day officials are going scot free with.
If the government is going to fight corruption, then its officials must also be under proper scrutiny to guard against the pilfering of public funds. If the government does not check, pick, and sanction its officials found to be corrupt, then it is condoning corruption, and creating a lawless society. There is a cable online report of the $3.3 billion loan from Afrexim Bank, stating that Nigeria would be repaying about $12 billion, along with a 2% agency fee. There hasn’t been any clarification from NNPCL or CBN on that report. Is it accurate or mere business as usual? To be able to fight yesterday’s corruption, you have to put a stop to today’s thievery.
Prosecuting Emefiele is a good move in getting to the bottom of the sleaze that went on in the last administration. Inviting Sadiya for questioning over the alleged theft of N37 billion is good for the fight against corruption. She can explain herself and defend whatever allegations are brought against her. If there are individuals that are busy milking the meagre resources of a battered economy, as we are made to understand, then they must be brought to book.
The government must hang them out to dry, and send a proper message that those who were fingered to be corrupt in the previous government, along with those of the present day government, would be punished according to the dictates of our laws. Otherwise, a selective justice approach will not only deprive the government of its citizens’ confidence, but also of the much sought after investor confidence.
Tahir is Talban Bauchi
