Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - STAR CAMPAIGN: National Sensitization Campaign against Corruption - Launched by Minister Lai Mohammed

Seems to me the next logical step should be to name (shame) and prosecute the 55 people. Next, the press and indeed all Nigerians should be invited to add to that list based on investigations and factual reports. In so doing attention most also focus on state and local governments as well as churches and industry....not only at the federal government.....even if a step at a time. Next, EFCC and the federal political leadership should take each and every allegation serious, and thus investigate to confirm or rule out. No allegation should be waved aside frivolously.
May the campaign against corruption succeed.
OU

On Jan 18, 2016 2:48 PM, "Mobolaji Aluko" <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:

Text of The Press Conference 

By 

The Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, 

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, 

on Monday, Jan. 18th 2016 

at the

Press Centre, Radio House, Abuja

PROTOCOL

1. Good morning gentlemen and Happy New Year to you all. I welcome you

to this press conference, the second of its kind with you since I

assumed office. Recall that during our first meeting last year,

specifically on Dec. 8th, I also addressed a press conference, during

which I intimated you with the huge progress made by the military in

the war against terrorism. On that occasion, I called for the

cooperation of the media in ensuring that the missing link in the war

against terrorism - which is the civilian component - is supplied by

sensitizing Nigerians to support and indeed own the war.

2. I am happy to inform you that we have since launched the National

Security Awareness Campaign, and have seen a marked improvement in the

way Nigerians perceive the war. Thanks to the support we have received

from the media, especially in this sensitization campaign, I can now

tell you that Nigerians have taken ownership of the war against

terrorism and are also giving their undiluted support to our gallant

military. I commend the media for heeding our patriotic call to duty

at a critical time in the life of our nation.

3. Gentlemen, we are here today because of another patriotic call to

duty. We want the media to once again lead the campaign to sensitize

Nigerians to take possession of another war - the war against

corruption! There is the wrong impression out there that the war

against corruption is being fought only by the President or the

Federal Government or the governing All Progressive Congress (APC).

There is the erroneous impression out there that the war against

corruption is a vendetta against the opposition, and that indeed it is

one-sided. This is not true and indeed very nauseating.

4. Let's take the latest issue of the 2.1 billion-dollar arms deal as

an example. One thing is clear: Funds meant to fight terrorism were

deployed to another fight, the fight to keep then President Goodluck

Jonathan and his party, the PDP, in power at all cost. So far, based

on what we know, no one who has been accused of partaking in the

sharing of the funds has denied receiving money. All we have heard

from them are ludicrous reasons why they partook in sharing of the

money. One said he collected 4.5 billion Naira for spiritual purposes,

another said he received 2.1 billion naira for publicity, while yet

another said he got 13 billion Naira to pay someone else for the

Maritime University land.

5. Based on these revelations, should we now fold our hands and allow

these people to go away with public funds? Is anyone thinking about

the innocent soldiers who lost their lives just because they did not

get the necessary weapons to fight the terrorists? What about the

families left behind by these soldiers who were sent to their early

graves because of the misappropriation of these funds? What about

those who lost their means of livelihood after the terrorists overran

their towns and villages? What of the millions of Nigerians,

especially women and children, who are now living in IDP camps? Is it

not clear that the cruel fate that has befallen these unfortunate

people is a direct result of the misuse of the funds meant to fight

the terrorists? Are these not the true costs of corruption?

6. Talking about the costs of corruption, gentlemen, it is time we

brought into perspective what corruption has done to our nation, our

people and our international image, how corruption stifles economic

growth, hinders the fight against poverty, leads to decay in

infrastructure and reduces educational standards, lowers life

expectancy, stunts the fight against maternal and infant mortality and

impacts negatively on the general livelihood of the citizens. No one

is better placed than you, the media, to lead this charge. And that is

why we have come here today to again rally the fourth estate of the

realm to patriotic action.

7. Gentlemen, the situation is dire and the time to act is now. For

example, between the period 2006 and 2013, just 55 people allegedly

stole a total of 1.34 trillion Naira in Nigeria. That's more than a

quarter of last year's national budget! Out of the stolen funds, 15

former Governors allegedly stole 146.84 billion naira; 4 former

Ministers allegedly stole 7 billion naira; 12 former Public Servants,

both at federal and state levels, allegedly stole over 14 billion

Naira; 8 people in the Banking Industry allegedly stole 524 billion

Naira; while 11 businessmen allegedly stole 653 billion naira.

8. Now, what does these figures translate to in the actual sense. In

other words, what is the cost of these stolen funds for Nigerians.

Using World Bank Rates and Costs, one third of the stolen funds could 

have provided 635.18 kilometres of road; built 36 ultra modern hospitals, 

that is one ultra modern hospital per state; built 183 schools; educated 

3,974 children from primary to tertiary level at 25.24 million per child; and 

built 20,062 units of 2-bedroom houses. This is the money that a few people, 

just 55 in number, allegedly stole within a period of just eight years. And 

instead of a national outrage, all we hear are these nonsensical statements 

that the Government is fighting only the opposition, or that the government

is engaging in vendetta.

9. Gentlemen, irrespective of your political, religious or tribal

leanings, and not minding whether you belong to the APC, PDP, SDP or

Labour Party, if you have stolen public funds, you must not go scot-free.

Everyone and every arm of government must rise up to be counted in this 

epic war, and defeat is not an option if our country is to survive. As President 

Muhammadu Buhari likes to say, if we don't kill corruption, corruption will 

kill Nigeria. There is no better way to say it.

10. As I said, everyone and every arm of government must be involved

in the fight against corruption, which is one of the cardinal

programmes of the Buhari Administration. Irrespective of what anyone

may say, President Buhari is leading this fight by example and right

from the front. His unparalleled integrity, his uncommon love of

country and his undiluted dedication to service all put him in good

stead to wage this war, and we must all support him and own the war in

order to ensure its success. This is not Buhari's war. This is not

APC's war. This is Nigeria's war.

11. Equally critical to the success of the war is the Judiciary.

Unless this very important arm of government fully joins in waging

this war, the pending cases of corruption will just drag on until they outlast this

Administration.

12. In the days ahead, we intend to carry this sensitization programme

to all the corners of the country, leveraging on the wide reach of the

National Orientation Agency (NOA). We also intend to partner with

other agencies of government, especially the anti-corruption agencies

and the police, as well as the Presidential Advisory Committee on

Anti-Corruption. As I said earlier, we will be working closely with

the media in this campaign, and we have no doubt that the media will

replicate the support they are giving us in the ongoing National

Security Awareness Campaign. We have no doubt that if Nigerians know

the true costs of corruption to their lives and well-being, they will

be less susceptible to swallowing the frivolous, self-serving and

orchestrated distractions from the corrupt people and their

benefactors and beneficiaries. We must kill corruption before it kills

us.

13. Gentlemen, this press conference officially kick-starts our National 

Sensitization Campaign against Corruption. The campaign will run all through 

the tenure of this Administration. I thank you all for listening.

________________________________________________________________

Aluko Commentary:

Quite bold....

But abeg, who are these "55 people"  that stole our patrimony? "Bi emi ko, bi iwo ko? "

Inquiring minds want to know.

Bolaji Aluko

Shaking his head

_________________________________________________________________

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