Corruption and culture of shamelessness

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, opened a can of worms on Monday when he apologised to Nigerians on behalf of himself and his party members for their 16 years of mismanagement. Secondus, in his expression of remorse, said the PDP leaders were people and could commit errors. He, in any case, guaranteed Nigerians that the party had developed and gained from its mistakes and was prepared to do things differently if it came back in control. He said: “We admit that we have made several mistakes; we have passed through all our challenges and have acquired the experience no other party can boast of; we were sanctioned by Nigerians at the polls in 2015; let me use this opportunity to apologise for our past mistakes. It is the honest thing to do, a legacy to transfer to our children; we cannot continue like that. When we make mistakes, we should come out boldly to the people and apologise. It is important to do so because we have learnt from our mistakes unlike the All Progressives Congress (APC) that will make mistakes and lie to cover it. We apologise to Nigerians that we have made mistakes, we have learnt our lessons and we are ready to begin on a new agenda; experience is the best teacher, no other party has it. When things are not positive and the mindset is negative.”

• When the pot calls the kettle black

The remorse gave rise to a response from the Presidency which said that the PDP ought to be willing to return  stolen public funds.The Minister of Information Lai Mohammed said this in a statement days after the PDP’s apology.  He said: “The PDP presided over an unprecedented looting of the public treasury, perhaps the worst of its kind in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world. Therefore, the best evidence of penitence for such a party is not just to own up and apologize, but to also return the looted funds. Anything short of that is mere deceit.” A few days after, another exceptional reaction exuded from the President Muhammadu Buhari’s media aide, Garba Shehu who portrayed the expression of remorse as “under fair”. Garba claimed the PDP apologised in a bid to regain power in 2019. “Even desperate thieves apologise because they are caught and not because they are incapable of repeating the crime if they had another opportunity,” the statement said.

There was another open battle between the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in March regarding “who the genuine plunderers are”. The Minister of Information, in his typical push to shake the PDP, released a few names of PDP individuals whom he called “Some PDP looters” Lai Mohammed took a step forward to list the names of PDP members. Reacting, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), in a statement by its executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, said: “The authorities should withdraw the looters’ list and come up with a comprehensive list as ordered by Justice Hadiza Shagari last year. Allowing the published looters’ list to stand will undermine the credibility of the government’s claim to fight corruption, and signal to Nigerians that it is not serious to satisfactorily address the allegations of grand corruption under the former government of President Goodluck Jonathan and involving those close to this government.” The organisation urged Lai Mohammed to immediately withdraw what it termed as “clumsy, arbitrary and selective looters’ list”, as the list would seem to serve a political objective or carry out political agenda.”

The APC is now on what coulbe possibly  be named “heat period”. The party is experiencing criticisms from Nigerians who believed it had performed below expectations in its three years of rule. The criticism from Transparency International hasn’t helped: the corruption perception index punctured a gap in the affirmed advance report announced by the Presidency. In the present administration, Nigeria has been evaluated as one of the poorest nations on the planet, which justifies the cries by numerous Nigerians that the present government has denied them the privileges they enjoyed during the last administration.Transparency International had evaluated the Buhrai administration as being more degenerate than the Jonathan administration regardless of the war against corruption propelled by Buhari. Nigeria, in the current Corruption Index, dropped 12 points in reverse from 136 148, a score the Presidency likewise couldn’t help contradicting. During the Jonathan administration, Nigeria moved from 144 to 136 in 2014. This result addresses the genuineness of the anti-graft war by the present administration.

The compromise by the present administration, another sign that it is difficult to bite the fingers that fed you as the Buhari government profited from the alleged plundering by the past administration. Nigerians believe that politicians are crimianals: their most prominent weapon is their pen. It isn’t clear if the reason for the open bold fight is  the 2019 presidential election. But the administration of the day is by all accounts romancing with past PDP individuals who decamped to the ruling party while those still in the opposition camp are blamed for causing the 16-year misrule. It is obvious that the Nigerian government, both former and current, is neck deep into corrupt practices. It is perplexing that politicians are shamelessly and publicly accusing one another regarding the exact amounts stolen. It is an indication that pilferage is no longer a “wow” crime, and it’s one of the many reasons the country, despite its huge natural resources, has refused to develop. Nigeria is a country where politicians know no shame. The public battle has only showcased the dirtier pigs and it has reached the point of accepting the culture of shamelessness.

• Ekhator is a public affairs analyst.