Debo Adeniran is the chairman of Coalition against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL). In this exclusive interview with INIOBONG IWOK, he assessed the anti-graft war of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. He also spoke on other issues in the polity. Excerpts:
What is your take on the Buhari’s administration so far and his fight against corruption?
When Buhari assumed office for a second term he came with a renewed vigour. Buhari’s first term was marred by illness and some other things. You can also remember that the first term was marred by a lot of internal wrangling within the APC.The political party that brought him to office was less than a year old when they came to office; the political party was like a granite organisation. They were coalition of strange bedfellows. They took so much time to understand themselves, that could explain why it took him so much time to appoint ministers, because ordinarily, politicians would want to make input in who become this and that.
In the first term, he was able to get the then Senate president to answer trial in the Code of Conduct Tribunal and the CJN was also asked to resign. The appointment of a new CJN has put that issue to rest.With the closure of the border, those who are bringing in goods at illegal means are the ones talking. In the judiciary during the tenure of the current CJN, a lot of land mark judgments have been delivered. The second tenure would prove to be better for the President in the anti-graft war. He has been able to eliminate most of the corrupt officers in the judiciary. Most of his cabinet members who were found wanting was changed. This time, he knows that he does not have excuses for failure, which is why he has to make sure they work.
But the anti-graft war has been criticised by the opposition who accused him of been selective?
I don’t believe the anti- graft war is waning and selective. It is actually becoming more portent; if anybody says the anti-graft war is directed at opposition, I wonder what they would say about the conviction of ex-governors like; Jolly Nyame and JoshaiuDariye , even Orji Uzor Kalu. These are APC members. Even when Orji kalu defected to the APC, he said Buhari was his father; he assumed jumping sheep would save him but the case continued in court. We have also seen several people like that, former governor, Gbenga Daniel is in court, and he is still a member of the APC. If anybody is saying it is selective; but nobody would prosecute anybody that the anti-graft agencies don’t have allegation against and enough witness that can stand for them. They had to select those cases they have evidence. Also, it was PDP that was in power before the present administration came to office; they are the one who had opportunity to steal. It may look one-sided because the proponents of the ruling party are now in the opposition party.Then, even if everybody was in same party not all criminals can be trailed and investigated, because corruption criminals don’t allow third party to be in the know of such action. It means the anti-graft agencies must have the skill to thoroughly do investigation before they can win cases.Many of the judiciary officers are corrupt, sometimes files change, evidences are destroyed overnight. Don’t forget that many of these suspects are rich, that they don’t mind to frustrate the anti-graft agencies. It is only those cases that they have evident they can prosecute successfully; don’t forget that some of the judges have soiled their integrity.
What is your take on President Buhari’s request for special court to aid the anti-graft war?
Yes, I am in support because it would make the trial of suspected looters speedy. It would make the trial judges to concentrate on corruption cases alone and not what loopholes to check so that the accused do not explore them and win the case.Nigerians would know where to go and watch the court proceeding of the corruption cases. It is only in Nigeria that individuals accused of corruption are not in a hurry to clear their names, they would want to drag it as long as the judiciary officers would allow them, not minding the new administrative of criminal justice act.They want to sabotage everything in the process and make the judges give ruling that they should not. Don’t forget some of the ways of corruption like TSA have been blocked. Even if they managed to get so much out, they cannot enjoy it within the country because they cannot launder money within any financial institution in the country.
There is an arm of the Central Bank that checks and monitors transaction by NGOs and individuals and most of us have been put into check.When you look at Ibrahim Magu, despite all that is happening at the National Assembly, he is still doing his work. Several members of the Senate have one corruption case or the other; if not that Magu is backed by the presidency, he would have been frustrated.Look at what was budgeted for as constituency projects allowance by the lawmakers.
What is your view about the conduct of recent elections in Nigeria, like the just concluded Kogi and Bayelsa gubernatorial elections?
I did not monitor both elections, but you can see that it is not different from previous elections in both states. Election should be a thing of the mind; individuals should be able to choose who they want to lead them, without anybody coercing them. Election should be a peaceful exercise, just like religion. That is why some of us advocated for electronic transfer of votes, we currently use that to transfer money. Yes, INEC may have its own problems, but it would be reduced. When I put the card into the machine; whoever I want to pick would be picked. If anybody is trying to cause violence such person can be punished. So, at the end of the day people would not think they can commit electoral offences and get away from it, and three years after they are still in office, no one is asking him any question and he collects salary and still be parading himself as god-father in that area.Such behaviour would no more be condoned; that is why we are calling for Election Offences Tribunal, so that people would be punished just like we are making progress in the area of corruption, we should make progress in the area of election on this country.
But there are agitations for the amendment of the electoral act to accommodate that?
The amendment would allow for electronic voting and would give way to the setting up of the Election Offences Tribunal. The amendment would also allow for electronic voting so that political party’s registration would be regulated and it would not be an all comers’ affair. Association that wants to apply for registration as a political party should have a clear-cut ideology that they want to implement when they get to office and all those parties with similar ideology lineage should be joined together.This would reduce the number of parties we have, voters would have informed decision to make, if the party is going to be socialist, communist, etc.
There is increasing concern that the Buhari administration is becoming repressive.Do you see that tendency?
First and foremost, let me tell you that the administration did not promise that it would uphold principles of human rights. Everybody knows that before the advent of the administration, Nigeria had become a lawless country, where human rights violations and political manipulations had been going on. Corrupt practices had been going on also. There is no way you would fight corruption,without violating people’s rights. These are people who plundered the resources of the country and along the line they know how to blackmail the name of people that they are being victimised. Even when you arrest him in his house, they would say you have trespassed. Remember Evans? Even if you get arrest warrant, they would say you did not write it well. If you are to fight corruption, there are some human rights claims that would not hold water.Also, there are some human rights claims that should not be tempered with and you cannot take away somebody’s right to liberty without proving allegation.
The arrest of Sowore was unwarranted; he just used revolution loosely for drastic change. Buhari must have developed different way of fighting corruption, through security; the country is about 200 million people and they know and have ideas how it should run. Sowore can say I want drastic change. But as long as you are not training private army, you are not inciting civic defence against the country then people should not be overzealous to the best of my knowledge. Why then is the SSS so overzealous and enthusiasm at arresting him. His arrests have created an endemic in the image of the government. It would take a lot of effort to launder the image to a level that would be acceptable to Nigerians.
Yes, the administration has been able to create enemies to itself with the anti-corruption policy. The Buhari’s administration has added more to its enemies by all of these laws and overzealousness of the attack dogs of the administration.These elites are the ones trying to loot the treasure of the country and take the wealth to make life brutish and hellish for the people. They are the same people who have violate the rights of the people who they are chasing now; they destroy our road and fly in the air.Nigerians are poor and cannot afford newspapers or even pay journalists to write stories on what is happening.
