Mr. President, The Fight Against Corruption Must Not Be Compromised -By Paul E. Michael

Paul E. Michael

Mr. President, The Fight Against Corruption Must Not Be Compromised, By Paul E. Michael.

As an ardent supporter of the President Mohammadu Buhari fight against corruption, I am not pleased with the manner at which the President is handling cases of corruption that are related to him and his administration. Our nation would not have been in the pitiable state it is today if not for corruption. Every average Nigerian can tell the negative impact corruption has meted on him or her, hence anti-graft war should be unanimously encouraged.

But like it is stated, “whatever is worth doing, is worth doing well”. This expression is always echoed across the length and breadth of our nation but the moral principle backing it, which has to do with selflessness, seems to be missing in our political terrain.

Prior to the 2015 general elections, the then General Mohammadu Buhari, who was the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, was presented before Nigerians as a man with zero-tolerance for corruption. This single posture was one of the major reasons, why he was elected by majority of Nigerians against the then incumbent President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

Nigerians across the country, chose General Buhari in a bid to redirect the path of the nation from public corruption, which has been a major hindrance to the development of the country. You will recall that the administration of the former President Goodluck Jonathan, was accused of widespread corruption by several prominent Nigrian leaders including former President Olusegun Obasanjo and two former CBN Governors, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Charles Chukwuma Soludo, among others as well as the international community.

In a public interview with Robin Roberts of ABC, a former United States (US) Secretary of State and a presidential candidate of the Democrats in the forth coming elections in the US, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, which was published on Daily Post on May 10, 2014, the former President Jonathan was accused of squandering oil funds and aiding corruption.

“Nigeria has made bad choices, not hard choices” Clinton said. “They have squandered their oil wealth, they have allowed corruption to fester and now they are losing control of parts of their territory because they wouldn’t make hard choices,” she added.

Wonderfully, the elected President in the March 28, 2015 general elections, Mohammadu Buhari, began the war against corruption few months after the assumption of office. He directed the National Security Adviser to constitute an investigative committee on the procurement of hardware and ammunitions in the Armed Forces from 2007 to 2015, after stating categorically in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2015, that “I belong to everybody and I belong to nobody.”

After the 13-man committee, which was chaired by AVM J.O.N. Ode (rtd.), submitted its reports, the probe of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki and top retired/serving military officers began in earnest, as there was a shocking revelation of an alleged diversion of 2.1 billion dollars, which was budgeted for the procurement of arms for the fight against the boko haram terrorists in the Northeastern part of the country.

As the probe continued, a breath of fresh air engulfed the atmosphere and the hope of a better Nigeria was rekindled amongst many, though the anti-graft war was being faulted by a number of Nigerians, which is unavoidable

Since then, the Buhari’s administration, through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), has being probing several public Officers, which include the Senate President Bukola Saraki, Femi Fani Kayode, Chief Olisa Metuh, Ike Ekweremadu, among others.

Most recently, is the freezing of the personal Zenith Bank account of the serving Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, by the EFCC. According to Sahara Reporters, the action was “in connection with over N1.2billion he took in 2014 from the disgraced National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki, to prosecute his re-election as governor.”

While commending the President for such powerful strides against corruption, it is not inappropriate to frown at the unwillingness of Mr. President to investigate and probe indicted persons and public institutions that are under his watch.

First, the management of th Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, headed by Godwin Emefiele, was reportedly indicted for carring out a secret employment of about 909 staffs, who are majorly sons, daughters and relatives of top public personalities. Sahara Reporters took her time to source for facts and placed them before the public.

It is noteworthy that some of the big names that were indicted, who are connected to the President in one way or the other, are the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, former Vice President and chieftain of APC, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau and former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, to mention a few.

Unfortunately, Mr. President has not taken that swift action he took against corruption when he assumed office in 2015 as the new Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

Similarly, the management of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, led by Mr. Babatunde Fowler, was also indicted for carrying out another secret employment of 349 new staffs. This must have happened following the in-actions of Mr. President to punish those responsible for the secret employment in CBN, which violated federal character standard and betrayed transparency.

Again, the common man in the street was denied the privilege of competing for employment in his land of birth and this took place under the leadership of our “zero-tolerance” President. These little but important things are reducing the value that Nigerians have for this administration daily.

Moreso, the wife of the President, Lady Aisha Buhari, was alleged to have been involved in the scam of the Congressman, Williams J. Jefferson, who was convicted in August 2009 and ultimately sentenced to 13 years in prison. Mr. Jefferson, who according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, was “soliciting bribes from America Companies interested in doing business in Africa”, was said to have received about $170,000 from one Aisha Buhari, who Governor Fayose described as the wife of President Buhari.

According to a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Idowu Adelusi, “even the President” he said, “cannot claim to be an angel, the estate he built in Abuja is known to us” he added. “His wife was indicted over the Halliburton Scandal”, he alleged. “When that American, Jefferson, was being sentenced,” he continued, “the President’s wife was mentioned as having wired $170,000 to Jefferson”, he emphasised.

Whether or not this statement was made in defense by the Governor, regarding the freezing of his account by the EFCC, one thing we cannot sweep under the carpet is the fact that the wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, has been indicted. If I were the President, I will allow the EFCC to investigate the case and try the indicted, in order to set the records straight and reassure Nigerians that the anti-graft war is non-negotiable. But the President is obviously not me, so he might do otherwise.

Just recently, in a publication titled “General Buratai Bought Second Dubai Property Days After Appointment As Chief Of Army Staff”, which was published on June 27, 2016, Sahara Reporters provided some appealing evidence about the properties owned by General Tukur Yusuf Buratai. According to the publication, General Buratai purchased the second property within 11 days of his appointment as Nigeria’s Chief Of Army Staff (COAS), after the first property was handed to the Buratai family on January 13, 2013.

While Nigerians await the action of the President on these issues, I want to state categorically that the indictment of the above institutions and persons, is a test of Buhari’s integrity and his zero-tolerance stance on corruption.

The President should therefore ensure to lead by example, as such is the only way to avert the negative impact corruption has unleashed on our nation and make life meaningful for the average Nigerian, which is obviously what all Nigerians yearn for. So, Mr. President, the fight against corruption must not be compromised.

Paul E. Michael is a Criminologist and a Civil Activist and can be reached on twitter @McPaulEmumena.