There is an urgent need for collaborative efforts in tackling corruption in Nigeria because if the menace is not curbed, it will kill Nigeria.
The Federal Government and Nigerians must fight corruption headlong and hold public officers who abuse their offices or misuse public funds to account.
President Bola Tinubu has a date with history, to take Nigeria through the labyrinth to a corruption-free public service and society at large.
There is no gainsaying the fact that the scourge of corruption has brought Nigeria to its knees, from economic underdevelopment to sociopolitical decadence.
Over the years, we have had leaders who promised to end the plague, but corruption ended up strangling their resolve.
For instance, the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, used the mantra “kill corruption before it kills Nigeria” to ascend to office; but the tragedy is that during his tenure, corruption transformed into a hydra-headed monster.
Corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of the Nigerian polity and we cannot afford to allow it to fester.
On Friday, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission reportedly arrested a Deputy Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in Kogi State, Adam Yusuf, over alleged corruption.
“In any organization or nation where the leaders are not corrupt, corruption is reduced by over 60%, and fighting the remaining becomes manageable.”
In a statement issued by the ICPC spokesperson, Demola Bakare, he said Yusuf, who had been evading authorities, was apprehended at his residence in Gwagwalada, Abuja, and is now set to face prosecution.
The commission revealed that its operatives uncovered a sophisticated scheme allegedly orchestrated by a retired Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, alongside former Brigadier General Ishaya Bauka Gangum.
According to the ICPC, the scheme reportedly involved the illegal diversion of over N3 billion in public funds through 92 fictitious companies.
Similarly, Tracka, the service delivery platform of BudgIT, revealed that 17 contractors received N2.4 billion for 15 projects across nine states, yet none of the projects have been initiated on the sites monitored.
The platform, which allows citizens to track and provide feedback on public projects, highlighted several payments, including the payment of N401 million to Mainstream Contractors in December 2023 under the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing for the rehabilitation of Welcome-Nasarawa-Farewell from Nasarawa, linking the North and Southern parts of Nigeria in Nasarawa LGA, Nasarawa State; N153 million to Icent Light Ltd between August and November 2023 under the National Institute for Construction Technology, Uromi, for the fencing, landscaping, and completion of Onicha-Uku Town Hall and Event Centre at Aniocha/Oshimili in Delta; and N88 million to A3 Interbiz Link Service Limited in December 2023 under the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria for the construction and equipping of a PHC Centre in Adedeji Community, Ikirun, Osun State.
These payments are part of N3.9 billion for projects nationwide that were abandoned or never executed.
Despite the clamour for increased allocations to capital expenditure by the Federal Government and sub-nationals, BudgIT’s tracking exercise revealed that capital projects are the largest conduits of embezzlement and misappropriation.
A few months ago, the ICPC stated that corruption has brought Nigeria to its knees economically and socially.
We could not agree more. Corruption is, indeed, the bane of our national development.
From lack of transparency in budgeting and allocation of funds to misappropriation of public funds through mindless looting and budget padding, to abuse of public office for personal gains and the many layers of contract inflation – all are different manifestations of corruption across different levels of government, not to mention the bribery, favoritism and toll-gating that go on in different offices.
Nigeria’s recent corruption perception index of 145 out of 180 countries measured showed the high level of corruption in the country, which needs to be fought to a standstill if we must expect any meaningful development.
Added to that, Nigeria today is ranked among the 11 worst-ruled African nations in the last 10 years.
All these have not only continued to discourage good governance but have continued to clog the wheels of our national development.
The Auditor General of the federation recently uncovered financial infractions amounting to N3.403 trillion in some government ministries, departments, and agencies for the financial year ended December 31, 2021.
A whooping N3.403 trillion not accounted for in a single year is an amount bigger than 20% of our national budget for the said year.
Today, Nigeria is grappling with a very high debt profile, occasioned by the insatiable hunger for more loans by the government, without a commensurate account of all the previous loans already received and piled up for the next generations.
Unfortunately, there are no visible investments or positive impacts on the economy from these loans, showing that they were likely embezzled or spent.
All these are different manifestations of the endemic corruption eroding our development efforts.
The anti-corruption agencies must step up their fight against corruption and begin to preoccupy themselves with serious issues of national interest.
Such corrupt practices like oil theft, budget padding, bribery, collection of large sums of money as bribes for political favours or appointments, and misappropriation of public funds should preoccupy our anti-graft agencies. Those found guilty must face stern justice.
Our leaders must search their consciences and eschew all forms of corrupt practices that pervade every part of our leadership positions.
And to Nigerians in general, we must stand against all forms of corruption in our capacities for our national interest.
In any organization or nation where the leaders are not corrupt, corruption is reduced by over 60%, and fighting the remaining becomes manageable.
The Federal Government and the anti-corruption agencies must close the loopholes, hold defaulters accountable, and prevent further financial leakages.
If left unchecked, Nigeria’s scarce resources will continue to be siphoned off by unscrupulous actors at the expense of national development.
The challenge is not for President Tinubu alone, but for all of us. The time has come for all religious bodies, civil society, the Judiciary and all anti-corruption agencies to join in the fight to kill corruption.
It is when we all work together that the government will be enabled to serve the country with the positive impact felt by the citizens.