To win corruption war, society must be merit driven- Oshiomhole

Immediate past Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on Monday, declared that the current war against corruption will not achieve impact unless the society is merit driven.

Speaking on the value system and how Nigerians perceive the war against corruption, Comrade Oshiomhole noted that the society gets the quality of leaders it deserves, saying that situation where people do not get to leadership positions on merit will make it difficult for such people to appreciate the need sound value system that promote corruption free actions.

Comrade Oshiomhole, who was the lead speaker at the first National Anti-Corruption Stakeholders Summit, held at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Academy, Karu Abuja, noted that for the war to achieve the desired results, Nigerians must cooperate with the government.

The former Governor of Edo State, said the EFCC should use the strongest weapons available to deal with the issues of corruption if the current decadence in the Nigerian society must be reversed.

He said: “You cannot fight corruption without casualties. The soldier who carries gun knows that the gun is not a toy and that he is trained to fire at the enemy and the only evidence that he has shot at the enemy is the resultant casualty.

“Some people must be made to pay. Members of the public also must understand the linkage between corruption and economic deprivation resulting from such actions.

“You need weapons of mass destruction to wipe away corruption from the society”.

Comrade Oshiomhole, who also made case for inter-agency collaboration to ensure the success of the war against corruption, wondered why there are conflicts amongst agencies saddled with the responsibilities of carrying out similar activities.

“We are indeed in serious trouble. If we cannot enforce a law, there is no need making the laws in the first place, because when the system collapse, all of us become vulnerable”.

The Acting Chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, in his opening remarks, called for collaboration with other agencies for the war against corruption to succeed.

Magu, who spoke on the topic, “Together against Corruption,” noted that “the summit became necessary because for a long time, the various agencies have, encased in their individual silos, often taken separate and sometimes conflicting paths on the road to liberating our nation from the stranglehold of corruption”.

He appealed to the other agencies not to “allow our corporate and individual interests to pull us in different directions, while the wellbeing of our fellow citizens takes the back seat”.

Magu noted that the time for genuine synergy is now, assuring that EFCC is totally y committed to winning the war against financial and economic crimes.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Economic and Financial Crimes, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, however challenged the EFCC to ensure compliance with the rule of law and fundamental human rights in its quest to rid the nation of corruption.

Utazi, who chided the EFCC for what he described as over sensationalisation of arrests and trials of suspects, said such action portray the anti-graft agency as unserious in the eyes of the international community.

Renowned lawyer and human rights activist, Mike Ozekhome, in his remarks, also challenged the EFCC acting Chairman to make examples of some corruption politicians serving in the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for Nigerians to take them serious.

“Corruption is 37th State and probably the wealthiest state in Nigeria, but for Nigerians and the international community to take you serious, you must take an introspection and I dare you to make an example of one person in the current administration.

” For people to key into what you are doing, you also need to declare how much you have so far recovered, where they are kept and how they are being expended,” he said.