I listed 500 Nigerians who stole govt funds and nothing happened – Nzeribe

•Francis Arthur Nzeribe

From IKENNA EMEWU, Abuja
Age and time might have slowed down the pace of the maverick Senator Arthur Nzeribe, but the vehemence of his conviction remains ablaze as usual. From the way he fumes, not minding the situation of things, about the prevailing developments in Nigeria, he remains himself, unfazed, undiluted in sharp criticisms and unrelenting in what he believes in.

 Until this encounter with Senator Nzeribe last week, in his Abuja home, you would not have known that of all his qualities, he could pass for a prophet and one with stunning foresight about the happenings in the nation.
 About 22 years ago, he wrote a book, Nigeria: Seven years after Shehu Shagari; Who next; What next? In 1990, when he published the book, it is possible many Nigerians never saw the malady of corruption the extent he did. However, most astounding are the solutions he proffered to the crises.

 As he spoke in this interview, making constant references to the book, one could not but ask for a copy to verify his claims on how elaborate he had envisaged anti-corruption war by the government. But the book proved him true.

What’s your position on corruption now, as a result of the fact that you are no longer in public office?
 I spoke and wrote against corruption and itemised ways it can be fought and results achieved in my book, at Chapter 12. From what we all see today, the ideas I postulated in the book are more relevant now than when I put them forward. I am bold to say that I am not a latter-day apostle of a corruption-free Nigeria. I once again tell Nigerians that the time to fight corruption in Nigeria is now; the effect of corruption is becoming more profound and unbearable. In fact, Nigeria is sliding into anarchy, and it must be rescued. We have had leaders who paid lip-service to the war against corruption, and I think this can’t continue.

 It is now certain, beyond doubt, that corruption-induced lack of will, on the part of our leaders as well as deceit, are the fundamental clogs in the wheel of progress of Nigeria. Innocent citizens are now finding it difficult to move about in search of what to eat for fear of being bombed. Insecurity of life and property has become the order of the day, no thanks to this monster called corruption.

What best way do you think corruption should be wiped out of our system?
 The billions of taxpayers’ money already spent in providing security in Nigeria could have gone into projects that would have ensured employment of our unemployed youths. Yet, nobody is willing to confront the real cause of unemployment in Nigeria. The current spate of bombing in Nigeria is direct fallout of endemic corruption in the system and the attendant loss of interest in governance by the citizens. So, the best and most assured way to fight corruption is to provide jobs for the people and also to make sure the workers are well remunerated in addition to the punishment system to ensure deterrent.

 Setting up of probe panels has become a ritual in Nigeria. The probe panels are only useful on the papers the final report were written. It is only in Nigeria that definitive actions are not taken on conclusive probes. Between 2007 and date, we have had about four high level probes, some are still ongoing. Eventually, the reports from the probes will be consigned to the trashcan. The questions now are, how can government create employment opportunities for Nigerian youths, when the money meant for employment generation will end up in the pockets of the untouchables? Should we allow corruption to overrun us as a nation?

 We have agencies that are saddled with the task of prosecuting corrupt people, but I am yet to see Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) convict corrupt people. I mean those that have brought the country to its knees, heavily corrupt Nigerians. Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) has equally not convicted those magnates in corruption industry in Nigeria. So, the next best thing to do is to enlighten the masses and citizens of this country to join in the anti-corruption movement using the law and the legal means.

In a situation where the government doesn’t seem to listen or make progress in this fight, what should the citizens do, even when you say they should join in the fight?
 When ABN first approached the court to seek redress purely on the basis that its members were aggrieved over events leading to June 12 presidential election, some people felt that we should have allowed ourselves to be trampled to death. But when all realised that the court is where one goes to seek redress if one feels aggrieved in whatever relation; political class started seeing court as the only hope and arbiter, as against burning of tyres on the streets and killing of innocent human beings.

 The Freedom of Information Act should be utilised in this must-win fight. After all, President Goodluck Jonathan, through his spokesman, has given Nigerians the hope that one can utilise the opportunity offered by the Act to cross-check fact, as regard his indictment by EFCC, when he reacted to allegation making the rounds then that he was actually indicted by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu-led EFCC. For avoidance of doubt, Reuben Abati, the Special Adviser to the President, Media and Publicity said: ‘Finally, let me state that, President Jonathan remains committed to press freedom and freedom of speech, which is why he signed the Freedom of Information Bill into law. With the passage of this bill into law, the expectation of the president is that such a law could be utilised by the press to thoroughly investigate allegations before they are released into the public arena as truth. The FOI law allows reporters to request for records from the EFCC which when perused would establish the truth.’

