Akume, Tinubu and fight against corruption by Godwin Onyeacholem - ITREALMS

Commentary@ITREALMS ... making leadership SENSE with digital news!


Cynics – or critics if you like – would argue that if there was any doubt, there is none now: Unrestrained by ethics as well as domestic and international legal obligations, the Tinubu administration, speaking through George Akume, secretary to the government of the federation, is not committed to fighting corruption despite everything.

At a workshop organized in Abuja by the Bureau for Public Service Reforms in collaboration with the SGF’s office, this government once again showed up strongly in readiness to kill the truth. Akume, who was represented by Nnamdi Mbaeri, permanent secretary in the office of the SGF, warned workers in government offices that they would go to jail if they leaked public documents without authorisation. 

Global deployment of rapid diagnostic tests to boost fight against cholera - ITREALMS

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More than 1.2 million cholera rapid diagnostic tests will be shipped to 14 countries in largest-ever global deployment, with the first shipment landing today in Malawi.

The global cholera diagnostics programme is funded and coordinated by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), with procurement and delivery to countries led by UNICEF, and undertaken in collaboration with the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC), and WHO. 

It was developed in partnership with FIND, who led development of a target product profile describing the required characteristics of cholera RDTs, and other organizations.

NNPC solicits EFCC’s support in fight against crude oil theft - ITREALMS

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has appealed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to help tackle the menace of crude oil theft in the country.

A press statement available to ITREALMS by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, Mr. Olufemi O. Soneye, quoted the Group Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Mele Kyari, as making the appeal at an interactive session with the EFCC’s helmsman, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, which held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Monday.

Niger Delta: Rotary urges collaboration to fight environmental challenges - ITREALMS

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The Rotary Club Eco Rivers State says it is seeking collaborative efforts to fight environmental challenges in Rivers State and the Niger Delta, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking at the sideline of his installation as the 3rd President, Rotary club of Port Harcourt Eco and the induction of the Board of Directors at the weekend, Rtn. Dr Anthony Ikpor said that the club "is dedicated to bringing solutions to the environmental challenges in Rivers state and the Niger Delta area" even as he employed the general public, good spirited individuals and the government to work towards a healthy and sustainable environment.

Human rights coalition ask Nigerians to support fight against corruption - ITREALMS

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The Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Coalition with membership across 35 civil society organisations, has asked Nigerians to expose corrupt practices in the country for prosperity, peace and development.

The coalition in Lagos also called on Nigerians to back the on-going anti-graft campaign by the relevant anti-corruption institutions, especially the fight by the notable anti-graft institution, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Tinubu to organised Labour: I’m one of you in fight for good governance - ITREALMS

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The All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has urged Organised Labour to pitch its tent with him in the 2023 presidential election, saying he has the track record for good governance.

Tinubu stated this during a Townhall meeting with Organised Labour at Chida Hotel Conference Centre in Abuja on Monday where he also said he is the most qualified to lead Nigeria among the presidential candidates.

Nigeria: Character, integrity crucial to fight public sector corruption says Prof Okolie - ITREALMS

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A public finance expert,
Prof Paschal Okolie, has called for a reorientation in the character and integrity of public servants and Nigerians to fight corruption in the nation’s public service, reports ITREALMS.

Okolie, who doubles as the Special Adviser to the Governor of Enugu State on Financial Matters, made this declaration at the Audit Reporting Training workshop for journalists in Anambra and Enugu States on 19 October 2022.

NNPC, partners boost Covid-19 fight with N11b donation - ITREALMS

BreakingNews@ITREALMS: 

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has made an intervention of $30 million (about N11 billion) to help combat the Coronavirus pandemic and its attendant impact on the Nigerian economy, reports ITREALMS.

The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, disclosed this intervention initiative to ITREALMS on Friday in Abuja and said it was done in collaboration with its partners in the oil and gas industry, and in line with the Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to curb COVID-19 spread in the country.

