By: Oluchi Nnaomah on August 9, 2013 - 3:04am
That corruption is the bane of most developing countries – a category under which Nigeria falls – is no longer news in any quarters; neither is it any news that over 100 million Nigerians live below poverty level.
In Nigeria, corruption has become the way of life and has eaten so deep into the very fabric of the Nigerian society that it now “defines the character of the statecraft,” according to the executive director of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation, Fr. George Ehusani. It is responsible for all the rot, decay and problems in this entity called Nigeria.
Most Nigerians have become so accustomed to corruption that it is now fondly referred to as “the Nigerian factor” and is accepted as part of our everyday living. It now appears to be the normal way Nigerians run their lives and do business and it thrives in every strata of the Nigerian fibre – the political, corporate, and most unfortunately, religious. Billions of naira meant to transform the economy of the nation are embezzled, stolen, and syphoned to foreign accounts on a daily basis at the expense of infrastructural and human development and colossal loss of human lives; huge contracts are awarded, paid for and certified executed but such projects exist only paper! These are only instances of the varying degrees of petty and grand corruption that abound in this nation. Even children in Kindergarten can list others just as easily as they recite the 36 states and capital.
Sadly the existence of multiple anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and even the courts do not seem to have any effect with regards to curbing this hydra-headed monster. It is then no wonder that some well-meaning, result oriented citizens have taken it upon themselves to tackle this menace head-on, moreso as they have been dealt a fatal blow by this disease that has spread like wild fire over this whole country, through setting up non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with the sole mandate of fighting corruption to a standstill. One of such NGOs is the Nancy and Jennifer Ibe Centre for Public Accountability (NAJICPA).
In many circles in Nigeria and beyond, the names, Nancy and Jennifer Ibe ring a bell. They are a mother and her 11 year old daughter who lost their lives, alongside 151 other people on board and 10 people on the ground, when the Dana Air Flight 992 crashed on June 3, 2012. The crash which was believed would have been largely avoidable happened anyway, principally due to the corruption of the regulatory system.
This, according to the executive director, NAJICPA, Mr Ike C. Ibe, informed the setting up of the Centre in November 2012 in memory of his wife and daughter, with the mandate to fight and kill corruption in all its ramifications in Nigeria and beyond. NAJICPA held its first National Dialogue on Corruption and Accountability on July 17, 2013, where different discussants x-rayed the problem of corruption with suggestions of possible solution to this burning issue. The key note speaker at the event, the executive director of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation, Fr. George Ehusani, delivered a paper entitled “Nigeria: Meeting The Challenge Of National Regeneration” in which he defined corruption as “a pandemic social pathology.” He explained that the high rate of corruption evident in the Nigerian polity today was as a result of the ethical vacuum in the society which in turn breeds lack of morals.
This lack of morality, according to Fr. Ehusani, is evident in cheating at exams, falsifying documents, pilfering public property, giving and taking bribes for “pushing” files, jumping queues, asking for sexual gratification in exchange for marks at university and college examinations, bank deposits, securing jobs, etc. He categorically stated that in a country where “moral leaders, men and women of thought, champions of the public good, torch bearers, mentors and inspirers, have been driven to the background just anything goes.
“This sorry state,” he continued, “is what then gives way to rogues and scoundrels, thugs and bandits, mediocre functionaries and charlatans, sycophants and greedy merchants of power hanging around the corridors of power, destroying everything of value, championing the cause of national degeneration and setting the stage for an eventual collapse of the nation’s socio-economic and political system.”
He then advocated for a value-based leadership where “political aspirants seek power for the sole purpose of nation building and with the best interest of the citizenry at heart.” Only with this foundation, according to him, would a unified, cohesive, harmonious and stable national entity with a shared vision and collective mission emerge. He further enjoined those at the seat of power to strive to entrench the fundamental values, principles and norms that form the foundation blocks upon which any true nation is built in the very structure of the society. He enumerated such to include patriotism, commitment to justice, human dignity and equality, discipline, the rule of law, the common good imperative, mutual respect for cultural and religious diversities, equal opportunity and access to the resources of the land, etc.
