“You know I am not very happy with Nigeria. I have made that very clear on many occasions. Yes, Nigeria stood by us more than any nation, but you let yourselves down, and Africa and the black race very badly. Your leaders have no respect for their people. They believe that their personal interests are the interests of the people. They take people’s resources and turn it into personal wealth. There is a level of poverty in Nigeria that should be unacceptable. I cannot understand why Nigerians are not more angry than they are. What do young Nigerians think about your leaders and their country and Africa? Do you teach them history? Do you have lessons on how your past leaders stood by us and gave us large amounts of money? You know I hear from Angolans and Mozambicans and Zimbabweans how your people opened their hearts and their homes to them. I was in prison then, but we know how your leaders punished western companies who supported Apartheid. “What about the corruption and the crimes? Your elections are like wars. Now we hear that you cannot be president in Nigeria unless you are Muslim or Christian. Some people tell me your country may break up. Please don’t let it happen. “Let me tell you what I think you need to do. You should encourage leaders to emerge who will not confuse public office with sources of making personal wealth. Corrupt people do not make good leaders. Then you have to spend a lot of your resources for education. “Educate children of the poor, so that they can get out of poverty. Poverty does not breed confidence. Only confident people can bring changes. Poor, uneducated people can also bring change, but it will be hijacked by the educated and the wealthy…give young Nigerians good education. Teach them the value of hard work and sacrifice, and discourage them from crimes which are destroying your image as a good people.”
(Excerpts taken from a 2007 interview with Mandela conducted by Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed). [myad]
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has described former Nigeria President and elder statesman, Alhaji Shehu Shagari as an inspiration to the younger generation as he celebrates his 92nd birthday today, Sunday. In a letter congratulating the second Republic civilian President, Professor Osinbajo said that Shagari’s selfless service, leadership and steadfast commitment to the advancement of Nigeria, over the years has been legendary. He said that decades after serving as the second republic President of Nigeria, Alhaji Shagari has continued to advance the unity, peace and prosperity of our nation. Osinbajo said that the patriotism, principles and the lofty values the former President displayed throughout his public life as a teacher, politician, parliamentarian, president and now as an elder statesman, make him one of the foremost national leaders of our time. The Acting President stressed that the honesty and strength of character with which Shagari has been known, will continue to be a source of inspiration even as he wished him many happy returns of the day in good health and joy, Prof. Osinbajo’s prayer for the former President is that as his days are, so shall his strength and favor be. Also today, President Muhammadu Buhari called, by phone, to commiserate with the Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Usman, over the death of his mother, which occurred on Saturday. President Buhari called on the traditional ruler to take solace in the fact that Hajia Aminatu Mai Babban Daki lived a good life, devoted to serving Allah and humanity. “Please be comforted. May Allah accept her soul,” the President said. The deceased was survived by nine children, and has since been buried according to Muslim rites. [myad]
If you happen to be a purist and you desire to dine with saints, you are not likely to find one here. This is because the search for saints in the haystacks of the sin and corruption that exemplify the totality of human existence, and circumscribe the sum of socio-economic, political and religious interactions in our society is, without doubt, an off-putting task. Sin is corruption and vice versa; whereas sainthood-the absence of corruption- is a virtue that attracts the divine charisma.
Corruption is a dishonorable global citizen. It is a transcendental phenomenon intersecting the physical to the spiritual and the terrestrial to the celestial. It is a monstrosity that confronts humanity and violates our pristine nature. In our climes, corruption unravels in diverse dimensions: cheating, stealing, bribery, embezzlement, conversion, money laundering, nepotism, ethnic irredentism, religious bigotry, et al.
Fighting corruption with precision is, thus, not an easy task universally. This is why there is a global focus on the issue of corruption in the management of public finance and its effects on development. Transparency International’s (TI’s) Corruption Perceptions Index is a critical measurement of how countries deal with the monster of corruption in the architectures of their public administration and development.
Nigeria is ranked one of the most corrupt nations of the world, even in the most recent ranking by TI. The tendency has always been for government officials to dismiss the ranking as mere perception. The truth is, the nation is afflicted with unconscionable and gluttonous crops of leaders who have become more negatively sophisticated in perpetrating the scourge.
