In Mr. Anti-corruption on point?

 

A RECENT issue of The Economist examined the presidential bid of Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s former anti-corruption chief. Mr Ribadu made his name as the first head of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2003. In this role, he pursued politicians and civil servants who were embezzling the energy revenues of Africa’s biggest oil and gas producer 

http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2010/11/interview_nihu_ribadu

An interview with Nigeria's Mr Anti-Corruption

Nov 12th 2010, 16:23 by S.A. | LAGOS 

Mr Ribadu’s fortunes dipped when Umaru Yar’Adua took office as president in 2007. The sleazebuster was sidelined and later fled the country, returning only after Mr Yar’Adua’s death in May this year. He now hopes to run for the top job himself in elections due in early 2011.
Baobab talked to Mr Ribadu about whether he would be able to run a clean campaign in Nigeria’s often murky political scene.
Baobab: Why have you decided to run for president next year?
Nuhu Ribadu: I understand now that to bring about change I need political power at the highest level. That means the presidency. I have worked under a president, and many say we did a good job at the EFCC, but when change came [and a new president took office] all our work was destroyed. It was all reversed.”
Baobab: How will you use presidential power to continue your fight against corruption?
NR: Just appointing me will be half the answer. When people see me, they will sit up and know that the era of corruption is over. On the practical level, I will run a transparent government that publishes accounts online. I will create “whistleblower laws” to protect the identities of those who expose corruption. I will reform the police and the judiciary.
Corruption causes all the problems that we have here. It causes the poverty and the insecurity. And there is no one better qualified to address the problem of corruption in this country than me.

(True2Society: Let me interrupt at this point; a bold claim here by Mr. Ribadu wouldn't you say?)

Baobab: Nigerian political campaigns are costly affairs that often rely on the sponsorship of unsavoury characters. Can you run a clean campaign in a dirty system? For example, will you probe your sponsors to find out the sources of their wealth?
NR: Everything about me has always been clean and this will be a clean campaign...in any case, I will not need as much money as other parties because I am not going to bribe anyone. My campaign is about winning over people with my ideas, not my money.
But I will not probe anybody. I am not the EFCC chairman here - I am a politician who is trying to get people to support me. If money is coming to change a system that needs change, why should [the source] matter? (T2S: Once again I interrupt. For someone who is supposed to be the nemesis of corruption, why wouldn't the source of money used for your political campaign matter? It could certainly be the cause of your downfall, if your enemies funded your campaign with money stolen from the national treasury, and then turn around and say you are an accomplice...Hmmm. I wonder)  Why try to destroy this opportunity?
Baobab: You have chosen to run against the ruling People's Democratic Party with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Some Nigerian are raising eyebrows at this choice. Bola Tinubu, one of the ACN’s most powerful members, has been under EFCC investigation for years. Does this concern you?
NR: You should not worry about individuals when you are working on a project of this magnitude. It might affect the outcome...I am convinced that the mission we are out to do is not about an individual.
Baobab: Your critics also note that you have never held political office before. Why not serve as a senator or governor for one term, and then run for president in 2015?
NR: We can’t wait for 2015. Nigeria's problems must be arrested immediately. There is no way we can allow this mess to continue. Also, for the first time, the ruling party is in real trouble. Goodluck Jonathan [the incumbent] is from a very small ethnic group...Sadly, even if he were the best person for the job, northern Nigeria would never accept it. He is not electable. 
(T2S: It just amazes me the way we can't do politics in Nigeria without taking a shot at the opposition. I though he just said a few sentences ago that his mission is not about individuals but about ideas???)

In any case, I posted this today because I was just wondering about the candidates presenting themselves to rule this nation for the next four years. I don't see any bright lights on the horizon when I think about that. However that is not to say that change cannot come through one of these individuals. Indeed Ribadu has earned some degree of respect from his exploits in EFCC. He is probably a good anti-corruption crusader but a poor politician (hey, just my amateur opinion).  Let us just hope, pray, wait and see...

OIL SMUGGLING in NAIJA! Ha!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7519302.stm

Just click on the link(open in another window)above and get the full gist. I always knew there had to be an answer to the stupendous display of wealth among some category of Nigerians while others wallow in abject poverty and squalor.

Presently I'm residing in one of the northern states in Nigeria. I've seen some of the most recent models of cars on the streets. But the state is one of the most under developed. On the streets of Abuja I see teenage girls driving convertible Audi's and BMW's, young kids flashing their parents wealth. I see young men having opening ceremonies for multi million naira mansions. I see folks like myself...only not like myself when you consider the aura of wealth that surrounds them.

I often ask myself, 'how does a young man of 22 years get to own the latest C class Mercedes Benz, live in a mansion all by himself, spend almost twice my yearly salary in one night of clubbing in Abuja in the Nigeria that I know?'

Inherited wealth most likely. At 22 years?! Inherited. But where does all this money being flung around come from when most Nigerian families are basically struggling to survive?

I have not lived an opulent lifestyle. So when I see such displays of wealth, my antennas go up on their own accord, and begin to search the waves for something 'fishy'. I thank God I grew up this way cos I have learnt that everything under the sun has it's purpose and that purpose is for good. So when I see wealth being thrown around and squandered, I know that something is wrong. Either with the source of the wealth or the present owner of the wealth.

Please don't mind me, I'm just a little frustrated with Nigeria right now. We have so much oil, gas, manpower, intellectual strength, spirituality etc but at the same time so much chaos, poverty, failed systems of leadership and government, evil and satanism.

I cant right now, authoritatively state or quote any sources of info, but I know for sure that all that oil smuggling, pipeline vandalisation, niger-delta militancy and so on, is the work of a handful of Nigerians who have formed cartels and mafias; and who are ultimately responsible for the decay in todays society.

So what can people like me do about it? Little you might say, but a little can do a lot (Remember David and Goliath?)

This is what I suggest for now. Evil thrives under the cloak of secrecy. Henceforth, lets do all we can to expose such evil. Not necessarily mentioning names but just letting people know more about the evil going on under their noses. By so doing, the perpetrators will begin to get uncomfortable. And someday, the masses will be sure that they are fed up.

Also let us advocate for efficient systems of punishment for crime. No one should be above the law. I have said it countless times before and I will keep saying it:-

If only we can change and cause a revolution in our law enforcement agencies, I believe some order will be brought to society.

So read this post again, click on the link:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7519302.stm

and spread the message.