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An Assessment Of Anti-corruption Crusade Under Goodluck Jonathan And Muhammadu Buhari Administration In Nigeria
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In the 2016 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index in
which 168 countries of the world were assessed, Nigeria was ranked 136
with a score of 26 out of a possible 100 thereby falling among the class
of highly corrupt countries of the world. This unenviable position
surely rubs on the country a pariah status and is a reproach to her
citizens. All over the world, Nigerians are stigmatized and treated with
odium and opprobrium. Thus, across the globe, even honest and
hardworking Nigerians are hardly trusted. Nigeria however has a long
history of legislating against corruption which predates the Country’s
independence in 1960. The domestic provisions against corruption may be
found in the Criminal Code, 33 Penal Code34 and some specialized or
dedicated Statutes such as the Corrupt Practices and Other Related
Offences Act 2000, 35 the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(Establishment) Act 2004, 36 Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related
Offences Act 2006, 37 Public Procurement Act38 , Money Laundering
(Prohibition) Act 2011 (as amended)39 and the1999 Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) as amended amongst others. Soon after
his inauguration as President on May 29, 1999, Olusegun Obasanjo
identified corruption as a monster that must be fought to a standstill
in Nigeria. He made Anti-Corruption crusade a fundamental policy of his
administration. In furtherance of this objective, the administration
presented the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Bill to the
National Assembly which was passed into law40 . The regime also
established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)41 . Soon
after its establishment, the EFCC effected the arrest of known
fraudsters many of whom had hitherto assumed a larger than life status.
In view of the personalities arrested, a source in the EFCC was quoted
to have said that the Commission does not care about the status or
pedigree of suspects and that once a person is found to be culpable,
such person will be treated according to the law. Also, in March, 2005,
the EFCC arrested some high ranking members of the Executive Arm of
Government and the National Assembly for their involvement in a 50
million Naira bribe for budget scandal. Irked by the personalities
involved in the bribe for budget scandal, President Obasanjo said he
would not hesitate to take on more prominent Nigerians in his war
against corruption. He acknowledged that corruption was endemic in the
developing countries particularly Nigeria and vowed to step on more
toes.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Corrupt practices have always
existed in Nigeria but became obvious in the second republic between
1979 and 1983 under the Former President Shehu Shagari's administration (
Inamete, 2001; Ogbeidi,2012). This led to the coup d'état by the Major
General Mohammad Buhari government in 1983. During General Buhari's
regime, the government fought corruption in all ramifications with Major
General Babatunde Idiagbon at the war front. Nigerians were given
re-orientation which changed their perceptions that eradicated lateness
to offices in ministries, departments and agencies, reduced the level of
bribery, fraud and embezzlement of public funds. The government
arrested and detained many corrupt politicians. The convicted drug
peddlers were publicly executed. Mobile courts were established to
instantly try offenders and the convicted were either fined or sentenced
to jail term where necessary. Huge success was recorded and sanity
returned to the affairs of the nation. However, Nigerians were deeply
dissatisfied with Buhari's restrictive governance which led General
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) to oust the government in August 27,
1985 (Adediji, 2013; Ekundayo, Obasaju, Lawal, & Ise, 2013).Gen. IBB
lessened the governmental control of the press and released a number of
political detainees from the former government. During the IBB regime,
corruption was celebrated and it grew in an unprecedented manner
(Inamete, 2001).Other regimes attempted to fight corruption but without
the desired result. In Nigeria between 2001 and 2016, various corruption
indications were exposed ranging from outright embezzlements, election
malpractices, budget padding, and money laundering cases to stealing of
government properties. In Nigeria every one condemns corruption yet most
public servants and key political office holders have contributed to
further its course (Aiyede, 2016; Bello & Ahmad, 2017). This study
is therefore undertaken to assess the anti-corruption crusade by two
recent administrations, the Goodluck Jonathan-Led administration and the
Muhammadu Buhari-led Administration.
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