RE: EFCC, CORRUPTION AND THE REST OF US

PUBLISHED REJOINDERS AND email Reactions to the author

as posted below Are IN THEIR ORIGINAL FORMS

It’s for political witch-hunt

The Punch Newspaper January 12, 2005

By Mohammed Adamu

After reading “EFCC: Justice, not political persecution,” by one Yushau Shuaib and published in The punch of January 9, 2006, I am compelled to make a comment. I wonder how one can commend government for the establishment of agencies and institutions whose creation is questionable. What is government’s ulterior motive behind the establishment of these agencies? But since we are in a democracy, we can’t do without having diverse opinions.

         Though the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, by some of its policies, might seem to love the values of democracy, it is quite glaring that it is afraid of its principles. For example, when the President instituted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission some years back, many Nigerians applauded his effort. The hope of Nigerians then was that all those who had a hand in the looting of the nation’s treasury, thus depriving ordinary Nigerians their share of the national cake, would be brought to book, irrespective of their social, economic or political standing.

         While condemning the acts of former Police I-G, Tafa Balogun, and the impeached governor of Bayelsa State, Dr. Diepreye Alamieyesiegha, in their totality, recent events around the EFCC have clearly shown that it is nothing more than a tool with which the government hunts and persecutes its political opponents. The culprits are mainly those who openly make known their inclination to the Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s political ambition. Worse still, they are seen as those who are against the President’s third term agenda.

         In the light of this, one wonders why people like Yushau Shuaib could commend the arrest of the likes of Buba Marwa for looting of government funds while serving as a governor, when IBB, who instituted corruption offically in the country, walks the streets a free man.

         Where was the EFCC when Obasanjo was probing the NPA of N56billion, while accepting N1billion as gift from the same NPA for his library project? Why did the EFCC keep quiet on the case of Olumuyiwa, the 25-year-old son of Mr. President who owns a property worth $500,000 in New York? Do the likes of Shuaib think the President, a beneficiary of an excess of over N17billion from oil companies for presidential library will be able to fight corruption when these same companies violate the rights of their host communities, thus reducing them to a life of despondency? Please let’s learn to be objective in our appraisal of government policies.

         The EFCC is not by any way credible; it’s only an instrument of political witch-hunt.

•Adamu sent this piece by e-mail: na_hauwa@ yahoo.com

The PUNCH, January 12, 2006

Salam Mallam Yushau,

I just wanted to commend your effort on your write-up titled -EFCC: corruption and the rest of us. It is undoubtedly, a beautiful piece and worthy of commendation.

I totally agree with the message of the whole write-up but most particularly the last two paragraphs "It seems only Nuhu Ribadu and his team have staked their lives, daring the untouchables in this war. This must not be so. All hands must be on deck - from the government, religious bodies, traditional institutions to the media, to intensify the campaign against corruption. As the arrowhead of the war, the EFCC must be strengthened to perform. It is only hope that its staff are well remunerated to undertake this millennium task of eliminating corruption from the top, because the job is risky and tempting. Their effort requires sustenance through our collective prayers and strong will.

            The war has gathered momentum but we should not celebrate victory yet as everybody must now start to reappraise him or herself. Are we ourselves clean? But are we all corrupt?" The drama I believe is unfolding and we should expect more actors and actresses, critics, make-up artists, script-writers, directors and producers.

I look forward to reading more from concerned Nigerians like you. Best of luck to you and best regards,

Ademola Kazeem Adio

Lecturer

London School of management and Technology

moladio@yahoo.com

Shuaibu,

In an attempt to answer the two questions you raised at the end of your piece, I would like to stress that in as far as I do not support or encourage corruption; the system in Nigeria greatly encourages those in office to be corrupt. TAKE A LOOK AT THE SALARY STRUCTURE OF THE CIVIL SERVANTS. A permanent secretary, the highest echelon in the service, is paid less than the salary of a young graduate who by reason of mere connection is employed by the NNPC, CBN, and NDIC etc. For emphasis a civil servant in Nigeria gets to the position of permanent secretary after about 28 to30 years of service. Don’t forget ALSO that the above outfits are supervised by the same perm secretaries.

Take another look at the salaries of ministers. If you compare it with their responsibilities, and the amount of money they are allowed to approve, they cannot help but put their hands in the deep. I can go on and on and on. The way to moderate corruption in any system is to ensure that the workers are well remunerated, enough to pay their children school fees, provide them good shelter, medical services etc. to allay their fears. Another reason that would ensure a holistic fight against corruption is by those high in government to ensure that they live by example. We are yet to achieve this feat in Nigeria because the leadership does not deem it necessary.

"Sule Labbo"

Abuja

s_labbo@yahoo.com

I want to comment you for this high spirited article. One hopes that Nigerians can review development however minutes and appreciate the fact that changes are not sporadic but must be set forth by some who are willing to put their life on the line for the benefit of others. This much Ribadu and his team have began to initiate, but it will bemoan of Nigerian not to credit their effort but find implicit explanation for their action. Such sacrifice often tag as political victim of the government victimization, but no one ask the question, if this first set of culprits never have anything to answer, then they would not have been victims and should their be other out there, they either must be cautious or the drag net will catch up with them, it may not be today or during this government but if we all recognize that this can be the beginning of a new dawn and help make the anticipated changes grown in our daily spirit, then it can be a legacy given to us not by this government but for helping to raise the sleeping desire for fair society because to anticipate a very sane and ill less society is an utopia.

    I wish that Ribadu and his team can be commended more and other in like manner doing similar good works within the corridor of this government, individual like Minister of Finance, Due Process Ministry, Solid Mineral Minister, Governor of Central Bank, NAFDAC director, Federal Capital Territory Minister and I believe many others in various sector. The interesting development is that most of these names are the younger generation Nigeria with vibrant blood for definition of their tomorrow; therefore let us commend them such that the legacy established by them can help them old their head longer in the society and their good will can translate to younger generation. Like the turn around of the 80’s when 419 heros begin to get recognition in the society and it all almost become a fad to bring in money rather than value and honor, raising the name and image of the likes mention above and rewarding their sacrifice can help bring about the much anticipated turn around.

    Once again, thank you injecting positive outlook through your writing. I encourage that you use the medium to enlighten us more about the positive hero’s among us. Hoping that Nigerians in diasporas can see benefit in heroism and live about negative sentiment been perpetuated by other media outlets.

Regards,

Henry Sawyerr,

hsawyerr@eaglesp.com

Yushau:

Although I have decided to desist from daily participation in Naijapolitics; to occasional post an easy and leave it at that; I could not resist saying a word or two about your post (on EFCC). Essentially, you believe that corruption is now a culture in Nigeria .  You do not see how we can extricate ourselves from it and this does not seem to bode well for Nigeria 's future. Since we know that Nigerian leaders are corrupt, what prevents the military from intervening in Nigerian politics to remove the corrupt politicians?  If Obasanjo and his minions rig the coming election, as they are expected to rig it, and foist the chieftains (thieftains) of the PDP on Nigeria , it is possible for some disgruntled army officers to throw caution to the wind and intervene, seize the government. If such military officers are from the North, as only the north can succeed in such matters in naijaland, folks in the South may not go along with them. It is now crystal clear that no matter who rules Nigeria , Nigeria ’s oil revenue mostly wound up in the North and West. 

     Military intervention, therefore, could produce the much expected chaos and free fall of Nigeria .  One could see the East declaring independence, The Niger Delta doing the same etc and the nascent military federal government trying to subjugate the secessionists and keep the country one. Foreign powers would make decisions that best serve their interests: decide for a united Nigeria or a divided Nigeria ? 

     Given the West’s current life and death struggle with Islam, one doubts that the West would support Islamists ruling Nigeria , as they did in 1966 when they were still naive about the goal of Islam. (See the USA secretly supplied Ethiopia with money, logistics and materials and had them remove the Islamicists from Somalia…welcome to the real world, the world of real politics, the politics of national interests, not sentimentalism… would the West strive to keep Nigeria one?) What all these boils down to: is that anarchy would reign in Nigeria .  You fear for this anarchy, correct? Here is my take on the Nigerian problem.  Nigeria , indeed all of Africa , is destined for political and social upheaval during the next 100 years. I do not see political stability in Africa in the near future. 

     Why did I reach this apparent sad conclusion?  I happen to be interested in philosophy, in thinking. I can tell you this rather bluntly.  I can go for a year without finding a single Nigerian who is thoughtful, who has bothered reading the writings of the great philosophers. What you find are people who seem to believe that emotionalism is thinking. 

     Let us see: we all want justice, right? But, what is justice?  Who defines what constitutes justice?  Why should we, the public, accept his definition of justice?  Did God define justice? What God? Who said that God exists? Where is the proof of God's existence? If you cannot demonstrate that God exists why should we accept that he defines justice for us? Could it be that you take your definition of justice as God's definition of justice, that is, that you projected your half baked conception of justice to what you call God?

     Plato devoted a whole book, The Republic, to discussing the nature of justice and how to bring about a just society.  Now, if a society, a people, has not devoted time thinking about such seeming trivial academic  issues as what is justice and, apparently, do not care, how on earth is it going to have a just society? The founders of the American polity read political philosophy. If you have ever read the Federalist Papers, by Madison, Hamilton and Jay, which provided the rationale for the choice of the Federal system of government for the USA , you would appreciate that the American founders were totally knowledgeable about political philosophy and were thoughtful men. They were totally familiar with of the political writings of Cicero, Seneca, Marcus Aureoles, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau  ( published Social Contract in 1760…a book that sparked the French revolution), Adam Smith (who published his Wealth of Nations in 1776, the year of American independence and gave America its economic philosophy) Montesquieu (whose study of the English Parliament and its shortcomings argued for separation of powers, to avoid tyranny, hence the American political system of divided powers of government…legislative, executive and judiciary).  Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Declaration of American independence, in that single document exhibited knowledge of the whole spectrum of western political thought.

     Compare and contrast the founders of the American experience with the rulers of Nigeria. What you find in Nigeria are people who do not value reading and certainly do not think that philosophy matters. These people want to have a polity without understanding that each polity is predicated on certain preconceptions of the nature of man.

     Why does Nigeria have a Senate (which began in Rome )? Why have a House of Representative (which began in Iceland ).  What is Nigerian politics trying to achieve by copying those Western political institutions? What gives Nigerians the impression that what worked in the West would work in Nigeria ? ( See , China knows itself to have had 4000 years of autocratic rule and knows that the Confucian culture China is predicated upon habituated the Chinese to certain patterns of behavior and, therefore, tries to replicate ancient china in the modern world and the result is the take off of its economy. All the Asian tigers have done away with Western liberal democracy and returned to what worked for them in their past histories… Vietnam is the fastest growing economy; it is not democratic, is it?)

     On what political theory is the Nigerian experiment predicated?  Is it good enough for folks to just seek office so as to obtain money and prestige, to steal to their hearts content and buy chieftaincy titles and gratify their narcissistic tendencies. Is that what politics is all about? Of course the answer is no. Therefore, Nigerian politics is destined for rough times. I see a century of perpetual turmoil. Africans must stop been an emotive people and discipline themselves to think and think before they talk and act. At present they act from their feelings, not from their thinking. Those who behave from emotions are bound to have crises.

     Thus, while I sympathizes with your fear for what is going to happen to Nigeria ,  pure reason (am sorry to borrow Kantian categories) tells me that emotive people must have anarchy. Western political systems are based on reasoned political philosophies, not just haphazard views. The English and American political systems, systems I know a thing or two about, are based on thorough study of human nature and how best to organize human beings. Those who engaged in such studies recognized that human begins are imperfect animals and, therefore, that we cannot have a perfect government; they, therefore, structured the next best type of government they could think of: liberal democracy, or as John Stuart Mill would say, Representative Democracy; and as Adam Smith would say, capitalist economic system (human begins are selfish by nature and any attempt at socialism and communism leads to tyranny, as in the USSR, Cuba etc). 

     I do not know whether I am making sense to you or not. It does not matter, any way. My feedback is that instead of been afraid for your country; try to get your country men to read a little, their ignorance makes one want to weep for them. That massive ignorance is exhibited here on this forum.

     Finally, don't worry: Nigeria will muddle through; she will slough from one crisis to another. She would continue being a basket case until it produces men and women who value thinking more than emotions; folks who respect knowledge more than calling folks derogatory put down names.

Have a good day.

Thomas Johnson

drtommyjohnson@yahoo.com

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