Kyari also said in a press statement available to ITREALMS that the intervention was aimed at supporting the country’s healthcare delivery facilities and would cover three major areas: Provision of medical consumables; deployment of logistics and in-patient support system; and delivery of medical infrastructure.

“The three thematic support initiatives amount to a total of $30 million (N11 billion) and will be delivered in phases, starting today.

“To address the increasing demand of medical services, we are immediately providing medical consumables covering testing kits, medical protective suits and ambulances to the highly impacted areas across the federation.

“This will be followed, in the next few days, with the deployment of ventilators, beds and temporary intensive care facilities across the geopolitical zones of the federation,” he said.

ITREALMS equally gathered that some of the industry players that partnered with the NNPC to make the intervention possible include the Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited, Oando Oil Limited, Oriental Energy Resources Limited, Pilar Oil Limited, Platform Petroleum Limited, SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company Plc and Shoreline Natural Resources.

In addition, were Suntrust Oil Company Nigeria Limited, Vertex Energy Limited, Waltersmith Petroleum Oil Limited and Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Limited.

Chuks Egbune/DoP

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Internet Shutdowns: Africans must get on keyboards and fight - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

... Counsel of Aneke the bird!

FifAfrica lands in Accra:

The fifth edition of the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica) in Accra, Ghana, which held at La Palm Beach Resort, was a sort of reviving the African spirit to engage, mostly positively so as to make a digital sense, especially with regards to access to information and online mediums. It was organized by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) in partnership with the Media Foundation West Africa (MFWA), from Wednesday, September 26 through Friday, September 28, 2018.

Although I missed that of Wednesday, which agenda centered on the Ford Foundation partners’ meeting, UPRoar: Advocating for Internet Freedom with the Universal Period Review as well as Digital Tools Localisation Sprint, due to my flight schedule largely, it was interesting to catch up for the remaining two days.

I succeeded holding a brief meeting with members of my panel that were already on ground and we shared modus operandi for the session on “Trends in Online Regulation in Africa.” It aided us to agree on workabilities and think ahead for plan ‘B’ in case of last minute changes.

The Ghanaian handmade:

Dooreen Hannah, Remmy Nweke and 

ACSIS Ghana Coordinator, Mr. Pappoe @FiFAfrica18

So, in the morning of Thursday, September 27 was the official opening and welcoming session after registration was done, with the name tags having this Ghanaian handmade necklace, of course, with her national colours. The chief executive, Media Foundation for West Africa, Mr. Sulemana Braimah took the podium to welcome participants to the city of Black stars and enjoined we relax and enjoy the hospitality of Ghana people.

For the Executive Director of CIPESA, Dr. Wairagala Wakabi, #FIFAfrica has served as a platform to mark the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) in Africa, stressing the fact that the continent is having an increase in Internet shutdowns, which have drastically affected the state of Internet freedom, advised Africans especially digital rights defenders to adopt the approach of Aneke the bird as depicted in Nigeria’s Nollywood; summed up in African proverb where the bird declared that since the hunters or shooters have decided to shoot without missing, Aneke the bird will also fly without perching; to avoid being caught by the government in their exercises who may be looking for reasons to shut down the Internet on the continent.

Hate for free Internet?

Kofi Annan, (April 8, 1938 – August 18, 2018): Nairobi, February 2008.

The publisher of Africapedia, Mr. Charles Onyango-Obbo in his Africanese-laden keynote address, entitled “Many African Governments Hate the Free Internet – And That Is a Very Good Thing” noted that for the fact African leaders hate free Internet, gave digital rights advocates a role to play towards saving the situation.

His take off point was a hearty tribute on behalf of Africans and indeed all participants in #FiFAfrica 2018 on the recent death of true African, Mr. Kofi Annan, the former United Nations Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who passed on Saturday, August 18, 2018, in a hospital in Bern, Switzerland.

He recalled that about February 2008 that late Kofi Annan (April 8, 1938 – August 18, 2018) was in Nairobi, leading a peace talk after the Kenya’s general election which resulted in violence and after a session, he took a walk over a 100 meters to show the return of peace on the streets of Nairobi, which was remarkable which he tagged as “the most important walk in a park in Africa.”

