Winning the war against insurgency, sleaze

On the final day of his two – day visit to Kano state, President Muhammed Buhari declared that it’s more difficult tackling the menace of corruption than insurgency. According to the President, “the power of the corrupt Nigerians is so enormous, but we are determined to deal with the situation headlong. This has been adjudged by what is happening today on ground”. And while responding to comments made at the town – hall meeting, the President was quoted when he said that “democratic environment has made the fight against corruption more difficult” (Blueprint, Friday December 8, 2017, page 6).

To buttress that assertion quoting the same publication, the President stated that “as Head of State, I arrested some corrupt politicians. But shortly after, I was arrested after my government had been truncated, all the houses that I confiscated were returned back to the owners”, he recalled. This according to him, explained the reason the current fight against corruption is pretty difficult. He went further to tell his audience at the Kano town – hall meeting that “after confiscating properties from corrupt Nigerians, we ordered that they should be sold and the money be deposited at the treasury. To show our seriousness in the fight today, among those being investigated was a High Court Judge whose house was searched and several foreign currencies were found and some international passports’’. The president concluded his submission by saying that the fight against corruption requires zeal, courage and full determination to succeed, saying that his government has all these attributes to achieve this success. And we cannot agree less with Mr. President on this subject – matter that has remained as one of the cardinal – points /programmes of his administration.

However, if the President really wants to win the fight against corruption and not make it a continuous war on a viscous cycle, he must be ready to take the necessary political – will that will enable him to beam his corruption searchlight inwards. It is in the public domain that some high ranking members of his government and top aides are being accused of stealing. While some have been investigated and sacked without prosecution to recover the alleged loots or further determine the degree of their penalty, others are yet to be investigated and are still maintaining their status – quo in the government.

To lend some credence to this view, the Daily Sun of Friday, December 15, 2017 on page 6 quoted the embattled former Chairman of the dissolved Pension Reform Task Force Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina, when he asked those calling for his head to shift attention to Aso – Rock where he alleged bigger names accused of stealing public money are still walking the corridors of power. ‘’ The unfortunate thing is that some people around him (President) whom he trusted are lying to him .I can attest to this and I can give you instances and documentary evidences. People portray themselves as if they are saints. It is a lie; they are not…Why is it that the former SGF and other big personalities accused of stealing monies, including big personalities in the Villa, nobody is talking about them?”, he queried.

Some “alarmists” or the so-called “wailing wailers” have even gone to the extent or alleging that the much flaunted recovered loots are yet to be properly accounted for or are in the process of being re – looted. And the responsibility lies on the relevant government agencies to allay the fears of this set of people by showcasing the capital projects or the special programmes that these recovered monies have been used to finance or which part of the budget they have been channeled to in a particular Fiscal year. It is not just enough to reel out figures. It is in the government’s interests to let the people know how these recovered monies are being used to fight incidences of starvation, acute hunger, abject poverty and its related issues in their midst. The populace is the ultimate judge and not the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) or the National Orientation Agency (NOA). The facts can always be found on grounds and not cooked – up in any MDAs books in order to make them palatable or suit the whims and caprices of the authorities; and so the President still holds the ace if he is really determined to win the fight against corruption. But if his interest lies in just exercising himself with the fight against corruption, he may continue to use the broom in his hand to sweep the raised issues under the carpet instead of using it (the broom – the symbol of his Ruling Party – APC) to remove and sweep out the cobwebs and dirt/debris that are alleged to be inside his government. In other words, to win the fight against corruption, the President must fight the monster inside – out and make sure there are no sacred – cows within or outside his government, circles of friends/relations or political loyalists. This may be a tall – order but it is achievable. For with God coupled with human determination/political will, nothing shall be impossible.

In the same vein, the Federal Government’s determination to win the war against insurgency and other security challenges is very obvious and commendable. Recently the Federal Government and the Federating States through the National Economic Council has approved a whopping sum of $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account for the Federal Government to fight insurgency,. And this is not the first, second or even third time that such monies are being disbursed since the immediate past administration of the former President Goodluck Jonathan. At a time during the tenure of the immediate President, a quarter of the Nation’s annual budget was being allocated to security and related matters apart from seeking the approval of the Senate under Senator David Mark’s leadership to borrow $50 billion to fight this same Boko – haram insurgency. How that particular money was disbursed or allegedly misappropriated or diverted into private pockets is the main subject – matter of the celebrated Dasukigate which is still pending in the courts now.

• Olakunle is the General Secretary, National Prayer Movement