.. Nigeria has lost the fight against corruption long ago-Prof. Egbule
By Mark Orgu, News/Comments, March 18, 2024
A former Vice Chancellor, University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (UAES), Umuagwo, Imo State, Professor Patrick Egbule has said that the leadership system in Nigeria has failed in terms of tackling corruption and it has become a stumbling block to meaningful development. He was reacting to a message sent to his Whatsapp phone number by Afrikanwatch Network at the weekend, stressing no country develop when her national wealth is looted by a few:
“There appears to be a consensus that Nigeria’s greatest impediment to rapid socio-political and economic transformation is inept leadership. A salient contributor to, or component of this leadership failure is corruption. Simply put, corruption is the use of public office, official position or status by an office bearer for private gain or benefit.”
“Although there are many dimensions of corruption, most often, the focus is on financial corruption. Other forms of corruption include: bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, influence peddling, graft and embezzlement.“
Prof. Egbule regretted that the country rather than enshrine the spirit of good governance and fight corruption to a standstill , leaders of the country prefer to romance with it, as it has gotten deep into all sectors.
“In Nigeria, and in most developing countries, corruption has eaten deep into the fabric and all facets of the society such as the public service, educational institutions, communities, religious institutions, Armed forces, political parties and the democratic process. Unchecked corruption will always result in serious negative consequences such as lack of public trust in government, wastage of public resources, injustice, lopsided development, unemployment, general and community poverty.”
“Corruption harms the poor and vulnerable the most. This may explain why the various governments have made efforts towards fighting corruption through the establishment of various anti-corruption agencies for the enforcement of integrity systems such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), and the Code of Conduct bureau (CCB). In all, these Commissions have achieved little success.”
“Any realistic approach aimed at tackling corruption must get to the root causes. A major and recognizable cause of corruption is greed, primitive greed. It can only take an ostensibly greedy person or kleptomaniac to embezzle the volume of money we read in the newspapers which often run into billions or trillions of Naira. Closely related to greed is the crave for ostentatious lifestyle which often lead to primitive acquisitions of things they may never need. Another root cause of corruption is tribalism and lack of patriotism. Any serious effort towards fighting corruption must start by ensuring that individuals caught with proven cases of corruption must be made to face the full weight of the law, no matter the individuals tribe, religion or status. This will act at deterrent to others. The anti-corruption agencies should be strengthened and made more independent. Without strong watchdog institutions, impunity becomes the pedestal upon which all shades and systems of corruption thrive. Integrity, transparency, accountability and fight against corruption have to be part of our national psyche and culture.”
Meanwhile, the Provost, Anti-Corruption Agency of Nigeria, Prof Olatunde Babawale, a political economist and scientist, has corroborated Professor Egbule’s views, saying:
“We can only put an end to corruption when we punish impunity and impose sanctions on those found guilty of it. Corruption will be drastically reduced when governments at all levels become more accountable. It is equally important to empower our people to become less tolerant of corruption.”
Reacting to the alleged paddling of N3.7 trillion of the 2024 budget, representing more than 10% of the N28.78 trillion total budget, which led to suspension of Sen. Abdul Ningi of Bauchi state, who had earlier raised alarm of the corruption, Prof. Babawale, who frowned at it but said, ‘it is common with politicians.’
“The allegation of insertions made into the 2024 budget is not new. It remains a malignant tumor that has been with successive administrations since 1999. Of course this stands out as the most mind- boggling.”
“What needs to be done is for NASS not to ignore these allegations but rather subject them to thorough investigation with a view to sanitizing the budget and purging it of all impurities evident in the numerous misallocations, duplication of projects and insertions into the budgets of MDAs that do not possess the technical capacity to implement them. Indeed, there are too many instances of projects allocated to agencies that lack the statutory mandate to implement them.”
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