He said on one hand, that “Most African Big Men Hate the Free Internet - And that’s a ‘Wonderful’ thing” and listed what he called “Enemies of the Internet” to include leaders and governments of Ethiopia, Cameroon, Egypt, Eritrea, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Congo (Rep.) and Gabon. Stressing that idea of “enemy of the internet” relies on a grand myth: That African dictators and their henchmen/women “don’t get” the internet/digital universe.

“They do, possibly better than the democrats and good guys appreciate its power, which is why they suppress it,” he said, pointing out that the Internet has driven several significant “state shifting” forces the Big Men understand.

According to him, there are just a few examples, in that it was “instrumentalised” by the new and dominant 21st African bureaucracy, the “digitocracy” which is built around telcos, platform technologies like Mpesa, E-Citizen, and the “surveillance securitocracy”.

Internal contest:

These, Onyango-Obbo said, they weaponised for political messaging, attacking regime foes, and election influencing. He alleged an internal contest between the old and new, with the new favouring open internet even for cynical political reasons and urged new generation or netizens to take heed and do well to fight the ‘battle’ of keeping the Internet open, because the old had fought for the African independence.

He reiterated the fact that fake news may have saved Kenya from an Internet shutdown after the 2017 elections, which included but not limited to the likelihood that government was benefitting from much of the false content that “fake news was motivating more people to go to the polls.”

The Big Men, Onyango-Obbo also said, understood the internet allowed a new type of “digital/virtual secession” which paved the way for growing exit by citizens from the spaces controlled by states, citing for instance, the Nigeria’s Lola Omolola’s invitation-only Facebook group “Female in Nigeria” (FIN); founded in 2015 as “a movement of women focused on building compassion and providing support for one another, with the goal of having up to 1,000 members” but today, has over 1 million members!

He also elaborated with “Kilimani Mums in Nairobi, Confessions of a Married Woman in Egypt and Iranian ‘Signal Madam,’” emphasizing that Internet has finally been seized from the state narrative-making power (via satire and memes).

“It doesn’t forget, so keeps memory alive. Without amnesia, political control is difficult,” Onyango-Obbo declared, insisting that this virtual secession has significantly constituted emotional emigration, which he explained to mean that already some African leaders rule mostly over the bodies of their subjects, not their souls.

“The real surprise is not that there’s internet censorship, but if there had been none,” he said, and called for more innovation around subverting digital censorship. Charging the new generation of netizens that past generations, had the fight for independence, for the liberation of Africa, and for the ‘second liberation’ … this one is yours. Get on your keyboards and fight.”

#FiFAfrica18’s overview:

This saw the highlights of some of the key themes to be expected with Hu Xianhong of UNESCO, Grace Bomu of KICTANET and Peter Asare Nuamah of Pan African University sharing their insights. For Xianhong, UNESCO will have a session on Friday afternoon on the “International Day for Universal Access to Information” (IDUAI) study on some seven African countries including Nigeria.

For Grace Bomu, it was time to extend invitation to the session on ‘Consumer Rights Protection in the Digital Age, considering the fact that digital technologies create new opportunities for consumers, but yet make the upholding of their rights more challenging. She urged participants to come to the session to know how to navigate some of these challenges.

The last but not the least on the highlight session was Peter Asare Nuamah, a PhD candidate at the Pan African University, who underscored the importance of Africans taking cognizance of trends in online regulations on the continent. He noted that since 2017 Cameroon shut down the internet to digital communications and ever since has remained one of the longest interruptions in a bid to control online community, especially in the Anglophone regions of the country.

Then came a session on open data and importance of recognizing open data for better economic planning and improved life.

