For effective onslaught against treasury looters

Though out of character, let me start with a confession. I had, literally, had to drag myself to my office on a sunny Sunday afternoon to do what I considered an important duty to Nigeria. The matters are so weighty that a lot more people should devote a little more time to what touches us all. The unfortunate fact is most of us keep silent and so it continues to be business as usual. When future generations accuse our generation of complicity by not doing anything when Nigeria veered off tangent and descended to unfathomable levels of depravity and corruption, how shall we like to be judged?

To me, the embattled former Chairman of the defunct Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, is just the symptom, the disease is cancerous corruption. The revelations Maina so far have made are mind-boggling as they are revolting. This taken in conjunction with the other Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Independent Corrupt and Other Related Practices Commission recovery will convince any sceptic that the devil is indeed at work but a superior God has prevented the total collapse of Nigeria.

A Nigerian proverb says that anyone selling eggs must not start a fight in the marketplace. A fight has been started in the Nigerian marketplace and the destruction has to be volcanic and catastrophic as this nation continues to be raped daily as I had earlier highlighted in an earlier contribution.

Anyone who bothers to tune unto any of our local TV channels or indeed radio stations will see all manner of self-righteous apostles pouring invectives on those they describe as “treasury looters”. Treasury looting has become a phrase of infamy in the Nigerian lexicon. Whenever I see these holier-than-thou abuses, I always pull back a little and ask myself, who are these people with boldness to cast the first stone?

As a person who has devoted the greater part of my life to the pursuit of truth through scientific research in some of the best institutions in the world working with some of the best people in my field of biochemistry, silence in the midst of disorder is not an option. I wish a lot more people will speak up in defence of truth. However, I am very cautious and circumspect before condemning anyone.

The war on corruption was derailed and truncated long ago when it became selective in its execution. It is common knowledge that the antidote to a visit by the EFCC or DSS is a membership card of the ruling party. A number of those named to have benefitted from Col Sambo Dasuki (retd.)’s largesse conveniently and quickly bought this pill. How sad. Pursuit of truth tells us that corruption is neither the preserve of the APC nor the PDP; therefore, the executioners must wear a blindfold. We are not addressing small petty thieves.

For us to seriously reduce corruption because no nation has yet eliminated it, we must all return to the path of rectitude on an individual level. It has to be a MORAL REBIRTH and it has to be committed and total. What do I mean?

For us to be serious about corruption and return to the path of rectitude, it is important that all of us who have served in any of the following make individual and personal DUE DELIGENCE ANALYSIS of the various stages of our lives. The areas that need participate are politics, the military, police, civil service, judiciary, all sectors of public service including the customs, immigration, civil defence, the clergy, academia, and the media. Nigerians must with a fine comb go through the various stages of their lives and at the end return those ‘’unexplained wealth’’ to the common till. Those who fail to do this should be subjected to further investigation by the anti-graft agencies.

It is not beyond belief that people who retired on Grade level 16 or even permanent secretaries have housing estates and hotels worth billions of naira. Governors and legislators flaunt and wallow in obscene wealth in a country where the daily wage is less than one US dollar. This is because Nigerians are docile up to the point of stupor. It is public knowledge that some former governors own hotels whose value can only be calculated in billions of US dollars. How many of us will plead not guilty to sexually harassing or even assaulting women employed in our departments? For those of us who are privileged to be university lecturers, can we all beat our chest truthfully and say we never traded grades for casual sleazy comfort?

 The list goes on and on and it is only after we have truthfully undertaken this purge of purification and done adequate MEA-CULPA that anyone dare call the other treasury looter for most of us are guilty. Name-calling alone will not move this nation forward. Nigerians voted President Muhammadu Buhari because they believed that, as a person, he was incorruptible. I am beginning to say the same for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. But to pretend to be ignorant of the stench enveloping their administration is amnesia. Both still have time with TRUTH as a compass to steer the course and emblazon their names in immortality.

• Dr. Eddie Mbadiwe, a former member of the House of Representatives, wrote in from Abuja