The war against corruption in Nigeria dates back to a
very long time. Every community in Nigeria has mechanisms for dealing with
corruption with appropriate sanctions for corruption. The fight in the public
sector came to limelight in 1966 when the military gave the reason for
corruption of the politicians as one of the reasons for taking over. Experience
later showed that the military is probably more corrupt than civilian
politicians.35
The military ruled Nigeria from
1966-1979 and handed over power to Alhaji Shehu Shaghari administration in
1979. But barely four years later, the Shaghari administration was overthrown
by the Buhari/Idiagbon regime.36
The
Buhari/Idiagbon regime launched a war against corruption, tried and jailed many
politicians and dismissed many and servants. But when the Babaginda regime
overthrew the Buhari regime, it released many of the politicians that were
jailed by the Buhari regime and reduced the sentences of others.
In fact, it has been argued that the
Babaginda‘s government was unique in its unconcern about corruption within its
ranks and among public servants generally, it was as if the government existed
so that corruption might thrive.37 There is no doubt that scholars
are in agreement that corruption reached unprecedented levels during
Babaginda’s regime . By the time Obasanjo came back to power as a civilians
president in 1990, corruption had reached unprecedented proportion that it
formed a major portion of this inaugural speech.
Thus, specific programmes launched to fight corruption in
Nigeria are:
Ethical
Revolution
Shortly after Alhaji Shehu Shaghari settled as
president, he showed to all intents and purposes, that he had genuine
intentions about Nigerian Nationhood, and showed concern about the prevailing
ethical decay and indiscipline in the Nigerian society.38 As his
blue print for bringing about change, he introduced the Ethical Revolution, and
set up a code of conduct bureau. That was in 1981. However, the word
“Revolution” had nothing to do with revolt, insurrection or rebellion. Rather,
it denoted a complete change, sometimes quick in relation to its scope and
sometimes prolonged but far reckoning.39 The main thrust of the
Ethical Revolution can be summed up as follows:
To move this
Nation steadily and permanently in a discernible new direction of self reliance
and dedication to excellence in leadership, indiscipline, in orderliness, in hard work, in
honesty, in morally, in mutual respect and tolerance, along with the submission
of our country to God in National affairs and personal pursuits40.
In spite of these lofty ideas and dreams about the
future of Nigeria, Shaghari’s regime turned out to be one of the most turbulent
governments that Nigeria has ever had. Within the first three years of the
second republic, political violence and intolerance escalated in many parts of
the country. Religious violence shook and threatened the stability of the
country. Corruption became so pervasive that huge sums of money kept on
disappearing.41
Chuba Okadigbo stated that during Alhaji Shehu
Shagari’s regime, the corrupt man was everywhere, in the streets, in the marked
and even in the church.42
War
Against Indiscipline (W.A.I)
The War Against Indiscipline (W.A.I) was introduced by
the General Buhari/Idiagbon regime in Nigeria in 1984. The Buhari
administration identified indiscipline as the bane of the nation’s ills and
therefore decided to fight it in all its ramifications. Hence the pre
occupation of the regime was the launching of the different phase of the War
Against Indiscipline which has become a household world in many Nigerian homes.43
There are five phases of War Against Indiscipline namely:
(a)
Queuing (March
20, 1984)
(b)
Work ethics (May
1, 1984)
(c)
Nationalism and
patriotism (August 2, 1984)
(d)
Anti-corruption
and economic sabotage (May 14, 1985)
(e)
Environmental
sanitation (July 29, 1985)
“The
coming into view of the five point agenda of W.A.I. was necessitated by several
occurrences. The phenomenon and the destination of corruption in Nigeria have
been beset with a sense of hopelessness and permission.44 While the
prospects of successful was against it was greeted with cynicism. The popular
1983 “WEEKLY STAR” scathing statement
that keeping an average Nigerian from being corrupt is like keeping “a goat
from eating yam” is a rather extreme and bizarre way to paint the picture of
corruption in Nigeria.
This
entire absurd happening which was an aberration, led to the establishment of
(W.A.I) which has as its main plank fighting corruption, fraud, squander mania,
abuse of office and graft.
Mass Mobilization for Social
Justice, Self Reliance And Economic Recovery (M.A.M.S.E.R.)
This was launched by General Ibrahim bahginda on 25th
July, 2011 but few Nigerians doubted his motives about the programme. The
objectives of the M.A.M.S.E.R ranged from the inculcation of correct values and
the spirit of civic responsibility and patriotism to the propagation of the
need to eschew all vices in public service, including corruption, dishonesty,
all forms of malpractices and the cultivation of positive participation in
National life. It is however, one thing to propound lofty ideas, but quite
another to have the will power, tenacity of purpose, moral foundation and
stamina to consummate them.46
War Against indiscipline and
Corruption (W.A.I.C)
War Against Indiscipline and Corruption is an off shot
of W.A.I. or better still a ridiculous copyat of the former regime of Buhari.
The W.A.I. C. came into being in the General Sani Abacha regime and the
launching of the programme was termed to put a stop to the issue of
indiscipline and corruption. The War Against Indiscipline and Corruption
(W.A.I.C) was launched
on 4th May, 1994,47 but then it never made any impact,
neither did it create a positive awareness.
In lieu to this Wole Soyinka observed that for Abacha
to launch a war against corruption was a “huge joke”48 because his
regime was noted to have incurred the worst palace corruption in Nigerian
history.