Are we winning the War on Corruption?
It is now evident that former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was not
sincere on the war against corruption even though he wanted to pass for
an apostle of anti-corruption. All his propagandas were mere
make-believe. At best, all his efforts were targeted at those he
considered political foes. Chief DSP Alams was marked out because he
nursed the idea of running for the presidency alongside former
Vice-President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Atiku’s sin was that he ever
contemplated being the number one citizen of this country. EFCC became
the willing tool that was used.
The present regime of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was largely seen as
a beneficiary of a electoral fraud that may not have the wherewithal to
fight corruption. It was freely mentioned that if Yar’Adua was serious
on the war, he ought to have started with himself i.e. the electoral
fraud. Even against this criticism, he assured Nigerians that he won’t
relent on the onslaught against corruption.
However, events that have unfolded so far have not proved that we are
succeeding on this must-win-war. The Justice Minister and Attorney
General of the Federation, Chief Michael Andoaka who is supposed to be
at the vanguard of the fight is largely seen as the one protecting the
thieving public officials. Several letters written by him to
Metropolitan Police in order to thwart the trial of James Onanefe Ibori,
former governor of Delta State were published by some news portal.
Recently, the same AGF was accused of corruptly enriching himself. A
known thief may not be a good choice for the position of a thief taker.
All the damning allegations of corruption leveled against former
President Olusegun Obasanjo have not been given adequate treatment. In
short, Yar’Adua was quoted to have said that he was not ready to probe
his predecessor. More than one year into the life of this
administration, no former public official – governor, ministers, local
government chairmen etc, have been brought before the law to account for
his stewardship. The mind boggling revelations that reared its head at
the recent public hearing on the power sector were enough for any
serious minded government to wand the big stick. Nigerians are waiting
to see what becomes of the final report.
Not quite long ago, serious cases of international fraud involving some
highly placed Nigerians surfaced. The Siemens and Wilbros scandals were
enough to show the true of the present regime. Senator Jubril Aminu, a
big fish in the PDP was fingered in the Siemens scandal. Even though
Siemens co-operated and laid bare the facts of the matter, the
government treated that issue with levity. The Wilbros scandal revealed
that one individual masqueraded as Number 2 and used this to corner
colossal wealth for himself, yet the government of Yar’Adua jettisoned
the issue lackadaisically. Atiku Abubakar who was impersonated went all
out to compel the government to unravel the mysterious Number 2, yet
Yar’Adua’s government was unperturbed. Only God knows whose interest the
government was protecting.
The Senator Iyabo Obasanjo scandal erupted like a volcano. The whole
world waited impatiently to decipher the position of the government. The
drama was played and we enjoyed it while it lasted. At the end of it
all, no one knew what the government of the day made of it all. It was
like a circuit show where one watches a show but at the end, one can not
really say how the hocus-pocus was perfected. Rather, we are being told
that due process is being allowed to take its course.
On a more serious note, the present administration has not done anything
to portray it as one that is serious to fight corruption to a
standstill, but rather it has done things that portray it as one that
has come to maintain the status quo or better still entrench corruption.
By: Bright Adeola COKER
Coker Writes from No 2, Badmus Street Victoria Island Annex
Lagos