These are all beautiful and even reasonable suggestions/recommendations. The difficulty however, is that the methods for implementation are hazy. I am therefore afraid that we shall return to status quo. The various amounts of money these people have stolen are not being kept in Nigerian Banks and one hears about secret bank numbers. There is no doubt in my mind that these fellows (nitwits that they are!) would rather let their stolen funds get lost than return them to Nigeria. If they would not have minded so, they would not have stolen the money out of the country in the first place. In addition, we should not expect the countries that have received the stolen money to be in a hurry to return them to Nigeria. The amounts being mentioned suggests that some countries would face difficulties with their national budgets should our people withdraw their deposits from their banks. I think that rather than expect the return of physical cash, which could even be stolen again, the country should develop policies that encourage our nationals to invest in this country with the money. Despite all tough talks about recovering stolen monies, I have the feeling that the recovery of our funds is a dream. If we can learn to tolerate their foolery and get them to invest in the country, I believe we might still get some benefit from money that is meant to provide us some comfort. Actually, I will prefer to drive on good roads, have uninterrupted electricity, regular water supply, well equipped schools for training the youths of this country, functional hospitals and effective health care delivery, developed agriculture for food security, steady fuel for vehicles, industry and all else, develop good resorts and holiday parks, paying jobs for our educational/vocational institution. Bring back our money and cause these facilities to be even if they are privately owned under a false PPP arrangement, It may be the only way to repatriate the money previously stolen from the national treasury. Call it desperation, hopelessness, despondency or whatever else you like. I am concerned with practical steps to get our money back and develop our potentially beautiful country. Spain used this method at a certain period in her history, to good effect.
Ifedioramma Nwana; 18th May 2015
On Sunday, 17 May 2015, 11:56, 'Ikhide' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> wrote:
"i thought the big elephant is who would oversee the overseers?
who would insure that those in charge of these changes would themselves not be corrupted/corruptable?
if only uncorrupted judges are to be appointed, where are the uncorrupted officials who would determine who was an uncorrupted judge?
it returns to plato's question of who would educate the educators. seems as if the system of uncorruptability would have to already be in place to set this system into place.
and if it all turns on the boss, i doubt that would be a real solution in something as large as a country, especially as vast and populated as nigeria."
who would insure that those in charge of these changes would themselves not be corrupted/corruptable?
if only uncorrupted judges are to be appointed, where are the uncorrupted officials who would determine who was an uncorrupted judge?
it returns to plato's question of who would educate the educators. seems as if the system of uncorruptability would have to already be in place to set this system into place.
and if it all turns on the boss, i doubt that would be a real solution in something as large as a country, especially as vast and populated as nigeria."
That piece is not Moses Ochonu's best. His heart was not in it and it comes across surprisingly pedestrian, beginning with the title. Nigeria is too large and sophisticated to rely on the energies of one person (who is in the winter of his life) for meaningful change. Buhari does not have the power to order many of the criminals of our land to atone for their sins, let alone return any portion of their loot. How is he going to ask Igbinedion to return his loot, how? You would have to pair his thoughts with those expressed in Okey Ndibe's recent essay to get a sense of what should be done systematically, collectively and individually. And even at that, both essays are collectively lame and not very helpful. The body language of the writers shines through: They are skeptical that this man and our country can rally the energy will and honesty to initiate change. They are not alone in that skepticism. Buhari is not helping.
According to Nigerian newspapers, Buhari toured Governor Rochas' mega mansion (obviously built from state funds), and grinned all through the garishly opulent wedding of Governor Oshiomhole. Oshiomhole's state is owing many workers months of salaries while he wastes state funds on a wedding remarkable only for its circus atmosphere. When will Buhari's actions match the #Change talk?
Let us be honest. The change that is needed is hard work. The mindset of Nigerians now, with corruption as a dyed in part of our culture and way of life, this democracy is not equipped to do what needs to be done. Which brings me to my final point: The emphasis on just corruption by politicians is misplaced. There is that - and there is corruption in EVERY institution known to man in Nigeria. I doubt that there is any civil servant or government paid official that does not rely on corruption to survive Nigeria. To rely on Buhari to change this cultural mindset seems unfair to the old man.
