ANTI-CORRUPTION AND TERRORISM WAR
As Prof. Itse Sagay-headed presidential Advisory Committee on corruption swings into action, few points deserve comment and note. The personification of corruption by president Muhammed Buhari (PMB) when he said: ‘If Nigeria fails to kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria’ left no one in doubt that the war would be between the hunter and the hunted. It would be brutal and total, otherwise the repraisal or revenge would be grave for the government, Nigeria and the poor masses. The reason is that it would present a graphic picture of where two elephants are fighting.
This point was aptly illustrated by the comment credited to the Chief Justice of Kenya, Willy Mutunga on the state of the government’s anti-corruption and terrorism war. For him the definition of corrupt practices includes terrorism and needs to be tackled with the same intensity as terrorism. In order to gather the speed required to deal with the cankerworm in the life of this administration no one should be treated with kid gloves.
In this regard, the vice president Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo in one of his campaign speeches said “When you fail to reform the system, corruption increases.” In advancing the quest I found Dr Kolawale Olaniyan’s comprehensive definition of corruption in his new book ‘Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa’ very apt: “…the deliberate, intentional mass stealing of public wealth and resources by senior state officials entrusted with its fair and honest management, for the common good and achievement of human rights, whether carried out individually or collectively, but with the support, encouragement, or acquiescence of the state, combined with a refusal to genuinely, thoroughly and transparently investigate and/or prosecute the mass stealing and recover stolen assets, which violates the human rights of the economically and socially vulnerable.”
Since the inauguration of this administration in May 2015, the signal sent across the world is that of total warfare against corrupt practices and terror. Unjust enrichment is both criminal as well as a breach of trust. It is rooted in the mindset of greed. The first anti-corruption probe by the late General Murtala Mohammed’s 200-day administration of the 9-year administration of General Yakubu Gowon, as unannounced as it was found some governors and ministers who served in the government incorruptible. No surprises at all; the species are available.
Similarly the president’s appointment of Dr Emmanuel Kachikwu as the new Group Managing Director may not necessarily have anthing to do with his being an “outsider” since he had been part of Nigerian private sector which has never been insulated from corruption. In other words corrupt practices is a thing of the mindset. Many would be tempted but some would still remain untainted.
When the word ‘corruption’ is mentioned any where in the world in connection with Nigeria, invariably what crosses the mind is Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) because of the mono nature of the economy. There is no doubt therefore that whoever the president appoints to head that institution does not only receive the hardest search light on him but should also consider himself as anti-corruption war czar for the president. That is why Dr Kachikwu’s appointment is critical and sensitive.
The ban on those Very Large Crude Carriers implicated in stolen crude oil and illegal bunkering, as well as the sack of some NNPC top officials including the managing director, are probably the best shots in the sector. But beyond that the apprehension and trial of those implicated are necessary corollary to that preliminary purge. Apart from savings from the down sizing purge, it clears the way to probe and audit the relevant accounts and connections, including but not limited to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Department of Customs, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) apparently not backed by legislation since 2010, Nigerian Maritme Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
The next in the probe line is that of petroleum subsidy regime. There was no transparency in the way it has been handled by succeeding governments through the NNPC. More disclosures are called for about the transactions and their operations: the public needs more disclosures similar to those provided by the Petroleum Industry Bill. Although Price Waterhouse & Cooper has started part of the probe those culprits in the deliberate refusal to pay incomes of NNPC into Federation Account according to s. 162 of 1999 constitution, should be dealt with according to the law. The top officials sacked and those remaining at the NNPC should declare their assets as part of the ongoing war.
The former minister of petroleum was chairman of NNPC and until the NNPC Act is amended future ministers would keep the post. In this dispensation it is imperative that no political office holder is allowed to be chairman of NNPC. That way the institution would be insulated from corrupt tendencies of politicians. Already NNPC has been accused by Transparency International to have the worst disclosure record out of 44 international and national energy companies analysed in a 2011 report.
