Surely, the ripple effect of the recent reckless comment made by David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, who described Nigeria as “fantastically corrupt”, is still smouldering. Like I said last week, Cameron’s comment was not totally off the mark, except that as a man occupying such a sensitive position, he could have been more circumspect. Anyway, as they say, truth is bitter. Now we know that we have a lot more to do to erase the ugly perception that Nigeria is a country where anything goes. It is not Buhari’s job to do alone. It is for all of us to change the current maggoty destiny of this country and create a new image altogether.
So, who is really fighting corruption? And who are those sustaining corruption in the country? Although this piece is about corruption, our other security agencies who should be working in synergy with the anti-graft agencies have not fared better. They have often been found amazingly wanting. Recently, the Department of State Security, DSS, cried blue murder and came up with the dangerous insinuation that five Fulani herdsmen were killed and buried in a shallow grave somewhere in a south eastern state. I do not know the rationale in making such an explosive and uncharitable statement in a country where brothers go for one another’s jugular at the slightest provocation.
The DSS said a total of 50 shallow graves were discovered. How the DSS was able to identify five of the graves as containing the remains of Fulani herdsmen is still baffling to many. Perhaps, those at the helm of affairs at the DSS now are ignorant of the pogrom that preceded the nation’s 30-month civil war between 1967 and 1970. At any rate, that official indiscretion by the DSS must have set the stage or laid the foundation for the massacre that later took place in Nimbo community in Enugu State, where several innocent people were slaughtered in cold blood and many houses razed by supposed Fulani marauders.
Anyway, back on track, Nigerians are happy that the bad eggs amongst us are gradually being exposed. In other words, now that the chickens are coming home to roost, the talk everywhere is that this corruption war is politically motivated because only members of a particular political group are being harassed by the anti-graft agencies. I know that some people have said that it appears to be so because the PDP was the party that called the shots in the last 16 years. But even at that, it does not mean that the other parties are constituted by angels. Some of their members’ antecedents are well known and documented in the public domain. So, if the corruption war must be waged, it must be total and entire. Otherwise, we may end up scorching the snake and not actually killing it.
Agreed, the President is determined to fight corruption with all the ammunitions at his disposal, but the sad thing is that he seems to be alone in this battle to get rid of corruption in the country. Right now, there are glaring indications that some of the people in the president’s camp may not be comfortable with his stance on corruption. It is obvious that some of them are eager to make money too to line their pockets for the advancement of their political ambitions. It is either they cannot get the president’s ear or he has not looked in their direction in terms of appointment of their cronies to juicy offices. Such disgruntled elements are believed to be working clandestinely to undermine the President. Whenever they find it convenient, they have criticised the President’s style of governance using some fronts. Some may have even chosen to take the war against the president to some international fora for maximum effects.
The controversy that trailed the 2016 budget is a clear signal that corruption is alive at the highest level of governance in Nigeria. Those who smuggled items and money into the bill knew what they were doing. Of course, that was not the first time the budget was being padded by ministry and budget officials as well as members of the National Assembly, particularly members of the appropriation committees of both houses. In the first instance, some of those (dis)honourable members of the National Assembly got there after running down the finances of their states and ministries.
As for the National Assembly, it is obvious that the members are not on the same page with the president in the war against corruption. There seems to be confusion within the ranks of the APC members in both houses of the National Assembly, but the division or schism is more pronounced in the Senate. It was that lack of cohesion and understanding that created a yawning gap and prepared the ground for both Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, a PDP senator, to emerge Senate President and Deputy President respectively in June last year. The APC that has a slim majority over the PDP in the Senate has never recovered from the shock and trauma of losing the leadership of the Senate to entirely a new comer and a member of the opposition party. All attempts to dislodge the duo from their thrones have not produced the desired result. Instead, both Saraki and Ekweremadu have dug in and are still calling the shots.
This is in spite of the case involving Saraki, who is facing charges of non-disclosure of assets before the Code of Conduct Tribunal sitting in Abuja. As bad as the case is, Saraki has continued to enjoy the support of his colleagues who appear to be solidly united behind him. Any day he appears in court, he is closely followed by a retinue of senators who have made it a duty to rally round him in his hour of trial. To these senators, they are not in the least bothered by the negative public perception that has trailed their presence at the CCT proceedings. It is very clear that the senators are alienated from the very public they claim to be serving. They are also daily distancing themselves from the vision and aspirations of the Buhari administration especially the war on corruption the administration is waging relentlessly with vigour.
Furthermore, the recent fuel price hike, the scarce foreign exchange and the high cost of living, have all combined to depress Nigerians. The situation is so bad that today, Nigerians have almost lost hope in their country and their leaders. They may be right. Since the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo introduced some belt-tightening measures in 1976, the poor masses have always been called upon to make sacrifices while the privileged few who are neck-deep in the cesspit of corruption are living in opulence.
In addition, the killings and kidnappings that are simultaneously going on in many parts of the country, as well as the current indiscriminate bombing of oil pipelines by hoodlums in the Niger Delta, have reached an alarming proportion. When you analyse all these unfortunate scenarios, you will discover that corruption is at the very root of all the confusion in the country. Corruption in Nigeria is fantastically pervasive. It has almost ruined the country. Certainly, Nigerians are eager to see the change they voted for. Therefore, the Buhari administration will need to quickly go back to the drawing board and come up with a good strategy to bring succour to the suffering and suffocating Nigerians. urely, the ripple effect of the recent reckless comment made by David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, who described Nigeria as “fantastically corrupt”, is still smouldering. Like I said last week, Cameron’s comment was not totally off the mark, except that as a man occupying such a sensitive position, he could have been more circumspect. Anyway, as they say, truth is bitter. Now we know that we have a lot more to do to erase the ugly perception that Nigeria is a country where anything goes. It is not Buhari’s job to do alone. It is for all of us to change the current maggoty destiny of this country and create a new image altogether.
