How we battled corruption, by Akanbi, Ex-ICPC boss
By LAYI OLANREWAJU
Monday, November 30, 2009

Pioneer Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Justice Mustapha Akanbi, had a distinguished career on the bench.
As the President of the Federal Court of Appeal, he left indelible footprints in the justice system in Nigeria that now makes him a reference point. His service had earned him numerous national and international awards.

He founded Mustapha Akanbi Foundation (MAF), had the MAF complex commissioned just as he was turbaned by the Emir of Ilorin as the first Wakili of Ilorin. In this interview with Daily Sun, he unveiled factors responsible for the country’s backwardness, blaming leaders for the wide-spread of corruption.
Excerpts:

Going by your years of service, what have been your challenges and fulfillment?
There were challenges. To establish court divisions are not easy. No house, no court building, I had to start from the scratch. My family had to remain behind in Kano, while I was in Port Harcourt, until I secured a rented court house. I had similar experience when I came to Ilorin to start the Appeal Court in Ministry of Justice.

There was no accommodation. There was practically nothing on the ground. There are challenges, but I enjoyed it, because I felt I was doing something for the state. While in Port Harcourt, I felt I was doing something for the nation. I saw it as a challenge being from the North.
Also at the Court of Appeal, being the foundation member, I served in various states. I was first posted to Enugu, then to Ibadan, when the Ibadan judicial division was created. When Jos division was created, I was posted there to go and start it. It was not easy starting the court, but I think the then President of the Court had confidence in me, and I tried to justify it.
In all, I have fulfillment because it has made me a better Nigerian. I made friends wherever I went. Three of my children were born in Kano. My daughter, who is now a magistrate was born in Ibadan; another son, who is also a lawyer, was born in Port Harcourt. You can imagine the experiences we went through. I got to know many people.

I do things for people so that they can be happy, because when people get disappointed, I cannot feel satisfied. So, I have fulfillment in the sense that Al-Amdullilahi all my children are graduates, they are doing well in life. I believe there is great joy in trying to touch the lives of people. When you feel you have been fairly treated, you would not want others to suffer injustice. Then you have to do things  to promote their well-being.

You have said that your career in the Bench has been eventful. But people must have pressurized you either for or against a case, how did you handle such temptation?
Well, as a judge, it is misleading to pretend that people will never come to you to try and influence you. One thing is sure, as you make your bed, so you lie on it. Once you allow them to influence you, you will continue in that manner all through. If they come to me, luckily, I have some rudimentary knowledge of Islam with this profession. I did ask them that ‘are you asking me to decide the case in a way that the guilty man would be an innocent man or the innocent man be convicted? I don’t do that. If I do your wish and I get away with it, can it be possible for me to get away before Allah? In fact, my father was always warning me not to take bribe. And I tried as much as possible to live up to what he advised, apart from my own personal inclination.

As a retired jurist, was there any case in which you passed verdict and regretted deciding that way you did thereafter?
Not at all, because I don’t act on emotions, I do give serious thought on cases and I also know that it is better to convict 99 guilty men then to convict one innocent man. I’m a judge, I don’t give evidence, I only decide on evidence before me. If the person who gave the evidence told lies and I was not able to decipher that he told lies, then that should not be my problem. It will be the problem of a man who came to court and told lies. But if I suspect that you are telling lies or trying to ditch me, I have a system of handling such cases.

In a bid to wipe out corruption in Nigeria, former President Olusegun Obasanjo established EFCC and ICPC, which you pioneered as Chairman, yet corruption persist. What do you think is the missing link?
There are so much that is missing. Corruption is a canker- worm. It has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation. It did not start in a day. It began to ‘escalate’ with the advent of military regime. I used the word ‘escalate’ guardedly, because I worked during the colonial era and I worked in the post independence era. But when people began to live flamboyant and ostentatious lives, the desire to build mansions, do things which should have taken them 10 years to do, within a year and all sort of that, corruption sets in. Greed, avarice are the main causes of corruption in Nigeria. Some people say poverty, but it is more of greed than poverty. If you are living within your means, you will be able to manage.

