Daily Archives: July 1, 2010

Chairman Nuhu Ribadu to the Rescue!

July 1, 2010 by blogger2

The story of Nigeria is, more often than not, a chronicle of struggles to deal with the upsurge ofcorruption. As always, with the 2011 elections are lurking around the corner politicians are shuffling their political cards and everyone is accusing every other person of being corrupt. Yet in the corruption-battered Nigeria no one is corrupt, not even the General who was implicated in the Pius Okigbo Panel Report over the $12.4billion Gulf War oil scan (BusinessDay, May 6, 2010). This is not to mention his alleged connection with the brutal murder of Dele Giwa, the founding editor-in-chief of Newswatch, onOctober 19, 1986(Agbaegbu, December18, 2000). The reality, however, is thatboth young and old, man and woman and the sane and insane recognize the havoc bribery and corruption have cause in the society.


The death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has again resurrected the debate on the ‘war’ against corruption. It has widely been reported that the Code of Conduct Tribunal has officially dropped the charges against the indefatigable and courageous former EFCC boss, Chairman Nuhu Ribadu (BusinessDay,May 5, 2010) who was chased out of the country by Yar’Adua and his bunch of sycophants. On his returnNuhu Ribadu is expected to serve as President Goodluck Jonathan’s special ‘adviser on anti-corruption, good governance and sundry matters’ (NEXt, April 4, 2010).


Since the news of his imminent return surfaced the chorus of venomous of criticism has intensified as the ‘bad boys’ are viscerally opposed to his home-coming. The negative criticisms in the face of his great achievement should not deter President Goodluck Jonathan from waging a serious ‘war’ against corruption. Plenty are hungry for positive change; and they feel that only a strong-willed person like Nuhu Ribadu can fight corruption, which is worsening the nation’s economic situation.


MadamFarida Waziri is among those who are jittery as she has reportedly vowed not to take orders from Nuhu Ribadu if he happens to come back (Punch, May 3, 2010). Madam Waziri is free to pick her baggage and head home if she thinks she is ‘too big’ to take orders from the young man. The EFCC has not been working, as it should, since she took over. She is only good at pointing out to the world how everyone is making her job difficult. If one should ask the madam, where are the 23 corrupt governors? No amount of criticism would obliterate for fact that without Nuhu Ribadu the corrupt D.S.P. Alameyeseigha of Bayelsa could have remained a powerful politician; and Tafa Balogun (former IG) would be untouchable. Nuhu Ribadu already zeroed in on Bode George and James Ibori before Yar’Adua and his group ran him aground. Soon after Madam Waziri took over, she removed James Ibori from the list of ex-governors that were billed to go on trial (Punch, April 11, 2009).


Chairman Nuhu Ribadu to the rescue! Nigeria is a wonderful country! The society needs one who has the audacity to confront the political contractors and the big-time looter-Generals who are now re-branding themselves in a desperate attempt to get access to the national treasury, again.In a lawless society such as Nigeria it takes a rude shock and public humiliation sometimes to get the message across.


This writer is not saying that Nuhu Ribadu is saint. Certainly, there were some mistakes. His agency was used by Obasanjo to harass his political enemies. And some of the looters are complaining that he was very harsh in dealing with them and that he wasworking for the PDP.Butanyperson who cares less about the rights of others when stealing their money should not complain when crude method is adopted to recover the loot. The reality, however, is that in every war or revolution there are some accidental damages. As Alexis De Tocqueville has noted in Democracy in America, “There are no revolutions which do not shake existing belief, enervate authority and throw doubts over commonly received ideas” (see abridged version, edited by Richard Heffner, 1984, p.145).


Good people look for what is positive in every situation. As noted earlier, despite some irrational exuberance, Chairman Nuhu Ribadu performed wonderfully well given the nature and history of Nigeria. During his time at the EFCC the agency was feared and every corrupt official would duck for cover at sighting the officials. He had the political will and courage to question the gods; his agency probed both the dead and the living. There were reports of how the commission seized the fraudulently acquired wealth of a deceased INEC official. Death wouldn’t save the looter! The evil he did lived after him! To really rescue Nigeria from the claws of corruption the society needs one with the capability to demystify the gods. Setting up corruption-probe panels has not done the society any good.


Having said that, there is room for improvement in the manner with which the EFCC (and other law enforcement agencies) should conduct its business. Nigerians should not be harassed, tortured or detained indefinitely. The commission should operate within the laws. As Philosopher Spinoza has noted, too much “power corrupt even the incorruptible” (as cited in Will Durant, 1976, p.193). Those whoneed to be questioned should be invited formally. Crude method should be applied only as a last resort: refusal to honour official invitation or resisting arrest.


The problem with Nigeria, as in every other defective democracy, is “the tendency to put mediocrity into power” (Durant, id, p.195). Why are Nigeria’s top public servants very rich? National dailies are awash with news of how public officials are acquiring million-dollar homes and stockpiling stolen public money abroad. Yet the nation’s infrastructure and institutions are begging for repairs.