Anyway, here's Okey Ndibe's piece. Both scholars are thinking about these things but they are struggling to come across as civil and reasoned. Instead they look distressed. This journey will be long:
- Ikhide
i thought the big elephant is who would oversee the overseers?
who would insure that those in charge of these changes would themselves not be corrupted/corruptable?
if only uncorrupted judges are to be appointed, where are the uncorrupted officials who would determine who was an uncorrupted judge?
it returns to plato's question of who would educate the educators. seems as if the system of uncorruptability would have to already be in place to set this system into place.
and if it all turns on the boss, i doubt that would be a real solution in something as large as a country, especially as vast and populated as nigeria
ken
On 5/16/15 9:13 PM, Pablo wrote:
Yes, indeed, Moses,thank you for this.
An incisive and clear piece that insightfully and excellently captures the dilemmas before Buhari through the alliances he has forged. I agree with Bode that, beyond any pragmatism required of that alliance, there's the need for that moral-legal framework that can only be hoped for.
i also agree about the reverse burden of proof of innocence and transparency in the face of the evident accumulation of wealth disproportionate to the office held, it might be difficult to uphold. Nonetheless, you have planted the seed. Great piece.
Pablo
Sent from my grandfather's typewriter--Great piece! Buhari has the moral predisposition for this agenda but the person to look out for is the Vice President-elect, Professor Osibajo. His choice by Buhari, to my mind, makes it more likely that something will be done on the corruption and prosecution front. We can look to him to provide the intellectual and legal framework.
On 5/16/15, 3:22 PM, "Moses Ebe Ochonu" <meochonu@gmail.com> wrote:
--What Buhari Should Do On Corruption
Moses E. OchonuPresident–elect Muhammadu Buhari is two weeks away from being sworn in and he has no illusions about the challenges that will confront him upon his assumption of office. It is not only Buhari who should be anxious about how to combat these challenges. Nigerians are jittery with the nervous energy of anticipation while hoping for major departures from the present order. Such anxieties are in order, for responsible citizenry entails an intimate engagement with the processes of governance.We are all invested in the Nigerian project for as long as it lasts and must push political office holders, Buhari being the highest of these, to do things that may not come naturally to them. We must force their hands to take actions that are out of sync with the familiar political calculus of playing it safe and maintaining the delicate elite consensus that undergirds any power formation.In this spirit of nudging empowered politicians to act in spite of themselves in the interest of Nigerians instead of the interest of powerful political elites, Nigerians have been offering recommendations on what Buhari should prioritize when he takes office. Some have gone so far as to outline actionable and detailed suggestions of a four-year plan.Understandably, corruption has featured more prominently in these articulations than any other challenge. The reason is clear: corruption overlays, compounds, and produces all other challenges such as security, unemployment, infrastructure, power, and healthcare. Corruption should thus command priority attention in the incoming government.Buhari rode to power on a wave of outrage directed against corruption in high places and its seeming acceptance as the fuel of the political machine superintended by the PDP government. If his victory was birthed in the crucible of a national anti-corruption anger, the least Buhari should do is to pay Nigerians back by prioritizing the fight against this foundational national vice.But Buhari is a politician, even if one possessing integrity and an unusual propensity for candor. His political instinct would not be to risk upending the APC coalition that brought him to power by moving too radically against corruption. His instinct, rather, would be to tow the path of least resistance by performing showy, atmospheric changes. This is where citizen activism comes should kick in. Buhari needs the unrelenting energy of citizens as well as practical, reasoned recommendations to proceed on this front.When it comes to corruption, we have to go beyond outrage and the rhetoric of indignation, although these are a prerequisite for forging a national consensus, which in turn is a prelude to formulating solutions. In the end, though, only concrete ameliorative recommendations will make it to the policy realm and perhaps to the desk of a President Buhari.My brother, Okey Ndibe, has set the ball rolling in his latest essay, in which he recommends, in the short term, a hybrid of restitution and amnesty. Under his proposal, the corrupt come forward, confess their theft, return 30-50 percent of their loot and are granted amnesty from prosecution. Those who refuse to come