Trends in online regulation:

Penultimate afternoon witnessed the session on Trends in Online Regulation in Africa at Room 2, which saw the Lead Strategist at DigitalSENSE Africa Media group, Mr. Remmy Nweke leading discussions at FIFAfrica2018. Other speakers include Sakah Bernard Nsaidzedze of Pan African University in Cameroun; Legal practitioner and media trainer, Mr. Zakaria Tanko Musah of Ghana Institute of Journalism, an independent analyst, Nanjala Nyabola, and Sellina Sheena Nkowani from the Nation Publications, Malawi.

The session examined the series of laws in Africa which have in recent time proposed or passed laws and regulations that undermine public confidence in the use of online platforms and could lead to increased self-censorship by media, civil society groups and individual citizens, as well as to their withdrawal from online discourse.

Top on the outcome of the session was the charge on media entities and digital rights defenders group to establish both regulatory desk in media houses and regulatory officers to work with the lawmakers at the national levels, across African countries to aid proactive interventions against turns of Internet shutdowns.

Resetting Online Narrative on Africa:

After that comes the “Re-setting Online Narrative on Africa” anchored by Dembah Kandeh from the University of the Gambia and featured Sandister Tei of Wikimedia, Charles Onyango-Obbo of Africapedia as well as Dragana Kourin of Localisation Lab, where they examined who is creating online contents and for whom, taking into perceptive, the truism of these content as for Africa and Africans.

They ended by calling on all Africans to join the train of creating contents especially in our local languages to save such languages from extinction and at the same time promoting the language which cannot be distanced from the culture. In addition, a proposition from yours sincerely is that the African Development Bank (AfDB) should see the issue of localization of African languages as huge way of resetting the online narrative for the continent, by investing on it to make it more attractive.

*Zankaria, Sellina, Remmy, Nanjala and Benard after the session on Trends ...

*Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops

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CIPESA goes to Accra with FiFAfrica’18 - ITREALMS

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Internet shutdowns: Africa netizens must fight for digitocracy - ITREALMS

Internet shutdowns: Africa netizens must fight for digitocracy - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

African netizens have been called to action over the increasing internet shutdowns across the continent for them to face the reality and fight the emerging army against digitocracy, reports ITREALMS.

Digitocracy, ITREALMS gathered has been versely defined as “Digital Power” rooted in processed ‘data’ with ‘cracy’ originating from the Greek word –kratia, which means 'power, rule'. While netizens, refer to persons who actively use the Internet responsibly, mostly in socio-political process aimed at contributing to the Internet's use and growth for good governance.

This charge was made by the publisher of Africapedia, Mr. Charles Onayango-Obbo during his keynote address to the 5th Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FiFAfrica 2018) which held at La Palm Beach Resort in Accra, Ghana at the weekend.

He pointed out that in the 1950s and 1960s African forefathers were busy fighting for independence across board and as the 21st dawn came to Africa with the Internet evolutions including the shutdowns which are happening at intervals across the continent, the netizens have to wake up and fight this digitocracy.

According to him, if stakeholders, especially the netizens, did not fight over good governance of the Internet, it may not be valued as of today.

He pointed out that there a few examples, saying that it was “instrumentalised” by the new and dominant 21st African bureaucracy, hence “digitocracy” is built around telcos, platform technologies like Mpesa, e-Citizen, and the “surveillance securitocracy”.

These, Onyango-Obbo said, enables governments and precisely African leaders to weaponise digitocracy for political messaging, attacking regime foes, and election influencing.

Further, he said there is an internal contest between the old and new, with the new favouring open internet even for cynical political reasons and urged new generation or netizens to take heed and do well to fight the fight of keeping the Internet open, because the old had fought for the African independence.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

ITREALMS ... everything news digitally!

2019 Presidency: Dankwambo says I'm running to win, fight poverty, injustices - ITREALMS Online

ITREALMS:

The Presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ibrahim Hassan Dankwanbo, has declared that if elected president in 2019, he will fight  poverty and injustices in the country, reports ITRealms.

Dankwanbo, who is the incumbent Gombe State governor, expressed resolve to defeat the Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) and other parties in the February 2019 election.