The socio-economic, political and religious ecology of the nation is manifestly corrupted. This explains why the fight against the scourge is a critical agenda issue in governance. The sincerity of any administration that does not consciously strengthen its anti-graft institutions is doubted. The anti-corruption war under successive governments has been differently approached.
For the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is believed to have zero tolerance for financial corruption, the stakes and expectations have become understandably very high, which is why the legislative process of confirming the appointment of Mr Ibrahim Mustafa Magu as substantive chair of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has generated an unusual national and international interest.
The first time Magu was presented to the senate for confirmation, the legislative chamber, latching on a report by the Department of State Services (DSS) in which he allegedly failed the integrity test, refused to screen him. He has continued to act in that office and there is another opportunity ahead to go through the senate screening as his name has, once again, been forwarded for confirmation.
Screening by senate will hold, no doubt, but the question is, will it confirm Magu? The screening will afford Magu an opportunity for a fair hearing, which he was denied the last time. That was a dimension of corruption- denying him an opportunity for fair hearing. If he is screened now and denied confirmation on the grounds of certain prejudices or biases, the non-confirmation will also be deemed to be corrupt.
Besides, can the senate, as presently constituted, occupy the moral high ground to interdict Magu or any other person for alleged corrupt acts? The popular aphorism that “whoever comes to equity must come with clean hands” kicks in at this intersection. It will be manifestly unfair if the fate of Magu is negatively decided and whimsically deuced by the senate on the altar of extreme political considerations, even if he is not a saint.
Truth is, there is no way Magu or anyone else can be a saint in a community of sinners where corruption is genetic and corruptive tendencies denominate all manner of interactions. Even in the Christendom, it is the sufficiency of God’s grace and mercies that have been the staying power; thus, no one can lay claim to being holy by him or herself. Indeed, the confirmatory test of holiness lies with God.
But because we live in a world of sin and the Nigerian society, like other national milieus, is corrupt (even if levels are different going by the TI ranking), it becomes pretty difficult to impose the standard of absolutism in terms of honesty in public and private interactions. Therefore, we should be looking at a template of arriving at substantial compliance with global best practices. There should be ways of measuring and ranking public officers on the Corruption Perceptions Index on the basis of their acts of commission and omission in the course of official duties, with a view to allocating values or indications of qualification and non-qualification.
I said in a recent piece that Buhari is a man of integrity as far as financial matters are concerned, but that he can, arguably, be accused of something else, ranging from nepotism and ethnic irredentism to religious bigotry, et al, which are all dimensions of corruption that must be operationalised in dealing with the concept of corruption. I must restate here that regarding integrity in matters financial, I doubt if Buhari can be accused of embezzlement of funds. The point being made here is that, although Buhari is perceived to be a man of integrity, it does not mean he is exceptionally righteous. He has his failings because he is human.
In corollary, the Magu persona should be appreciated within this context. His experience so far must have sobered him. He now knows that, in the anti-corruption war, he is the issue, as much as Buhari is. Therefore, he must live a life of self-abnegation while in the saddle. He must not deploy the agency as an attack dog of the incumbent executive head, as that will be corruption.
By and large, it is heartening that the EFCC is not a court of law; whatever the dimensions of its power, as circumscribed in the Act that established it, they are subject to the Constitution of the country, which is the grundnorm. The judiciary is empowered to review the exercise of EFCC’s powers as they affect any Nigerian in alignment with constitutional provisions.
Therefore, to bolster Buhari’s anti-corruption war, the senate should be considerate and confirm Magu. It should hinge its action on the withdrawal of the original DSS report. The stakeholders should locate a compromise and act in accordance. The different arms of the APC government should be reasonable enough to support one another in pushing forward the anti-corruption war and not to combatively and maliciously destroy one another in the process.
Moral rearmament is a necessity. We must all agree and be ready to imbibe the right way of doing things with transparency and accountability as our watchwords. For now, let Magu be. He has realised that he is a gold fish with no hiding place in the sea of the anti-corruption war. This will instruct him, henceforth, to be circumspect in the battle to save our nation, of very scarce saints and too many sinners, from ourselves.
