Thank you for having me, thank you very much. First and foremost TI is like any other NGO like we have even in Nigeria, and the NGO can go to field to carry out a study, they can carry out a survey, they can carry out all sorts of data gathering exercises from various people and you remember that what TI said is that it base its own conclusion on perception, perception may not necessary reflect the reality on the ground, from selfish point of view The Center for Anti-corruption and Open Leadership(CACOL) has been supporting the fight against corruption in Nigeria and we have also been monitoring the achievement and losses. In 2011 we came up with a petition against the Former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Who collected about 26 million dollars from Julius Berger over the same case of Malabu and the rest of them to trial the same Julius Berger, nothing was done about despite the fact that we held a street protest and it was published in the paper.
In 2013 we did a protest match to EFCC Office in Lagos to submit a petition against Diezani Alison-Madueke to showcase all of the profligacy and all the kind of up seen opulence in which she and her family members were swimming in and nothing was done all those period, we had cases against the former President Olusegun Obasanjo and several of other people like that, nothing was done until when the present Administrative came and we know that they have convicted a couple of those who are either to consider to be above the law. Some former Governors who had been tried for more than eight years have been convicted, two of them in 2018 then one of them towards the tail end of 2019 and the one that was convicted in 2019 every skeptic has vow that Orji Uzor Kalu will not go to jail because he presented himself as son to the President and that because the chairman of the ruling party said that anybody that cross over his sin will be wash away.
Now when they now saw that i expected that the media will blow that to the high heaven, i believe that the present administration is fighting corruption more than any other administration before it. All the operationalization instrument preventing corruption BVN, TSA, FRC, SCUML, FTIU, so all of these were operationalized, it makes corruption crime to be difficult to commit. Now the perception is based on the information that is available in the public arena and a lot of people followed what you people report in the media electronic and print and you know those who are perpetrating corruption, they would want to under rate the activities of Anti-corruption Agencies and they are the most vocal. A government that want to avoid corruption, that government is not likely to bribe anybody to carry out certain propaganda, they will not need bribe people to skilled stories in favor of the authority and because this time around a lot of exposes were done in the area of corruption so it will sound as if it is now that the corruption crimes were been perpetrated even when they have been there several years back so when you exposing because hitherto corruption cases have been covered, they have been treated as family affairs within the political circle.
So now that it came over bud a lot of people will think that all they will perceive it as if the present system that is perpetrating corruption, for crying out loud the present administration has actually handed over many of those who are working within to the Anti-corruption Agencies for Investigation and Prosecution. Many of his predecessors have not done such a thing so we should give kudos. Like Gani Fawehinmi of blessed memory said that if you cannot contribute to the success of the fight against corruption don’t deride the little effort that is been made by government, that anytime any effort it’s made it will reduce the prevalence of corruption in our society. What would we ask individuals and the even groups to do is to try and show adequate appreciation of those that are fighting corruption, they should not deride the effort that have been made to the extent of making it look as if it is worthless then they should serve as identifier of corruption crimes if government is overlooking any corruption crime they should come into you the media, they should expose it with concrete evidence, they should also write petition even against Anti-corruption Agency that they are being selective.
But i tell you there is no administration that will not be selective, you will only select those who cases are actionable upon which investigation had been carried out and you know that is a winnable case before you select those that have remote evidence and witnesses. If there are no evidence and witnesses cases cannot go to court, criminal don’t give receipt so it is difficult to detect corruption crimes and to gather evidence and witnesses and witnesses are intimidated and they change their statement there is no way the process can continue and you know what is happening within the judiciary even the judiciary need to be sanitized the more.