The governor, a former Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) and Ph.D holder in Accounting, said the number one priority of a leader was to ensure the happiness of citizens by removing poverty and injustices from the polity.

Dankwambo also said it was wrong for some people to be spreading rumours that he was no longer in the presidential race.

"I am running. And I will win. Extensive consultations have been done and Nigerians will soon see a wind of genuine renaissance blowing all over their land.

“I have come to the realisation that what Nigeria needs at this time is a man who can take the country on a journey to its best self, a man who can re-energise a people who have been so badly led that they have accepted a certain impotence as the reality of their lives”.

Declaring that he is the best man for the job, Dankwambo said: “Nigeria needs a man who can fire its imagination, release the people from shackles and make them blossom. I am the man. I don't want to just be President, I want to be the leader of a 180 million-strong army of achievers.

“President is just a title. What Nigeria needs is a leader, a warrior on the frontline in the fight against poverty and all kinds of injustices our people are suffering today."

The 56-year-old politician graduated from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State in 1985 with a degree in Accounting.

He obtained a Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Yaba, in 1992 and a Ph.D in Accounting from Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State.

He worked at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from 1988 to 1999 before he was appointed Accountant-General of Gombe State.

He later became the Accountant–General of the Federation on April 20, 2005 and held this office until he resigned to start his campaign for election as governor of Gombe State in January, 2011.

Ayo Midele/GEE

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Nigeria Cultural Properties: FG reiterates fight on illicit trafficking

ITRealms:

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has reiterated the Federal Government willingness continue to fight against the illicit trafficking in Cultural Property, reports ITRealms.

Declaring open an exhibition of repatriated Nigerian artefacts in Lagos on Thursday, the Minister challenged the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) to double its efforts in checking the illicit trade in cultural property.

''It is my wish that the NCMM will begin to look at means and opportunities to re-invigorate its export and clearance permits operations and even devise other methods of checking the illicit trafficking in cultural property.

''I was reliably told that there was the system of taking the pictures of all the objects leaving the country and the passport numbers of those exporting non-antiquities out of the country. I think the NCMM should go back into all of the systems that can be used to stop, check and stem the illicit trafficking in cultural property of Nigeria,'' he said.

Alhaji Mohammed also urged the NCMM, the Nigeria Customs Service and other law enforcement agencies to be more vigilant especially at the nation's sea ports, airports well as land borders, to check these abuses and illicit trade.

He thanked the Ambassadors and Cultural Attaches of the United States of America, France, Canada, Switzerland and South Africa, where the artifacts were intercepted, and appeal to them not to relent in their efforts in that regard.

''I must thank you the more for respecting the International Laws and in particular the respect of the Red-List Agreement of 1997 that has declared the export of these Nigerian cultural property illegal,'' the Minister said.

He gave the assurance that Nigeria will fully domesticate the provisions of the UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural Property, which was ratified by Nigeria on 24 Jan. 1972 and came into force three months later.

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Economy will remain in comatose without fight against corruption – Lai Mohammed warns

ITRealms;

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has warned that the nation’s economy may remain in comatose if the Federal Government soft-pedals on fight against corruption, reports ITRealms.

He argued that the ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to revive the nation's economy will not yield positive results unless the fight against corruption is also intensified.

Speaking at the 2016 Annual Lecture of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) in Abuja on Thursday, the Minister said that is why the government is tackling both issues simultaneously.

''And that's why the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture launched a Sensitization Campaign Against Corruption on 18th January 2016...with a view to alerting Nigerians to the evils of corruption and carrying them along in the efforts by the government to tackle the menace,'' he said.

Alhaji Mohammed described as appropriate the topic of the lecture, ''Fighting Corruption and Growing a Sustainable Nigerian Economy'', saying it could not have come at a better time, ''as this Administration is stepping up its anti-corruption fight while also seeking to bring the economy out of recession and put it on the path of sustainable growth''.

''It is also noteworthy that the topic for this 2016 lecture incorporates two of the three cardinal programmes of this Administration, which are the fight against corruption and the revamping of the economy to create jobs and provide wealth. The third priority, of course, is the fight against insecurity,'' he said.

