Falana Says Corruption & Looting Of Public Fund Will Continue In Nigeria If…

SOLIDARITY MESSAGE DELIVERED BY FEMI FALANA SAN AT THE PUBLIC PRESENTATION OF THE SURVEY ON CORRUPTION CONDUCTED BY THE SOCIO ECONOMIC AND ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT (SERAP) IN LAGOS ON MARCH 26, 2019.

Unlike many elitist organizations which have a penchant for dismissing the anti corruption policy of the federal government SERAP has adopted certain measures to hold public officers accountable in a country where impunity has been institutionalized.  Apart from exposing corrupt practices of public officers by writing petitions to the anti graft agencies SERAP engages in campaigns and embarks in public interest litigation with a view to promoting public  accountability and transparency in the management of public resources. In particular,  SERAP has used the provisions of the Freedom of Information  Act to obtain information from Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the federal government on the funds  earmarked for the provision of water,  electricity, roads  hospitals etc for the Nigerian people. In fact, SERAP has secured mandatory orders from the federal high court to compel recalcitrant public officers to render the account of their stewardship.

I wish to commend SERAP for carrying out a survey on the war against corruption waged by the federal government in the past five years. Through this survey conducted in the six geopolitical zones in the country SERAP has confirmed that the masses are united in demanding for a new society where public funds will not be criminally diverted by unpatriotic elements but channeled towards the development of the country. I would like to believe that by hearing directly from the masses SERAP has finally resolved to collaborate with the Nigerian people in the struggle to end grand corruption in the country. It is hoped that SERAP will ensure that all victims of grand corruption are actively involved in the struggle for the actualization of the socioeconomic rights enshrined in chapter 2 of the Constitution. Without compelling the federal, state and local governments to channel public resources towards the development of the country the looting of the public treasury will continue unabated.

According to SERAP, “corruption denies the citizenry the right to access basic services while stifling economic and social development, and ultimately, contributes to violations of human rights. Corruption remains the largest impediment to social and economic development in Nigeria.” But SERAP has failed to realize that corruption cannot be seriously fought by a government which operates an economic program that is designed to promote inequality and poverty in the society.  In other words, the legitimization of allocation of oil blocks, sale of public assets, grant of duty waivers, intervention funds and tax relief to a few people is an integral part of the peripheral capitalist system operated by the government. Having permitted a few individuals and corporate bodies including foreign interest groups to corner the commonwealth the government cannot successfully combat corruption by exposing a few corrupt officials.

In thanking SERAP for this decisive intervention in the  crusade against corruption I wish to task the trade unions and other progressive forces to mobilize the Nigerian people to reject the official blackmail of increasing Value Added Tax for the sole purpose of paying the N30,000 minimum wage. If the proposed VAT increase is allowed majority of companies other employers of labour are going to send millions of workers to the unemployment market. If the federal government is genuinely looking for funds for payment of salaries and infrastructural development it should recover and invest the over $100 billion which has been withheld from the federation account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Central Bank of Nigeria, Oil majors and shipping companies. Since the federal government has ignored the reports of the National Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative and other public institutions that have confirmed the withheld fund I am compelled to call on SERAP and other democratic forces to mount legal and politic pressures to ensure the recovery of the fund.

Once again, I commend SERAP for conducting this survey and urge the Buhari administration to study it carefully. It is my belief that the adoption of the recommendations contained in the survey will enhance the capacity of the anti graft agencies to fight the menace of corruption in the interest of the Nigerian people.