So, who is really fighting corruption? And who are those sustaining corruption in the country? Although this piece is about corruption, our other security agencies who should be working in synergy with the anti-graft agencies have not fared better. They have often been found amazingly wanting. Recently, the Department of State Security, DSS, cried blue murder and came up with the dangerous insinuation that five Fulani herdsmen were killed and buried in a shallow grave somewhere in a south eastern state. I do not know the rationale in making such an explosive and uncharitable statement in a country where brothers go for one another’s jugular at the slightest provocation.
The DSS said a total of 50 shallow graves were discovered. How the DSS was able to identify five of the graves as containing the remains of Fulani herdsmen is still baffling to many. Perhaps, those at the helm of affairs at the DSS now are ignorant of the pogrom that preceded the nation’s 30-month civil war between 1967 and 1970. At any rate, that official indiscretion by the DSS must have set the stage or laid the foundation for the massacre that later took place in Nimbo community in Enugu State, where several innocent people were slaughtered in cold blood and many houses razed by supposed Fulani marauders.
Anyway, back on track, Nigerians are happy that the bad eggs amongst us are gradually being exposed. In other words, now that the chickens are coming home to roost, the talk everywhere is that this corruption war is politically motivated because only members of a particular political group are being harassed by the anti-graft agencies. I know that some people have said that it appears to be so because the PDP was the party that called the shots in the last 16 years. But even at that, it does not mean that the other parties are constituted by angels. Some of their members’ antecedents are well known and documented in the public domain. So, if the corruption war must be waged, it must be total and entire. Otherwise, we may end up scorching the snake and not actually killing it.
Agreed, the President is determined to fight corruption with all the ammunitions at his disposal, but the sad thing is that he seems to be alone in this battle to get rid of corruption in the country. Right now, there are glaring indications that some of the people in the president’s camp may not be comfortable with his stance on corruption. It is obvious that some of them are eager to make money too to line their pockets for the advancement of their political ambitions. It is either they cannot get the president’s ear or he has not looked in their direction in terms of appointment of their cronies to juicy offices. Such disgruntled elements are believed to be working clandestinely to undermine the President. Whenever they find it convenient, they have criticised the President’s style of governance using some fronts. Some may have even chosen to take the war against the president to some international fora for maximum effects.
The controversy that trailed the 2016 budget is a clear signal that corruption is alive at the highest level of governance in Nigeria. Those who smuggled items and money into the bill knew what they were doing. Of course, that was not the first time the budget was being padded by ministry and budget officials as well as members of the National Assembly, particularly members of the appropriation committees of both houses. In the first instance, some of those (dis)honourable members of the National Assembly got there after running down the finances of their states and ministries.
As for the National Assembly, it is obvious that the members are not on the same page with the president in the war against corruption. There seems to be confusion within the ranks of the APC members in both houses of the National Assembly, but the division or schism is more pronounced in the Senate. It was that lack of cohesion and understanding that created a yawning gap and prepared the ground for both Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, a PDP senator, to emerge Senate President and Deputy President respectively in June last year. The APC that has a slim majority over the PDP in the Senate has never recovered from the shock and trauma of losing the leadership of the Senate to entirely a new comer and a member of the opposition party. All attempts to dislodge the duo from their thrones have not produced the desired result. Instead, both Saraki and Ekweremadu have dug in and are still calling the shots.
This is in spite of the case involving Saraki, who is facing charges of non-disclosure of assets before the Code of Conduct Tribunal sitting in Abuja. As bad as the case is, Saraki has continued to enjoy the support of his colleagues who appear to be solidly united behind him. Any day he appears in court, he is closely followed by a retinue of senators who have made it a duty to rally round him in his hour of trial. To these senators, they are not in the least bothered by the negative public perception that has trailed their presence at the CCT proceedings. It is very clear that the senators are alienated from the very public they claim to be serving. They are also daily distancing themselves from the vision and aspirations of the Buhari administration especially the war on corruption the administration is waging relentlessly with vigour.
Furthermore, the recent fuel price hike, the scarce foreign exchange and the high cost of living, have all combined to depress Nigerians. The situation is so bad that today, Nigerians have almost lost hope in their country and their leaders. They may be right. Since the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo introduced some belt-tightening measures in 1976, the poor masses have always been called upon to make sacrifices while the privileged few who are neck-deep in the cesspit of corruption are living in opulence.
In addition, the killings and kidnappings that are simultaneously going on in many parts of the country, as well as the current indiscriminate bombing of oil pipelines by hoodlums in the Niger Delta, have reached an alarming proportion. When you analyse all these unfortunate scenarios, you will discover that corruption is at the very root of all the confusion in the country. Corruption in Nigeria is fantastically pervasive. It has almost ruined the country. Certainly, Nigerians are eager to see the change they voted for. Therefore, the Buhari administration will need to quickly go back to the drawing board and come up with a good strategy to bring succour to the suffering and suffocating Nigerians.
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