President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday blamed Nigerians for aiding and abetting corruption through their actions. He said that despite institutional reforms and other initiatives being undertaken to curb the menace, corruption still remained a major challenge to national development initiatives. The President said this at the opening of the 54th annual conference of the Nigerian Economic Society, NES, in Abuja. He noted that if Nigerians failed to reward corrupt practices, those who enriched themselves through dubious means would not be celebrated.Enjoy great Fashion at Jumia.com.ng!
President Jonathan said that the fight against corruption was not what the government alone could win since it cuts across various facets of the national life and involves public and private institutions.
The President, however, said that he would not mention names for fear of being attacked but advised that Nigerians should stop creating an environment where people would continue to be tempted to take what belonged to the public and causing further hardships for millions of poor citizens in the country.
He said: “We believe that we should not create an environment where people would be tempted to take what belongs to the public because that is why even in the fertiliser business we talk about electronic wallet so that funds are not exposed to corrupt people.
“When you talk about corruption, the private sector is involved; the public sector is involved; even the individuals including other societies and I wouldn’t want to mention names so that I will not be attacked.
“But I know that if collectively all of us don’t reward corruption, people would not be attracted to corrupt practices but when we all reward corruption, then of course we will be tempted to go in that direction.”
The President reassured that his administration would continue to focus on how to strengthen anti-corruption agencies to step up the fight against corruption.
He explained that the Federal Government’s approach to fighting corruption was targeted at building institutions that had the capacity to overcome corrupt influences.
President Jonathan added that this approach would encourage anchoring the framework of the war against graft on the rule of law, adding that the efforts would empower the leaderships of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, to successfully implement the agencies’ mandate.
He said: “I want a society where all of us will frown upon people who come up with what they are not supposed to have. If a young man who just started a job and within six months or a year comes up with a car of N7m to N15m and you clap for him, then you are rewarding corruption.
“So for us as a nation, to bring corruption down in Nigeria, it is not just blaming government or blaming police but all individuals must frown upon people who have what they are not supposed to have, who live in houses they supposed not to live in; who drive cars they are not supposed to drive and who wear suits more expensive (than they earn).
“And until Nigerians are able to do this, then invariably we are all rewarding corruption and until we stop that, I don’t think we will get to where we want to go.”
He noted that a major principle underlying the implementation of the administration’s transformation agenda was the unwavering conviction that reforms must not be centred on individuals, no matter how strong they might be.
Rather, he said his administration recognised the fact that in order for reforms to be sustainable, they must be driven by strong, sound and effective mechanisms, processes and institutions.
“Our effort at strengthening the capacity of state institutions at fighting corruption is not limited to granting independence to EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies.
It extends to developing affordable finance for housing, car ownership, etc as we believe that taking measures to help people realise their aspirations to own their own homes and fund those things that make life easier can also aid the fight against corruption,” the President said.
On efforts to curb leakages in public finance, he explained that one of the major steps taken with remarkable success to show for it was the electronic management of the country’s budget, particularly the payroll, pointing out “for many years, the process has been manual, government officials carry documents and files from one office to another”.
He noted that prior the innovative approach, the manual system had constituted a drain to national resources by creating opportunities for corrupt leakages and menace of ghost workers and ghost pensioners to the payroll.
Earlier, in a keynote address, Prof. John Ohiorhenuan of Columbia University said that corruption remained a major challenge to economic growth and development in Nigeria.
Ohiorhenuan said that 66 per cent of Nigerians under the age of 25 had no direct knowledge that corruption was not a mode of operation in the country.
He, therefore, urged the government to ensure that it builds strong institutions that would be instrumental to fighting corrupt practices. He also said that effort should be made to build the integrity of the judiciary.
The don advised the government to strengthen national patrimonies such as the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, so that they would not be used as conduits for the diversion of government money.
He advised government to educate state officials on the implication of corrupt practices, saying such officials needed to be punished if found culpable.
One of the highlights of the NES’ event was the conferment of the Society’s Fellowship Awards on the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, and former Minister of Health, Prof EyitayoLambo.
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