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T H I S D AY ˞ ˜ ͰͰ˜ Ͱ͎Ͱ͎
EDITORIAL
DEALING WITH TALES OF CORRUPTION Fighting corruption has become an empty ritual
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he dismal culture of impunity in public sector is spreading. Many institutions of government are increasingly being compromised. Recently, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye, said some N2.67 billion meant for the feeding of boarding students in federal government colleges was diverted into private accounts. Besides, the anticorruption body found over N2.5 billion diverted by a deceased worker with the ministry of agriculture. At about the same time, the National Security Adviser to President Buhari, Babagana Monguno, restated what has become an open secret: that the Presidential Amnesty Programme was plagued with corruption, waste and mismanagement. He said a whopping N712 billion was unaccounted for “due to so many issues, corruption being the main.� REPORTS ON CORRUPTION All the raging issues of deficits HAVE DEGENERATED INTO of enlightened A TOOL OF PROPAGANDA, governance and BORN OF WEAKNESS AND lack of fidelity MADE FOR TELEVISION to rudimentary public morality run counter to the avowed commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to right the wrongs of our past. Indeed, the scourge of corruption has grown in monstrosity because the administration has failed to speak with precision and clarity about the problem when politics is involved. It is a cynical dimension of the Buhari administration: If you are on their side, no matter how much you have undermined the system and abused public trust, you can walk the streets with arrogance and nothing will happen to you. It is therefore no surprise that reports on corruption have since degenerated into a tool of propaganda, born of weakness and made for television. Many are of the view that instead of fighting corruption, one of the cardinal pledges that brought it to power, this government has indeed encouraged the vice by its attitude, insincerity and inaction.
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Indeed, the administration’s record on corruption in the last five years cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be said to be better than that of its predecessors. Some will in fact wager that it is far worse. Mounting instances of the administration’s tardiness in taking prompt decision on corruption allegations cut across the executive, legislature and the judiciary. That many public officials have continued to fleece the very people they are supposed to protect is to put the situation rather mildly. There are thousand cases of graft that dot the entire landscape and many more are committed daily. Only recently, the Auditor-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, revealed the recklessness with which the MDAs conducted their affairs with scant regard for accountability. So many of them did not even care to file their annual returns yet the National Assembly that is charged with the responsibility of oversight kept approving new budgetary estimates for them. Even when the lawmakers conduct public hearings into issues bordering on transparency and accountability, they end up as footages for social media entertainment. Of the Open Treasury Portal review carried out between January and 15th August 2020, according to the ICPC, some 268 ministries, departments and agencies had cumulative infractions totalling N90 million. But this is peanuts compared to the billions of naira siphoned recently into private pockets from the systemic corruption in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Despite the all noise and the public hearings conducted by the National Assembly on the issue, all is now quiet and all those who openly confessed to stealing public money are still in office. There is no inkling that the offenders will be prosecuted. Even the major institution created to fight corruption is troubled. The question therefore is: Why do the officials, including those positioned to fight graft, continue to regale the public space with tales of corruption? Having failed to grasp the meaning of corruption, fighting it has become a hollow ritual to the current administration to our collective shame as a nation.
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ENDSARS: TIME IS RUNNING OUT
ince the end of World War II, there have been roughly 50 major revolutions that had either toppled autocratic regimes or led to significant political reform in “flawed� democracies. For those revolutions that have occurred under dictatorships, only about a third have resulted in transitions to democracy. Two infamous cases that might raise some alarm bells about the Middle East today are the theocracy that followed Iran’s 1979 revolution, and the “republican� dictatorships of Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak after Egypt’s 1952 revolution. Similarly, the checkered political histories of post-revolutionary China, Cuba, Mexico and Russia might make even the most fervent revolutionaries take pause. Still, the democracies that have managed to emerge in the aftermath of their revolutionary ferment provide cause for optimism. Less than a handful of those revolutionary transitions have reverted back to dictatorship. For every Kyrgyzstan, where there has been autocratic backsliding since the Tulip Revolution, there are a dozen examples of democracies that have arisen in the
wake of revolution — including surprises such as the Philippines. The recent killings of protesters in Nigeria as a result of showdown between the security forces and the activists calling for the scrapping of a unit of Nigeria Police - Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) has cast a dark cloud on what many had hoped would serve as a model for democratic transition in countries swept by the corrupt leaders and bad governance. The sad fact is that many revolutions lead to renewed dictatorships. But the good news is that even a rocky and prolonged transition can produce stable democracy. The country is at the verge of a crossroad, again. The yarning of the citizens could not be overlooked and the leadership takes more time to discern the issues at hands with analytical mind. There are clear indications that Nigeria is now in the triumvirate of a colour revolution and hybrid warfare, and agent agitators are now trying to force the hand of the government towards employing violent suppression of the protests so as to delegitimize the government. As a people, it is important to
understand that, one should leave the stage when the ovation is loudest. The demands of the protesters are well appreciated and the leadership lacks quick response mechanism to show responsiveness which gives more opportunities for new adventure of calamities across the length and breadth of the country. One would conclude that this was a deliberate ploy to use people’s legitimate demands to achieve a devilish agenda by some foreign nations and some local dissatisfied elites who are in the shadow. This pattern has been used in various arenas where people’s liberation movements have been used as a Trojan horse to infiltrate and destroy a nation. If care is not taken at the right time in proper quantity, a civil war is looming as it shows in our collective faces. Unarguably, citizens are a powerful force for change. That is why more and more governments are doing what they can to silence them -- from Russia to China to Venezuela and more. Citizenship gives us sense of belonging on why oneness of voice in our society is so essential. When people are free to speak their minds and hold their leaders accountable, governments are more
responsive and more effective. When entrepreneurs are free to create and develop new ideas, then economies are more innovative, and attract more trade and investment, and ultimately become more prosperous. It was Barack Obama, former US President who said that â€œâ€Ś If you want strong, successful countries, you need strong, vibrant civil societies. When citizens are free to organize and work together across borders to make our communities healthier, our environment cleaner, and our world safer, that’s when real change comesâ€?. Dear President Buhari, it is high time you summoned the courage and present error-free speech that would be televised to your children - Nigerian Youths. It is now a good time to avert the unknown calamities ahead of us. #ENDSARS does not just represent a protest against rogue Police officers; it is a symptom of the poor state of the economy, which for years has only gotten worse. Fortunately, the agitation can still be managed but time is running out. Basheer Luqman Olarewaju, Ilorin