Ameh Monday
I revere Mr. Stephen Oronsanye as an astute technocrat, bureaucrat, versatile and meticulous administrator and commend him and his committee members on the rationalisation of Federal Government agencies for the onerous task of coming up with recommendations aimed at reducing cost of governance where it recommended the reduction of 263 statutory government agencies to 161 and abolition of 38.
I must, however, say that the committee’s recommendation for the scrapping of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and transferring their duties to the police must be handled with utmost caution devoid of sentiments and ulterior motive.
Oronsanye in calling for the scrapping of the anti-graft agencies during the report presentation to the President, stated inter alia: “The committee observed that even though the two commissions were established separately to address corruption, which the Police appeared to have failed to do, successive administrations have ironically continued to appoint the Chairman of the EFCC from the Police Force, while the methodology adopted by the ICPC in conducting investigations as well as the training of its personnel in investigation procedure is carried out by the Police. One wonders if it was really expedient to dismember the Nigeria Police rather than allow it to evolve as a vibrant and effective agency. The fact that an institution is inefficient and ineffective should not be a basis for the creation of new ones.”
Flowing from the foregoing, three pertinent questions maybe asked. Firstly, should the fact that the executive has been appointing the chairman of the EFCC from the police and the methodology adopted by the ICPC in conducting investigations as well as the training of its personnel in investigation procedure is carried out by the Police be a germane reason for canvassing for their scrapping? If that is the case, do we equally call for the scrapping of the National Youth Service Corps and transfer its functions to the Nigerian Army for the simple reason that the Director General is appointed from the army?
Put differently, if as affirmed by the committee that the establishment of ICPC and the EFCC is because of the failure of the police, one is tempted to ask: has the police got its acts right at combating corruption now in the whole of Nigeria, when it is a common knowledge that the police itself is neck deep and enmeshed in corruption?
Meaning the Nigeria Police, in the opinion of the committee should remain an indissoluble force. If this is so, would Nigeria ever think of having the Department of State Security, which the police gave birth to, or the police should inherit them back too? How have the Police now and before made best use of the Penal and Criminal Codes to combat corruption in Nigeria?
One of the major problems confronting our nation is the horrendous and monumental corruption, which has permeated every facet of our life and indeed responsible for our underdevelopment.
Going back memory lane, various administrations, realising that corruption is a clog in the wheel of the nation’s progress, had put measures in place aimed at tackling the cankerworm as follows: The Jaji Declaration in 1977 by the then General Olusegun Obasanjo, the Ethical Revolution of President Shehu Shagari in 1981, the popular War Against Indispline (WAI) in 1984 by General Muhammadu Buhari, the National Orientation Movement in 1986 and Mass Mobilisation for Social Justice and Economic Reconstruction respectively by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida in 1987, as well as the War Against Indispline and Corruption in 1996 by Gen. Sani Abacha. These measures were an addition to the Penal and Criminal Codes, which was also aimed at fighting corruption. It must be pointed out that all these measures or attempts failed or did not outlive the various administrations.
It was on return to democratic rule that real commitment to the fight against corruption was given a boost by former President Olusegun Obasanjo when in 1999 during his inaugural speech promised to fight the scourge “head on and that it was no longer going to be business as usual.” He did live up to his words as his very first Bill to the National Assembly was the “Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Bill,” which was passed into an Act, leading to the establishment of ICPC in 2000 as an agency to fight corruption and other related offences.
He went a step further by setting up the sister agency, the EFCC in 2004 to combat financial crimes that had given the nation a bad image in the international arena. Prior to 1999, Nigeria was identified internationally as a haven where corruption and financial crimes thrived and this is not a matter of assumption as the evidence was so compelling, seen and felt everyday and everywhere: on our highways, government offices, educational institutions and other public places.
The ranking of Nigeria by the Berlin-based Transparency International, a Non-Governmental Organisation and foremost anti-corruption watchdog, in its annual publication of Corruption Perception Index shows how endemic corruption was in the country. The CPI was published annually with effect from 1995, but Nigeria came into reckoning from 1996, with a total of 54 countries were surveyed, showing New Zealand, Denmark and Sweden as the least corrupt countries, and Nigeria, Pakistan and Kenya as the most corrupt countries in the world.
In the 1997 ranking, the least corrupt countries were Denmark, Finland and Sweden while Nigeria, Bolivia and Colombia were the most corrupt countries in the world. In 1998, Nigeria was ranked the fourth most corrupt country. But Nigeria stepped backwards to the position of the second most corrupt nation in the world in 1999. Again, in 2000 Nigeria slipped to the unenviable position of the most corrupt country in the world.
