The call for public accountability and fight against corruption is a call for a revolution; it is not going to be like a walk in the park. Successive governments have failed because it became politicized and selective. Sometimes, the masses take sides with the oppressors because of poverty as he is expecting palliative and handouts.
Therefore, Nigerians do not see the fight against corruption as their own fight and sometimes view it from ethno-religious prism. Public officers hardly distinguish between their personal estate, wallet and public till because there is no institutional checks and balances. For someone to serve in public office for just 8 years and acquire personal private jet calls for thorough examination of our value system and public ethics; especially when those public office holders are given chieftaincy titles and national honours. This is the reason for the uncontrollable haemorrhage and bleeding of the economy with attendant youths’ unemployment and insecurity.
If we are to succeed, the fight against corruption must be led by the mass of the people and the youths who have been at the receiving end. Public office holders have fleeced this country enough and if there is going to be a change, we have to start now. The fight must be driven with an eye on transformation and not politically motivated and targeted on political adversaries and opposition. The fight need not be led by a saint or an angel because we do not have one in our political firmament. It must be driven by someone with a sense of mission to change the ugly narrative and image of our country that has taken a battering in every part of the globe where security men subject Nigerian citizens to humiliating screening and search, looking for drugs in our intestines, and trailing us as cyber criminals; even the best of our professionals of eminent distinction.
Mr Yahaya Bello, the immediate past executive governor of Kogi State, has been in the news lately for the wrong reasons and is now a fugitive running away from the law. He was aided by his successor and minion, the incumbent governor of Kogi State to evade arrest at his home in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. Yahaya Bello has always been melodramatic; almost histrionic. His political odyssey and the vehicle with which he came to the Lugard House in Lokoja was also not so ennobling. His two-term tenure as governor typifies impunity, corruption and abuse of power. He is also a characterization of the Nigeria political class.
Kogi State incidentally has also produced very youthful political comedians in their exuberance in the mode of Yahaya Bello, who arguably was one of the youngest governors. There are many Yahaya Bellos cooling off in the National Assembly and among other public office holders. It will take a revolution to make public officers embrace the rule of law and accountability because of weak institutions and poor law enforcement that is laced with corruption. Something tells me that the President and Commander-in-Chief, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has the gravitas to lead the fight if only we can support him, whatever misgivings about his past.
The anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has come under scathing criticism in the manner and dramatization of the arrest of the former governor, which may not have been quite professional. But the question that should agitate our minds is whether the agency is statutorily empowered to arrest and investigate alleged corrupt public officers and even search for evidence. What is disturbing is that some rights activists and civil society organizations (CSOs) are turning it into a cash cow for pecuniary consideration by organizing protests seeking for justice for Yahaya Bello. These elements and media influencers are fixated on form rather than content and ignoring the weighty allegations against Yahaya Bello.
I saw some placard-carrying lawyers on the social media, assuming they are indeed lawyers, at the Supreme Court protesting for Yahaya Bello. The protest was not for the rule of law; it was made up of hired and rented crowd and sponsored jobbers wearing white shirts and dark suits. The same is true of the Lagos protests, dropping names of respected activists just because an agency of government is going after one thief amongst many. These same activists did not protest when Abdul Ningi was suspended by the National Assembly for blowing the whistle on alleged budget padding; to them it is not a worthy cause. They have never protested against insecurity, mass killings and abductions across the country.
Another issue of concern is the role of the incumbent governor of Kogi State who used the paraphernalia of his office to facilitate the escape of his political benefactor and godfather in an unprecedented case of obstruction of justice. We should not engage in the wrong fight to demoralize the anti-graft agency. We should insist that they must go the whole hog. Our institutions should be strengthened; this is the reason why we advocate for strong institutions and not strongmen in running official bureaucracies. There should not be selective justice; the fight must be holistic and be extended to cover every person without discrimination or political affiliation and standing. The saying is not true that it takes a thief to catch a thief! It takes someone who is diligent and ready to make history to pursue altruistic goals to develop the society and build new men and people; his past notwithstanding. We should be prepared and ready to open the book for those people who are still revelling in their loot because they continue to find safe haven and immunity in public offices and the national assembly.
The role the security operatives attached to both the former governor and the incumbent with EFCC operatives in the entire drama was absurd. They threw professionalism to the winds because they are protecting politically exposed persons. It has exposed poor training and orientations and lack of professionalism, which have become characteristics of our security agencies. For a chief executive of a state to behave like the governor of Kogi State also shows the calibre of people that dominate the political space who feel that the reason they are in office is for self-aggrandizement and display of impunity. We have executive governors of states and public officers who, the moment they assume public office, trash the rule of law and draw new codes for themselves and behave like emperors.
Nigerians should not be deceived by social media influencers and activists driven by pecuniary reasons to embark on campaign to protect thieves and wreckers of our economy. Again, how on earth will a court of law and a judge expounding justice issue an order that an individual should not be arrested, investigated or prosecuted on weighty allegation of corruption committed while in public office? It is simply absurd!
The National Judicial Service Commission should also rise up to the occasion and do its duty and sanction judges who give political judgment to show Nigerians that it is not going to be business as usual again.
We forget that individuals and governments will come and go but the state remains, and so laws should not be targeted to protect or harm an individual but for the protection of the state and society. We should also be ready to hold the anti-graft agencies like the EFCC accountable after all the drama and media show if they fail to come with tangible evidence and do diligent prosecution. Proper ethical codes must be drawn and followed by government agencies and institutions.
We should stop canonizing thieves and gangsters in political gab; naming streets and roads after those with questionable and integrity deficit. We should bring our leaders to account and save our country from international odium where our national passport is perceived as identity for cyber criminals, drug barons and political thieves. There must be public accountability and anyone who aids and facilitate graft in public office should be identified and dealt with in accordance with the law. It is to this end that Yahaya Bello’s case must be diligently pursued and prosecuted. The agency should also gather steam to identify all the Yahaya Bellos who are currently enjoying office at the National Assembly as safe haven. To the rented activists and those parading as CSOs, they should bury their heads in shame if they find their own interests coinciding with the oppressors.
– Mike Kebonkwu Esq writes from Abuja.
