How did I miss the white smoke that billowed from the chimneys of Aso Rock Villa! Such event as the setting up of a Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption is significant, but my goodness, election of Professor Itse Sagay as Head requires a profound symbol to herald the occurrence.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s shift to overdrive has gotten the nation gliding truly on the highway of Change. Most Nigerians who voted him to office had worried that this gear shift would not come to pass. Nigeria, despite its huge potential has continued to lag behind in almost every facet of life as its infrastructure has remained perpetually underdeveloped, its human resources untapped and its young ones unemployed. Nigeria is the proverbial case of dying in the midst of plenty. Nigeria is probably one of the most blessed countries in the world with an alarming rate of poverty and unemployment that completely belies its rich resources, all in the main, due to the cancer of corruption afflicting the nation.
Today, the thrust of President Buhari’s singular issue that would guarantee his success as the change President Nigerians voted and hoped for has moved one step forward and one notch higher. The setting up of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-corruption is undoubtedly a significant step in the drive to exorcise the demons of corruption that had hitherto hindered the nation from asserting itself as one of the most successful economies in the world.
The leader of the Committee Professor Sagay is a man of unquestionable integrity and the members of the committee as people committed to the cause of change in Nigeria. The committee signals Buhari’s commitment to dealing with the issue of corruption in Nigeria and moving the country forward towards achieving the lofty ideals on making Nigeria a better place. This development marks a significant departure from the general and perennial lips service paid to the issue of corruption in the past. Setting up a Committee of scholars is significant because first and foremost corruption in Nigeria needs to be defined and identified for what it is. It is so rooted in us to the point that it is seen as the Nigerian way of life. In Ghana, the word kalabule refers to corruption. A Nigerian is also despicably called a kalabule. A definition is necessary to set clearly what needs being traced, and dealt with from origin.
It portends the hope that we would return to the traditional values of goodness and godliness, virtue and integrity that hitherto characterized our society. Now there may be hope that the days of War Against Indiscipline (WAI) and creation of a society where people are loved and respected based on the "content of their character" and quality of their productivity rather than their association, are soon with us.
It would be of interest to know what solution can be proffered to the challenge of political party and political activity financing given the inevitable pillage of State treasury by politicians who consider their activity as investment for which transfer of State assets is the return. Another area of interest is the issue of local government funding as in most states in Nigeria, most local governments have been reduced to cash points for state governments who divert the funds for uses that do not meet the needs of Nigerians at the grassroots.
The Sagay-led committee must isolate and define the issue of contracts inflation, poor implementation of outright abandonment; embezzlement of public funds and the conversion of States into fiefs by our elected. These have been accepted as the norm. It is from here that the nation must depart in order to restore public confidence in government and governance in Nigeria.
The committee must propose means towards delivering Nigeria from the corruption that has eaten deep into the entire fabric of the nation with the full awareness that the future of the nation depends on success or failure. They must be prepared to give their all into defining of this must win fight, even for the sake of generations of Nigerians who know nothing about dignity in labour - generations who have more accustomed to the mysterious path to a so-called success without recourse to merit, competence, competition, effort and indeed, hard work.
Present and future generations must see that there is a reward for hard work and punishment for the lazy, indolent and corrupt. In this lies all hope for the rebirth of the Nigerian nation and its people’s dreams and aspirations. Herein lies all hope for the renewal of trust between government and the governed. The hope is that henceforth, all Nigerians would stand equal before the law and in the awareness that with commitment and effort, the system will provide the opportunity for everyone to be anything one dreamed of becoming in life. The Sagay committee is made up of men who understand that the tied to corruption is the key to fundamental platform for Buhari’s success the key to the rebirth. Then it would be a new Nigeria “where peace, love, unity and the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain” as citizens would melodiously sound the anthem.
Time is of essence. Nigeria is a large country with many complexities. For years, the country has degenerated from one level of the malady of corruption to another far worse one. The political system guarantees separation of power and devolution to states and other tiers in the realm. Yet the reforms proposed must be all encompassing, if the attainments are to be thorough and sustainable.
Culled from Daily Trust
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