Mr Ojeifo, journalist and publisher, sent this piece via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com [myad]
Dangote Foundation has presented health projects worth N200 million to the management of Murtala
Muhammed Specialists’ Hospital, Kano in line with its mandate to provide quality health care to Nigerians. Items presented were two expanded ultra-modern maternity laboratories, maternity blood bank, post maternity ward, Eclampsia ward, theatre and six other renovated wards with their facilities, including boreholes to enhance water supply to the hospital. A statement by one of the spokesperson, Jamila Nuhu Musa, said that Dangote foundation is also executing other intervention projects in the hospital worth over N7 billion, to enhance healthcare delivery in the state. She quoted the President and CEO of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, as having said that the foundation was established to reach out to the less privilaged ones in the society and ease their problems as much as possible. Head of the Medical laboratory of the hospital, Magaji Minjibir described the intervention by Dangote foundation as timely. Minjibir, who spoke through the Head of Micro Biology, Kabiru Musa, said that the hospital’s laboratory was congested and bedeviled with many challenges. “At the Chemical pathology, we had to wait for our equipment to cool down before we processed results. “The Histology department had to stop work temporarily. “Our authoclave is about 15 years old and outdated. “We have only one microscope and this cannot cater for our teaming patients while lab staff take turns to perform tests and this delays results especially for patients in emergency cases.” The Matron in charge of Maternity ward, Hauwa Mansur Waziri, who also spoke, said that the donated items will go a long way in saving lives. “Our staff members are now motivated by the condusive environment made possible by the foundation. They can now perform their duties free of so many hazards. The wards have bright light, functional tools, water and toilets. “All these would enhance condition of patients and help healing process.” Hajiya Fatima Dangote, representing her father, Aliko Dangote at the occasion, said that the presentation is part of the foundation’s social responsibility to the people and aims at improving healthcare delivery service in Kano. At the event, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, represented by his deputy, Hafis Abubakar called on staff of the hospital to maintain standard of the facilities for the benefit of the people. He said that healthcare givers like teachers, garner blessings from Almighty God in this world and the hereafter. Commissioner for Health, Kabiru Getso said that Murtala Mohammed Specialist hospital Kano, established about 92 years ago, is the biggest facility in Africa; with the maternity ward alone recording no fewer than 2, 000 deliveries monthly. [myad]
Nigeria will host 32 African nations for the 3rd Conference of the Association of Heads of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) in Abuja, at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, from 19th -21st of April this year. The meeting will be hosted by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in conjunction with International Maritime Organization (IMO) According to the Director General NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, the meeting will bring together all the major Maritime Administrators and leading stakeholders in Africa to discuss various issues and ways of improving the maritime sector in the continent. He said that participants would also include a number of maritime stakeholder organizations around the world, adding that the IMO delegation of five will be led by Mr. Kitack Lim, Secretary General of IMO, which is a United Nations specialized agency that regulates shipping globally. Peterside said that the Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) was formed following the signing of the African Transport and Maritime Charter in 2012 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and that the aim of the association is to promote the Development of Africa’s maritime regulatory and maritime environment. Peterside disclosed that the hosting of this conference in Nigeria is in line with the economic diversification agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration and the repositioning agenda of the present Management to make Nigerian maritime industry a leading light in Africa and the global maritime sector. According to him, it will open a new vista of opportunities to the teeming unemployed youths, as well as unlock the potentials inherent in the maritime sector. This is just as the conference could serve as a platform towards Nigeria’s re-election into the IMO Council seat later in November this year. AAMA, which brings together all players in the African maritime sector, is also an umbrella body of five African Maritime Stakeholders’ groups namely: Association of Maritime Administrations of Africa, Africa’s Ship Registry Forum, African Ship Owners Association as well as Africa Shippers’ Council and Seafarers’ Forum. [myad]
Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana has threatened that if the leader of Islamic Movement In Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shiite, Sheikh Ibraheem Elzakzaky is not released as per the court ruling, he would not hesitate to pray the Court of Appeal to refuse to entertain the appeal filed by the federal government against the judgment of the Federal High Court “until the Federal Government has purged (itseld) of the contempt of the Federal High Court.” In an open letter to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Shehu Malami, demanding the immediate release of Elzakzaky and his wife, Hajia Ibraheema “from illegal detention,” Falana insisted that his clients should be released without further delay. “In view of the avowed commitment of the Buhari administration to operate under the rule of law we urge you to use your good offices to ensure that our clients are released from illegal incarceration without any further delay.” Part of the letter goes thus: “We are Solicitors to Sheik Ibraheem Elzakzaky and his wife, Hajia Ibraheema Elzakzaky on whose behalf we write this letter. In a considered judgment delivered on December 2, 2016 the Federal High Court (per Kolawole J.) declared illegal and unconstitutional the detention of Sheik Ibraheem Elzakzaky and his wife, Hajia Zeenat Ibraheem Elzakzaky and ordered their immediate release from the custody of the State Security Service within 45 days. Since the Nigerian Army and the Kaduna State government had engaged in the illegal destruction of the residence of our clients in December 2015 the court ordered the Federal Government to provide a temporary accommodation for them. The court also awarded reparation of N50 million to the couple. Although the deadline expired on January 16, 2017 the State Security Service has refused to release our clients from custody in utter contempt of the valid and subsisting order of the Federal High Court. The Federal Government has equally refused to comply with the other terms of the judgment. However, we are not unaware that your office has filed an appeal against the said judgment at the Court of Appeal. But since the filing of the appeal has not varied or suspended the orders of the learned trial judge you are duty bound to advise the Federal Government to comply with the clear and unambiguous terms of the judgment. Having regard to the facts and circumstances of this case we are compelled to remind you of the case of Nigerian Army v Mowarin (1992) 4 N.W.L.R. (pt 235) 345 where the Court of Appeal dismissed the motion for stay of execution of the judgment of the Lagos high court for the release of the appellant. In justifying the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Kalgo J.C.A. (as he then was) held that “the refusal of the application will not cause any injury to the applicant, but if the application is granted, the respondent will continue to suffer personally in detention after the court has declared her detention unlawful ab initio.” Based on the dismissal of the application for stay of execution the then military junta released the respondent from further custody. In line with the principle of law espoused by the Court of Appeal in the case of Nigerian Army v Mowarin (supra) your office has not filed any application for stay of the execution of the judgment of the Federal High Court which has ordered the Federal Government to release our clients from the unlawful custody of the State Security Service. In view of the avowed commitment of the Buhari administration to operate under the rule of law we urge you to use your good offices to ensure that our clients are released from illegal incarceration without any further delay. However, if our request is not granted forthwith we shall not hesitate to pray the Court of Appeal to refuse to entertain the appeal filed by your office against the judgment of the Federal High Court until the Federal Government has purged of the contempt of the Federal High Court. Yours Sincerely, Femi Falana SAN cc: Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN, Acting President of Nigeria, Office of the Vice President, Aso Rock, Abuja. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari called his special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina on phone today, Saturday, to commend him for fighting to finish, those he called ‘mischief makers.’ The President might be referring to many social media practitioners who have been posting negative write ups on him, including the one that said that he was dead or was so sick that he would not be able to return to the country to continue as President. In his twitter handle, @FemAdesina, the Presidential spokesman confessed that he was glad to hear the voice of his boss when he spoke with “PMB a short while ago.” The President, he said, thanked him (Adesina) “for holding out against mischief makers. PMB tells me during a phone call today that he would call again soon. (And I gave him best wishes.)” Adesina said that Buhari also told him that he was resting, but that there was no cause for worry. He asked me “to greet my family.”
