One of the
trending manifestos of APC is change, the incoming administration campaigning
for change in the quest for 2015 presidency, canvassed for change. Change in everything,
Change in Government, although their opponents wanted transformation and
continuity but the overwhelming majority of Nigerians wanted a change. And that change culminated
in loss of the ruling party. But analyst in politics and the economy are of the
views that the only change that matter most to them would be in the way
corruption is being tackled.
In an article
captioned “Can corruption be eliminated “which appeared in REGINALD ODUNZE.COM,
Odunze (2013) observed that “corruption has reached an endemic state that
virtually all areas of our public sectors, has been corrupted” and those who
decides not to follow with the trend fall out with the authority that be”
It should be
noted that corruption was so humiliating and of age that it becomes so
difficult to tackle it. Tackling corruption that is mind blowing requires the
active support of all and sundry.
Corruption
has fizzled business and rendered people useless, and at some times droved
organization, states, countries and individuals to a state of confusion and
utter helplessness.
As the
peoples’ president General M. Buhari (Rtd) mount the saddle for the presidency,
we are expectant of the necessary fight against corruption, this is the time to
strengthen the anti corruption bodies like EFCC, ICPC, NDLEA, and the judiciary
for a joint collaboration in the necessary fight against corruption, Advance
Fee Fraud, popularly called 419, a corrupt version of the criminal code where
it was cited. Drug related offences and more currently insurgency and terrorism
which analyst have come to see as the most major act of corruption, as
undistributed earnings, capital flight and murder also goes with it.
Corruption
and fraud has been with the people for a long time, as far back as 1720, When
Isaac Newton, the powerful scientist who enunciated the Newton’s Laws of motion
lost his fortune in the South Sea Bubble Company of 1720 due to corruption. He
said and I quote “I can calculate the motions of heavenly bodies but not the
madness of men”. Today in my people there is madness, everyone is thinking of
getting rich quick. ( Kiyosaki 1990:70)
And
according to Ojo (2009:11) in an article captioned, “Reps set to pass cyber
crime bill, he stated that corruption has grown so wide to include advance fee
fraud, password sniffing, hacking, web cramming, credit card fraud, identity
theft , data kidnapping, software piracy, cyber squatting, unlawful
interceptions etc”
The
preamble to the 2003 United Nations against corruption (UNCAC), which Nigeria
has ratified states that corruption “is no longer a local matter but a
transnational phenomenon that affects all societies and economies. The African
convention on preventing and combating corruption which Nigeria has ratified
acknowledged the need for international co-operation to combat corruption and
note the corrosive effect on individual and society” Falana 2008:120.
The
world is a global village, what affects economy in our society will definitely
affect other economies and countries. Though the World 3.0 mindset has a
different believe. They believed that there are barriers, bridges and that what
affect one society may not definitely affect the other. That is not our subject
of study.
Continuing
Falana stated that the ground corruption exacerbates scarcity of fund in
Nigeria, frustrating any interest in enriching quality and life, Nigerian
leaders must accept responsibility for the continued poverty in the country, he
noted that ground and blatant corruption degrades life, he went further to say
that in 2006 the Commonwealth working group on assets repatriation specifically
refers to corruption being defined as an
international crime and suggest that
jurisdiction of the international court be extended beyond the prosecution of
crimes against humanity as defined in
Article 7 of the Roman Statutes. Falana further stated that the early draft of
the statute did in fact include
reference to crimes other than crime against humanity such as Terrorism
and Drug Trafficking.
Corruption
has reached an alarming rate globally, and do we continue to fold our hands and
watch corruption kill our great economy, the answer is an emphatic No. It could be observed that most people who
involved in corruption often end in poverty so also for a country. And as Prof
Pat Utomi 2008 in “The Limit of lets share Economy, he stated that like people
who won lottery, they often return to poverty.
This
is the time for the President to fight corruption to a standstill.
reginaldodunze.blogspot.com
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