forward are fair game for investigation and prosecution.I agree with Ndibe that this would be a fair, pragmatic resolution. It would avoid the charge of selectivity and political witch hunt because it gives everyone, regardless of political sympathy or party affiliation, an opportunity to make amends for their participation in the long-running national orgy of revenue theft. My own modification of this solution would be that the percentage of recovery be gradually increased beyond 50 percent as we move to more recent regimes, since recent generations of looters are likely to have more of their assets intact or invested productively. Asking looters of the post-1999 period, many of whom are still active in the illicit revenue sharing bazaar in Abuja, to return 50 percent of their take is not adequate recompense or restitution in my opinion.The modification I made to Ndibe's solution is a minor quibble. The the big elephants in the room are 1) what base year or base regime to use as the point of departure; 2) how to prevent public servants from stealing going forward; and 3) how to ensure that those who refuse to fess up and perform restitution are prosecuted with alacrity and integrity without the ability to use their loot to wrangle a favorable outcome from a broken judiciary.Ndibe has suggested that only people of proven integrity be appointed by Buhari into judgeships and I agree. In addition, I would suggest that, because there are way too many compromised judges already serving in the judiciary who cannot be removed or replaced by fiat because of the protection and autonomy they enjoy, Buhari should seriously consider constituting special anti-corruption courts in consultation with the national assembly, civil society, and the human rights community. Surely there is room to maneuver on this in our constitution. Legal creativity and consensus building can make it happen. Besides, constitutions are open documents; they are primed to be amended when they fail to respond adequately to the challenges posed by events and developments following their enactment.On cut-off year, I would start from the Yakubu Gowon regime to ensure a holistic historical moral reckoning. Although corruption preceded that regime, and there were corruption scandals during the first republic, the Gowon regime by all accounts marked the period when the torrential rain of political corruption, to paraphrase Chinua Achebe, began to beat Nigerians. It was when the national political pathology of reckless spending and unauthorized access to the national treasury became the mechanism of governance that would characterize the rest of the petro-dollar era.What should be done about deterrence and prevention? Here, I suggest something that I have advanced on multiple occasions and which I restated during a discussion with a former senior federal official in a conversation two weeks ago. We need a constitutional amendment or an amendment to our anti-corruption laws that flips the legal axiom of "innocent until proven guilty" and puts the burden of proving innocence on those whose verified assets, possessions, investments, and lifestyles are patently far in excess of their legitimate earning as public servants.If by some remote happenstance, a serving or former public servant married into the Dantata or Ibru family and inherited some of their wealth and opulent lifestyle, it should be pretty easy for them to prove this. Otherwise, all unaccounted wealth (or a big percentage thereof) in excess of reasonable assets from legitimate incomes in the course of public service should be confiscated for the state.In this regard, we need an asset forfeiture law as a matter of national urgency, a law similar to what most developed countries have on their books and in their canon of jurisprudence. Such a law would authorize the seizure of a large percentage of assets and wealth verifiably owned by serving or former public officials who are unable to justify their possessions within the context of their lifelong public service incomes and after taking into account businesses they and/or their spouse may have legitimately invested in or founded on the side to supplement their income.Finally, perhaps the biggest elephant in the room is not one person but a collective of people for which former Lagos Governor, Bola Tinubu, is a composite stand-in — a group whose members invested their illicit funds heavily in Buhari's campaign and who would be expecting generous payback and/or protection.Even if Buhari were to move against corruption along the lines of the above suggestions, the real test of his presidency's anti-corruption stance would be in the way he confronts and manages the politicians and interests that funded and midwifed his political ascent. How will he balance their interest and their continued stake in his presidency against his well-known desire to fight corruption and do right by Nigerians?
--
There is enough in the world for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed.
---Mohandas Gandhi
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