The Minister said there is a direct correlation between corruption and economic growth, noting that corruption stifles economic growth in many ways, including by discouraging foreign investment, reducing tax revenue and preventing infrastructural development.

''In other words, in countries where you have a high level of corruption, there is reduced economic growth and, of course, higher poverty level. That's why the Berlin-based global civil society organization, Transparency International, said corruption, especially public sector corruption, is about so much more than missing money. It's about people's lives.

''It is therefore not a surprise that the countries that have consistently scored high marks in the Annual Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International are also the countries that have also managed to grow a sustainable economy,'' he said.

Alhaji Mohammed noted that, having recognised corruption as the biggest threat to the economic and political development of any country, the Federal Government will not relent in its efforts to tackle the menace of corruption to a standstill.

''The Buhari Administration, since its inauguration, has left no one in doubt regarding its commitment to ridding Nigeria of corruption, as captured poignantly in President Buhari’s statement that if Nigeria does not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.

''We are very much aware that the fight against corruption will not be easy. Fighting entrenched corruption can sometimes be a very lonely road to travel in our part of the world, where a true community of genuine corruption fighters are assailed from every side by unwary recruits of the looters among us, in our communities, places of work and worship. We also know that corruption is fighting back, fastly and furiously. But with uncommon commitment and determination, we will win the war against corruption,'' he said.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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Operation Kpochapu: Police, Army, Navy, NDLEA, SSS, FRSC unite against criminality in Anambra State

ITRealms:

The service commanders in Anambra State, have vowed to continue to strengthen the unity among them in the fight against crime and criminality in the state, reports ITRealms.

These commanders include the Police, Army, Navy, NDLEA, SSS, Civil Defense and the Federal Road Safety Corps.

They maintained it is the only way to repel external aggression and maintain internal peace.

Making this known during a courtesy visit to Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano at the Governor’s lodge Amawbia, the spokesperson of the team and State Commissioner of Police, Mr Hassan Karma, applauded the Governor for the great support he has extended to all the law enforcement agencies in the state.

Karma also commended him for the fatherly role he plays in emphasizing unity amongst them through the formation of "Operation Kpochapu" a joint security task force involving all the national security agencies operating in the state and which has yielded great results.

He assured the Governor that the team spirit that has been ignited would be sustained and the fight against crime in the state would be sustained also.

Receiving an award of excellence presented to him by the service commanders, the Governor acknowledged their contributions and adjudged them the best, just as he enjoined them to be ready for the next phase of operation that will involve cracking crimes before they are committed.

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Corruption fights back: EFCC vs a reactionary elite

Commentary@ITRealms:

Slowly but steadily, the ultra conservative wing of Nigeria’s largely self-absorbed and callous elite is spoiling for a fight. And it’s all about the renewed war against corruption which has induced in this group an emotion that can only be described as culture shock. As a result, the unconstructive and clearly combative reaction to a development that ordinarily should be applauded and encouraged by anyone who means well for this country is no less unexpected.  

Now that it appears that the war against corruption is getting some traction, unlike in the past when only minions were arraigned and convicted and the big crooks got a let off or at best a slap on the wrist if summoned at all, the game has changed dramatically in the last couple of months. The powerful and the mighty who are the major looters of the commonwealth are not just being invited; they are getting the grill of their lives and their big toes are beginning to feel the pain of a new clamp down from an inspired EFCC led by a reputed no-nonsense cop, Ibrahim Magu.

Magu’s new leadership zeal is telling in its redefinition of the mode of operation which has triggered a heightened momentum for change in a way that has never been seen at the nation’s prime anti-graft agency. On a daily basis, the hitherto ‘untouchables’ are now being poked with the hard questions in EFCC interrogation rooms; the so-called ‘sacred cows’ are being prepared for onward transfer to what would turn out to be their slaughter slab for the ultimate rite of humiliation. And more than ever, the prospect of a good number of the politically exposed looters and fraudsters and their collaborators ending up in jail soon enough seems very bright. This is heart-warming in a country which until now has been a terribly misgoverned space.