Nigeria lacks effective institutions to tackle corruption, which has hampered national development. The society should begin to keep track of people’s source of income and hold the politicians to a very high standard. Serious nations require everyone to explain their sources of income; and even ‘marital infidelity’ and traffic offense could disqualify a candidate for elective office. But in Nigeria even convicted felons are masquerading as political leaders; some of the current political leaders are known ‘419’ scam artists. And if the search light looks closely some of them are parading bogus academic certificates. Nigerians are suffering today because those in the position of authority are mindless crooks.


To sustain Nigeria’s anti-corruption crusade and democratic experiment, and for the society to develop there must be some form of social transformation.The EFCC and ICPC should be strengthened and empowered to thoroughly question any person who aspires to lead Nigeria. As currently constituted, the agencies lack the capability to tackle to the powerful political looters. Nigeria should fight corruption “like a devil” (Durant, p.249) it really is. Aunit of these agencies should be established in every state and local governments in the federation; and a special court should be established in every state for expedited trial of any person or group fingered for corruption.


The future and development of Nigeria depends on the effectiveness of the agencies entrusted to fight corruption. The society needs the like ofNuhu Ribadu in government to tame bribery and corruption, which has tarnished the image of Nigeria and stalled her development. With his unparallel zeal and vigor Nuhu Ribadu is the best thing that has ever happened to Nigeria. The people are again crying for justice. ChairmanNuhu Ribadu to the rescue!


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THE WAR ON HIV/AIDS “STIGMATIZATION” IS A HINDRANCE.

July 1, 2010 by uzoma

The war against this killer disease is progressing positively around the world. But here in Nigeria the story is different, as with every other thing.



The International community has demonstrated more than enough resolve through their intervention agencies like USAID in fighting this scourge. Billion of dollars are being channeled for the war against this sickness in Africa, Nigeria inclusive. The National Aid Control Agency (NACA), is the local agency in charge of controlling the spread of this disease in Nigeria, also they receive foreign donations, coordinating the activities of all the various groups fighting the disease. All the efforts so far are being frustrated in Nigeria by the Nigerian factor and the unprofessional attitude of the healthcare workers. The National Aids Control Agency in charge of the various intervention efforts is presently clueless on how to resolve the various problems stifling the war, especially the stigmatization issue.



Not enough is being done to enlighten and sensitize our health workers about the dangers of stigmatizing person living with HIV. African analyst during investigations was shocked by the revelation of inhuman treatment the people living with HIV get from these ill trained health workers. A nursing mother that was confronted lamented bitterly about her experience in a public healthcare facility at Aba in Abia State during her pregnancy. According to her, the health workers were careful not to be close to her. They devised ingenuous ways of distinguishing her and others like her. First the personal hospital folder, for positive pregnant women is green, while the one for negative women is yellow. The bed sheets for the positive women are green and most times unwashed, while the negative ones are given white bed sheets. They also allocate to them different wards and labor rooms. They are even more technically in identifying the positive pregnant women to the negative ones by poking their mouths at them when they are not looking. They do this so the can avoid them. And the negative pregnant women respond by distancing and protesting any attempt to put them together in a room. This has led to most of the positive pregnant women going away to quacks for help. If this is not the height of callousness, tell me what is.



The people living with these virus, are going through a lot, their plight is not being positively addressed. The war on this sickness should be attacked in a two prong way. As we are availing the victims of the drugs, we should also be looking into their welfare. It is clear that for the drugs to act well, the people taking it must feed well, since the drugs are said to increase the craving for food. The issue of nourishment and welfare of victims is of paramount concern to us, because of our encounter with a person living with HIV that also belongs to a supporting group. A support group is an interactive meeting of persons living with HIV. This particular victim happens to be an executive of the support group. He said, for me I can effectively carter for myself, but what of the rest 80% of our members that cannot, you will notice that during our monthly meeting, members come so impoverished that you will only pity them; they are taking these drugs in an empty stomach, the situation is unacceptable. I am doing the little I can, when we come for our monthly meetings, at least to give them transport fare back home. He went further to say that there is need to add welfare to the strategy of containing this disease. These people are not looking for handouts, but assistance for them to start a business or learn a trade. Most are out of work because of their status.



Something quick need to be done, a change in strategy is really needed. I hope NACA is listening, they keep campaigning that people should come out and acknowledge their status. Those bold enough to do so are stigmatized and alienated to the point of frustration. We must be ready to tackle the consequences that could come out with these disclosures of status by people. More efforts need to be put into the training of our health workers, since they are directly involved in the realization of our collective efforts to reduce the number of casualties from this disease. All forms of illegal discriminations in our public health facilities must be identified and stopped. Perpetrators of stigmatization must be identified and sanctioned.



We must work closely with the various support groups to identify those in need amongst them in other to empower them.


This sickness is not a death sentence; victims must be assisted to live on. Stigmatizing them will only lead to their faster demise.


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