Written by Seni Makanjuola
Nigeria is one of the most corrupt countries in the world yet ironically, it is also the largest economy in Africa. It is unfortunate that we could be the largest economy anywhere when over 70% of our population lives on less than a dollar a day. Corruption has been synonymous with Nigeria for many years now but on March 28th 2015 a revolution against corruption began. The people voted out a corrupt government for a no-nonsense anti-corruption crusader, former military Head of State General Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari promised to wipe out corruption from Nigeria because he believed that it would consume us otherwise. In the 6 months since Buhari has taken the mantle of power, there have been various revelations of the ways in which government funds where mismanaged by the past administration. The NNPC has been revamped; the customs and immigration heads resigned or got sacked; EFCC and DSS bosses were sacked. It seems Buhari is keeping his promise to fight corruption.
In light of all the revelations, Dasuki’s tops the list of the most outrageous. Not only was the money stolen from the coffers of the people but the funds in question were originally looted by Abacha and have since been returned to Nigeria by the World Bank. Dasuki was arrested by the Department of States Security (DSS). He was charged with misappropriation of funds meant for procurement of weapons and other army equipment worth 2.1 billion. This happened in a country where millions are displaced and thousands of lives have been lost due to the ongoing menace of Boko Haram. Dasuki claims he was acting on orders of Former President Jonathan when he distributed public funds to various prominent individuals at the expense of the northern masses. This money allowed them to live ostentatious lifestyles and fund Jonathan’s re-election campaign.
A lot of the information about how money was distributed during the previous elections were considered rumors until the recent confession by Dasuki. Raymond Dokpesi, the Chairman of DAAR communications, is said to have collected N2.1 billion for the funding of PDP media activities. An additional N2.2 billion was paid to Baba-Kusa for ‘spiritual prayers’; N260 million to Chief Tony Anenih for campaign purposes; N345 million to Senator Iyorchia Ayu for the construction of a shopping mall; N380 million to Bello Mantanwalle; and N670m to Nduka Obaigbena (owner of ThisDay) for energy consulting. Other prominent figures like Bafarawa and Bode George have also been roped in the scandal. There have also been claims that President Buhari received money for SUVs from the office of the NSA. More details about the looting carried out by Dasuki and his cohorts are expected to unfold in the coming days.
The EFCC has been a toothless bulldog in the past, known for calling names with no convictions. With the current stance of the Buhari administration against corruption we hope that the EFCC would be more effective in persecuting offenders. The corrupt structure of our judicial system is to blame for the low conviction rates of the EFCC. It is appalling that courts obstruct justice by giving injunctions which bar the EFCC from indicting certain public officials who are on the EFCC watch list. In the bid for national emancipation, the powers of the EFCC have to be fully realized and the war against corruption has to be supported by all and sundry.
God bless Nigeria