Apart from your posture, did you ever take any decisive step to the government to aid in the fight?
 Since everybody is condemning corruption but nobody wants to stick his neck out in the task of genuinely fighting it in practical terms, there must be a pathfinder in this regard. I first tested the genuineness of Olusegun Obasanjo’s resolve to fight the monster called corruption when he was the president by presenting to him the names of 500 Nigerians that stole beyond their want. His response to my presentation was non-committal. When he, however, pushed for the establishment of EFCC, the thinking then was that the government would be resolute in combating corruption. The recent revelation by the Wikileaks of the meeting between the former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders and the pioneer chairman of EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, where Ribadu allegedly described corruption under President Olusegun Obasanjo as worse than that of the late Gen. Sani Abacha, clearly supported what many had already known that corruption was thriving then, just like now. The fact that former president of Nigeria and his deputy openly attested to the fact that they are both corrupt, by calling themselves thieves, shows that nobody is afraid of corruption. That event alone was enough to sack both men from office, particularly as none of them went to court to clear his name; after all silence means acquiescence.

So, what do we do not to sharpen the blunting edge of corruption fight?
 A stitch in time saves nine; if the political elite in Nigeria does not want to act to save themselves from the impending annihilation, the common man will do it. The recent window dressing visit of former President Obasanjo to the family of the late Boko Haram leader, Mohammed Yusuf, is tantamount to adding salt to injury, as it betrays desperation and hopelessness. Just end corruption and get the Boko Haram problem and other restive groups solved. The situation, however, is not hopeless. The president has demonstrated some measure of “courage,’ but I propose here such steps, which if taken, will work greater wonders than ever had been known to Nigerians. Besides, it will afford the president an opportunity to single himself out from the pack of ex-heads of government. I sincerely will like Jonathan to have specific attributes, such that his citation will be different from those who just paid lip-service to the crucial fight in the past administrations and yet we got nothing in return after spending heavily on the project.

So can you explain in details the call you championed 22 years ago on the way to fight corruption?
 My call remains as timeless as it is timely. In fact, it is more pertinent today that some 22 years ago I made the call in my book. I repeat exactly, as I said before, that the president should establish a Federal Agency Against Corruption; FACC. That is what I called it then. And I can say the EFCC and ICPC fit into that would, at least at the formation level of a body. What I quarrel with now is their operation, as these bodies are terribly incompetent, docile, compromised and almost as corrupt as the corruption they should fight. It defeats the intention and makes me and many other Nigerians question the use. The fact today is not the name of the agency but what it does and how it carries on. I said the body should be established with stringent laws, which could hardly be circumvented. The agency should have a board of 21 members, a national executive secretary, national director-general and two national assistant directors-general. One of the assistant directors-general should head the recovery arm of the agency while the other heads the preventive arm, with a host of investigators nationwide. Each state will have one representative on the board.

 The agency should have the federal and state arms, a list of movable and immovable assets – land, building, shares, even highly expensive cars – belonging to either serving or retired public officers. In the same way, it should compile list of all retired and serving military and civilian public officers – investigate their assets and lifestyles including those of their close friends and immediate family members. The aim should not be to witch-hunt anybody. There should be fool-proof evidence to how the money for the property was acquired. Any officer - military or civil – who is unable to show clear proof of his sources of funds automatically forfeits the property to the state. We have something on ground now, but I will still say we can amend it to make it stronger if the structure is the issue, but I know the matter problem is the lack of will to act.

But was corruption in public offices an issue already as you painted it?
 It was not an issue then. It was a very big issue, just like it is now and as we keep quiet, it gets worse. An investigation of the private property in Lagos alone then, even without going to the stock exchange or state capitals, would have yielded at least N100billion to the coffers of the state. Members of the public should be encouraged to give confidential information, which, of course, should be thoroughly investigated. Anybody who gave false information should be adequately dealt with according to existing laws. I am convinced that the response to such a national call will be overwhelming. There are obvious leakages and wastages of the national wealth.

 As I have discussed in the book, so I do again, and I dare say those days the country was losing at least US$10 million dollars daily through the activities of unscrupulous Nigerians through the connivance of some NNPC officials. Professor David-West, who should know, expressed such fears and I respect his views on this. But today, it is hundreds of billions of dollars and you could even hear the N100billion and N131billion deductions by the NNPC and the PPPRA last week without any appropriation law, which stalled the revenue allocation meeting where the members walked out in protest.
 The country is also losing a lot of vital funds through the award of fictitious contracts and purchases whose only evidence of existence are the receipts issued, though no one ever sees the projects or objects bought. How are the so-called security votes expended? Should the country be secured through the over-indulgence of just a few privileged individuals who are given blank cheques to siphon our funds without even the pains of issuing fake receipts? Is the country’s security measured by the length of time some ill-trained plain clothes officers who constantly brandish their ID cards as secret service agents, spend in hotels chasing shadows, hunting ‘extremists’ and ‘radicals’?

 The allocation made for defence in the national budget should cover whatever internal or external security the country needed. The list is not exhaustive, but these are some of the areas where the preventive arm should concern itself. Since desperate problems need desperate solution, President Jonathan should wade in swiftly. In and around Lagos then, people heard of areas with eye-catching multi-million naira buildings – areas specifically developed by serving and retired public officers. Today, Abuja and other cities and even rural areas have been added to the long list where opulence is displayed with impunity and the money comes from government unjustifiably. So, which Nigerian, after seeing these, will go home to think about patriotism and a call to national service?