THE acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has told Nigerians that they should expect more investigations, arrests, trials, convictions and recovery of stolen assets as the commission enforces its mandate.
The anti-corruption Czar made the declaration on Tuesday, at the unveiling of EFCC programme, Creative Youths Initiative against Corruption (CYIC) in Abuja, submitting that every Nigerian ought to be a stakeholder in the war against corruption.
“Let me clarify that EFCC will continue to vigorously enforce its mandate alongside engaging in preventive initiatives such as this. Therefore, even as we appeal to the old and the young to shun corruption and other forms of fraud, expect to see more investigations, more arrests, more trials, more convictions and more recovery of stolen assets,” Magu declared.
While noting that enforcement alone could not win the war against corruption, the EFCC boss submitted that prevention was an effective weapon which ought to be deployed in conjunction with enforcement.
He declared that the youth were better equipped to wield the weapon, adding that Nigerians could not afford to let the future generations down.
According to Magu, the task to rid Nigeria of corruption could not be left alone to the EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies in the country, hence everyone had to join hands together to build the future desire for the children.
“We are the first to recognise that enforcement alone cannot win the war against corruption. Prevention is an effective and necessary weapon that must be employed in conjunction with enforcement and there is no group of Nigerians better equipped to wield that weapon than the youths.
“Let us bear in mind that the task to rid the nation of the corruption cankerworm cannot be left to EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies alone. We are all stakeholders in the war and cannot let the future generations down; it is for their future that we must sacrifice our today.
“Let us work together for our dear nation; let us join hands to build for our children the future we desire,” Magu stated.
He informed that the CYIC, which he said, was the brainchild of Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, was aimed at expanding the anti-corruption mandate using the innate creativity of the young ones.
“I really have to express my sincere appreciation to Professor Wole Soyinka, whose brainchild this initiative is. When I met him in January, he offered me this unique platform to carry forward the prevention mandate of the commission.
“I am really happy to see that we have reached this stage of the programme and with the support of all stakeholders, I am confident that the initiative will definitely expand the anti-corruption mandate using as vehicle, the innate creativity of our young ones,” he said.
“That is the essence of this Initiative, which is a forerunner of sorts to the EFCC Women Against Corruption initiative, that will be rolled out by the First Lady, Hajia Aisha Buhari, in November. That project will bring on board the anti-corruption train, Nigerian women from all walks of life.”
Magu declared that mindless looting of the commonwealth of Nigerians was being felt most by women and children, who he described as the vulnerable ones in the society who should be not only be protected, but also armed with the necessary tools to fight corruption to a standstill.
“As we know, the people most impacted by the mindless looting of our commonwealth, are women and children. These are the most vulnerable in our society and must not only be protected, but armed with the necessary tools to fight a sustainable and winnable war against corruption.
“Our children must see that there is a future away from corruption and be encouraged to take that path of honour, moral rectitude and creative employment of their talents, which had been shunned by so many of our corrupt leaders,” he declared.
In her remarks on the occasion, the coordinator of the Initiative, Foluke Michael, noted that the programme was aimed at catching children young, adding that it was meant to focus on the future of the country for children to identify corruption with a view to rejecting it.
“We are focusing on the future of Nigeria so that children can identify corruption and also reject it,” she said.
Michael, however, urged Nigerian youths to build a new and corruption-free Nigeria for the betterment of all.