NUHU RIBADU: DECONSTRUCTING A FALLACY ON CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA
Seated in the auditorium were Nigerians from all strata of the society, to take hold of how corruption can be strangled/suffocated (this is the desire of most Nigerians). All the panelists, including the Special guest of Honour- Mallam Nuhu Ribadu (pioneer chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission), harped on what citizens can do in getting Nigeria off the sick bed. They agreed that the power lies on the citizens. In fairness, they mentioned building strong institutions and good leadership but it was more or less like side talks. The emphasis was on citizens. Paradoxically, these citizens are the victims of corruption.
Corruption in Nigeria have passed the alarming stage and entered the fatal endpoint; and Nigeria will die if we keep pretending that it is slightly indisposed, argued Chinua Achebe. To this end, on March 19, 2018; Yar’Adua Foundation convened a town hall meeting in the heart of Abuja on a title: A Spanner in the Wheel of Corruption. It was accompanied by a stage drama on: THE WHEEL KEN SARO WIWA by Arojah Royal Theatre. Ken Saro Wiwa’s THE WHEEL is a political satire that dramatically highlights the damaging effect of official corruption, failed campaign promises, bad governance and the need for ethical revolution.
What I hope to achieve by this rejoinder is to highlight what I consider the most important arguments of the Town Hall meeting and to engage those significant points. Thereafter, I will provide a counter-narrative to a dominant submission that: citizens should resist corruption up to the point of the supreme/ultimate price.
It is true that Nigeria is the only country in the world that had successfully recovered looted funds from foreign financial institutions and oversea conspirators. Egypt and other countries had unsuccessfully fought to recover their national cake stolen by public officials and stashed in foreign destinations. On the strength of the above premise, it is possible to assume that Nigerian government has demonstrated boldness in confronting corruption. In Africa, while many countries do not have a singular specialized anti-corruption commission; Nigeria has commissions (although a duplication of roles) whose mandate is that of squaring up against a known disease- corruption, using international best practices. Everyone in Nigeria knows that EFCC, ICPC, Code of Conduct Bureau etc are specialized anti-corruption institutions.
Karl Maier had written/argued compassionately and comprehensively in the year 2000 that: “very little trickles down.” Despite about US$700 billion in export revenues since the discovery of oil in 1958, at least half of all Nigerians live in abject poverty without access to clean water or three (3) square meal. Nigeria, like so many countries in Africa, is patently not a developing nation, it is underdeveloped. Literacy is below that of a war theatre- Democratic Republic of Congo and even Zimbabwe. GDP per capita is lower than it was before the beginning of oil boom in the 1970s. The value of the Naira, has fallen from $1 to N0.658 in 1972. Today, $1 is equivalent to N370.00K or worse (what a sad reality?). Nigeria debt profile is rising astronomically and President Muhammadu Buhari had borrowed in three (3) years, more than the successive administrations of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in their sixteen(16) years in power. The government spends almost half of its annual budget on salaries of an estimated two (2) million federal, state and local government workers, yet the civil service remains paralyzed, with bribery and nepotism still the fastest way of getting anything done.
Rare are Nigerian politicians who had acted on behalf of the entire nation. The People live in a criminally mismanaged corporation where the bosses are armed and have barricaded themselves inside the company safe. Nigerian politicians, like the colonialists, have sucked out billions of dollars and most callously, stuffed them in Western banks. Thousands of Nigerians, on annual basis, flee the enclave to escape impoverishment and political repression.
Frankly and sorrowfully (during the town hall meeting), it appears to me, they were blaming the victims. By victims, I mean the dispossessed young men and women who are wallowing in the pool of unemployment and State Neglect. I mean our fathers and mothers who are continually denied retirement benefits because one Maina is feeding fat from the PENCOM funds alongside his conspirators and principals.Those submissions nearly hacked me to death.
Notably, Mallam Ribadu said “… strive to be honest; refuse to offer policemen bribes even at the point of death. Stand your ground. Blow the whistle. In no time, there will be hiding no place for corruption and corrupt officials.” Though well intended, the seated audience reacted with an element of cynicism and rebuttal.
Instantaneously, what came to my mind’s ear was a case of Idongesit Ekpo and her husband, Godwin, who were shot by a team of policemen attached to the Isheri Osun Police Division for refusing to pay the “normal” N50 but this time N5,000. It is a common practice for policemen to mount checkpoints, arbitrarily, in neighbuorhoods and thereafter begin to prey on road users. So on September 18, 2015; Idongesit, who was breastfeeding a three-month-old baby paid the supreme price for refusing to pay bribes.
In my opinion, urging citizens to confront trigger-happy and highly-corrupt uniformed men is at least, fallacious. If not, why are citizens not tasked to confront terrorists, because like corruption, terrorism is a crime against humanity? The example cited above and related cases, perhaps, were responsible for the unusual reaction towards Mallam Ribadu (a man of impeccable character) during his keynote address.
