- The CJN should do more this year
The Executive Chairman, Centre for Anti-corruption and Open Leadership, Mr. Debo Adeniran, tells TOBI AWORINDE that Nigerians expect a better anti-corruption war from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018
Can you review the anti-corruption efforts by the Federal Government last year?
First and foremost, we should commend the government for the implementation of the Treasury Single Account, the Bank Verification Number and a couple of other policies that were put in place with a view to stemming the tide of unbridled corruption in Nigeria. Those are the frameworks that would discourage corruption in the first place, and once corruption is discouraged, it becomes almost impossible for anybody to engage in money laundering through financial institutions. I think that is commendable.
Secondly, most of those that are alleged to have committed corruption crimes are, one way or another, being put on trial or being investigated. The anti-corruption agencies have been given free rein to operate. However, there are still a number of corrupt elements in the three arms of government that have not been touched and that is a tragedy. More tragic is the fact that some of the government institutions are actually providing a safe haven for corrupt elements, especially the judiciary and the legislature. It is not enough for the Senate to accuse government of treating certain elements with deodorant and others with insecticide. It is expected of them (senators) to also deal with corrupt elements within their folds, to discourage other people from being infected by the ravaging corruption epidemic. They have not done enough to do that.
The judiciary has a number of judges (who are undergoing investigation). The Chief Justice of the Federation has relieved a couple of judges of their jobs or sent them on suspension till they are able to clear their names. The Senate or the House of Representatives has not done anything similar to that. Many of the judges that have been accused of corruption are still in service. So, we believe that the CJN can do more and that the fire codes that have been put in place should be well fortified against manipulation by corrupt elements. The anti-corruption agencies have yet to be well strengthened in terms of resources, training, equipment, and protection over investigators and prosecutors. That has not been done.
Has the whistle-blowing policy been successful?
The protection of whistle-blowers has been somewhat good, but it is not at the level that gives adequate confidence to whistle-blowers to provide necessary information that will lead to arrest, investigation and prosecution of corrupt elements in society. The incentives are good but the way that the Ikoyi whistle-blower’s case was handled, maybe because the man exposed himself to the media perhaps due to his inordinate ambition to have so much for what should ordinarily be a patriotic duty, was not good enough. What we believe is that, as soon as the coast is clear, as far as the question of exposés given by whistle-blowers are concerned, they should be paid without waiting for embarrassment that could emanate from some ambitious lawyers or media houses.
But, basically, it is not bad because, if there hadn’t been any change in the ruling party, there might not have been any opportunity to know the magnitude of corrupt practices that are going on in government circles, public service and civil service. Now, there are a number of people who own property in Abuja and other towns and villages that are unable to claim their property.
Do you envisage the possibility of recording corruption scandals within the ruling APC led-Federal Government in 2018?
The process has started. The former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina has been asked to leave public service, not minding whose ox is gored — I mean, the godfathers he might have had, those who could have facilitated his back-door return to office. All of them would have been queried. The government had also dealt with (the) grass-cutting (scandal), which involved the (now sacked) Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the case of a former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency.
The anti-corruption agencies have also been asked to step in and ensure that due-diligence investigations are carried out while those that are found culpable are prosecuted.
I believe in the new year, more ground will be covered. The government will not want to jeopardise its own interests or lower its rating because they know that if they don’t see their anti-corruption efforts to a logical end, they will not be taken seriously by Nigerians. The opposition party has taken it upon itself to expose all other areas that the administration ought to focus its attention and has not done so. They would want to cover more ground in the fight against corruption and sacrifice anyone, no matter how highly placed, to ensure that they maintain a clean and credible record to be admired.
In this article:
Can you review the anti-corruption efforts by the Federal Government last year?
First and foremost, we should commend the government for the implementation of the Treasury Single Account, the Bank Verification Number and a couple of other policies that were put in place with a view to stemming the tide of unbridled corruption in Nigeria. Those are the frameworks that would discourage corruption in the first place, and once corruption is discouraged, it becomes almost impossible for anybody to engage in money laundering through financial institutions. I think that is commendable.
Secondly, most of those that are alleged to have committed corruption crimes are, one way or another, being put on trial or being investigated. The anti-corruption agencies have been given free rein to operate. However, there are still a number of corrupt elements in the three arms of government that have not been touched and that is a tragedy. More tragic is the fact that some of the government institutions are actually providing a safe haven for corrupt elements, especially the judiciary and the legislature. It is not enough for the Senate to accuse government of treating certain elements with deodorant and others with insecticide. It is expected of them (senators) to also deal with corrupt elements within their folds, to discourage other people from being infected by the ravaging corruption epidemic. They have not done enough to do that.
The judiciary has a number of judges (who are undergoing investigation). The Chief Justice of the Federation has relieved a couple of judges of their jobs or sent them on suspension till they are able to clear their names. The Senate or the House of Representatives has not done anything similar to that. Many of the judges that have been accused of corruption are still in service. So, we believe that the CJN can do more and that the fire codes that have been put in place should be well fortified against manipulation by corrupt elements. The anti-corruption agencies have yet to be well strengthened in terms of resources, training, equipment, and protection over investigators and prosecutors. That has not been done.
Has the whistle-blowing policy been successful?
The protection of whistle-blowers has been somewhat good, but it is not at the level that gives adequate confidence to whistle-blowers to provide necessary information that will lead to arrest, investigation and prosecution of corrupt elements in society. The incentives are good but the way that the Ikoyi whistle-blower’s case was handled, maybe because the man exposed himself to the media perhaps due to his inordinate ambition to have so much for what should ordinarily be a patriotic duty, was not good enough. What we believe is that, as soon as the coast is clear, as far as the question of exposés given by whistle-blowers are concerned, they should be paid without waiting for embarrassment that could emanate from some ambitious lawyers or media houses.
But, basically, it is not bad because, if there hadn’t been any change in the ruling party, there might not have been any opportunity to know the magnitude of corrupt practices that are going on in government circles, public service and civil service. Now, there are a number of people who own property in Abuja and other towns and villages that are unable to claim their property.
Do you envisage the possibility of recording corruption scandals within the ruling APC led-Federal Government in 2018?
The process has started. The former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina has been asked to leave public service, not minding whose ox is gored — I mean, the godfathers he might have had, those who could have facilitated his back-door return to office. All of them would have been queried. The government had also dealt with (the) grass-cutting (scandal), which involved the (now sacked) Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the case of a former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency.
The anti-corruption agencies have also been asked to step in and ensure that due-diligence investigations are carried out while those that are found culpable are prosecuted.
I believe in the new year, more ground will be covered. The government will not want to jeopardise its own interests or lower its rating because they know that if they don’t see their anti-corruption efforts to a logical end, they will not be taken seriously by Nigerians. The opposition party has taken it upon itself to expose all other areas that the administration ought to focus its attention and has not done so. They would want to cover more ground in the fight against corruption and sacrifice anyone, no matter how highly placed, to ensure that they maintain a clean and credible record to be admired.
In this article: