With corruption, insecurity and economic redemption as the main thrust of his campaign, President Buhari started not too well because a chunk of his Ministers have no business in this current democratic dispensation, supposedly fashioned against graft and insecurity. They have no business because they soiled their hands and dented their public images by playing prominent roles in the destructive drama that the previous administrations acted and inflicted on the people of Nigeria for sixteen years, before the March 28, 2015 Presidential election.
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t the inception of the Buhari administration in Nigeria, the ex-Military Dictator turned-civilian President, painted a gloomy picture of a nation pillaged by a gang of heartless looters and called for concerted efforts against corruption.
He declared corruption and its perpetrators as the greatest enemies of the people and nation. And then the war began. At that time, Buhari was the Darling of the country, a trusted redeemer and the nation’s ‘Moses’ that was expected to lead a troubled nation to the Promised Land.
President Buhari threatened at various points to expose the names of those that stole from the commonwealth of Nigeria, but those threats fizzled out quickly when the list was seen to contain many sacred cows.
However, Nigerians and civil society organizations, such as the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) never ceased in their demands for the list of the nation’s looters and their loots to be made public.
The list was finally released to the general public recently, trailed by suspicions, mixed feelings, and condemnation due to its lopsidedness.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, days, following storm-gathering by the list from members of the public, maintained that those that were mentioned had issues of corruption to contend with.
All the big wigs allegedly named in the Federal Government ‘black list of corruption’ are those that featured prominently in one way or the other during the last civilian administration, headed by Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
No member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), especially those that were initially identified and hounded by the nation’s anti-graft agency, known as the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for financial improprieties before finding safe haven in the party were listed among the alleged looters.
We must however, admit the fact that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan handled the issue of corruption with kid gloves – a manner that was most insensitive and self-ingratiating in the history of Nigeria in recent memory.
That is to say that no administration in the history of Nigeria recklessly condoned brazen corrupt practices like the Jonathan presidency.
Over dependence on oil as the main source of revenue, blatant misgovernance and colossal corruption that became incredibly institutionalized by mindless and evil public servants manifested in the grim and grave economic recession that welcomed President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2015.
With corruption, insecurity and economic redemption as the main thrust of his campaign, President Buhari started not too well because a chunk of his Ministers have no business in this current democratic dispensation, supposedly fashioned against graft and insecurity.
They have no business because they soiled their hands and dented their public images by playing prominent roles in the destructive drama that the previous administrations acted and inflicted on the people of Nigeria for sixteen years, before the March 28, 2015 Presidential election.
Yet, it might be agreed upon that no single government has had the courage to deal with those that engaged in gigantic stealing of the Commonwealth of Nigeria till date like the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
However, the greatest albatross hanging on the Buhari administration’s war against corruption is the harbor of those same men of yesterday that assisted the PDP to wreak economic havoc on the Nigerian nation, and by implication mortgaged the future of the current generation of Nigerians and that of posterity.
It is true that a lot of tax payers’ money have been recovered through the drastic unorthodox administrative methods by those officially saddled with the tracking and recovery of looted public funds like the EFCC and the Directorate of State Services (DSS).
It is also true that a lot of laudable anti-graft initiatives (like the Whistle Blower, Treasury Single Account, etc.,) have been introduced and instituted to block corrupt practices and expose public servants from stealing recklessly from the system.
It is however undisputable that the dark political shadows/alliances and diabolical secrets trailing President Muhammadu Buhari’s first eleven team players are acting like nemesis to all the gains of the anti-corruption battles currently going on.
Take for example, the Orji Kalus of this world (former Governor of Abia State) who was being investigated by EFCC is now the National Director of Muhammadu Buhari 2019 Presidential Initiative; he has even started moving round the country preaching Buhari goodwill messages.
The Babachir Lawal of this world (former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SSG) who had to be removed from office because Nigerians clamored for it, following government’s inaction, in spite of his celebrated indictment by the National Assembly for corrupt practices, is cooling off in the comfort of his home unmolested and slapped with no charge.
The General Buratai of this world (Chief of Army Staff allegedly mentioned in billions of naira properties in Dubai is waxing stronger in the Buhari system.
Think about Abdu Rasheed Maina of this world, first fired by former President Jonathan after he made history as a cash cat on the sweat of millions of Nigerians only to dribble his way within the system, aligning with the APC, and ended up being crowned with a promotion.
Here was a man who had been indicted and declared wanted for allegedly stealing billions of naira belonging to pensioners. He was finally thrown out again by President Buhari’s order, following public outcry.
Maina would have still remained a cancer in the Nigerian democratic system had the Nigerian people not cried out and called for his ouster. Indeed, the embarrassment Maina caused the anti-graft campaign is simply mind-boggling, leaving it with irredeemable image!
One can go on and on. The fact remains that with no single name of the supporters of the current government appearing on Alhaji Lai Muhammed’s looters’ list shows glaringly that the so-called laudable revolutionary anti-corruption war has been sentimentalized, politicized, bastardized and bungled.
This is the tragedy of the anti-corruption campaigns! And this is the tragedy of the Nigerian nation!
By his actions, President Muhammadu Buhari seems to have been caged by the mafias dictating the tune of things in Nigeria today, to the utter detriment of the masses of Nigeria who went out of their ways to forgive him of his past abysmal human rights records and elected him.
Buhari should not forget that his popular election came with the great expectation that he would place the interest of the nation and people above all other considerations.
The wife of the President, Aisha Buhari has lamented the hijacking of the original philosophy and concept of the Buhari administration by those who believe in their selfish and demented egocentric agenda.
The situation that confronts the Nigerian people is the sad fact that money moves from a sector of the public to enrich a few people in another sector while the people are impoverished and the nation remains stagnant.
To kill corruption in Nigeria today no iota of sentiments must be entertained, as corruption comes in different shades and sizes.
Regrettably, considering the way the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is constituted, it is difficult to defeat corruption totally without dragging in the sacred cows that bankrolled the 2015 Presidential campaigns of President Buhari.
The Nigerian political system is so vulnerable to corruption because of vote gathering and other parochial sundry political purposes; corruption thrives because people can be corrupted easily as a result of greed and excruciating poverty in the land.
It is absolutely difficult and most impossible to fight corruption holistically in Nigeria without a kind of ruthless revolutionary approach that would be led by ideologically-driven clean young leaders, with principles that would be guided by impartiality and love of country; certainly not by the present old senile and compromised generation.
While we appreciate the spirited and unprecedented efforts brought to bear so far personally by President Muhammadu Buhari in the war against corruption, it is our fervent wish that he should summon rare courage to drag all the sacred cows within the system to face the music of justice together by allowing them to stand equally on the same altar of prosecution.