At the event, organised on the 46th birthday anniversary of the late Nancy ibe, the NAJICPA boss asserted that the Centre, in continuance with the late Nancy’s campaign for public accountability, social justice and equity, intends to collaborate with groups and agencies in promoting accountability in different aspects of governance, both in public and private institutions. He stated that setting up the centre also became expedient after his realisation that “for every disaster or incident in Nigeria, the same templates were adopted - investigation, recommendations, white paper, etc.
“There is never implementation until the white paper turns brown or another disaster happens and the template is dusted up as the cycle continues,” he said. He enthused that more often than not when investigators unearth massive frauds in the system, they end up also committing their own fraud and thus covering up their findings and this has led to investigators being investigated in the end.
He concluded that this, in Nigeria, has turned government into one big joke and consequently, that NAJICPA has been set up to tackle this endemic scourge of corruption in public and private institutions as well as promote accountability in governance.
In compliance with its mandate to keep fighting corruption in Nigeria and beyond, NAJICPA intends to, among other things, monitor government regulators to ensure their proper oversight of agencies of government and the private sector operators; analyse the expenditure of government agencies as they relate to the public; educate the general public on their rights, responsibilities and remedies with respect to government, public and private sectors policies and actions. This public enlightenment it strives to accomplish through lectures, speeches, public fora, such as the National Dialogue, workshops, conferences, seminars, symposia and trainings. One of the centre’s upcoming activity is the National Merit-based job fair in which applicants will be interviewed and given jobs on the spot based on merit and qualification without knowing anyone or giving bribe.
NAJICPA has been engaged in programmes, plans and activities to effectively engage the Nigerian people to take their destinies into their own hands. One of these programmes is the NAJICPA Global Walk Against Corruption In Nigeria held in over 30 cities throughout the world simultaneously on May 9, 2013. This was an unprecedented event during which Nigerians in major cities of the world in one day registered their concern about increasing levels of corruption in Nigeria.
It was conducted as a process of reclaiming Nigeria from the throes and jaws of corruption and participants were propelled by the hope that they can all begin to make the conscious effort to be better Nigerians and shun corruption as a nation. This is in consonance with the centre’s drive to collaborate with all relevant agencies to make life in Nigeria more liveable.
Source: Leadership
Link: http://leadership.ng/news/090813/najicpa-heels-corruption
In Nigeria, corruption has become the way of life and has eaten so deep into the very fabric of the Nigerian society that it now “defines the character of the statecraft,” according to the executive director of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation, Fr. George Ehusani. It is responsible for all the rot, decay and problems in this entity called Nigeria.
Most Nigerians have become so accustomed to corruption that it is now fondly referred to as “the Nigerian factor” and is accepted as part of our everyday living. It now appears to be the normal way Nigerians run their lives and do business and it thrives in every strata of the Nigerian fibre – the political, corporate, and most unfortunately, religious. Billions of naira meant to transform the economy of the nation are embezzled, stolen, and syphoned to foreign accounts on a daily basis at the expense of infrastructural and human development and colossal loss of human lives; huge contracts are awarded, paid for and certified executed but such projects exist only paper! These are only instances of the varying degrees of petty and grand corruption that abound in this nation. Even children in Kindergarten can list others just as easily as they recite the 36 states and capital.
Sadly the existence of multiple anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and even the courts do not seem to have any effect with regards to curbing this hydra-headed monster. It is then no wonder that some well-meaning, result oriented citizens have taken it upon themselves to tackle this menace head-on, moreso as they have been dealt a fatal blow by this disease that has spread like wild fire over this whole country, through setting up non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with the sole mandate of fighting corruption to a standstill. One of such NGOs is the Nancy and Jennifer Ibe Centre for Public Accountability (NAJICPA).
In many circles in Nigeria and beyond, the names, Nancy and Jennifer Ibe ring a bell. They are a mother and her 11 year old daughter who lost their lives, alongside 151 other people on board and 10 people on the ground, when the Dana Air Flight 992 crashed on June 3, 2012. The crash which was believed would have been largely avoidable happened anyway, principally due to the corruption of the regulatory system.
