By Sunday Odibashi
Nigeria has over the years been overburdened with war against corruption. Curiously, the major soldier in the war, the federal government, has been fighting corruption with a double edge sword without sharpness. There is deep awareness of the ills and dangers of corruption, then, institutional frameworks to eliminate it, but the commitment appears compromised by the elite that control the state system.
Apparently, corruption has continued to flourish in the polity, diverting enormous funds for national development to private pockets. The national treasury drying up while state actors maintain robust bank accounts and live ostentatious lives.
The most visible institution fighting corruption in Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), seems to be operating with weak laws that are not strong enough to either effectively prosecute suspected perpetrators of corruption in the country, or secure judgements that pronounce punishments proportional to the volume of corruption in particular cases. Unfortunately, those who should amend and strengthen the law, the elite or state actors, are reluctant to do so, playing safe for personal protection because one of them might be the next ‘suspect’ in the dock.
The EFCC contends with cases of persons who can walk in and out of detention facilities with ease and return home to enjoy the proceeds of corruption within the judicial process.
While the judiciary may have sentenced some persons for corruption, many high-profile corruption cases prolong for many years, and in the long run, most of those being prosecuted, successfully go home freely. In circumstances where the judiciary dismisses most cases, no one has ever returned to the court to sue the EFCC either for false accusation or to demand compensation for damages. The war of conscience – virtually all goes home to celebrate escape from justice.
There could be incidence of political pressures or executive influences on the corruption war. Thus, the institutions may not have full autonomy to prosecute cases; perhaps, may, hypothetically, seek clearance from the presidency in certain instances.
Also, the sociology of corruption is so discouraging in the anti-graft war. Some societies celebrate their members suspected of corruption as heroes. People in such societies roll out drums with cultural dance groups to welcome such corruption suspects back home. This social phenomenon further weakens the anti-corruption fight in the country, making the institutions and the government look helpless.
In the ultimate denouement, governments at all levels complain of insufficient funds for proper service delivery, good governance, and development. Citizens bear the burden of dearth of funds, which governments often attribute to shortfall in revenue, even though a greater proportion of available revenue are perceived to be diverted into private purses.
Subsequently, the political elite invest heavily in elections to hold on to state powers at the various levels of government, from the local, state to the federal government to recycle wealth accumulation. The Nigerian state has perpetually become a major source of primitive capital accumulation and capital reproduction for both the governing and ruling elites.
Several stakeholders of goodwill, including international institutions like the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as the United States (US) and others have collectively disapproved of the level of corruption in Nigeria. Some have linked corruption to the weakness of Nigerian leaders to deliver the dividends of democracy 22 years after, including the intractable insecurity, fluctuating exchange rate, poverty, high debt profile, unemployment, among others.
Meanwhile, corruption has become a hydra-headed problem in Nigeria; eradicating corruption in the country would require synergy of all stakeholders, both state and non-state actors.
The discourse on corruption will continue in Nigeria into the next century except all the noticeable bottlenecks and obstacles against its elimination are cleared. The fear is that the elite which champion the anti-corruption war have majority members of their community involved in the practice. They may not allow the two sides of the sword to be sharp in cutting corruption to pieces. Thus, neither the President as an individual, nor the EFCC and other agencies like the ICPC, can do much. However, a visionary leader, and committed followers can succeed in eliminating corruption in Nigeria through viable institutional frameworks and social structures.