The embattled chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu saga, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) can of worms and other corruption oddities Nigerians are being entertained on a daily basis indicate that we are still fighting corruption with crude implements. What is playing out in the fight against corruption is that the corruption war is being gradually being lost. The situation on the ground demonstrates how not to fight the corruption war. Many Nigerians who are conversant with events in the country can hardly be surprised with the turn of events in our crusade against corruption.
From Obasanjo to the present dispensation, the fight against corruption has been feeble, selective and political. The big sources of corruption are left untouched while small sources of corruption are being investigated with media hysteria and theatrics. The drama on the lawmakers’ investigation of the NDDC cannot address the issue of corruption because of accusations and counter accusations from left and right. Following the revelations over the Magu saga, many Nigerians are on agreement that the fight against corruption cannot be won using crude implements, outdated strategies and personalizing the war on one innocent individual. The war must be fought in such a way to prove that nobody is above scrutiny.
No country fights corruption with one holy angel while the rest of us are corruption personalized. The ruling APC government did not help matters when it considered many persons in PDP as being corrupt while those in APC are holy Michaels or born-again Christians. Does it surprise anyone that all past helmsmen of the EFCC are all policemen and from almost the same part of the North? Does it say well of the anti-corruption war that almost all of them left the place in controversial circumstances? Arising from the Magu saga, some Nigerians are calling for a total overhaul of the EFCC.
They are suggesting that other Nigerians from the South should also be considered to head the anti-corruption agency. They are even saying that foreigners can be hired to head the organization as we hire the Chinese to do practically all our construction works in a 21st century world. While the happenings in EFCC and the NDDC may surprise many Nigerians, there are some who will not be surprised at all. I say this because corruption in Nigeria is never a new thing. It is almost becoming a way of life. It started with 10 percent according to Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu in his January 15, 1966 coup speech.
Corruption has since then gone beyond 100 percent depending on what is involved and who is giving and who is taking. The corruption going on at police check points/stations is infinitesimal compared with the ones in Customs, Immigration, Prisons, the maritime and other such places which may not always be in the news. There is even high-level corruption in the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education over the execution of certain projects. Those fighting corruption should beam their searchlight on the aforementioned sectors. They should equally examine the operations of the oil behemoth, the NNPC and its subsidiaries, the NPA and many others where things may not be working well.
While the dollar is not our foreign currency, corruption in some sectors is carried out in dollars stuffed under caps, pockets and bra. The dollarization of corruption means that corruption is already killing the country. If we really want to fight corruption, there is the need to start with good governance. Before we can get to good governance, the selection process for our political office holders must be transparent and devoid of electoral malfeasance such as rigging, ballot snatching and vote buying. We must not procure electoral victory at the courts. The courts must never be allowed to determine who wins our elections.
The issue of godfatherism which is tearing Edo State apart now preparatory to the September gubernatorial election must be done away with. If we really want to fight corruption, we must restructure Nigeria and make it equitable so that every zone can develop at its own pace. The fight for who will occupy the Nigerian presidency among the contending ethnic groups makes the political contest more acrimonious, as if we are going to war. Already, the race to the 2023 presidential election is causing rift with the APC.
In the months ahead, Nigerians should expect more rifts, carpet crossings and intrigues associated with party politics in Nigeria. Without reconfiguring Nigeria, both our democracy and the fight against corruption will never endure. They will die. There is no way a politicized fight against corruption can stand. Any corruption war based on settling political scores is bound to fail.
The current Nigerian structure cannot guarantee peace and unity on which Nigerian nation is based, on which the avoidable Nigeria/Biafra war was fought. The monthly sharing of oil revenues in Abuja cannot sustain the Nigeria of our dream. The lopsided appointments of the present administration, the unbridled implementation of quota system in admission to schools, works and virtually everything cannot guarantee a stable nation. Concentrating the presidency in the North as some unpatriotic Nigerians are advocating, especially with reference to 2023 will tear the country apart. We must always learn from history in order to avoid repeating past mistakes.
The presidential slot must rotate and go to those not yet accommodated in the nation’s power equation since 1999, the South-East. All those pontificating that power rotation is not democratic or not good or whatever that catches their fancy should wait until the South-East gets its share. After the presidency has rotated among the six geo-political zones, then it can be reviewed. Power rotation cannot stop when some zones have not got the presidency. If we want to holistically tackle corruption, the federal character must be implemented in all federal government’s appointments including the appointments of security chiefs and heads of ministries, departments and agencies.
The scenario where all these are headed by Northerners does not bode well for our oneness. It is a mockery of our diversity. It is an affront on federalism. It does not make for peace and stability. Our constitution should also be reviewed to give vent to our federal structure in such a way that more powers should go to the federating units, whether we call them states, zones or regions. The ongoing probe in EFCC and NDDC must be coordinated as the president suggested to achieve better results. It must not be used to witch-hunt any person. No clues should be jettisoned in the course of the probe. All allegations no matter those involved must be thoroughly investigated and made public. Nothing should be swept under the carpet.
The NDDC cannot be scrapped because of the alleged sleaze. It can be cleaned. We should not scrap an intervention agency simply because some people have sworn that it should not work. If a dirty house can be cleaned, a dirty agency can also be cleaned. To strengthen the war against corruption, the EFCC and the ICPC must be merged for more effectiveness. We may model our anti-corruption war as the US FBI. The head of such an agency will still come from the police but it should not come from one part of the country and people of the same faith.
The running of such an agency should never be at the whims and caprices of one holy person. In our peculiar case, a board may be constituted to oversee it. Above all, the corruption war should dwell more on investigation, due process and transparency than what many critics see as media trial of suspects. While the media should report such issues, they should avoid media trial of suspects and give their readers accurate reportage.