This, according to the executive director, NAJICPA, Mr Ike C. Ibe, informed the setting up of the Centre in November 2012 in memory of his wife and daughter, with the mandate to fight and kill corruption in all its ramifications in Nigeria and beyond. NAJICPA held its first National Dialogue on Corruption and Accountability on July 17, 2013, where different discussants x-rayed the problem of corruption with suggestions of possible solution to this burning issue. The key note speaker at the event, the executive director of Lux Terra Leadership Foundation, Fr. George Ehusani, delivered a paper entitled “Nigeria: Meeting The Challenge Of National Regeneration” in which he defined corruption as “a pandemic social pathology.” He explained that the high rate of corruption evident in the Nigerian polity today was as a result of the ethical vacuum in the society which in turn breeds lack of morals.
This lack of morality, according to Fr. Ehusani, is evident in cheating at exams, falsifying documents, pilfering public property, giving and taking bribes for “pushing” files, jumping queues, asking for sexual gratification in exchange for marks at university and college examinations, bank deposits, securing jobs, etc. He categorically stated that in a country where “moral leaders, men and women of thought, champions of the public good, torch bearers, mentors and inspirers, have been driven to the background just anything goes.
“This sorry state,” he continued, “is what then gives way to rogues and scoundrels, thugs and bandits, mediocre functionaries and charlatans, sycophants and greedy merchants of power hanging around the corridors of power, destroying everything of value, championing the cause of national degeneration and setting the stage for an eventual collapse of the nation’s socio-economic and political system.”
He then advocated for a value-based leadership where “political aspirants seek power for the sole purpose of nation building and with the best interest of the citizenry at heart.” Only with this foundation, according to him, would a unified, cohesive, harmonious and stable national entity with a shared vision and collective mission emerge. He further enjoined those at the seat of power to strive to entrench the fundamental values, principles and norms that form the foundation blocks upon which any true nation is built in the very structure of the society. He enumerated such to include patriotism, commitment to justice, human dignity and equality, discipline, the rule of law, the common good imperative, mutual respect for cultural and religious diversities, equal opportunity and access to the resources of the land, etc.
At the event, organised on the 46th birthday anniversary of the late Nancy ibe, the NAJICPA boss asserted that the Centre, in continuance with the late Nancy’s campaign for public accountability, social justice and equity, intends to collaborate with groups and agencies in promoting accountability in different aspects of governance, both in public and private institutions. He stated that setting up the centre also became expedient after his realisation that “for every disaster or incident in Nigeria, the same templates were adopted - investigation, recommendations, white paper, etc.
“There is never implementation until the white paper turns brown or another disaster happens and the template is dusted up as the cycle continues,” he said. He enthused that more often than not when investigators unearth massive frauds in the system, they end up also committing their own fraud and thus covering up their findings and this has led to investigators being investigated in the end.
He concluded that this, in Nigeria, has turned government into one big joke and consequently, that NAJICPA has been set up to tackle this endemic scourge of corruption in public and private institutions as well as promote accountability in governance.
In compliance with its mandate to keep fighting corruption in Nigeria and beyond, NAJICPA intends to, among other things, monitor government regulators to ensure their proper oversight of agencies of government and the private sector operators; analyse the expenditure of government agencies as they relate to the public; educate the general public on their rights, responsibilities and remedies with respect to government, public and private sectors policies and actions. This public enlightenment it strives to accomplish through lectures, speeches, public fora, such as the National Dialogue, workshops, conferences, seminars, symposia and trainings. One of the centre’s upcoming activity is the National Merit-based job fair in which applicants will be interviewed and given jobs on the spot based on merit and qualification without knowing anyone or giving bribe.
NAJICPA has been engaged in programmes, plans and activities to effectively engage the Nigerian people to take their destinies into their own hands. One of these programmes is the NAJICPA Global Walk Against Corruption In Nigeria held in over 30 cities throughout the world simultaneously on May 9, 2013. This was an unprecedented event during which Nigerians in major cities of the world in one day registered their concern about increasing levels of corruption in Nigeria.
It was conducted as a process of reclaiming Nigeria from the throes and jaws of corruption and participants were propelled by the hope that they can all begin to make the conscious effort to be better Nigerians and shun corruption as a nation. This is in consonance with the centre’s drive to collaborate with all relevant agencies to make life in Nigeria more liveable.
Source: Leadership
Link: http://leadership.ng/news/090813/najicpa-heels-corruption
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