President Muhammadu Buhari's gospel of hope and change was preached to
the Nigerian masses on the grounds of well-founded integrity amid his
low record of individual brilliance, oratory skills, scanty resume,
elusive school certificate and other pertinent requirements.
Sympathetic
voters were of the opinion that the Daura, Katsina State native could
sanitize the country of brazen executive heist orchestrated by the
previous administration apparently in full public glare.
But how
far has Buhari fared in the past three years with his anti-corruption
drive? The answer depends on who you ask. His anti-graft war has been
described as highly selective with opposition members and other
dissenting voices constantly getting the sticks while his party members
relish the carrot.
Below are some shortcomings of the
administration of Buhari which have impeded on the sincerity of the
present anti-corruption drive:
(1) Budget padding in the House of Reps in 2016: Part
of the earlier indications that President Buhari's anti-corruption
fight will not be total is his questionable handling of the budget
padding saga at the Green Chamber which implicated the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara pitching him against his former
ally, Abdulmunin Jibrin. The alleged manipulation of the budgetary
allocations of 2016 which totaled N40 billion has been swept under the
carpet with Jibrin - the whistleblower victimized.
(2) Babachir Lawal and Amb. Ayo Oke saga: Nigerians
will never forget the 7-month pressure mounted on Buhari to axe his
former Secretary to the Government of Federation, David Babachir Lawal
after suspension following the over N200 million ‘Grasscutting scandal’
and also the suspected slush fund of N13 billion found at the Osborne
Tower, Ikoyi, Lagos linked to a former National Intelligence Agency
boss, Ayo Oke. The fact that the duo hasn’t been arraigned in court for
fraud raises eyebrows.
(3) Reinstatement of suspended NHIS boss: We
all remember Buhari's clampdown on suspected corrupt judges during
which their houses were invaded in the dead of the night by operatives
of the Directorate of State Security with doors forcefully pulled down.
Pressure was mounted on the National Judicial Commission to suspend the
indicted judges before being charged to court. Today, the Executive
Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf suspected
to have siphoned money in the tune of N919 million according to the
provisions of an administrative panel has been reinstated by the
President despite an ongoing probe by the anti-graft agencies namely the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt
Practices and other related Offences Commission. This has proved that
the only corrupt people are the ones with no cordial relationship with
the President.
(4) Maina's controversial return: Erstwhile
Chairman of the Presidential Pension Task Scheme, Abdulrasheed Maina
has been linked with a monster fraud of over N2 billion making him a
leper one is not safe to touch even with a long Stick. But a member of
Buhari’s cabinet - Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of
Justice Abubakar Malami considered him for a ‘dangerous romance’. His
backdoor reinstatement as presided over by Malami has cast a shadow on
the integrity of Buhari's corruption war. Today, the sacred cow is being
declared wanted on paper and in contrast being guarded by security
operatives in reality.
(5) Missing NIA funds: Since
the discovery of some stray $43 million belonging to the National
Intelligence Agency at a private apartment at the Osborne Towers in
Ikoyi – Lagos State, it has dawned on Nigerians that agency saddled with
covert security operations is a den of titanic sharp practices. Earlier
this year, 2018, an alarm was raised about a missing sum of $44 million
which some sacred cows wanted to share. There are also concerns that
another $202 million belonging to the NIA is yet to be full accounted
for. This has attracted the intervention of the EFCC boss, Ibrahim Magu
who has promised the lower chamber that the funds would be recovered.
(6) Failure to prosecute indicted APC members:
Some
members of Buhari's cabinet and party members especially the former
governors and security chiefs have petitions written against them
concerning the mismanagement of public funds but it appears that EFCC
passes over them at the sight of the ‘broom’ – APC’s symbol at their
door step. A few examples are the former Governor of Rivers State and
Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi and a former governor of Ekiti State
and Minister of Solid Minerals Development Kayode Fayemi. This has led
to regular social media outbursts by a beleaguered former Minister of
Aviation Femi Fani Kayode.
(7) Illegal payment of fuel subsidy: The
leadership of the APC will never be forgotten in the history of Nigeria
for running an opaque government laden with calculated propaganda.
After the 66.67% increment of fuel price from N85 to N145 per litre in a
bid to abolish the fuel subsidy regime, Nigerians were shocked in
December 2017 to learn that the President on a clandestine note
authorized the state owned oil company – Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC to be subsidizing petrol by N26 naira due to landing
cost at N171 which doesn't favour importers. How the NNPC pays the
subsidy which doesn't reflect in the national budget remains an enigma.
Buhari's loud silence is a clear instruction that you are free to
believe whatever you want to.
The Group Managing Director of the
NNPC, Maikanti Baru has also revealed the NNPC pays N774 million daily
as subsidy for the supply of petrol. This he did shortly after turning
down human rights lawyer, Femi Falana’s freedom of information request
on how much the government was spending on subsidy.
(
Kachikwu’s exposure of the suspicious award of contracts by the Baru-led NNPC: The
minister of state for Petroleum resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu
raised an alarm about being sidelined in the affairs of the state-owned
oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC with
contracts in the tune of $26 billion awarded without his input and
adherence to due process. Till date, the issue has been covered up
despite the media interest generated. The fact that this is taking place
under the administration that intends not only to fight corruption in
Nigeria but also Ghana makes it subnormal.
