One of the reasons President Muhammadu Buhari was massively supported in 2015 by the electorate and he eventually emerged as president was a strong belief that he would fight corruption to a standstill. But over seven and a half years after, many Nigerians believe that corruption has worsened rather than reducing.
In Nigeria today, it seems white-collar crimes pay and if you are a ‘big man’, your chances of getting off the hook if you commit a gargantuan crime is very high. Just recently, the President talked about a governor who had misappropriated local government funds in his state. But the surprising thing is that the President failed to mention the name of the said governor even though he was challenged to do so by some governors.
Unfortunately, in this same country, people have been jailed for years for stealing goats or even petty cash. The law should not be a respecter of anybody’s position. If a governor commits a crime, he should be unmasked so that he could be impeached to face proper prosecution.
A former Governor of Bayelsa State, Dipreye Alamieyeseigha, was investigated and impeached for corruption while he was in office. The immunity the president and governors enjoy should not be, and is not a blank cheque for them to do what they like with public funds.
After President Buhari, the next leader and the national assembly need to strengthen anti-corruption institutions and laws. Corruption has denied Nigerians of good governance at virtually every level and it is high time Nigerian leaders initiated stringent measures to fight the malaise.
For instance, China, knowing the corrosive nature of corruption, prescribes death as the penalty. But in Nigeria, somebody will steal hundreds of billion of naira and will be negotiating a plea bargain with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Even in the United States and other western countries, stealing huge public funds could attract up to a 20-year jail term. But in Nigeria, corruption cases drag on for years and offenders are often acquitted based on technicalities.
The fact is that Nigeria is at a crossroads in financial and political terms, all hands must be on the deck to pull the nation back from the brink. After May 29, it should not be business as usual any longer. Nigerians must strive to build a country where honest and hard-working people thrive.
Written by TONY OKAFOR
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