Making a mockery of anti-corruption war -By Ochuko Ekpekurede

Can you imagine a day James Ibori, former governor of Delta State who is currently serving a 13year jail term in a United Kingdom Prison for corruption related offences, will mount the soap box to preach to Nigerians on the urgency of the need to tackle corruption in Nigeria?

If that day comes, he may elicit mixed reactions. He may have the ears of some Nigerians, who might be persuaded to consider his gesture as an act of repentance or restitution. Indeed, after the baptism of prison experience for grand thievery, ibori certainly will have a message. But whether it will be one of remorse or indignation remains a matter of conjecture.

Unlike Ibori who now has the misfortune of life in prison, many kleptomaniacs are out in the field at the moment cajoling the electorate for votes using anti- corruption messages as their unique selling points. They have correctly read the mood of the electorate and understand how anti-corruption message resonate with them. Now, every politician who fancies his chance to win an elective office sings the anti- corruption song, which is fast becoming a dirge on their lips.

Much as the prominence given to anti-corruption issues in current campaign by aspirants to the political leadership of our dear country is a welcome development, a situation where people that are certified to be corrupt, who have pending corruption cases hanging around their necks like the sword of Damocles, now come around to be lecturing Nigerians on how they will fight corruption is perhaps the greatest insult of the current campaign.

The three sixty degrees transformation of politicians, from indicted felons into anti-corruption campaigners is a huge fraud and deserves condemnation. And you find examples across the parties but one political party certainly has preponderance of such characters.

I chuckle each time I listen to people like former Bayelsa State governor Timipreye Sylva sermonizing on how his party will wipe corruption out of Nigeria. The same man was arraigned by the EFCC for corruption and I am not aware that the case has been thrown out or that the charges have been dropped.

Also, the last time I checked, the anti corruption agency, the EFCC claimed it has not closed its investigation into how Bukola Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State and Chieftain of the APC, ran Societe Genarale Bank aground and looted the funds of Kwara State during his tenure. Yet, he has no scruples hollering on how Nigeria should fight corruption. For many who know Saraki, who is now a member of the Senate, his recent posture as a campaigner against graft, causes a starry-eyed response. Only last year December, Saraki as chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, faulted the Federal Government’s decision to budget N9.3billion intervention on the Clean Cookstove initiative, describing it as misplacement of priority.

What should perhaps be questionable was Saraki’s moral at raising an eyebrow against what he obviously insinuated was a process that did not follow due process. This was a man who in April 2012 was alleged to have influenced the purchase of stocks by Kwara State’s Ministry of Finance in companies that included Joy Petroleum, of which he was the promoter.

He was being investigated for a case of “conspiracy, forgery and stealing N21,000,000,000 belonging to Joy Petroleum Ltd.” Those who follow the case will recall that Saraki had to run to the Federal High Court in Abuja, requesting for an injunction to prevent the police from arresting him, in order to protect his “dignity and prevent further harassment”.

What about Danjuma Goje, a former governor of Gombe State? In between campaigns, he shuttle to Gombe where a Federal High Court is hearing the case of how he allegedly mismanaged over N50billion during his tenure.

Rochas Okorocha of Imo state will not even pretend to be Mr. Clean. The muck raked up by the battle that led to the impeachment of his former deputy, Jude Agbasso, exposed the malfeasance that continued to dominate reports emerging from the state.

Bola Tinubu, the strongman of Lagos, for all the hues and cries about the so-called satanic advertorial sponsored by his political opponents, has many explainations to make about how he ran the affairs of Lagos state and emerged as one of the wealthiest Nigerians alive. The continued dominance in the execution of public contracts in Lagos state by companies in which he has interests, raises ethical issues that call his integrity to question.

Of course, these people have the usual alibi that, they are innocent of what ever charges have been levied against them until proven guilty by a competent court of law. That is true. The rule of law dictates so. But beyond what the law states, morality plays a very crucial role in the affairs of men. The morally tainted cannot come to the market square to preach integrity and accountability. As a popular saying goes, you cannot give what you don’t have. Anti-corruption, as a song for national revival or rebirth can only make meaning on the lips of persons with integrity. My sincere advice to all the political parties is to put their best feet forward when the debate is about corruption. Jesters must no be allowed to continue to insult our collective intelligence.