Corruption, change and constitutional gaps

Today, the greatest question of our time borders on the very foundation of corruption that has infested people of various ethnicity, faith, age, and generation. The political system is one of such that harbours the virus which has spread its tentacles to every facet of our life. Given the conservative posture of your government, with several efforts put in place to block leakages, especially the elimination of ghost workers in 2016 and the recovery of the fund, we can conclude that right steps have been taken.

     However, the budget trend is a major source of concern on the balance of the two main coverage of expenditure – capital and recurrent. The 2016 budget for recurring expenditure (N2.65trn) was far less than that of the 2017 (N2.98trn), even after we saved N200 billion from eliminating 50,000 ghost workers. Should Nigerians not doubt the credibility of the team responsible for budget planning? As a developing nation, should Nigeria not invest more in capital expenditure which will invariably create jobs for ordinary people? If the larger part of our recurrent expenditure went into wages and the larger part of this wages serviced some of the highest paid officials in the world (politicians) while the larger population remained in pervasive poverty, and infrastructural deficit, should we not cut the recurrent budget while increasing capital like other developing countries?

       The narrative from the legislature with respect to the delay in the passage of the 2017 budget didn’t surprise many of us. Maybe the wind of change has put an end to a certain culture. Bribery, as elaborated by former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, saw through the 2015 budget and doubtlessly many before then. Therefore, any reshape contrary to what they deemed as their benefit was unacceptable and perhaps leading to the stalemate that lasted for 8 months.

Some Nigerian leaders have attempted to cleanse her of corruption but failed either because of their unclean hands or lack of clear strategy or were simply swept away by corruption’s magnetic bounties. In 2004, during the service compact retreat, President Olusegun Obasanjo regrettably spoke about how Nigeria has been shortchanged by the poor quality in the civil service. But sadly, the biggest corruption scandal aided by the civil service ($16 billion electricity fund) was under his watch.

It is bewildering to see fellow Nigerians clamour for complete autonomy of the local government while there are no elections for the local tier as stipulated by the constitution. Local government administrators are appointed by the governors and the appointed officials are subjected to puppeteering. How much more can corruption be entrenched? The house of assembly members who are currently expected to pass the local government autonomy bill are selected by governors or have been imposed, how can they vouch for the autonomy of local government? An inclusive government in our today Nigeria without autonomy for local government is an exercise in futility, and not having elections for local governments is feudalism in the masking of democracy.

                  The ugly culture of imposition and godfatherism invariably leads an empire to a disgraceful collapse. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was one of such empires. Sadly, this retrogressive culture is festering in All Progressives Congress (APC). Constitutional protection for political leaders who have sown the seeds of corruption has continued to weaken the institution and the fight against corruption. And if a leader imposes a candidate, does that not give him some cover from prosecution after their tenure? This trend needs serious attention.

The degradation of the police has been a failure on the part of the government. No one suffers more than the Nigeria police, you can see that even from their appearances. The government no doubt has taken a step in the right direction by wage increase, but if it is not fair enough to impact their welfare then it will not change their attitude and if they do not get adequate training, then a police force whose major concern is our security will continue to be our aspiration.

It is hard to totally agree with the war on corruption if some indicted government officials are neglected. Some are believed to be immune to prosecution, as investigations often die before they even begin. Could it be that they were innocent in all the cases? I mean the likes of Abba Kyari who has been linked to the MTN scandal as well as the $25 billion alleged contract in NNPC, and even one against his own nephew, in which his nephew, Bako Kyari, challenged the telecommunication company to make available their conversation. According to him, he was advised by Nura Buhari in EFCC to remove Abba Kyari’s name when he instituted the petition and was made to understand that even Magu will not dare the chief of staff. There are other cases of Babachir Lawal, Maina’s reinstatement, etc. These issues seem to be treated with kid gloves. If this is true, then the narrative on selective war on corruption would be justified.

President Umar Musa Yar’Adua of blessed memory, while speaking in Davos in 2009, expressed support for the removal of immunity clause as a commitment to the fight against corruption. You would agree with me that if immunity clause is not removed and autonomy not given to the local government tier, the war on corruption and bringing governance to the people may take forever to actualise. Constitutionalising direct primary for all parties to avoid big individual spending will undermine vote buying. General constitutional review and a more specific constitution will help us in avoiding some of our confusion. Stiffer punishment like the civil forfeiture of properties, which can literally disable the machinery of corrupt Nigerians to fight back and more capital expenditure, especially on research institutions and industries, among others, will bridge the gaps and take Nigeria to her rightful place in Africa and the world.

Omolori writes from Abuja.

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