Secondly, nepotism, people who deserve to be given appointment are being side-tracked for those that are incompetent. The moral fibre to resist corruption is patriotism. People who love their countries and can speak the truth. I have never been queried in the Ministry of Justice. I have never been asked to persecute. Because there is difference between prosecution and persecution. All these factors have gathered together to make it difficult for people to live above corruption.
But I don’t think we should because of that stop making efforts to change the lives of people, to make them realize that they can still survive, as honest men. You can still be transparent if you have the fear of God in mind, ready to speak the truth and do things the way it ought to be done. Unfortunately, people don’t believe this.

Look at what has happened to Bode George at his age, with his position. To stand trial is enough disgrace. To stand trial itself is enough disgrace regardless of whether you are convicted or not. The day he was going to court, he was in a white dress. Presumably, he thought he was going to come out. White represents victory.
The truth is that, don’t go near what you know is bad in the first place. He is not the only one, look at former Inspector-General of Police,Tafa Balogun. He was dragged on the ground.
I was telling people that Ribadu could have problem because those who are corrupt are very powerful; because they have the means. The first people we arrested in ICPC beat up a journalist and spoilt the man’s camera, because he was feeling above the law.
Hong Kong didn’t give up. The country started fighting corruption in 1973. They did not succeed until the 1990s.

Another way of curbing corruption is that authorities: the Emirs, the Obas, the Obis and the leaders must be determined to fight corruption. There is no point when somebody who is corrupt is arrested, then an Oba begins to beg that he should be left which invariably happened. If they continue to do that, then it means we are not ready to fight corruption.
The day I was sworn-in as Chairman of ICPC and appeared before Obasanjo, I told him that my life is on the line. When you take a challenge, if you can’t do it, there is no compulsion, don’t do the work. Honestly, we have problems in Nigeria. Until the whole institutions are addressed, it is the duty of everybody not the leader alone. If corruption is phased out, and we are doing the right thing, the economy will be better.

Former President Obasanjo was alleged to be using ICPC and EFCC as instruments to fight his perceived political enemies. Is that correct? Then what was your experience as ICPC boss?
Throughout my tenure as Chairman ICPC, Obasanjo never for one day influenced me. The reason is that the way you behave is the way people treat you. I have never gotten a kobo from Obasanjo before. Then, when I was doing the marriage of my daughter; what he sent me was a long letter commending me, and he knew that  I did not beg for the job. Rather, I was begged to take up the job.
In fact, I told him that I was going for ‘Humurah’ (Saudi Arabia) to go and pray that God could lead me aright and he should not announce my name yet. Also, I had never shaken hands with him, until the day I was appointed. I was not his friend, but he told me that everybody kept on talking about me. So, he felt I should be the one. When I  finished my five years, the President wanted me to return, I reminded him of the promise I made to do one tenure.

Then, on  EFCC, Ribadu was very fairly close to me. If I have a case which falls within his jurisdiction, I did pack them and send it to him (Ribadu). When we had to prosecute Aldolphus Wabara, the report was made to him, and I complained that he had no jurisdiction. We have jurisdiction, and he directed the file to me.
You know the way you do your work depends on your background and training. I’m a judge of many years standing. Ribadu was a policeman of many years. We have never come together except if we have meeting of law enforcement agencies where all the stakeholders would be there.

I can’t speak for him, but speaking for the ICPC, there was never a time I was influenced by anybody. I did not make anything in ICPC.  I spent all money given to me on investigation, but now I’m better off. I’m a member of National Judicial Council (NJC), the allowance accruing to me is what I’m using in doing most of the things you see me doing.
One thing I believe is that, Ribadu did the work the best way he knew. Nigerians, sometimes, if you are soft, they will take advantage of you. When we have not started arresting powerful ones, nobody said we were discriminating.
But the moment we swooped on ministers, legislators – investigating the Speaker, the President of the Senate – they were now saying we are discriminating. The worst thing is that even some of my own people from Ilorin were involved. So, it is a case of giving dog a bad name in order to hang it.
What is happening today in ICPC, I don’t know; because I have never stepped inside, since I left there.  I’m grateful to Allah for what I have done. The saddest thing to me was my security aide that was killed. He was coming to collect me in Ilorin and somebody just shot him and he died.

Perhaps you were their target  thinking you are in the vehicle then?
I don’t know the reason but it was in broad daylight. Infact, we praised the driver the way he was able to manouvre and turn back. It was the grace of God. We don’t know. But he didn’t survive.