Yes, the class of elite to which we referred above also wants change, but this is not the type of change they are prepared to accommodate. A change that upsets the applecart (pardon the cliché) in such a decisive manner as to not only dismantle all forms of corrupt practices, but also seek out their perpetrators, name them and shame them by ensuring they end up in prison is certainly not what they want to welcome with open arms. 

Therefore, members of that group are not folding their arms to let the EFCC roll over them. They are well-heeled, thanks to their fraudulent escapades. So, they are fighting back both stealthily and furiously, enlisting the services of all individuals and groups that can help them scuttle the fight against corruption. To that extent, they have gone as far as recruiting an equally retrograde faction of the bar, pliant members of the bench, a mercenary arm of civil society, gold-digging religious leaders, a tractable media that is also notorious for hatchet jobs and, above all, an unreceptive and docile public.

And it is easy to identify them. For example, they are manifested in a Chief Judge who recently warned magistrates to stop approving requests from EFCC to detain suspects for interrogation. Curiously, this judge did not cite any known law to back his directive. They can be seen in very senior lawyers who collect dubious briefs to defend persons known to have looted public funds, manipulate the court process on their behalf and scream rule of law. 

They are revealed in a well-known Pentecostal pastor who urged government to focus on other areas of development instead of fighting corruption, which he claims constitutes only 20 per cent of the country’s problems. They are exposed in phony civil society groups who go about accusing government of violating the rights of persons currently being tried for corrupt practices. You will find them in a nonagenarian who has repeatedly blasted President Buhari and scoffed at his anti-corruption war; and among members of the public who have joined the looters and their supporters to pronounce that the more than $2billion arms scam is an invented story aimed at dealing with members of the opposition party and, therefore, is a ‘distraction.’

These are the kind of people the EFCC must contend with. One forecasts that in their desperation they will go all the way to rubbish the institution and its leadership. Don’t be shocked if suddenly a report surfaces in the media dubbed ‘Exclusive,’ brashly claiming to have unearthed a massive scandal involving Magu, the EFCC boss. The purpose will be to destabilise and make him lose focus. But he must remain resolute, for having come this far in this war, there will be no plausible excuse to reverse the gains. 

The anti-graft campaign can only be meaningful if the real thieves in the society, the big men who have ensured that our soldiers don’t have guns to fight insurgency, hospitals lack equipment, children can’t go to school, electricity supply is epileptic, petrol queues continue, basic infrastructure is non-existent, are made to pay for their criminal acts by being marched to jail one by one. And that will just be the beginning of the change that this government talks about, and one of the many that Nigerians expect.

Let there be no doubt. We believe in and are committed to the rule of law. But the rule of law can’t be a basis to let loose on society men and women whose transgressions are no less than armed robbery, murder, terrorism and allied crimes that more often than not are not bailable offences. 

Then there is the issue of selective prosecution, which has been the battle cry of every scoundrel who has found himself in the corridors of power, a comfortable alibi for many certified criminals to avoid facing justice. Our response is, let anybody who is accused answer “his father’s name.” People who have been accused of corruption should be proud to clear their name and “put the government to shame” if they have nothing to hide.

Finally, we think the government and the EFCC should expand the war against corruption. The mandate of the Commission, for example, gives it power to look beyond the mindless looting by the political class and their collaborators to other equally sinister criminals, including influential civil servants, who have made a killing in the name of public service. 

They own all the choice property – most of them lying fallow because Nigerians who are not corrupt can’t afford the rent – in Abuja and other parts of the country which has become a veritable avenue for money laundering. 

Now is the time for the EFCC to assert itself!  

Chido Onumah & Godwin Onyeacholem/GEE

Chido Onumah can be reach on conumah@hotmail.com; Follow him on Twitter @conumah; Godwin Onyeacholem can be reached on gonyeacholem@gmail.com     

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