JUST hours into his administration, President Bola Tinubu started feeling the heat from the gigantic burden of governance. The blowback from his aggressive removal of the petrol subsidy a month ahead of schedule manifested in high prices and a furious citizenry, and conflated with reports of N16 trillion worth of abandoned projects scattered across the country, and of N11 trillion wasted in 13 years on the moribund state-owned refineries. Underpinning all this is the issue of corruption and its corrosive impact on all aspects of governance. Like his predecessors, Tinubu has made promises to fight corruption; Nigerians and the international community anxiously wait to see if he can, or whether like his predecessors, he will buckle under the weight of the monstrous burden.
For one thing, the prevailing political machinery in Nigeria by which he climbed to power is utterly corrupt. The party primaries that threw him and his opponents in other parties up were fuelled by open distribution of cash to delegates. Many of the leading personalities of all major political parties are accused of corrupt practices, and many are under official investigation for graft. Also, all his four predecessors in the Fourth Republic failed miserably to defeat corruption.
The President’s promise to fight corruption has been muted. While his 80-page manifesto, 10-point agenda, and inaugural speech itemised his programme in greater detail on power, the economy, fuel subsidy removal and other sectors, he had only one-liners on fighting corruption. For anti-corruption crusaders, this raises some anxiety. Especially so as his immediate predecessor and ally, Muhammadu Buhari, was vociferous, but eventually succumbed to state capture.
Can Tinubu tame corruption? For Nigeria to eradicate poverty and fulfil its potential, he needs to.
Described as “fantastically corrupt” by a former British prime minister, David Cameron, Nigeria is sinking under the weight of graft. There is a consensus that corruption stifles economic growth and development, deprives the government of revenue, “devalues the quality of human life, robs schools, agricultural sectors, hospitals and welfare services of funds.” PwC, a global consultancy, says the loss to GDP from graft in Nigeria will climb to 37 percent by 2030 if left untamed.
It is corruption that created and sustained the fuel subsidy regime for decades, underpinned fraudulent multibillion dollar refineries’ rehabilitation contracts, and saddled the country with abandoned projects. But these are just aspects of the pervasive graft. Corruption runs through the entire gamut of national life, endemic in the public sector, federal, state, and local governments, in the judiciary, law enforcement and in the private sector.
A 2022 United Nations Development Programme report painted a picture of sleaze in all public sectors and declared that Nigeria “is riddled with unfit, corrupt and self-serving leaders.”
The 2022 Corruption Perception Index ranks Nigeria 150 out of 180 countries, with a score of 24 out of 100. The Global Corruption Barometer revealed that as of 2022, 43 per cent of Nigerians felt corruption had increased in the previous 12 months, while 44 per cent of public service users paid a bribe to civil servants in the months under review. Nigeria’s corruption rank averaged 125.67 from 1996 until 2022, reaching an all-time high of 154 in 2021, according to the same data.
Nigeria has never had favourable corruption ranking. The highest the country has ever scored was 28/100 in 2016. This was around the same time that Cameron dismissed the country as irredeemably corrupt despite being ranked 136 out of 176 countries in the CPI.
On the hustings, Tinubu had said he would make corruption unattractive for judges and other judiciary sector officials. This is crucial. Corruption has crept into the judiciary, leading to many bizarre judgements, even at the Supreme Court and eroded public confidence in the courts as the last hope of the people. Nigeria has become a laughing stock in the comity of nations due to the stench of corruption from its judiciary.
Many top political operators at every level have faced allegations at one time or the other, including the President himself. He was discharged and acquitted in 2011 of charges filed against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal. His political ascendancy in Lagos, where he was governor 1999 to 2007 and has remained political godfather since then, has not been without the accusations that dog every government in Nigeria. He has been repeatedly linked to a consulting firm that collects revenue for the state government. He denies this. Most recently, stories have emerged of his son allegedly buying a London property seized from an alleged felon by the anti-graft agency, and of other foreign properties purchased by his associates.
