One battle too many for Buhari

Anytime I see President Buhari on television, I wonder if he sleeps at night because of many national challenges he’s battling with since he became the President. The challenges include but not limited to insecurity, separatist agitations, corruption, economic recession, and impunity amongst others. Corruption is the mother of these battles within the nation’s political landscape. When I conducted a mental risk assessment of Nigeria’s national security challenges in my brain, I conceded that corruption is the most potent component of all threats to our survival as a nation. Corruption is a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabrics of the Nigerian society. As I write, corruption has led to wrangling among political party members, and it has infiltrated the executive, legislature, and the judiciary in Nigeria such that we now have a “triangular corruption network.”

Corruption phenomenon

Corruption is mostly caused by greed, poverty and unemployment, but President Buhari has decided that he would destroy corruption. Yes, he needs to destroy corruption, because it is the 1000-ton monster that is slowing down the speed of development in Nigeria. But when corruption is modulated with politics, the battle against corruption cannot be won.

Many scholars have been frustrated and distressed in an attempt to really define corruption. But the Weberian definition of the phenomenon explains that it is “breaking rules pertaining to certain office.”There are other scholars who don’t accept this Weberian definition of corruption on the grounds that Weberian bureaucracies hardly existed in the past and are lacking in many contemporary societies. They argued that breaking rules can be of a practical necessity, and that all public functionaries do it without necessarily being corrupt. Irrespective of the conceptual definition on corruption, I know that in societies where corruption holds sway, there can hardly be any form of development.

Battles originated by corruption

Some politicians of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are in battle with President Buhari because of corruption. President Buhari has however vowed that “all APC and PDP members who are corrupt must face trial.”According to reports, a 49-member senate caucus of the PDP in the upper legislative chamber were alleged to have argued that “the war against corruption must not be selective and targeted at only opposition alone.” They claim further that the “current war on corruption lacks transparency, fairness to all and appears to be targeted at only at political adversaries.”While some National Assembly (NASS) members argued for instance, that if the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, was accused for false declaration of assets, why are other governors who did not declare their assets during the same period he was governor given preferential treatment?

Reported cases of corruption in the judiciary is also a battle President Buhari and Nigerians must fight. The alarm raised recently by the arrest of seven state judges and the Federal Capital Territory was very alarming. Corruption in Nigeria’s judicial system stinks to the extent that a friend asked me: “where are the incorruptible judges in Nigeria?” I told him that there are very few incorruptible judges in Nigeria. Corruption in the judiciary has reached a peak that most judges with “integrity” could not boldly defend their dishonest colleagues. But Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) was quoted as saying that “the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) leaders know all corrupt judges and lawyers in Nigeria.”

What about cabals in the Villa? I didn’t know there is a cabal in the villa until the first lady, Hajia Aisha Buhari, revealed the identity of these powerful and corrupt individuals. Cabal in the villa constitute a threat to democracy. If the cabal has been manipulating President Buhari, it is now clear why he has been manoeuvring with difficulty since he took over the mantle of leadership. The cabal slowed him down, and perhaps, that is why some critics are of the view that it was President Buhari who led the nation into economic recession. I thought cabals have perished with past military regimes, but in democratic Nigeria they are waxing stronger.

The cabal in the villa are propelled by religious zealotry and nepotism. With cabals operating behind the scene in the Villa, critics of President Buhari have been vindicated. Most Nigerians now understand why some cabinet members and chief executives of government parastatals are from the northern part of the country. But Nigerians didn’t go to the polls in 2015 to vote for cabals, they voted for President Buhari.

If it was true that cabals are responsible for the lapses and inconsistencies observed in the performance of President Buhari’s responsibilities, he needs divine intervention. This is because cabals or mafia in any part of the world including Nigeria will not make the economy grow. Cabals have an evil agenda such that they hide behind the curtain to destroy others while protecting themselves and their families.

Suggestions

If Nigeria wants to fight corruption, then President Buhari should take the lead by ensuring that the report of the 2014 Constitution Review Committee is implemented. Although, it has been argued that removing immunity clause from the 1999 Constitution will undermine executive capacity both at the federal and state levels, but the clause should be expunged if President Buharri is sincere about fighting corruption. The government at all levels must create transparency and accountability in government spending.

Government must deploy smart technology through the use of internet platforms to create transparency in the procurement system. Cutting of red tape is important to enhance ease of doing business in the country. The nation’s judicial system needs to be overhauled. Lastly, all corrupt judges should be relieved of their appointments and tried in accordance with the law. If President Buhari is to win the anti-graft war, he needs to phase and prioritize his battles. Just as the war against corruption is key, he must win the battle against economic recession.

MA Johnson