“I believe it is time for Nigeria to change course. That is why I
sought election as President and got elected. As President, I am
determined that Nigeria must move away from a course of endemic
corruption that is leading us to perdition.
“There can be no question of our wilfully allowing anyone to get away
with corruption.” “No matter the pressure and entreaties, the
anti-corruption war will continue and all accused persons will have
their day in court”
President Yemi Osinbajo (3rd right); National Leaders, All
Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande (right); Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
(left) and other APC Chieftains.
By Olubunmi Omoogun, Chief Correspondent, Nigeria
President Muhammadu Buhari have not hidden his feelings about the deep
rooted ill act called corruption. The above quotes draw attention to
the determination of President Buhari to nip corruption in the bud and
rescue Nigeria. Three times he tried, three times he failed and
disappointed. He did not only made it at fourth attempt, Buhari and
his party overwhelmed the ruling party which has boastfully and
arrogantly professed to rule for 60years. But through the might and
the resolve of the electorates the 16year run of the PDP came to an
abrupt end. There is hardly a great way to demystify a ruling party.
Quite a lot has been written on the anti-corruption crusade of the new
President, and why not? Nigeria has gone through various phases yet
there has not been a single time when Nigeria’s hope was renewed like
what we have now under President Buhari. To further dim this, there is
a whole generation of Nigerians who feel that Nigeria may never
witness good governance in their life time. The coming of this new
Sheriff has heightened Nigeria’s hope and belief that the problems
affecting Nigeria can be salvaged. Nigeria could be on the verge of
enjoying good governance after all. The problem has always been
corruption; the most celebrated ill of Nigeria. We hear Naira is
falling, oil price falls, number of crude oil barrels per day are
falling, employment rates are falling but one thing that never falls
but keeps rising in Nigeria is corruption.
Little wonder, the “if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill
us” statement of the current President. Truth be told, if you allow a
system to go on for a very long time unabated, it becomes a normal
norm, a culture. Nigerians have been so cheated and denied basis
infrastructures by the governments as we always miss the Millennium
Development Goals targets. In other words drastic actions need to be
taken for things to take proper shape. For example, Nigeria needs to
build the foundation and new framework which this new government has
started, so that a re-energised country with purpose and focus can be
built for the next generation. Also, for Nigeria to be taken
seriously, Nigeria must face the reality that there cannot be
business as usual.
You will have to pity President Buhari as he has a lot of work to do,
more battle to fight in all these he has little time to do this and he
knows this.
Like John the Baptist, he has already said he is not the messiah.
However, people are expectant. People are so expectant that they think
in two weeks Buhari would solve 90percent if not all of Nigeria’s
problems. Solving them might not be that quick but efforts are in top
gear. According to Femi Adesina, the SA media and publicity to the
President he said slow and steady wins the race. Luckily, the man in
the helm of affairs has demonstrated that he is prudent and he is a
person of integrity and also to a large extent can be trusted.
Judging by his body language, so far it can well be interpreted in
those terms. The qualities he has shown so far have been inspiring.
Beyond this, the President may have succeeded in relying on his ‘Mr
integrity mantra’ and most especially his countenance to whip the
nation into line as most people have self-adjusted themselves. Coming
on the heels of this is the recent comments of the Sultan of Sokoto,
Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar in a recent engagement with President Buhari.
“We are 100 percent in support of your fight against corruption in
this country and it is our belief that all those found guilty should
not only have the entire assets seized and forfeited to government but
also face jail sentences”. These are strong words.
Nigerians are hoping that when these monies are recovered the large
chunk of it would be ploughed into Nigeria’s economy.
This country can still get better. Our parents spent their youthful
and adult years enunciating the legacies of Chief Obafemi Awolowo
especially in the Southwest of Nigeria. It was widely believed that if
Awolowo had been allowed to rule Nigeria, Nigeria by now would have
become a successful state where infrastructures are functional and
envy of every nation in the world. He was described as the best
President Nigeria never had. It is instructive how the political will
and discipline of one man impacted the lives of millions of people in
the Southwest of Nigeria.
Today we are in a country where people steal more than enough to
empower and prepare themselves in readiness for plea-bargain as a
trump card for a soft-landing and avoid being prosecuted. That’s how
bad and selfish we are. President Buhari has his hands full but
Nigeria needs all hands to be on deck and support the Buhari
government to succeed. If Buhari must choose his ministers he needs to
choose them carefully. A righteous man chooses his friends carefully.
A saying goes.