For three consecutive years 2001, 2002 and 2003, Nigeria occupied the position of the second most corrupt nation in the world. In 2004 and 2005 Nigeria was ranked as the third most corrupt country in the world.
However, Nigeria left the topmost spot in 2006 as she was ranked the fifth most corrupt Country in the world. In 2007 and 2008 ranking, Nigeria was ranked the ninth and sixteenth most corrupt country in the world respectively. In 2009 it was ranked 130th with a score of 2.5 and in 2010 ranking it placed 134th position with Corruption Perception Index of 2.4. In 2011, Nigeria was ranked 143rd out of the 183 countries surveyed and still scored 2.4.
From the foregoing, it is very obvious that the ranking of Nigeria has been fluctuating since its debut on the CPI ranking in 1996 to date, and the improvement in (TI) ranking much later was due to the activities of the anti-graft agencies.
The fight against corruption, led by the ICPC and EFCC, is, indeed, yielding positive results. That was why in 2005, the Paris Club of Creditors gave Nigeria a debt relief of $18 billion. The establishment of the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit in 2003 also paid off as it led to the de-listing of Nigeria from the Financial Action Task Force list of Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories. Outside that, over $60 billion have been recovered from corrupt Nigerians and their collaborators.
The low and the mighty who looted public funds as seen recently have been convicted for corrupt practices and financial crimes, their ill-gotten properties confiscated and they are serving various jail terms in Nigerian prisons. Our leaving the infamous top spot of the most corrupt country in the world is in fact due to the activities of the anti-graft agencies.
Another dimension to the recommendation that the police should inherit the two anti-graft agencies will be counter-productive, especially now that the nefarious activities of Boko Haram sect have sent fear into the spine of Nigerians and the peace of the nation is being threatened presently. In effect, this move is nothing but tantamount to overloading and overstretching the police, which itself is riddled and dented with corruption. This will be a case of giving the bone to the dog.
This is not the time to call for the scrapping of ICPC and EFCC, It is a time that corruption has assumed gargantuan rate as can be seen in all the concluded and ongoing probe: power probe, privatisation probe, pension probe, oil subsidy probe, capital market probe, etc. where we have seen naked looti
ng and siphoning of our resources. It is so bad that corruption is now being perpetrated even in advance and this is when we have anti-graft agencies. So, when they are scrapped, what will happen? Your guess is as good as mine.
Honestly, what the anti-graft agencies require now is blocking all the loopholes in their Acts of establishment, the support from the top level of government as well as all Nigerians and ensuring that they are well funded. Their personnel need to be well trained in forensic investigation because corruption in our nation has gone so sophisticated that detecting it without a forensic knowledge is indeed a herculean task and may amount to wild goose chase and dissipation of energy.
Suffice it to say that in order to add more bite and vigour to this crusade, the call for the establishment of anti-corruption special courts by some prominent Nigerians and members of Civil Societies to try solely corruption cases is very germane and apt. Without casting aspersion on our conventional courts, it is a general knowledge that due to avalanche of cases they attend to, dispensation of justice becomes very cumbersome and time wasting. No thanks to the delay tactics employed by some lawyers who cash in on defects in our laws and employ technicalities to seek for frivolous injunctions, applications and adjournments. The implication of this is that cases linger ad infinitum.
As the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke-led White Paper Drafting Committee crosses the “T’s” and dots the “I’s” of the recommendations, I call on the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, and the National Assembly to resist any attempt at scrapping the anti-graft agencies as doing so is taking the nation 10 years backward over the successes recorded so far and will project us in a bad light to the international community to which Nigeria is an integral part. Nigeria cannot afford to be a pariah nation any more. Lest we forget, Nigeria is one of the 140 nations that signed the United Nations Convention Against Corruption document on the December 9, 2003 while she ratified it on December 14, 2004.
For the transformation agenda of this administration to cruise safely to its destination of “development and good governance,” the fight against corruption must be placed on the front burner.
While we await the outcome of the White Paper Committee report, I urge the anti-graft agencies to remain focused, vigilant and should up their game by bringing all corrupt Nigerians to book no matter their status in the society.
In conclusion, of what benefit will it be to us as a country if ICPC and EFCC are scrapped just to curb waste and the money to be saved from that move is looted? I call that double jeopardy and I hope we don’t get to that point.
Fighting corruption is the collective responsibility of all Nigerians. All hands must be on deck to support the ICPC and EFCC to tackle the cankerworm so that our dream of joining the industrialised nations by 20:2020 does not become a mirage.
Monday, a public affairs analyst and anti-corruption crusader, is of the Political Science Department of the University of Abuja and can be reached via ashu_uma @yahoo.com, 08034655594 and PMB 535 Garki, Abuja.