THE United States government’s recent
report on the role of the government in the proliferation of corruption
in Nigeria offers a fresh and undeniable insight into why graft is so
deeply entrenched in the Nigerian system. If the government that should
stamp out corruption is now actively protecting corrupt individuals,
then no amount of posturing will produce results.
However, for a government that is
responsive to constructive criticism – a government that means well for
the people – the report is an opportunity for the Goodluck Jonathan
Administration to act by taking firm, honest and decisive steps to rid
Nigeria of the perennial tag of one of the world’s most corrupt nations.
In a detailed and frank assessment
that could only be described as stating the obvious, the report,
entitled, “Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government,” confirmed
the often-stated view that the efforts of the anti-graft agencies are
deliberately stymied by the government. The allegation of deliberately
emasculating the anti-corruption agencies brings to mind reports last
year in which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission confessed
that it was broke.
In one of such reports, the EFCC
Secretary, Emmanuel Adegboyega, told the Senate Committee on Drugs,
Narcotics, Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption in December last year,
“We (EFCC) have been complaining that no money has been released to us
for operations. As of now, we don’t have up to N2 million. If we can
afford to pay salaries this month that is all.” For an agency whose
functions are defined by the number of arrests and prosecution of
corrupt individuals across the country, how can those functions be
effectively discharged without money for legal fees and travel expenses?
How can they be motivated if salaries are not paid?
Interestingly, one of the other cases
of corrupt practices the US report cited was the curious state pardon
granted a former Bayelsa State governor, Diepriye Alamieyeseigha. Aside
from his conviction for treasury looting and money laundering,
Alamieyeseigha, who is still a wanted person in the United Kingdom,
served time in Nigeria and also had his tenure as governor truncated,
paving the way for Jonathan, then his deputy, to replace him. The state
pardon implies that the former governor, who, as an ex-convict, could
not occupy public office, whether appointive or elective, can now do so.
Indeed, Jonathan has nominated him to the ongoing National Conference.
That is a dangerous signal to the outside world for a government that
professes commitment to fighting corruption.
In a similar damning report last year,
the then US Ambassador to Nigeria, Terence McCulley, reportedly told
the Nigerian government to demonstrate more courage and conviction in
its crusade against graft, insisting that it was the only way to “send a
clear signal that the country is indeed committed to good governance,
to the security of its citizens, and to its rightful place as a
significant actor on the global stage.”
Unfortunately, corruption has been
identified as the major reason for the arrested development in the
country. It is responsible for reduced public spending, which results in
huge infrastructure deficits, especially poor roads, lack of
electricity, inadequately-equipped hospitals and low quality of
education. It is also fingered in the pervasive insecurity in the
country, low quality of governance and general poor standard of living.
Under the current administration,
corruption has become particularly daring, even more than anytime
before. Even when the President stated clearly his readiness to fight
corruption, the government had been less than convincing in its manner
of handling corruption cases. For instance, after ordering a series of
probes into stolen oil subsidy money in which the country lost more than
N2 trillion, an amount far in excess of Nigeria’s capital budget for
this year, nobody has been convicted more than two years after.
Faced with brazen and self-evident
corruption case in the purchase of two cars for N255 million for a
former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, it still took the President four
months to reluctantly fire her. He initially set up a committee to
investigate a straightforward case, apparently to find a way to avoid
sacking the minister.
The US report alleges that, in
Nigeria, “Massive, widespread and pervasive corruption affected all
levels of government and the security forces.” While alleging that
judges were not left out of the massive corruption ring, the report
accused the government of not implementing the law on corruption
effectively, thus deliberately allowing “officials (to) frequently
engage in corrupt practices with impunity.” These are, possibly, part of
what the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, saw
when he cried out that the President’s “body language” encouraged
corruption.
Indeed, the US report went far, but
only to the extent of the period it covered, which was 2013. Since the
beginning of this year, there have been allegations of missing funds,
meant for the Federation Account, and for further distribution among
federal, state and local governments. But, for alleging that about $12
billion – later $20 billion – had not been accounted for, the Central
Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi, was placed on suspension and a forensic
audit ordered later. Why the hurry in suspending the CBN governor
instead of investigating his allegations first? The government says the
suspension will pave the way for the investigation of allegations of
financial recklessness against the CBN governor.
Although both the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation and the government said only $10.8 billion was
unaccounted for, it is still a huge sum of money. Only a fraction of
that money can build the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the East-West Road and
the Second Niger Bridge. It is money that could have staved off the
prolonged university teachers’ strike that nearly cost the institutions a
full academic session.
The Nigerian government owes the
people a duty to tackle corruption boldly by adequately funding the EFCC
and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission. Besides, corrupt individuals should never be allowed to go
scot-free; that is the only way to stem the tide of impunity in the
country.
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