Corruption threatens Nigeria's democracy, say Akanbi, Gbonigi, others
By Fred Okoror ,
Political Correspondent
CORRUPTION, has been identified as capable of truncating the nation's democracy.
Eminent Nigerians who converged at the Faculty of Arts Theatre of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) yesterday expressed concern and worry over the vice. Its dire consequences, according to them, demand that urgent measures be taken to stem its entrenchment in the polity.
In their separate presentations at a lecture with the topic; "Corruption and the challenges of governance in Nigeria," Justice Mustapha Akanbi, the chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Second Republic Governor of Lagos State; Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, Bishop of Akure Diocese of the Anglican Communion, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Bolanle Gbonigi, and UNILAG Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe, offered solutions to the menace.`
Justice Akanbi, the guest lecturer enumerated the negative effects of corruption in Nigeria.
He said that it destroyed the socio-economic life of the society; made economic planning difficult; created political instability while undermining the integrity of the state and concentrated wealth in the hands of a few corrupt individuals.
Other ills of corruption according to ICPC boss were promotion of inefficiency, incompetence, breeding of nepotism, unhealthy rivalry in government administration; stunting of growth and development; promotion of wide spread poverty and large scale unemployment amongst others.
The ICPC boss maintained that the lethargic attitude of Nigerians to the growing incidence of corruption provided almost every military junta the excuse for subverting democratic government and taking over political power.
He argued that the advent of military rule did not alter the situation, but rather worsened the social vice.
. "If anything, the various coup d'etat in this country worsened the situation. The direction and course of our history changed, our values and judgment changed, honesty and integrity were relegated to the background. The rule of law gave way to the rule of force. The craze for wealth, ill-gotten gain escalated or gained ascendancy. We became more and more materialistic so much so that it was no longer possible to convince the average Nigerian child that he could achieve greatness without necessarily being corrupt," Akanbi said.
He added: "It is indeed a truism to say that over the years, corruption has become both systemic and endemic, that the average Nigerian until recently, came to accept it as the normal way of life. Many indeed see the acceptance of public office as a means of acquiring illicit wealth or enriching themselves through corrupt means. Only a few cared to ask questions about men and women who came into sudden wealth, the nouveau riche, the purveyors of corruption, the 10 per centers and perpetrators of 419 crimes".
He disclosed that the crusade at the ICPC was yielding positive results as no fewer than 76 individuals were currently facing trial for corruption and related offences at various courts in the country.
Akanbi said some of those standing trial included former federal ministers, a former governor, a permanent secretary, a chief medical director of a university teaching hospital amongst others.
"In fact, only recently, the chief medical director of a university teaching hospital was convicted. Not less than six principal officers of universities spread across the country are being investigated. Some former chairmen of local government councils, a deputy chief registrar of a high court and indeed some judges and lawyers are also on trial," he lamented.
Contributing, Rt. Rev. Gbonigi who described corruption as a national "cankerworm," said that it was unfortunate that though Nigeria had been adjudged one of the most religious countries in the world, corruption had nevertheless permeated every segment of her society.
The cleric argued that if it was true that Nigeria was a highly religious country, her rating by Transparency International (TI) as the second most corrupt country in the world, left a lot to be desired.
He attributed the situation to the hypocritical nature of the leaders and the followers.
Jakande who spoke in the same vein, enumerated the havoc corruption had unleashed on Nigeria, stressing that steps must be taken to arrest the deterioration. While noting that the fight against corruption should not be left to the various governments, he called for the re-orientation of the citizens "on the need for them to know that corruption was not a normal way of life."
In his welcome address, Prof. Ibidapo-Obe, reiterated President Olusegun Obasanjo's inaugural speech on May 29, 1999, emphassising that "no society can achieve anything near its full potentials if it allows corruption to become the full blown cancer it has become in Nigeria".
According to him, there is ample evidence that corruption has undermined democratic governance in Nigeria in the past and there is the possibility that our democracy can still be truncated, if corruption is not checked.
"It is an agreed notion that socio-economic development can not take place without a stable political and civil conditions, which depend on good governance. It becomes worrisome, when one thinks of the poverty level in our country in spite of the enormous resources we are blessed with. The growth of the economy has become stunted, infrastructures are in a deplorable state and governmental policies are poorly implemented," Ibidapo-Obe lamented.
