Nigerian Public Office Holders: Fighting Corruption With Cutlasses, Defending it With Guns

The news today is that Mallam Nuhu Ribadu the former chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have been demoted with 139 others in yet an unclear circumstances. Does this action not send confusion as a theme to the international community? One government promotes and another demotes. It is so funny that one who only some months ago was promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) is now known and addressed as Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) The situation becomes messier as we realize that almost the same set of officers who formed the last administration are still present in this present administration but perhaps now in different positions. In other words, the message is that the same set of officials who promoted him is responsible for his demotion.

Before this demotion, this present government officials have still in other circumstance decided to remove him as the nation’s chief anti-graft Boss by compulsorily sending him to the Nigerian Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru for a course that would qualify him for his new rank. Today the situation has somersaulted to demotion. An action such as this will terribly expose the Authorities responsible on how promotions and demotions and carried out in the nation’s police force.

An action like this is still shrouded in mystery because Mallam Nuhu Ribadu was a well respected anti-graft advocate who in his tenure as the chairman of EFCC prosecuted a number of government official who were believed to have run fowl of the law. He reigned at a time the international community was ever doubtful of the ability of the Nigerian government to punish its corrupt officials. The USA for instance, did not waste time in requesting the Federal Government of Nigeria to sentence one big fish if the nation needed her support in that avenue. A trial soon convinced the USA, Britain, France and a host of other developed countries of the world when Ribadu made bold of his promises hurriedly sentencing many of this perceived officials.

Though some would condemn his action as a selective one but even at that his actions helped to instill fears in other officials who would quickly take to their heels upon the mention of EFCC or Ribadu. Any truthful Nigerian living in Nigeria will readily tell that majority of the nation’s cyber café became home to even primary school pupils who had no good intention but to exploit money from foreigners online. The fear of EFCC became the beginning of wisdom for many of these Nigerians who abandoned the new found occupation. Though the reason of much of these children had always been that if our Big officials are having field day stealing various amounts of money with figures that even Mathematics graduates cannot pronounce there are no basis to harass and intimidate them. But the arrest and consequent trial of these many officials way back demonstrated to them that Ribadu and EFCC were out to deal with anyone with financial crime records.

Today we are asking ourselves in Nigeria, what went wrong. Where did Ribadu get it all wrong with the masters that appointed him to carry out the hitherto impossible task in Nigeria? Did they ever realize that he would genuinely haunt them? Did he ever carry out his axe to their door step? Why will a nation where financial crime purification is taking place not appreciate same in the social emancipation of that environment? Will Human Rights Groups still solidly stand behind a man whom the government feels should be unwanted? These are the questions waiting to be answered by the Nigerian Authorities.

I also feel there is an ethnical dimension or advantage hoping to be reaped by this regime because in a situation whereby out of 139 Police officers were demoted, only 9 are from the North while the entire Southern region share 130, something is wrong somehow and somewhere and the situation needs to re-addressed because though the situation or the real intention of the Northern led government is masqueraded, a particular ethnic stock is trying to weed the rest of sensitive positions and remain in the same position in years to come.

Again, the conclusion is that the Nigerian society cannot be purged of corruption or have it reduced one bit because the perpetrators of such cannot fold its arms and allow it to happen. I also know that with the current treatment being meted out to Ribadu, the clear position of other potential anti-graft crusaders is nothing but discouragement because as we have learnt from the example of Mallam Ribadu nobody sets out with the intention to wipe out corruption in Nigeria and goes free. The same inference can be drawn from the example of Prof Charles Soludo who months had his demonetizations policy suppressed by the real owners of Nigeria.

Situations like will only give the international community the understanding that our government is insincere in anti-graft policies, and to our youths that the government is only out to punish phone thieves and not one of there own.

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About the Author:

Emeka Esogbue hails from Ibusa, Delta State, South-south, Nigeria. He is a Historian and International Relations graduate with lots of tremendous published and unpublished works.



emekaesogbue@yahoo.com