Can a beneficiary of corruption tackle corruption?

by Eze Eluchie

Can a beneficiary of corruption tackle corruption?

This is the question that will haunt the incumbent President of the Federal Republic as he continues to pontificate on his plans to ‘confront corruption’.

The answer to the question asked is ‘yes’! 
The ‘yes’, however, comes with a huge caveat – there must be conscious efforts by the beneficiary of corruption (Mr. President) to distance himself from the corrupt who funded his ascendance into Office. In the absence of a discontinuance of camaraderie between the beneficiary of corruption and his corrupt sponsors, all talk about ‘confronting corruption’ can be dismissed as inconsequential and mere hallucination.

In his recent trip to the United States, the official delegation of the Nigerian President comprised of some quite shady characters who occupy or occupied high political offices in Nigeria, positions which they use(d) to horrendously fleece the public treasury in Nigeria. It was thus no wonder that when the US President Barack Obama announced that he was ordering the American security and investigating agencies to collaborate with the Nigeria Government to ensure that looted public funds emanating from Nigeria and deposited in US financial houses or such outfits subject to US laws, were returned to Nigeria, there were a lot of bemused faces in the audience – men who knew that all such talk would amount to naught so long as they had good access to their man, the Nigerian President, whose campaign for presidency, they had bankrolled and ensured was ‘successful’.

The irony is that some of these characters, like the former Governor of Rivers State and major financier of Buhari’s presidential campaign, openly brag about their prowess in graft (see Blog Article: ‘The Audacity of Thieves’ http://ezeluchie.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-audacity-of-thieves.html) and yet others have sought to transform the opportunity of their entry into the White House and ‘golden handshake’ with the US President into tools to further fleece the hapless populations over whom the rule.

President Muhammadu Buhari must, somehow, find the courage to divest himself of the excess garbage that surround himself and purge himself of long established, though salient, nuances which may becloud whatsoever ideas he might have nurtured to leave an anti-corruption legacy and confront corruption.

For the sake of our contraption, it is hoped that genuine non-partisan, non-sectional and non-parochial actions be initiated and pursued to rid the Nigerian State of the scourge of corruption which has served to diminish us, blur our visions and enthrone poverty in our polity.

We simply cannot afford to continue the way we have been going on.

Picture: Two high profile sponsors of the Buhari presidency, ex-Governor Amaechi (Rivers State) and Governor Okorocha (Imo State)

Buhari's 'Reputation of Integrity'

by Eze Eluchie

'Buhari comes to office with a reputation of integrity'
- U.S. President, Barack Obama.

The stretch, mileage and mountains some in our clime have sought to build with the above quote, coating it as one of the major 'benefits to Nigeria and Africa' of the recent private visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the United States, exposes a worrisome desperation for external acceptance and endorsement. 

When one realizes that clergymen, teachers and others imbued with fiduciary responsibilities, who {sexually} molest persons in their care and trust also had a 'reputation of integrity' prior to being exposed for the miscreants they are, the fact that the U.S. President merely put his mastery of the English language to good use by not openly endorsing a man he had no real personal knowledge of in any way whatsoever, suddenly hits one like a bolt out of the blues. 

That you come with a 'reputation of integrity' has no bearing whatsoever on whether one has integrity or not - you have to prove you have integrity!

Surreptitiously restricting inquiry and investigations into past corrupt practices to periods that craftily eliminate inquiry which could unearth corrupt practices which implicate President Buhari, his fellow military officers who had ruled Nigeria in times past and some of his key financiers; Appointing your former associate (Ms. Amina Zakari) as Chairman of the country's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and another kinsman (Mr. Lawan Daura), who had acted as member of his political party's 'Campaign Intelligence Committee' as the Director General of the Department of State Security (DSS); Failing to make available to the public the detailed inventory of personal assets despite explicit and trite promises during the electioneering periods to make same available, amongst several other non-altruistic acts, tend to derogate from the persona of a 'person of integrity' and rather present an inner, perhaps long hidden from most others, character of bigotry, untruthfulness, opportunism, deception, selfishness and a total absence of integrity.

Integrity is the fulcrum of leadership and good governance. Integrity flows from actions and mannerisms and not merely from utterances of people far removed from your environment.