Tinubu’s first task therefore is to come clean over his financial dealings to inspire confidence in the anti-corruption war. It is not a crime to own property so long as they were legitimately acquired. He is inheriting a deeply corrupt bureaucracy. Corruption has hollowed out state institutions and weakened the growth of democracy during 24 unbroken years marked by massive treasury looting.
The leading political parties are seen as assemblages of corrupt powerbrokers and perpetrators of state capture. Too many party members have been fingered in alleged cases of corruption, with many still unresolved.
No government since 1999 has been able to fight corruption effectively. Tinubu should make a difference. The Olusegun Obasanjo administration that created the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, was nevertheless unable to crush corruption. His successor, Umaru Yar’Adua, was ill and died in office and made no impact. The succeeding Goodluck Jonathan government was similarly perceived as sustaining corruption.
Buhari, who succeeded him, had posed as an anti-corruption warrior; but on his watch, corruption not only remained pervasive, egregious ‘grand corruption’ and plunder were perpetrated right under his nose.
To neutralise corruption, Tinubu needs to block all revenue leakages swiftly and decisively and compel revenue-generating agencies to remit collections as stipulated by law. The Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Nigerian Ports Authority, and many other agencies – the National Assembly identified 60 – should remit funds as and when due. Processes and taxes like the Treasury Single Account, stamp duties and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System should be made to function efficiently and reformed to stop malfeasance such as the alleged theft of N102 billion by a former Accountant-General of the Federation.
A significant part of public funds allocated in the national budget is stolen at the drafting point, as there is excessive padding and inflation of figures, and sealed by the collusion of the NASS, another notorious hub of looting. To neutralise this leakage point, Tinubu should implement the needs system of budgeting instead of the current theft-enabling envelope system. Buhari had promised to do this but typically, reneged.
A report by the Africa Growth Initiative showed that Nigeria and just three other countries –South Africa, Congo DR, and Ethiopia— account for over 50 per cent of total illicit financial flows from Africa. Nigeria’s illicit outflow as of 2015 was estimated at $8.3 billion.
Corruption undermines democracy, entrenches poverty, and drains resources from infrastructural development on education, health, and social investments. It also drives away private investments and foreign direct investment. Nigeria is paying dearly for corruption.
Surrounded by allies, many of whom have or have had cases with the anti-graft agencies, Tinubu will need to commit “class suicide” to mount or sustain the war on corruption. He will need to distance himself from some tainted confederates and allow the anti-graft agencies to do their job.
His appointee as Attorney-General of the Federation is crucial; the AGF must be a vigorous anti-corruption advocate. Previous presidents demonstrated their hypocrisy by appointing and retaining as AGF persons who ended up enabling and defending corruption.
He must strengthen the ICPC, police, EFCC and other law enforcement agencies. He should also reform the accounting system and revive and strengthen the Due Process Office. All contracts must go through that office to make sure that they pass the integrity test. He should support the heads of agencies fighting corruption with the full weight of his office. There must be no sacred cows.
Tinubu should set the pace by publicly declaring his assets. He should avoid the nepotism and family-run cronyism that Buhari personified and ensured his failure. Nigeria is not a monarchy. Appointments, governance, and policies must reflect its ethnic, regional, and sectarian diversity. Anything contrary is corruption. Every “war” needs an overall commander and coordinator; the last president neither took charge nor appointed and backed an overall coordinator to lead the fight. Without coordination and with an inattentive president, the war will falter. He should take a cue from Singapore and China. The anti-corruption campaign led by Chinese President, Xi Jinping, has ensnared the high and mighty. Singapore’s leaders pursue a policy of zero tolerance for influence-peddling in the anti-corruption war. Tinubu deludes himself if he believes he can salvage Nigeria’s insecurity, economy, and the country without taming corruption. For Nigeria’s sake, he should commit strongly to this task.