As prices of oil dwindles fetching less and less income the tendencies for corrupt practices, especially by international oil companies (IOCs) even as the government comes under pressure to reduce taxes and exploration costs of the up stream in response to global practices. This led some governments to flaunt the shield of contractual obligation come rain, come shine. It may not be possible to alter conditions and terms of agreement unless there is an arbitration clause or alteration of terms mid-way included in the agreement.
Corruption is bound to trail local content Act. The IOCs were reluctant to receive Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) because about 95% of assets in the industry belonge to them; all ownership and operatorship of off-shore Rigs and Marine Vesels belonged to them; oil field techniques; Research and Development came from foreign firms. At the same time technical and complicated legal services are still being organized from abroad, as over 95% of industry spend was made outside Nigeria. Naturally these details were threatened by the existence of the Act. Therefore sabotage, which is act of war cannot be ruled out.
Often times combatant forces are accused of offences against humanity when acting on the orders of the government as principal. Who is then culpable: the soldiers or the government? S. 218(3) of the 1999 constitution authorizes the president to “deploy armed forces for operational use” defined in S.8(3) of the Armed Forces Act to include the military power fo the purpose of maintaining and securing public safety and order in Nigeria. Accordingly PMB had recently ordered the Armed Forces to clear the insurgency stable in three months. The order does not need assembly’s confirmation for efficacy. What determines the outcome is the preparation, warfare arsenal and professionalism of the military. This is where the probe of arms supplied to Nigerian Armed Forces from 2007 becomes relevant
.
That Ban Ki Moon’s invitation of PMB to World Leaders Forum taking place in New York for UN Resolution Against Terrorism is not only a boost, it has already signaled global attack on Boko Haram.
Finally the Committee would probably consider how the first budget under this regime should reflect the anti-corruption stance of the government; as well as proposed reforms on the inadequacies of ICPC, EFCC, ACJA Acts meant to fight corruption.
Iyke Ozemena
IKECHUKWU O. ODOEMELAM & CO
Corporate Attorneys/Consultants
amazon.com/iyke ozemena books
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0075RXXLE COMPANY SECRETARIES HANDBOOK
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005783S6S DIRECTORS http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MKCESY MEETINGS: Dynamics and Legality
As Prof. Itse Sagay-headed presidential Advisory Committee on corruption swings into action, few points deserve comment and note. The personification of corruption by president Muhammed Buhari (PMB) when he said: ‘If Nigeria fails to kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria’ left no one in doubt that the war would be between the hunter and the hunted. It would be brutal and total, otherwise the repraisal or revenge would be grave for the government, Nigeria and the poor masses. The reason is that it would present a graphic picture of where two elephants are fighting.
This point was aptly illustrated by the comment credited to the Chief Justice of Kenya, Willy Mutunga on the state of the government’s anti-corruption and terrorism war. For him the definition of corrupt practices includes terrorism and needs to be tackled with the same intensity as terrorism. In order to gather the speed required to deal with the cankerworm in the life of this administration no one should be treated with kid gloves.
In this regard, the vice president Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo in one of his campaign speeches said “When you fail to reform the system, corruption increases.” In advancing the quest I found Dr Kolawale Olaniyan’s comprehensive definition of corruption in his new book ‘Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa’ very apt: “…the deliberate, intentional mass stealing of public wealth and resources by senior state officials entrusted with its fair and honest management, for the common good and achievement of human rights, whether carried out individually or collectively, but with the support, encouragement, or acquiescence of the state, combined with a refusal to genuinely, thoroughly and transparently investigate and/or prosecute the mass stealing and recover stolen assets, which violates the human rights of the economically and socially vulnerable.”
Since the inauguration of this administration in May 2015, the signal sent across the world is that of total warfare against corrupt practices and terror. Unjust enrichment is both criminal as well as a breach of trust. It is rooted in the mindset of greed. The first anti-corruption probe by the late General Murtala Mohammed’s 200-day administration of the 9-year administration of General Yakubu Gowon, as unannounced as it was found some governors and ministers who served in the government incorruptible. No surprises at all; the species are available.
Similarly the president’s appointment of Dr Emmanuel Kachikwu as the new Group Managing Director may not necessarily have anthing to do with his being an “outsider” since he had been part of Nigerian private sector which has never been insulated from corruption. In other words corrupt practices is a thing of the mindset. Many would be tempted but some would still remain untainted.