Adesina narrated the phone conversation with President Buhari in his Facebook wall thus:
“At exactly 2.43 p.m today, Saturday, February 25, 2017, my phone rang. Who was at the other end? Tunde Sabiu, personal assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari. “Hold on for Mr President,” Tunde said. And in a matter of seconds, the very familiar voice came: “Femi, how are you?” (He calls me Adesina most times, but today, he opted for Femi) I screamed : “Mr President, I have missed you. How are you sir?” He first laughed. That familiar laugh. Then he said: “I am still resting. Thank you for holding out against mischief makers.” I said it was my duty, the very least I could do, adding how happy I was to speak with him. “How is your family?” I said we were fine, and he asked me to extend his greetings to them. “I hope to call you again, ” Mr President said, and I bade him farewell, adding: “Best wishes, sir.” It was a defining moment for me. For more than a month, I had always spoken with aides who are with the President in London. Not once did I ask them to take the phone to him, deliberately so, because I didn’t need to speak with him to validate the fact that he was alive. And since he was on vacation, he had a right to his privacy. Of his own volition, President Buhari spoke with me. It made my day. Even if he hadn’t done so, he would have remained my President, my leader, and my man. Any day.” [myad]
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), has secured the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to spend a total of N213,418,124,493.75 on intervention projects in tertiary institutions across the country this year. Executive Secretary of the Fund, Dr. Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, disclosed this at the end of the meeting of TETFund Management with all the provosts, rectors and vice chancellors of public colleges of education, public polytechnics and public universities, respectively in Abuja. He explained that the 2016 intervention budget was made up of: Annual direct disbursements (N149,392,687,145.63), High Impact Phase VI (N30,000,000,000.00), Zonal interventions (N12,000,000,000.00), Stabilization Fund (N10,670,906,224.69), Designated projects (N5,400,000,000.00) and National Research Fund (N1,000,000,000.00). “With this budget of change, each of the 40 Federal universities and thirty four state universities will receive the sum N1,009,410,000.00 while each of the 54 public polytechnics get the sum N691,632,000.00 and each of the 55 public Colleges of Education receive the sum of N679,057,000.00. “This is the biggest ever annual direct disbursement (normal intervention) given to any beneficiary institution since the establishment of the Fund.” A break-down of budget shows that academic staff training and development is allocated N300m for universities, N200m each for polytechnics and colleges of education as against N100m, N70m and N60m respectively, in 2015 while programme upgrade is allocated N565.41m for universities, N380.632 m for polytechnics and N371.06 m for colleges of education as against N100m, N70m and N72m respectively, in 2015. On the backlog of unutilized allocations, Baffa explained that as a part of the internal control mechanism of the Fund, institutions are not allowed to access a given intervention line until the previous year’s intervention is accessed, utilized and properly retired. “Majority of beneficiary institutions have allocations from the previous years unutilized (unaccessed funds). The inability of institutions to access and utilize their allocation as at when due has always been a source of concern to the Fund – as it impedes the realization of Fund’s mandate with the attendant consequence of slowing down the growth and progress of the institutions.” To ensure that the 2016 intervention allocations are accessed and judiciously utilized by all beneficiary institutions, he said the Fund would be running an Access Clinic for beneficiary institutions with backlog of unutilized funds. “The main objective of the clinic is discuss, diagnose and remedy all encumbrances so as to get the institution fulfill the requirements to access. Some of the time, the reasons for backlog are around accounting for (retiring) previous allocation, rough transition from one administration to another, infringements by contractors, insufficient information, non-compliance with procurement act, etc.” He believed that with the Access Clinic, all institutions would be supported to clear any backlog of fund and commence the utilization of the 2016 allocation. Baffa announced that there are four crucial reviews to this intervention aside the massive increase of its quantum. “First, it should be awarded in the ratio 50:40:10 (50% to support foreign full-time doctorate and master degree, 40% to support full-time doctorate and master degree in Nigeria, and 10% to support bench work at home or abroad). “Second, the value of the scholarship is improved to reflect the current realities. Third, choice of country of study must be guided by the World University Ranking of Times Higher Education (THE). “Scholars should aspire to go to countries that have universities ahead of the best university in Nigeria (based on the ranking of that year). “And fourth, scholars should be guided by the University league tables of the countries to ensure that they are seeking for placement in the top-of-the-league universities [top 20% of the universities in advanced economies and top 10% of the universities in developing economies].” TETFund was established and refocused to intervene in only Public Tertiary Education Institutions by providing funding for the provision and maintenance of Essential physical infrastructure for teaching and learning; Instructional material and equipment; Research and publication; Academic Staff Training and Development; and Any other need which, in the opinion of the Board of Trustees, is critical and essential for the improvement of quality and maintenance of standards in the higher educational institutions. [myad]
Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has said that Nigeria and South Africa cannot afford diplomatic row, against the background of the current attacks of Nigerians in South Africa and the threatening reprisal in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory by some Nigerians.
He pleaded that the two countries should lock themselves down in bilateral engagement in order to find a lasting solution to the alleged xenophobic attack on Nigerians in South Africa.”
The Governor who made the call through a statement by his Director General on Media and Publicity, Kingsley Fanwo in Lokoja, today, Friday, said the two African giants cannot afford strained relations.
“Reports of xenophobic attacks in South Africa are of grave concern to Nigeria and Nigerians. As the two African giants, diplomatic engagements must be immediately switched on by the two nations to douse growing agitations over the unfortunate incidence.
