A
Nigerian political writer and popular columnist has penned a yet
another though-provoking piece to Nigerians. Read on and enjoy!
Goodluck Jonathan
When former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, appointed Dora Akunyili
as DG of NAFDAC in April 2001, Akunyili started to reform NAFDAC from a
docile Agency to a very active one. It is instructive to note that the
reforms she carried out at NAFDAC with the support of the then
President, Obasanjo, were not because the President asked her to reform
NAFDAC, but it was because of her passion and love for her country.
She carried out her duties diligently without caring whose ox was
gored. She made a lot of Nigerians to be conscious of NAFDAC and its
activities. Nigerians began to check for expiry dates on products they
wanted to buy, especially drugs. NAFDAC became the most popular
government agency during her spell there. There were many Directors of
Agencies and Heads of Parastatals during her stint in NAFDAC, but
Akunyili purposed in her heart to distinguish herself from the crowd
just like Daniel in the Holy Bible “who purposed in his heart not to
defile himself with the king’s meat”. Former President Obasanjo, gave
the same instruction he gave to Akunyili to other members of his
government; the difference is that Akunyili saw it as a responsibility
and a rare opportunity to solve a challenge Nigeria was plagued with.
Enter Magu, a former Director of Operations at EFCC and now the
Acting EFCC Chairman. I see it as a mockery of the intelligence of
Nigerians, to say that it is because of Buhari’s anti-corruption stance
that EFCC started doing their already established work of going after
corrupt Nigerians. It simply means that the EFCC is telling Nigerians
that once President Buhari is done with his tenure and the next
President is not anti-corruption inclined, then their job will be left
undone!
Lack of strong institutions seems to be the major problem with the
Nigerian system, everybody is waiting for their leader to tell them to
do their work, not minding the fact that their salary is statutory. That
explains the reason why everything seemed to be on standstill during
the last year of Yar’Adua as President. Until the Doctrine of Necessity
was used as a political solution.
US President Barack Obama once said that Africa needs strong
institutions and not strong leaders. It goes to say that once we have
strong institutions, Nigerians would not be too bothered about the
posture of the President, because institutions will function properly
whether the President is interested or not. It is obvious to everyone in
Nigeria that the EFCC will go back to sleep once Buhari leaves office,
which should not be the case.
EFCC has not been successful in prosecuting corrupt government
officials, simply because EFCC have been building a house from the roof
downwards, instead of building from the foundation upwards. EFCC has
been prosecuting suspected corrupt government officials in the media,
instead of gathering enough evidence first. We all know that after all
the media trial, you still have to go to court to prove your case and
sadly that is when EFCC starts to gather evidence. An accused person is
presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The way forward is for EFCC to stop all the media trial that takes
no one to jail, EFCC should gather enough evidence and assemble a good
prosecuting team before heading to court. It is foolishness to continue
to apply the same method that has yielded no positive result and be
expecting things to change. Magu should focus on building EFCC into a
strong institution just like Akunyili did with NAFDAC.
Nigeria can have strong institutions once people in authority and
citizens alike take it as a responsibility to do the right thing
irrespective of the posture of the President in power.
About the Author:
Chuka Igwegwe is a columnist for TheCable News and writes from Awka, Anambra state.
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