A toothless bulldog on parade …Without naming & shaming looters

What the government succeeded in doing is to create an impression that anybody can steal big but return small. While commending the Buhari administration for the step to make public the recovered loot, critics however, observed that the total cash so recovered cannot possibly be the country’s major headache as it falls far below what a single individual single-handedly stole.

Some observers believe that Buhari would have made stealing of public funds unattractive had he published the names of the looters. A government which claims to be desperately fighting corruption should not be cowed by the looters.

A public affairs commentator, who spoke with BDSUNDAY on condition of anonymity, said, that government’s decision to adopt the ‘plea bargain’ style that featured in the Goodluck Jonathan administration is rather unfortunate, and expressed pessimism that the approach may not be able to rid Nigeria of corruption.

“I was personally disappointed with President Buhari. This corruption of a thing has embarrassed us as a nation and has continued to do so even outside the shores. You remember the recent comment by David Cameron that Nigeria is ‘fantastically corrupt’. If a government has decided to fight it, it must go the whole hog. Shielding the names does not make any sense at all. There are some countries that have zero tolerance for corruption and we have been reading news about former presidents, first ladies, ministers, etc that are being jailed for corruption. There are places where corrupt people are being given public execution. The level we have descended to as a nation, except some drastic measures are taken, we can’t achieve any success in the graft war,” the observer said.

“When you say it is a war against corruption, it means you are determined to name and shame the evil ones in our midst and damn the consequences. You cannot enter into a plea-bargain arrangement with them and still claim you are fighting a war against the looters. What government has done now is just to embolden corrupt people in our midst, knowing that they can only surrender an infinitesimal fraction of their loot when the push comes to shove,” he added.

Anario Achumba, a psychologist, said he was shocked that President Buhari could allow himself to be intimidated by the looters.

“Honestly, I was expecting the names and if it had been done, by now Nigeria would have begun to take a new shape. Why would Buhari allow corrupt politicians to dictate the pace for him? I read some lame excuses adduced as reasons for not naming the looters. It does not make sense to me. These looters have wrecked the country and frustrated its development, why then would anybody prevent them from being named and shamed? I don’t understand. There’s a story in the Bible, of a man called Achan, who stole the money and other things that belonged to the people of Israel. When he confessed to doing so, he paid with his life and those of members of his family; even though he returned the materials. Why are we being smart by half in Nigeria? Pulling wool over the eyes of the masses? Can we win the avowed corruption war in this way? I doubt it so much,” Achumba said.

Sharply reacting to the government’s action last week, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) welcomed the action and said it was a positive development towards entrenching a culture of transparency and accountability in government. In the same breathe, however, the group expressed reservation over government’s decision to shield the looters, asking that Abuja should, without further delay, “publish the names of high-ranking public officials from whom the public funds were recovered, and spend recovered funds in a transparent and accountable manner so as to remove opportunities for re-looting recovered loot.”

Adetokunbo Mumuni, SERAP executive director, said: “Therefore, high-ranking government officials suspected of turning the public treasury into a private cashbox should be prepared to accept a higher degree of openness about their official conduct than private individuals.

“Publishing the names of high-ranking government officials that have already returned stolen public funds will not infringe on their right to presumption of innocence in particular and fair trial in general if the government can provide a caveat to make it clear that such disclosure does not suggest an assessment of the guilt of those named, and that they remain suspects until proven guilty by a competent judicial authority.”

A Presidential source was quoted last week as defending government’s decision not to publish the names of looters.

“So, for those who are saying that we ought to release the names, they got it completely wrong; it would be counterproductive. In fact, some people could go to court suing us for defamation and libel and then the whole essence would be lost and all people would be talking would be about the court cases. That is not what Nigeria needs now. What Nigeria needs now is to be focused and we believe we have taken the right step in letting Nigerians know how much has been recovered, $9 billion without going to court,” the source said.

A few days ago Itse Sagay, a professor and ardent supporter of the current administration, said: “I believe the government feels that if you name names, those who are about to come out and also bring whatever has been looted would withdraw.”

But Nigerians have not been told that those who returned the loots did so on their own volition without being smoked out. Is it possible that people are returning money in Nigeria without anybody pushing them? If they are being forced to return the loot, they would have no choice.

“I suspect that the president may have been prevailed upon by corrupt politicians in the system to toe that path. They do not want a precedent that will haunt them in the future. But whatever is the case, I am disappointed,” Achumba added.