“The two nations can achieve a lot working together and South Africa must also believe they have business interests across Africa. The world has become a global village and Nigerians must be as safe in South Africa as South Africans are in our nation.
“We are aware of efforts by the South African authorities to douse the rising tension between citizens of the two countries, which is a clear indication of the fact that the government and people of South Africa recognize Nigeria’s leading role in the war against apartheid. Together, we are stronger.”
The Governor called on Nigerians to show the world an example in diplomatic restraint, assuring that the Federal Government will do everything within its powers to protect Nigerians anywhere around the world.
“We are the giant of Africa and we must show great diplomatic restraint in addressing sensitive issues such as the xenophobic row between Nigeria and South Africa.
“We cannot afford to plunge the continent into crisis when we have worked to restore peace around the world.
“Attacking South African interests in Nigeria will not solve the problem of xenophobic attacks. We believe dialogue and public orientation in South Africa will help enlighten their people on the need to see Nigeria as a partner in progress.
“Our people are highly industrious anywhere they are and they have contributed immensely to the progress of South Africa”. He called on the international community to lend their voices to the call on South Africans to see xenophobia as “another form of injustice against fellow humans.” [myad]
Chairman of Egbema Gbaramatu Communities Development Foundation in Delta State, High Chief Michael Johnny has described those who are praying that President Muhammadu Buhari should die in London where he is on medical vacation as demons.
“It is shameful and unfortunate that Christians and Muslims in Nigeria who claimed to be children of God could pray for the death of their fellow human.
“In the Bible, our Lord Jesus never told Christians or taught them to pray for the death of their fellow human. Even in the Quran, Muslims were never taught to pray for the death of their fellow brother.”
In a statement by his media office in Abuja, Chief Johnny advised those who had wished Buhari death to return to God for forgiveness.
He said that Buhari became President of Nigeria by the divine power and grace of God Almighty, adding: “the President could be sick now but his illness does not in any away stop the good work that God has started using him to do for the country. President Buhari had already laid a good foundation for the country.”
He pointed out that at Buhari’s age, no right thinking human will wish his or her father of that age to die, “so, I do not see any reason why some persons who would not pray for the death of their fathers should pray for the death of President Buhari, who is also somebody’s father.” [myad]
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“You know I am not very happy with Nigeria. I have made that very clear on many occasions. Yes, Nigeria stood by us more than any nation, but you let yourselves down, and Africa and the black race very badly. Your leaders have no respect for their people. They believe that their personal interests are the interests of the people. They take people’s resources and turn it into personal wealth. There is a level of poverty in Nigeria that should be unacceptable. I cannot understand why Nigerians are not more angry than they are.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has described former Nigeria President and elder statesman, Alhaji Shehu Shagari as an inspiration to the younger generation as he celebrates his 92nd birthday today, Sunday.
President Muhammadu Buhari called his special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina on phone today, Saturday, to commend him for fighting to finish, those he called ‘mischief makers.’
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), has secured the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari to spend a total of N213,418,124,493.75 on intervention projects in tertiary institutions across the country this year.
Of Magu, Saints And Sinners, By Sufuyan Ojeifo
If you happen to be a purist and you desire to dine with saints, you are not likely to find one here. This is because the search for saints in the haystacks of the sin and corruption that exemplify the totality of human existence, and circumscribe the sum of socio-economic, political and religious interactions in our society is, without doubt, an off-putting task. Sin is corruption and vice versa; whereas sainthood-the absence of corruption- is a virtue that attracts the divine charisma.
Corruption is a dishonorable global citizen. It is a transcendental phenomenon intersecting the physical to the spiritual and the terrestrial to the celestial. It is a monstrosity that confronts humanity and violates our pristine nature. In our climes, corruption unravels in diverse dimensions: cheating, stealing, bribery, embezzlement, conversion, money laundering, nepotism, ethnic irredentism, religious bigotry, et al.
Fighting corruption with precision is, thus, not an easy task universally. This is why there is a global focus on the issue of corruption in the management of public finance and its effects on development. Transparency International’s (TI’s) Corruption Perceptions Index is a critical measurement of how countries deal with the monster of corruption in the architectures of their public administration and development.
