Again, President Goodluck Jonathan has pledged to fight corruption headlong in the country this year. Making the promise during his New Year message to the nation, he affirmed the belief of his administration that the cost of governance in the country was still too high and had to be further reduced. He also promised that his government would take additional steps to stem the tide of corruption and leakages.
The president explained that already, his government has worked hard to curb fraud in the administration of the pension system and the implementation of the petroleum subsidy scheme. He also assured that the prosecution of those involved in pension fund scam would continue while the petroleum subsidy scheme is currently being operated under new strict guidelines to tackle previous leakages and prevent fraud.
Another innovation in the president’s planned war against graft is the curtailment of foreign travels that would apply to all Federal Government’s Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Government, the president further pointed out, would also rely on the use of appropriate technologies including biometrics and digitizing of payment system to curb fund leakages.
We recall that late last year, Jonathan bemoaned the increasing incidence of corruption in both the public and private sectors in spite of institutional reforms put in place to check it. He then claimed that the leadership of the two major anti-graft agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had been repositioned to fight corruption in all its ramifications.
Despite these presidential assurances, corruption in Nigeria, especially among political office holders, has flourished even more. It appears that official corruption has been elevated to a level that it is fast becoming the norm instead of a vice. Corruption is denying many Nigerians the long-expected dividends of democracy. It explains why governance is not working generally in the country and why public infrastructure do not last. Recently, the leadership of EFCC claimed that it has no funds to fight corruption.
There is no doubt that the fight against corruption has taken a nosedive under this administration. Apart from the fact that no notable political actor has been convicted of corruption by the agency, there is nothing on the ground to show that the government is keen to fight corruption in the country.
Now that Jonathan has vowed to fight corruption this year, he should live up to his promise this time. The president must live by example in the fight against graft. He should be in the forefront of the war against corruption along with his ministers and other political appointees. One of the major allegations contained in the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo’s recent letter to Jonathan, is the high level of corruption in governance, especially in the oil sector under the watch of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Jonathan should seriously work against the prevalent and endemic corruption now crippling governance and the economy of the country. While the president should fight corruption at the federal level, it is expected that the governors would lead the fight against the menace at the state and local government levels. The corruption at these levels of government contributes largely to the prevailing graft in the land. The legislature, at state and federal levels, should join in the fight against corruption. Allegations of corruption in some of these legislative Houses do not aid the fight against corruption. The judiciary should also be in the forefront of the war against graft by ensuring that all such cases are expeditiously adjudicated. The use of plea bargains, which allows wealthy Nigerians to get laughable sentences for monumental corruption, is not the best way to fight this crime.
There is the need to convict corrupt high profile individuals to sound a warning that the war against graft is really on. The battle against the problem needs holistic and systematic approaches to be won. It is time Nigerians said no to corruption at all levels of governance.
We all need to join in the crusade to rid the country of corruption by playing the role of whistleblowers. The anti-graft agencies should demonstrate the strong will required to fight this battle. The president should adequately equip and reposition the anti-graft agencies to fight corruption. For the war to make a significant impact, it must go beyond occasional rhetoric from the president.