Julius OkorieCurrent method of fighting corruption in Nigeria has been described as sea route to nowhere, incapable of arresting the virus that has eaten deep into the fabrics of the nation.
US based lawyer and Political Affairs Analyst, Dr.Ope Banwo, who made the submission, noted that there is no way corruption can be stopped in any clan without naming and shaming the culprits.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelHe reminded Chairman of Economic and financial Crimes Commission, Olanipekun Olukoyede, that his responsibility is to fish out corrupt persons and prosecute them and not feel sorry for them. Inability of the Commission to record high profile convictions according to him makes the fight against corruption look like a child’s play.
Dr Banwo who spoke recently on TVC, maintained that so long as high profile personalities in the country go scot free on one hand and get soft landing amid corruption allegations on the other, the fight against the virus will only amount to pouring water on stone, no effect.
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“We are not getting names; small, small yahoo boys are not the main problem of Nigeria, there has to be high profile convictions. You tell us you have discovered this and that without attaching names to it that is what the fight is all about, you can’t fight corruption without naming and shaming culprits” he said
On the recently reported sacking of 27 staff of the commission for corruption and misconduct, Dr Banwo insisted that their names and offence committed ought to have been published to serve as deterrent. “How do we know they have been sacked and they offences committed these need to be in public domain” he observed.
A caller into the programme also backed publication of the names of the sacked officials with their photographs, insisting that leaving it just at that provides avenue to impersonate EFCC even in the rural areas. “They could still be parading themselves as staff of the commission and intimidating people especially in rural areas, so their names and photographs ought to be published” said the caller.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was established on December 12, 2002, by President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration to combat financial crimes and money laundering. The commission’s creation was partly in response to pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Money Laundering, which had ranked Nigeria as one of 23 non-cooperative countries.
The Commission commenced operation on April 13, 2003 under Nuhu Ribadu as the pioneer Executive Chairman. The current chairman of EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, was appointed by President Bola Tinubu on 12th October 2023.
In its 23 years of existence the EFCC has come to mean different things to Nigerians, while some see it as an anti-graft agency doing its best to curb corruption that continues to fight back in the country, others say it is a strange security dog which barks and bites only when less connected Nigerians are involved.
If the fight were to be holistic in approach according to this school of thought, terminologies like ‘free-bargain’ where culprits allegedly negotiates what percentage of stolen loot to return will not find its way into the country’s vocabulary.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
