PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari is coming under increasing pressure from influential Nigerians to tone down his war against corruption which is targeting members of the elite who have been associated with graft.
Since assuming office on May 29, President Buhari has made the war against corruption his number one priority, with anti-graft agencies clamping down on public officials suspected of enriching themselves illegally. Over recent months, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has stepped up the arrest and prosecution of numerous governors, ministers and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) officials.
However, according to vice president Professor Yemi Osinbajo, some highly-placed Nigerians want the war slowed down. Speaking yesterday during a meeting with a delegation from the Moslem Congress of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Professor Osibanjo vowed that the government will not pull the brakes because fighting corruption is what Nigerians want.
Professor Osinbajo said: “We get regular messages from some Nigerian elites saying cool down. It is a very strange morality, that some of those people have, very complicated but cutting across all tribes and religious differences.”
He, however, observed that the masses of the Nigerian people have a clearer understanding of right and wrong. According to Professor Osibanjo a new tribe of Nigerians who would not compromise their values but would maintain a sense of right and wrong is now emerging.
“The man on the street is very clear, so whatever some of these elites say, we shall keep our focus on the masses who voted for us. However, the position of those putting pressure on the government is that corruption is not a big deal.”
According to the vice president, it was simply unacceptable that over the last 16 years, there is not a single federal government completed road, let alone railway line. Noting that the reason for their failure was corruption, he said the cost of projects were often inflated as people entrusted with public trust enrich themselves at the expense of the people.
Professor Osinbajo said it was the same inordinate desire for enrichment that explains why money meant to procure arms were being distributed among persons at a time when the territorial integrity of the nation was being attacked. He added that the insurgency has gone on for six years because government could not adequately equip the military.
Imam Abdulahi Shuaib, the leader of the delegation from the Moslem Congress of Nigeria, expressed a readiness to assist government where necessary. He added that the choice of the president and the vice president was made by God during last year’s presidential election.
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