Apart from the menace of terrorism and insecurity occasioned by
Boko Haram in the northeast, one major problem that has been the bane of
Nigeria’s progress is corruption. Over the past few decades, corruption has
eaten deep into the very fabric of our nation such that the folks who we have
elected to protect our interests and safeguard our commonwealth are the same
people that are plundering us. And for the most part, the absence of strong
institutions has aided and abetted this evil practice, making it go unpunished
and sometimes unnoticed.
The state governors represent one set of people that have fed
fat on this opaque system. With humongous disbursements in the name of security
votes and other allocations that are not being properly scrutinized or
accounted for, most governors had a field day fiddling with the resources of
their respective states. It is therefore no wonder that when someone like Dr.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala came on board, demanding strict adherence to fiscal
discipline, the governors instantly marked her as an enemy.
As the icon of accountability and probity that she is, the
former minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy would not
tolerate financial recklessness under any guise. She introduced the practice of
publishing monthly allocations such that the average Nigerian can be adequately
informed and empowered to participate in the process of governance. This drew
the ire of the governors who had become used to the opaque system that allowed
them to perpetrate corruption without the discomfort of being under public
glare.
It has been said that when you fight corruption, corruption
fights back – and you can trust corruption to always fight dirty; otherwise it
would not be true to its name. The recent squabbles of Adams Oshiomhole, the
Edo state governor, clearly illustrates this point. Even now that Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala has left office, Oshiomhole is bent on disparaging her work, all
because of her insistence on following due process and pursuing best interests
of the people.
Although Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has expressed willingness to
appear before a panel of inquiry, should she be invited by one, Governor Adams
Oshiomhole seems to be more inclined to sponsoring a campaign of calumny
against the erstwhile minister who has given her very best in her service to
the nation. One wonders why someone who is supposed to be a statesman would
choose to heat up the polity and paint the country in bad light with his
unfounded allegations.
Now that whatever flimsy wall he had been hiding behind has come
crashing with the United State’s denial of his recent allegations, Oshiomhole
should have a rethink and face the business of governance rather than maligning
someone who has served Nigeria and indeed the global community with excellence,
dedication and transparency.
And if he chooses otherwise, Nigerians are too knowledgeable to
fall for his antics. Regardless of the efforts by Oshiomhole and his ilk to
discredit Madam Okonjo-Iweala, her good work speaks for her, and Nigerians will
not forget her positive impact, especially the transparency, probity and
accountability that she introduced into the system of governance.
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