THE tepid nature of the anti-corruption war was back in public discourse recently when the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), declared that public officers engaged in illegal recruitment and payroll fraud would be sanctioned. He spoke at a summit on diminishing corruption in the public sector, where persistent atrocities such as the incidence of ‘ghost workers,’ budget padding and unilateral increases in wages and remuneration by ministries, departments, and agencies, were highlighted.

These revelations represent another sad commentary on this regime that six years after it gained power with an avowed mission to crush corruption, Buhari is still long on rhetoric and short on effective action, coordination and lasting impactful results.

Typically, the summit, organised by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, reminded traumatised Nigerians of how they are being short-changed by unrepentant corrupt public servants.

Apart from indicting the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and the University College Hospital, Ibadan, of illegal recruitment, the ICPC Chairman, Bolaji Owasanoye, revealed the existence of a syndicate that illegally recruits people into the Federal Civil Service, issues them fake letters of employment and even enrols them on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System before posting them to MDAs. This is utterly reprehensible. It is unacceptable that such brazen fraud is still pervasive despite a supposed ongoing war on corruption.

The Buhari regime’s failure to smash corruption is underscored that right under its nose, the public service is still steeped in graft. Indicted persons, their enablers, and persons under whose such fraud was perpetrated in the public service should be standing trial by now. The deterrent effect is clearly missing.

Sadly, corruption in the public service has been around for long. In 2014, the Federal Government uncovered 60,000 ‘ghost workers’ in federal establishments. Another 43,000 were discovered in 2016, a year into Buhari’s first term. Corruption is also pervasive in the states and local governments. Bayelsa, Oyo, Borno and Gombe states have endured the menace of ‘ghost workers.’ What is most disturbing, however, is that the culprits largely go unpunished.

To win this war, swift and severe punishment must be imposed to deter others. Rather than warnings, promises and headline-grabbing disclosures, the government should identify, arrest and prosecute the perpetrators. Officials, who by omission, commission, or negligence, superintend over the abuses, should not be spared.

By 2021, a decisive government should be serving punishment to errant public servants, not threats. Leadership entails making difficult decisions and taking the bull by the horns. A fundamental axiom of law enforcement is that consequences for offences should be strong enough to deter all but the hardened felon.

The Director, Treasury Single Account, Sylva Abor, revealed in 2019 that some MDAs still operate illegal accounts outside the TSA. More recently in May, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission said 32 Ministries, Departments and Agencies failed to remit N1.2 trillion. Between 2014 and 2020, the Senate said about 60 MDAs did not remit N3 trillion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Those behind these unremitted revenues should have been dismissed and prosecuted by now. The officials that reportedly duplicated 185 items in the 2021 budget worth about N20 billion deserve severe punishment too. But the regime believes it is making progress. It points to the recovery of over N1 trillion stolen assets, as highlighted by Itse Sagay, chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption. This year alone, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has secured 978 convictions, apart from many ongoing investigations and prosecutions, said Abdulrasheed Bawa, its chairman. The ICPC too has some success stories, including recoveries, convictions, and aborted scam attempts.

Yet, graft persists, reflecting how deep it has become entrenched and the need for Buhari to re-examine his strategy. Transparency International ranked Nigeria 136 out of 175 countries in 2014, 136 out of 168 in 2015, and 146 out of 180 in 2019. In 2020, it was 149 out of 189. CISLAC, an NGO, estimates annual illicit financial outflows of $18 billion from Nigeria through ‘grand corruption,’ tax evasion and other crimes. UNCTAD says Nigeria accounts for the largest chunk of the $88.6 billion stolen from Africa each year.

Clearly, the President needs to reappraise his team and its effectiveness, and rejuvenate the anti-graft war in the 17 months he has left in office. Failure should not be an option. Buhari had enumerated the consequences of corruption in 2018 at the launch of the African Anti-Corruption Year in Ethiopia; “Corruption and its effects have many sides. It poses a real threat to national security, unity and survival of the African State and people.” He equally noted that corruption erodes the development of a universal culture of good governance, democratic values, gender equality, and respect for human rights, justice and the rule of the law.” Sadly, all this manifests boldly in present day Nigeria with efforts to turn the tide floundering through inconsistent action by the regime.

For example, the lingering case of Ibrahim Magu, the former Acting Chairman of the EFCC, whose fate remains unknown, is not complementary to a regime that professes to be fighting corruption. If Magu is guilty of the corruption allegations levelled against him by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, let him face the consequences, and if found innocent, he should be redeployed appropriately. Magu’s counter-allegations against the AGF should also be transparently scrutinised. Sitting on such a report for over a year is not acceptable. If Buhari can succeed in ridding the public service of corruption considerably, it would percolate through other sectors and reverse Nigeria’s battered image.

The President should ensure proper coordination of his anti-corruption fight. He needs to assess how his aides saddled with this onerous responsibility have discharged their responsibilities. The office of the AGF is crucial to drive a successful assault on graft; it must demonstrate the required zeal, effective coordination and transparency.

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