What are the aims and objectives of setting up Mustapha Akanbi Foundation (MAF)?
Our aims and objectives is to empower people to be able to take care of themselves. It has been noted that unless the judiciary cooperates with those fighting corruption there will be no success.
In a nutshell, we are trying in our own little way whether we can succeed in trying to change this attitude of our people.

What have you been able to use MAF to achieve since its establishment?
We have already made some achievements. We did tie and dye workshop for unemployed women and boys. We have been able to set up one boy from Gambari, by name Kannike. We gave him capital to start his tie and die business. We have ran a course for JSS III students in English for selected schools in Kwara State here. We have been able to give a lecture on  diabetes,  We brought Professor Okoro, Mrs Solagberu and some other resource persons to deliver lectures.
Personaly, I have given lectures to doctors and nurses on the evils of corruption, for free. We don’t charge a kobo.
We’ve been able to bring professor Gambari  all the way from the USA and carried our project to Abuja where he gave a lecture on democratic setting and good governance.

Another one was by Professor Oladeji Osuntokun who delivered a lecture on Democratic Governance, Political Leadership in Africa prospects and challenges, as part of activities earmarked for the commissioning of MAF complex.
More importantly, the money we used in building the complex, library and office were the money given to us by members of the public.

Since the establishment of MAF, how would you access the impact of the Foundation on the society?
The public has felt the impact of the foundation. I was at Kwara Television station about two weeks ago, people were sending messages, some of them were praying for me.
If I can use MAF to let Nigerians know the truth, I will be satisfied. It may take years. Wherever we reach before we quit this hated world, you people can take over and continue, but we must be there to encourage you.
If we don’t do it, those rascals who are stealing the country’s money would think what they are doing is ideal. Now, if it is only this foundation, I can bequeath to Kwarans as a legacy; where people will come and listen to knowledgeable people Al-Amudulillah.

After the establishment of MAF,  you also raised another Foundation called Ma-Assalam Islamic Foundation, what informed your decision?
What informed it was that in MAF agenda, we did not include philanthropic activities. Then, instead of taking the money from MAF to do charity, I now decided to form another foundation that will be purely on charity. So that MAF will not run into the problem of paying staff salary in future.
So, whatever money we get there, we can be helping the poor and the needy. Somebody who wants scholarship or some that cannot pay school fees and so on.
During the Ramadan, the Ma-Assalam Foundation went to the prison yard, Oke-Kura, we went to teaching hospital, we also went to Oke-Ose;  preached to them and gave them cash donation and food items as Ramadan package, courtesy of the foundation.

Between 5th and 6th of this month, MAF edifice was  commissioned, a central was mosque named after your late father too you were turbaned as the first Wakili of  Ilorin. How are you feeling?
When I was in Accra at my tender age, I received  good home training and attended lectures. I read copiously, I read about different great philosophers, and I began to say to myself that I will do something by which I can be remembered when I’m no more. Luckily enough for me, I have a wife who shares my ideals of life. Luckily enough, I brought up my children to appreciate these noble virtues. That is why I made some of them members of the Board of Trustees. So, it is a childhood wish, childhood dream that I’m translating into reality today.

With your turbaning by the Emir of Ilorin, as the first Wakili of Ilorin, what is your impression about your new title?
Becoming a Wakili does not change me from what I am. People used to say when you hold office, you are going to change. I have held offices and I have not changed. I’m still the same Musatpha. So, I don’t want anything that will change the situation. That is why it took me some time before I decided to be turbaned.

What words of advice do you have for Nigerian leaders?
Nigerian leaders must place service to God and humanity before any other thing. They must place the interest of the nation and the people above personal interests. When they do that, God will take care of them and their homes.
My motto is ‘service to God and humanity.’ I wrote an essay when I went on Assistant Executive course in Kaduna. The topic of the essay was ‘Myself.’ The last sentence of my essay goes thus.

“Whether it was wise of me to leave  Ghana, the land of my birth and nurture, for the land of my forebears, it is too early to say. But whatever it is, I shall continue to leave by my motto, which is, ‘service to God and humanity.”
Nigeria has everything it takes to be great. We need  not talk of political leaders alone. If you are a director or manager, do your work well. Because history shall judge us accordingly. That is my message.  

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