Monday was observed globally as the World Anti-Corruption Day. The United Nations General Assembly by Resolution 58/4 of October 31, 2003 designated December 9 every year as the day to raise people’s awareness about the invidious crime that impedes development and impoverishes the masses. It is also a day for political leaders, governments, legal bodies, lobby groups and civil society organisations to renew their commitments to taming the monster.
The theme for this year’s commemoration which is a roll-over from last year’s is “United Against Corruption for Development, Peace and Security.”
Corruption has been recognised as a fatal disease that afflicts countries around the world in varying degrees. It can destroy any nation, stunt its growth, undermine democracy, create unstable governments, endanger peace, national security and hamper socio-economic development. The monster manifests in various forms such as bribery, cooking of books, backroom deals and outright looting of public treasury.
No single nation gets a clean bill of health but those classified as developing and under-developed countries are worse hit by the disease. Nigeria has languished in the nether region of corruption in the past one and a half decades. It ranked 143rd in 2011, 139th in 2012 and 144th in 2013. As at three years ago, it was ranked 136th out of 175 countries, according to the Transparency International (TI) corruption perception index.
Denmark still maintains its top position as the least corrupt country in the world out of the 175 nations surveyed by the TI. Botswana also retains its top spot as the least corrupt country in Africa and 31st in the world. According to the 2017 assessment by the anti-corruption watchdog, Nigeria is ranked 148th least corrupt nation out of 175 countries.
The immediate past chairman of the TI, Jose Ugaz, struck the bull’s eye last year when he said: “Corruption creates and increases poverty and exclusion. While corrupt individuals with political power enjoy a lavish life, millions of Africans are deprived of their basic needs like food, health, education, housing, access to clean water and sanitation.” He urged governments and judges to stop corruption, eradicate impunity and implement the 16th goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to curb the menace.
Many corruption watchers within and outside the country may have rightly attributed Nigeria’s relative success in the war against the monster to the renewed impetus President Muhammadu Buhari has given to the battle since emerging on the scene in 2015. But the war is far from being won despite the existence of several anti-graft bodies and measures put in place to fight it.
Corruption spiraled out of control in the recent past because those in positions of authority had shown lack of political will in allowing the anti-graft agencies to function optimally especially in the immediate past administration. The situation where the agencies must receive the nod of the office of the attorney-general of the federation before corrupt elements could be arraigned for trial took the wind out of the sail of the agencies.
Any government that is truly committed to eliminating corruption from our national life must give the agencies a free hand to prosecute the war. The setting up of special courts by the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Walter Onnoghen, to try corruption cases as well as a committee headed by Justice Suleiman Galadima (retd) to monitor the trial of such cases is commendable. These initiatives are aimed not only at fast-tracking the trial of corruption cases but also ensuring that the trials are not compromised.
Also noteworthy is the policy of whistle blowing introduced by the Federal Government. The strategy has also yielded positive results. Notable among them are the $9.2m found in the Kaduna apartment of the former Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in February last year, and the Ikoyigate involving the sums of $43.3m, 27,800 pounds and N23.2m belonging to the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA) two months later.
The Buhari administration should leverage on the goodwill of majority of Nigerians and sustain the anti-corruption war tempo until the monster is brought to its knees. This will be achievable through strengthening of the anti-corruption agencies and intensifying asset recovery efforts. Corrupt elements are worse than armed robbers. As it was once stated by the former Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings, “Armed robbers steal from individuals but corrupt elements steal from the nation.”
The invidious crime which impoverishes the masses and impedes development must be tackled with all the seriousness it deserves. The fight against corruption is a fight we should all condemn; otherwise our collective future is lost.