(9) Arms deal fraud: There
is a conspiracy theory that government officials have turned the Boko
Haram war into a conduit pipe to divert money as military expenditures
are described as classified. The present Chief of Army Staff, Yusuf
Tukur Buratai who has houses in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and a
snakes’ farm; and the Minister of Interior Abdulrahaman Dambazau have
been accused of tampering with security allocations. Recall that there
was an outrage on social media in July 2016 when an investigative panel
uncovering fraudulent practices in the procurement of arms for the
military between 2007 and 2015 exempted Dambazau who was the Chief of
Army Staff from 2008 to 2010. Today, the former National Security
Adviser, Sambo Dasuki appears to be technically playing the role of
Jesus Christ by solely paying for the sins of the world.
(9) The IGP of Police scandal If
an interior minister in Portugal, Constanco de Sousa could resign due
to political pressure emanating from regular incidents of forest fire,
and then a British member of the House of Lords, Lord Bates (junior
minister in the UK Department for International Development) could do
the same for coming late to the chamber, one would expect the current
Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Kpotum Idris to step aside not
because of the killings in Benue, Kaduna, Adamawa, Plateau, Taraba
States and others but the dirt in his office as unearthed by Senator Isa
Misau.
He has been accused of being romantically involved with
his female colleagues, patronizing Aisha Buhari - wife of President with
car gifts and also presiding over a police office that illegally makes
about N10 billion monthly from oil companies and other private
individuals who enjoy special protection from the security agency which
is unaccounted for and also condoning the collection of bribes for juicy
postings. The fact that he is still in office is a conk palm oil stain
on Buhari's white garment.
(10) Appointment of dead people in boards of Federal Government agencies: Supporters
of President Buhari were left burying their faces in shame and ashes
when the administration hit the Guinness Book of Records by being the
first government to give political appointments to about 6 people on
permanent recess in their graves. This reminds Nigerians of the problem
of ghost workers which is a loophole in the public service used in
embezzling vast public funds. There was also duplication of names of
appointees in public offices. Till date, no reasonable explanation has
been given for the epic gaffe which reeks of negligence and gross
incompetence.
(11) Case of bribery and corruption against CCT Chairman, Justice Danladi Umar: Justice
Danladi Umar appears to have done a fantastic job presiding over the
case of false declaration of assets by the Senate President Bukola
Saraki but does it make sense to wash white clothes with stained hands?
Umar has been accused of demanding N10 million bribe from an accused to
pervert justice. This serious allegation was been swept under the carpet
until the EFCC recently moved to arraign him to the dismay of the
Federal Government. It would be recalled that the same EFCC had earlier
cleared Umar of any wrongdoing in April, 2016 while presiding over
Saraki’s case.
(12) Failure of Buhari to disclose health costs in London: President
Buhari cumulatively spent about six months on medical vacation in
London, United Kingdom with the presidential jet idly gulping money per
day at the hanger according to reports. Till date, Nigerians haven't
been kept abreast about the funds expended for his medical expenses.
U.S
President Donald Trump’s Health Secretary Tom Price was forced to
resign in September, 2017 over the misuse of private jets at the cost
($400,000) of the sweats of tax payers. But in Nigeria, accountability
and transparency are absent. An opaque administration where the public
is denied its constitutional right to know is like a loamy soil for
corrupt practices.
(13) Clannishness and favouritism: Many
have argued that Nigeria has never been this disunited owing to the
actions and inactions of the Buhari administration where some citizens
appear more equal than others. Buhari's lopsided appointments which have
put more northerners at the helm of affairs re-ignited the Biafra
agitations. It should be noted that nepotism is also corruption and not
just financial infractions alone.
(14) Escalating Fulani herdsmen/farmers crises: Under
the present administration, there are wild jokes that the Fulani
herdsmen encroaching on farmlands with their cattle are above the law
and their cows are more valuable than human lives. Buhari's failure to
mitigate the Fulani-farmers' clashes and disarm the AK-47 wielding
pastoralists earned him the title of the 'president of the north' who
has taken sides with the alleged oppressors. This suspected act of
favouritism in a polarized state like Nigeria has further added salt to
the open sore of discord among the major tribes in Nigeria. Hundreds of
lives have been lost to the herdsmen/farmers clashes across the
geopolitical zones in the country.
(15) Withdrawal of $1 billion from the Excess Crude Account: The
decision of the governors' forum to endorse the withdrawal of a
whopping sum of $1 billion to tackle insecurity in Nigeria was welcomed
with mixed reactions across the country. The reasons are not farfetched
as funds gave been stolen from the nation's treasury under the secrecy
of security allocations. For over 24hrs the Buhari administration
struggled to define specific areas the funds would cater for. It was on
this note that Governors Ayodele Fayose and Nyesom Wike washed their
hands off the ECA withdrawal.
(16) Gross wastage of resources: Despite
President Buhari's bid to curb the wastage of resources in Nigeria,
indications have it that it’s still business as usual. The State House
clinic at the Aso Rock Villa can't boast of paracetamol, syringes and
other basic clinic needs despite the allocation of N3.2 billion in the
2016 national budget. N65 million has also be allocated in the 2017
budget to design the already existing website of the office of the
Secretary to the Government of the Federation. About N4.9 billion has
also been allocated this year for the mere maintenance of mechanical and
electrical equipment at the Aso Rock Villa while majority of Nigerians
languish in penury.
In conclusion, the recent report on
corruption by the global anti-corruption watchdog - Transparency
International has dealt a fatal blow to the anti-corruption drive of
President Buhari with a Corruption Perception Index rating of 27 out of
100 which is a confirmation that he has been running in circles.
According to the international body, corruption in Nigeria worsened last
year 2017 with the country rated 148th out of 180 evaluated countries.
Compiled exclusively for Tori News by Osayimwen Osahon George
