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President Muhammadu Buhari, some weeks ago, promised to focus on tackling the nation’s rising security challenges. He also vowed to strengthen the current efforts to fight corruption. The president, who spoke at the “National Democracy Day Anti-Corruption Summit” organised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja, disclosed measures his administration would adopt to rejig the war against corruption in his second term. Three key areas that will engage the attention of the president are security, economic improvement and the war against corruption.
On his part, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who was the keynote speaker at the event, reminded the audience that for the fight against corruption to be effective, it must be fought from top to bottom, using four key principles, notably culture, responsibility, accountability and effectiveness. He also urged Nigeria and other African countries to lay emphasis on wealth creation and equal distribution of resources. The Rwandan leader warned that in the war against corruption, “We must discard the myth that corruption is endemic to particular cultures. Corruption is a universal weakness, not an African one, and it is not part of our destiny as a continent.”
Since the government’s anti-corruption war has been trailed by allegations of being partisan and against political opponents, the government must ensure that the war is actually waged against those who are corrupt irrespective of their political parties.
There is no doubt that corruption has been responsible for the illicit siphoning of financial resources out of the continent to other countries in Europe and America. For example, President Buhari revealed that over N5 trillion was funneled out of the continent in the last 50 years. The hefty sum is more than all the development aids that came to the continent within the period. This underscores the damage corruption has done to the continent.
This is why there is agreement on the need to fight the scourge on the continent. It has more than anything else been responsible for the underdevelopment of the continent and the precarious state of most of her people. Nigeria is worse hit. Therefore, strengthening the capacity of the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies to fight corruption is quite in order. To achieve this, Nigeria needs to work in conjunction with our multilateral partners. It is a known fact that corruption has its collaborators both at home and abroad. The government has not found it easy so far in its efforts to repatriate the nation’s stolen money. Apart from Switzerland which has demonstrated enough willingness to do so, the rest are still foot-dragging on the matter.
Interestingly, President Buhari also highlighted the need to close existing legislative gaps in the fight against corruption. Ordinarily, the need for the three arms of government to work in tandem in all matters of governance, especially on the anti-corruption war, cannot be overemphasised. Government should work with the newly inaugurated 9th National Assembly to ensure that the fight against corruption gets the much-needed boost. This is not going to be easy, but it can be done as demonstrated during the passage of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
It is also worth pointing out that another policy of government which enjoyed legislative support was the Whistleblower’s policy. More of this cooperation across the arms of government is needed now to accelerate the fight against graft in the country. It is only when these steps have been taken that the much-needed support of ordinary people can be realised.
Until this is achieved, the fight against corruption may not go far. The Nigerian experience with the anti-corruption war should serve as a model for the rest of Africa. Despite the modest successes recorded so far, the war is far from being won. The fight against graft must be pursued with great zeal and integrity.