When the word ‘corruption’ is mentioned any where in the world in connection with Nigeria, invariably what crosses the mind is Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) because of the mono nature of the economy. There is no doubt therefore that whoever the president appoints to head that institution does not only receive the hardest search light on him but should also consider himself as anti-corruption war czar for the president. That is why Dr Kachikwu’s appointment is critical and sensitive.
The ban on those Very Large Crude Carriers implicated in stolen crude oil and illegal bunkering, as well as the sack of some NNPC top officials including the managing director, are probably the best shots in the sector. But beyond that the apprehension and trial of those implicated are necessary corollary to that preliminary purge. Apart from savings from the down sizing purge, it clears the way to probe and audit the relevant accounts and connections, including but not limited to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Department of Customs, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) apparently not backed by legislation since 2010, Nigerian Maritme Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
The next in the probe line is that of petroleum subsidy regime. There was no transparency in the way it has been handled by succeeding governments through the NNPC. More disclosures are called for about the transactions and their operations: the public needs more disclosures similar to those provided by the Petroleum Industry Bill. Although Price Waterhouse & Cooper has started part of the probe those culprits in the deliberate refusal to pay incomes of NNPC into Federation Account according to s. 162 of 1999 constitution, should be dealt with according to the law. The top officials sacked and those remaining at the NNPC should declare their assets as part of the ongoing war.
The former minister of petroleum was chairman of NNPC and until the NNPC Act is amended future ministers would keep the post. In this dispensation it is imperative that no political office holder is allowed to be chairman of NNPC. That way the institution would be insulated from corrupt tendencies of politicians. Already NNPC has been accused by Transparency International to have the worst disclosure record out of 44 international and national energy companies analysed in a 2011 report.
As prices of oil dwindles fetching less and less income the tendencies for corrupt practices, especially by international oil companies (IOCs) even as the government comes under pressure to reduce taxes and exploration costs of the up stream in response to global practices. This led some governments to flaunt the shield of contractual obligation come rain, come shine. It may not be possible to alter conditions and terms of agreement unless there is an arbitration clause or alteration of terms mid-way included in the agreement.
Corruption is bound to trail local content Act. The IOCs were reluctant to receive Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) because about 95% of assets in the industry belonge to them; all ownership and operatorship of off-shore Rigs and Marine Vesels belonged to them; oil field techniques; Research and Development came from foreign firms. At the same time technical and complicated legal services are still being organized from abroad, as over 95% of industry spend was made outside Nigeria. Naturally these details were threatened by the existence of the Act. Therefore sabotage, which is act of war cannot be ruled out.
Often times combatant forces are accused of offences against humanity when acting on the orders of the government as principal. Who is then culpable: the soldiers or the government? S. 218(3) of the 1999 constitution authorizes the president to “deploy armed forces for operational use” defined in S.8(3) of the Armed Forces Act to include the military power fo the purpose of maintaining and securing public safety and order in Nigeria. Accordingly PMB had recently ordered the Armed Forces to clear the insurgency stable in three months. The order does not need assembly’s confirmation for efficacy. What determines the outcome is the preparation, warfare arsenal and professionalism of the military. This is where the probe of arms supplied to Nigerian Armed Forces from 2007 becomes relevant
.
That Ban Ki Moon’s invitation of PMB to World Leaders Forum taking place in New York for UN Resolution Against Terrorism is not only a boost, it has already signaled global attack on Boko Haram.
Finally the Committee would probably consider how the first budget under this regime should reflect the anti-corruption stance of the government; as well as proposed reforms on the inadequacies of ICPC, EFCC, ACJA Acts meant to fight corruption.
Iyke Ozemena
IKECHUKWU O. ODOEMELAM & CO
Corporate Attorneys/Consultants
amazon.com/iyke ozemena books
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0075RXXLE COMPANY SECRETARIES HANDBOOK
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005783S6S DIRECTORS http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MKCESY MEETINGS: Dynamics and Legality