Nigeria is ranked one of the most corrupt nations of the world, even in the most recent ranking by TI. The tendency has always been for government officials to dismiss the ranking as mere perception. The truth is, the nation is afflicted with unconscionable and gluttonous crops of leaders who have become more negatively sophisticated in perpetrating the scourge.
The socio-economic, political and religious ecology of the nation is manifestly corrupted. This explains why the fight against the scourge is a critical agenda issue in governance. The sincerity of any administration that does not consciously strengthen its anti-graft institutions is doubted. The anti-corruption war under successive governments has been differently approached.
For the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is believed to have zero tolerance for financial corruption, the stakes and expectations have become understandably very high, which is why the legislative process of confirming the appointment of Mr Ibrahim Mustafa Magu as substantive chair of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has generated an unusual national and international interest.
The first time Magu was presented to the senate for confirmation, the legislative chamber, latching on a report by the Department of State Services (DSS) in which he allegedly failed the integrity test, refused to screen him. He has continued to act in that office and there is another opportunity ahead to go through the senate screening as his name has, once again, been forwarded for confirmation.
Screening by senate will hold, no doubt, but the question is, will it confirm Magu? The screening will afford Magu an opportunity for a fair hearing, which he was denied the last time. That was a dimension of corruption- denying him an opportunity for fair hearing. If he is screened now and denied confirmation on the grounds of certain prejudices or biases, the non-confirmation will also be deemed to be corrupt.
Besides, can the senate, as presently constituted, occupy the moral high ground to interdict Magu or any other person for alleged corrupt acts? The popular aphorism that “whoever comes to equity must come with clean hands” kicks in at this intersection. It will be manifestly unfair if the fate of Magu is negatively decided and whimsically deuced by the senate on the altar of extreme political considerations, even if he is not a saint.
Truth is, there is no way Magu or anyone else can be a saint in a community of sinners where corruption is genetic and corruptive tendencies denominate all manner of interactions. Even in the Christendom, it is the sufficiency of God’s grace and mercies that have been the staying power; thus, no one can lay claim to being holy by him or herself. Indeed, the confirmatory test of holiness lies with God.
But because we live in a world of sin and the Nigerian society, like other national milieus, is corrupt (even if levels are different going by the TI ranking), it becomes pretty difficult to impose the standard of absolutism in terms of honesty in public and private interactions. Therefore, we should be looking at a template of arriving at substantial compliance with global best practices. There should be ways of measuring and ranking public officers on the Corruption Perceptions Index on the basis of their acts of commission and omission in the course of official duties, with a view to allocating values or indications of qualification and non-qualification.
I said in a recent piece that Buhari is a man of integrity as far as financial matters are concerned, but that he can, arguably, be accused of something else, ranging from nepotism and ethnic irredentism to religious bigotry, et al, which are all dimensions of corruption that must be operationalised in dealing with the concept of corruption. I must restate here that regarding integrity in matters financial, I doubt if Buhari can be accused of embezzlement of funds. The point being made here is that, although Buhari is perceived to be a man of integrity, it does not mean he is exceptionally righteous. He has his failings because he is human.
In corollary, the Magu persona should be appreciated within this context. His experience so far must have sobered him. He now knows that, in the anti-corruption war, he is the issue, as much as Buhari is. Therefore, he must live a life of self-abnegation while in the saddle. He must not deploy the agency as an attack dog of the incumbent executive head, as that will be corruption.
By and large, it is heartening that the EFCC is not a court of law; whatever the dimensions of its power, as circumscribed in the Act that established it, they are subject to the Constitution of the country, which is the grundnorm. The judiciary is empowered to review the exercise of EFCC’s powers as they affect any Nigerian in alignment with constitutional provisions.
Therefore, to bolster Buhari’s anti-corruption war, the senate should be considerate and confirm Magu. It should hinge its action on the withdrawal of the original DSS report. The stakeholders should locate a compromise and act in accordance. The different arms of the APC government should be reasonable enough to support one another in pushing forward the anti-corruption war and not to combatively and maliciously destroy one another in the process.
Moral rearmament is a necessity. We must all agree and be ready to imbibe the right way of doing things with transparency and accountability as our watchwords. For now, let Magu be. He has realised that he is a gold fish with no hiding place in the sea of the anti-corruption war. This will instruct him, henceforth, to be circumspect in the battle to save our nation, of very scarce saints and too many sinners, from ourselves.