A diplomat and consultant with the African Union, Dr Babafemi
Badejo, has alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari lacks the
political will to fight corruption, despite his touted
anti-corruption posture.
According to Badejo, under the Buhari administration, Nigeria’s
main anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, has been de-institutionalised.
The diplomat said the Buhari anti-corruption fight was
manifestly selective, citing the case of former governor Danjuma
Goje, against whom the government dropped N5bn fraud charges.
Badejo spoke at an international conference to commemorate the
Second African Union Anti-Corruption Year, according to a
statement.
The conference, which held in Abuja, was sponsored by the
Pan-African Strategic Research Group and Centre for Democracy and
Development.
Badejo said, “It is safe to conclude that the Buhari
administration lacks the will to fight corruption.
“The perception, though constantly denied, is clearly out there
that prosecution through the EFCC is only for Nigerians who are
either weak or are in opposing parties and/or critical of the
government in power.
“The EFCC itself is being de-institutionalised by the actions of
the Buhari administration.”
He added, “President Buhari condones some of those alleged to be
corrupt and his recent use of nolle prosequi in the case of Senator
Danjuma Goje further undermines his perception as a Nigerian of
integrity.
“An individual will engage in corruption if the incentives to do
so outweigh the disincentives.”
To truly defeat corruption, Badejo said what the government
needed to do was to tackle factors that encourage corruption.
“The government must go beyond the punitive approach to
undertake a holistic focus that looks at factors that accentuate
the desire to perpetrate various forms of corruption and address
these without throwing the punitive orientation overboard,” Badejo
said.
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