How Olukoyede-led EFCC is refocusing anti-graft battle

Since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office last year, he has never hidden his resolve to tackle graft which is a cardinal priority of his campaign agenda.

Perhaps, such necessitated the renewed vigour seen in the anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), under the leadership of Olanipekun Olukoyede.

In recent months, the agency under the new chairman has brought in new vision and impetus into the battle against sleaze.

In a country where corruption is always fighting back, the agency believes that determination is required in sustaining the crusade.

Much is expected from the lawyer, regulatory compliance consultant and specialist in fraud management and corporate intelligence, who had served the commission as Chief of Staff to the Chairman (2016-2018) and Secretary to the Commission (2018-2023).

Addressing officers of the Lagos Zonal Command of the EFCC in November last year, Olukoyede, who took over from Abdulrasheed Bawa, spoke about his vision and target.

He said: “There is need to redirect our focus towards what we were set up to do in Nigeria, which is to drive economic development. We will tilt our focus towards that area.

“We will work to drive economic development, create wealth and employment.”

Consequently, since charity begins at home, he charged the officers and men to declare their assets. Leading by example, Olukoyede declared his assets.

In Nigeria, the fight against corruption is not new. It has been on for decades. How to curb theft and graft has been a major concern from the sixties. It was a major reason the first and second republics crumbled like cookies. But corruption has lingered till today for obvious reasons.

The cankerworm would not have survived, if previous governments had tackled it with all seriousness and with appropriate strategies.

The starting point under Olukoyede was the reform of the anti-graft body to purge it of the peculiar societal vices. The revelation by the chairman was mind-boggling. In lamentation, Olukoyede, who visited President Bola Tinubu in Aso Villa, Abuja recently, disclosed that EFCC investigators were prone to gratification and bribery, thereby casting doubt on their capacity for thoroughness, probity and efficiency. It is ironic. But with that background knowledge, Olukoyede kicked off the battle from the agency.

The reasons are not far-fetched. A bribe taker is not less vicious and dubious than a giver because they are both enveloped by greed. It is a paradox, an anathema.

If those saddled with the investigation of financial crimes are fraudulent, the process and the outcome are laced with lies, prevarications, compromise, and hypocrisy.

Olukoyede has not spared the rod to save dishonest investigators who have failed the test of integrity. He has intensified efforts to fish out the culprits and sent them packing, thereby preventing the few bad eggs from damaging the time-tested reputation of the agency beyond panel-beating.

The result is that bribe-taking investigators are not permitted to act as willing tools for frustrating investigations.

Also, the commission has asserted its independence. It is not strictly tied to the apron strings of the federal Attorney-General. Nigerians, particularly opposition elements, do not perceive it as an outfit of oppression and witch-hunting in the hands of the power that be.

In trying to maintain a clean break from the past, Olukoyede has rekindled public confidence.

Corruption is the bane of development in Nigeria.

It has taken its toll on the various sectors; it permeates all strata of society and made Nigeria a laughing stock in the comity of nations. Ironically, the proceeds of corruption are lodged in bank accounts in the Western countries.

According to observers, corruption manifests in various ways. From the culture of 10 per cent bribes in the sixties, successive governments have become big contracts for grabs.

Contracts are awarded to undeserving, shadow companies that cannot be traced in the past. Perpetrators later graduated into outright embezzlement, money laundering, a guarantee of salaries for ghost workers, and pension fraud. In high places, allegations of forex abuse, round-tripping and dubious acquisition of banks are still being investigated.

More damaging is the growing humanitarian fraud. It was claimed that the school feeding programme was more effective during holidays when pupils were in their parents’ homes.

Also, reports of police corruption stare the public in the face. Some policemen openly ask for bribes on highways. They aid and abet crime, thereby sending their victims into agony.

In some states, governance has become business as usual, a peculiar tea party. Former governors, ministers, and top government functionaries are answering charges in court many years after leaving office.

They are in a vantage position to use looted funds to undermine investigation, prosecution, and the entire judicial process. Trials of suspects last a decade and a re-trial is ordered. The prosecutor is fatigued. The case is abandoned. It pales into a waste of time, energy, and public resources.

A Right Activist, Lanre Suraj said the key driver of corruption is greed. The corollary is kleptocracy, underscoring, the collapse of morality, growing indiscipline and the motivation for sabotage and subversion by custodian of public resources.

Many are those accumulating money for their offspring who would most likely mismanage the stolen wealth in the future. Also, the children of the poor who bear the brunt of corruption are now taking their pounds of flesh as troublers of the same society.

Their activities include armed robbery, banditry, kidnapping, and ritual murders. The corrupt gangs are not insulated from the threats to public order and peace.

There is a correlation between corruption and underdevelopment, particularly in Africa. As funds are diverted, project implementation suffers. It is a huge cost to welfare.

The repercussions are also grave. After their reckless looting, the leaders later forfeit blissful retirement and begin to attend courts, some of them at the twilight of life. Lack of contentment made them steal while in office.

In their old age, they do not have peace of mind. Their wealth becomes vanity. Those who have passed on left behind a legacy their children cannot be proud of.

“Is a good name not better than wealth acquired in a dubious way at the expense of society?” asked Suraj.

If looted funds are still being recovered from a deceased military Head of State to the tune of billions, almost 30 years after his demise, it is an indication of how soldiers of fortune have silently ruined Nigeria.

A novel form of corruption between 2003 and 2011 was election rigging, including alteration of results and declaration of losers as winners. The sanctity of the ballot box was violated. The scenario was a prelude to legitimacy crises in some states in the Southwest, the old Midwest, and the Southeast.

The impact of corruption on the image of the country is also serious. Foreign investors are wary of corrupt countries, which they perceive as a threat to business. In their opinion, an atmosphere devoid of bribery, misappropriation, or embezzlement contributes to the ease of doing business.