It is hoped that the present administration will focus more of its energies in proving the presence of integrity than getting stuck in the perception of a ‘reputation of integrity’.

Picture: Muhammadu Buhari (as a presidential candidate) with Lawan Zakari (member of Buhari’s political party's Campaign Intelligence Committtee) who President Buhari has just appointed Director General of the Department of State Security {DSS} - the equivalent of the American F.B.I. The opposition PDP has accused the DSS of embarking on partial witch-hunting of its members.

President Buhari's Distractive US Visit

by Eze Eluchie

After what appeared to be a craftily scheduled period of absence from reality, to obviate a hiatus in governance, Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, has finally returned from a whirlwind private visit to his benefactor in the United States, Barack Obama, a visit spiced with sightseeing engagements to places of interest.

For those who might be laboring under the illusion that the visit was an official 'State Visit', comparison with other State Visits hosted by the US Government and the traditions and customs associated with such visits and the fact that the Executive arm of the Federal Government of Nigeria has not been constituted as at the time of the said visit, will serve to clarify any such doubts.

Some unsavory fallout of the said private visit which may provide insight into the style of administration which Nigerians will be saddled with under a Buhari presidency include: a). the announcement by the World Bank on the release of a dubious U.S.$2.8 Billion loan to Nigeria for the 'redevelopment of the North east region' devastated by terrorist attacks'; b). the fallacious announcement by Mr. President himself, obviously for the interest of his foreign audience, that Ministers under the immediate past administration 'stole' over 1 Million Barrels of crude oil per day; c). and the beggarly manner with which our once respected country appeared to be appealing for foreign support to address regional issues of global/transnational crimes {terror and corruption}.

a). In the absence of Ministers of Finance and National Planning, requisite Presidential Economic Advisers and other such officials of State, and no discussion or approval of the National Assembly to access this funding facility/loans, pray who negotiated and thought through the process of requesting or deciding if the IMF was the appropriate institution to apply for this facility to develop what is ostensibly a continuing war zone? What better cover for graft than to claim you secured a loan facility to 'develop a war-zone'? Will this fund disappear down the drain that must such 'loans' have gone into?

b). Mr. President's assertion that over 1 Million Barrels of crude was stolen by the Ministers of the immediate past regime is clearly alarmist, fallacious and aimed at continuing with the propagandist nature with which activities of government has been conducted since his ascension into office. Corruption has posed a serious source of instability in Nigeria over the years, dating way back to President Buhari's earlier stint in office as Head of State in 1983 - 1985, and beyond. Trying to overly vilify the immediate past regimes sends the message that a witch-hunt of gigantean proportions is in the offing.

c). With regards to being beggarly with foreign governments in discussing mutually beneficial issues, the services of experts would have prevented a situation where the President of the most populous African state and the 'largest economy' in the continent, would appear to be seeking approval for his plans to address the domestic issues in his own country - I knew Nigeria had issues, but certainly, things had not gotten this low. 

In addition, the series of slavish and condescending messages of appreciation for 'winning' the elections reeled out by the Nigerian ruler to his American host in the course of their meetings were particularly troubling. Apparently, Nigeria had descended to the status where the power to decide who rules over our contraption has been openly taken away from the people. It had been clear in the build up to the Nigerian general elections that the Barack Obama administration was taking an overly interest in the outcomes of what ought to be an internal affair - the extent of 'gratitude' showered on the US President by his Nigerian counterpart justifies the need for a query as to whether what we had during our last presidential elections was an 'election' or a 'selection'. 

As we welcome President Muhammadu Buhari back to the reality he left nearly a week ago, a 7-day period during which terrorist elements have continued unabated in their daily hellish agenda of murder, destruction and institutionalization of fear which has served to cripple our North Eastern region, it is trite that Mr. President is reminded that when the chips are down, Nigerian problems will be solved in Nigeria by Nigerians and that the expected patronage from outside always fails at the last moment and that after participating in publicized 'international community' meetings where support for counter-terrorism measures, extremist Islamist terror elements have usually responded with mind-boggling response attacks - are we ready for this likelihood?

For the umpteenth time,almost 60 days after ascendance into Office, let governance begin and allow some Nigerians have a feel of the 'change' they think they 'selected'.

Picture: Presidents Buhari and Obama - the picture tells it all.