Jonathan’s lamentation on corruption

President Goodluck Jonathan

IN an apparent bid to fend off some of the frequent criticisms aimed at him over his administration’s seemingly tolerant disposition towards corruption, President Goodluck Jonathan recently tried to turn the tables against Nigerians, blaming them for the failure of the anti-graft war. Launching his offensive at the 54th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Economic Society in Abuja last week, the President said that corruption had continued to thrive in the country mainly because his fellow citizens tended to “reward corrupt practices.”

From the President’s perspective, Nigerians

had lost touch with their traditional values of honesty and hard work, which used to be the foundation for wealth acquisition. “(If) a young man who just started a job and, within six months or a year, comes up with a car of N7 million to N15 million and you clap for him, then you are rewarding corruption,” he argued, as he tried to persuade Nigerians to share his views. There is no doubt that the President was spot-on in his observations, but dead wrong in reinforcing the blame culture.

Certainly, the orgy of recklessness and greed in the country is quite troubling. Nigerians now worship money and the society no longer asks questions regarding a person’s source of wealth. Even in glaring cases of public office holders corruptly enriching themselves, once they manage to escape into the warm embrace of their kith and kin, they can be sure of maximum support and protection. A very good example of this was the case of a former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, whose arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission officials was stoutly resisted by gun-totting young men at Oghara, his home town, shortly before his escape from the country and eventual arrest abroad.

Not willing to be outdone by the youths, elderly women also came out, bare-chested, to protest the alleged witch-hunt of their son. The same “innocent” son of Oghara is now serving a 13-year prison term in the United Kingdom over the same corrupt offences for which his people attempted to shield him from arrest.

The same thing also happened when a senior civil servant, Abdulrasheed Maina, who was accused of misappropriating public pension funds, was asked to come and explain his role at the Senate. Not only did he refuse to appear before the lawmakers, group after group came out to stage protests, warning the security agencies against laying a finger on the suspect. Also following in the same pattern, a former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepriye Alamieyeseigha, who jumped bail after his arrest in the United Kingdom for alleged money laundering and returned to Nigeria, allegedly dressed like a woman, was warmly celebrated at home for his great escape. These reflect the extent to which Nigerians are willing to go to “reward corrupt practices.”

But corruption has brought about untold hardship to many Nigerians and is believed to be responsible for the country’s underdevelopment. The chair of Transparency International, the global civil society organisation that fights corruption, Higuette Labelle, says “corruption remains an enormous drain on resources.” In many cases, resources allocated to education, health, transport, sports and other critical areas are misapplied or stolen outright, leading to a fall in the general quality of life. Corruption in Nigeria is described by Global Campaign Against Corruption, a rights group, as “a wall-to-wall phenomenon, blanketing and smouldering every aspect of the country’s socio-economic life.” It is believed that over $400 billion of the country’s resources have been lost to corruption in the past 40 years. The President’s statement, therefore, sounds so appealing to a public seething at the arrogant flaunting of ill-gotten wealth.

Having made his point, however, it would be wrong for Jonathan to think that Nigerians are satisfied with that simplistic explanation for the pervasive nature of corruption in the country. It would amount to passing the buck for the President to come up with such an excuse and think he would be applauded. If his observation is that Nigerians are wallowing in corruption, what has he done about it? Why is he the President?

The President’s stinging remarks provide a sobering insight into his leadership style. For leadership to be credible, a report, The Fight Against Corruption: A World Bank Perspective, says, it must transcend mere pronouncements or ethical exhortations to combat the evils of corruption. It needs to be backed by concrete, monitorable and time-bound actions, to which the country’s leadership is held accountable.

For a leader that desires the best for his people, what is required of Jonathan now is not lamentation, but to reposition anti-graft agencies in the country to rein in the scourge. What Nigerians need to fall in line is a conviction that the leadership is not accommodating towards corruption. Jonathan can set this example by publicly declaring his assets. He should also ensure that those accused of corrupt practices are not only put on trial, but that their trial is expeditiously done. Curiously, close to two years after the fuel subsidy scam came to light, nobody has been conclusively tried and punished. It is actions such as this that encourage corruption. But, in the fight against corruption, leadership has to be by example, not by precept.