Bribery, intimidation, extortion, shakedown, sexual harassment of young inmates in prisons, are some of the many forms of corruption in the Nigerian Police. The policemen who are sent on routine patrols cannot do without collecting bribes from car drivers. Their passion and purpose is to extort money from road users, not to make the roads secure. Open-and-stretched-hands have become a norm even when your vehicle particulars are in order. It is either you pay bribe and go through or refuse to do so and face the consequences by being unnecessarily delayed.
A corrupt leadership of the police force provides fertile ground for corruption in the society to flourish. This is because they fail to successfully detect, investigate, prosecute and convict those engaged in acts of corruption and sharp practices. Corruption persists because for over 90 per cent of the cases, corruption goes unpunished. A potential corrupt official weighs the expected cost and expected benefit of a criminal corrupt act. The cost of corruption to the individual is commonly understood to be the nominal penalty as stipulated in our laws. The probability of being penalized is dependent on two factors: the probability of being detected, investigated, caught and indicted; and the probability of being successfully convicted for the criminal corruption act. Corruption persists in Nigeria because (while) the probability of being caught and indicted for corruption cases is very low, the probability of being convicted once caught is even lower and, therefore, the expected cost of engaging in corrupt criminal activity is abysmally low. Many people engage in corruption acts because the expected benefit from corruption activities far exceeds the expected cost. Government has the constitutional responsibility to raise the probability of corruption criminals being penalized by raising the two underlying probabilities: the probability of being detected, investigated, caught and indicted; and the probability of being successfully convicted for the criminal corruption act.
When the Nigerian military and Para-military organs especially the Nigerian police openly collect bribes from motorists at checkpoints, the society comes to believe that corruption has been institutionalized. Ken Saro Wiwa was gruesomely killed (sentenced by hanging) by the Nigerian government for standing up for his people and challenging a criminally corrupt revenue-sharing-system. Idongesit Ekpo was also wasted by the Nigerian police for resisting and refusing to pay N5,000 to rampaging policemen in Ijegun Road in the Alimosho area of Lagos State. It is a hopeless situation if citizens would have to pay the supreme prize for corruption to be recognized as a dehumanizing crime against mankind. I have not forgotten that leaders emerge from a society, but excuse me, it squarely falls on leaders to provide direction, guide development, deliver good governance and lead a people to prosperity.
If you agree with me that governments should attack corruption using all the might at her disposal rather than inciting defenseless citizens to put their lives on the line; I appreciate your gesture. On the other hand, if you disagree with me, I thank you for finding time to read my piece.
Finally (riding on the shoulders of Late Professor F.S. Idachaba), I wish to conclude and recommend alternatives to tackling corruption as follows:
First, all development agendas must be preceded by a Nigerian Social Value Transformation that inculcates justice, equity, freedom and liberty, patriotism, fairness, honesty, human rights, public interest, transparency and accountability, and zero tolerance for corruption. Government should launch a genuine and well-thought out anti-corruption campaign that will inspire Nigerians to a new beginning and in full knowledge and preparedness that those that are benefiting from the current value vacuum will fight back to perpetuate the old regime. Importantly, elected officials must lead by example if the campaign MUST succeed.
Second, governments must strengthen the judiciary in all ramifications and embolden her to prosecute criminals decisively. What else could be a better definition of political will, if this happens? It is no longer acceptable or convincing for President Buhari to blame the judiciary as the reason why government is losing high-profile cases against accused persons. The situation where indicted person(s) escape justice is a macabre display of a failing system, and it sends out proper signals that anti-corruption statements are cosmetic and persecutory. It is completely within the powers of the president Buhari to demonstrate that all Nigerians are indeed equal before the law, in theory and practice. With the right measure of political will, the world will marvel at the speed Nigeria will strangle corruption. Don’t underestimate the resilience of the people called Nigerians!
Third, the leadership of EFCC, ICPC, and Code of Conduct Bureau must purge their personnel and hierarchies of all filthiness and demonstrate its independence and commitment to ending graft. The commissions should convince Nigerians beyond reasonable doubts that they are not tools for fighting the political enemies of Mr. President. The powers of the Attorney General to discontinue EFCC cases in court or to unilaterally take over the prosecution of certain cases by the EFCC should be abolished because the use of these powers could produce capricious results.
Let me conclude by returning to where I started: A Spanner in the wheel of Corruption as put together by the Yar’Adua Foundation and supported by MacArthur Foundation was worthwhile. The Yar’Adua Foundation promotes national unity, good governance and social justice by creating platforms to engage citizens, policy makers and stakeholders in national conversations that foster an inclusive and prosperous Nigeria. We need more foundations and efforts in this direction. Even though Nigeria is dancing on the brink of collapse, there is hope for a prosperous federation. This hope should not be extinguished by the political class.
Author: Ani, Nwachukwu Agwu is a Rural Development Expert. He works in the Programs/Communications department of Connected Development.Connected Development tracks and monitors development aids and interventions in rural communities. You can reach him via email: nwachukwuani@gmail.com and twitter: @NwachukwuAni.
