Fight corruption the China way

The only way to check corruption in Nigeria is to fight it the China way. Despite the short-comings of the Obasanjo administration, the establishment of the EFCC and due process office and strengthening of the ICPC in a bid to fight corruption in Nigeria will continue to take a pride of place in the history of Nigeria.

Kudos should go to the present members of the House of Representatives for their unrelenting efforts at unveiling the corruption monster which continues to enjoy a steady growth in our country, stallling the overall development of the nation.

All media houses in Nigeria also deserve commendation for keeping the public abreast of mind boggling revelations emerging from the ongoing probes. From the outcomes of the power probe, one continues to wonder whether EFCC and ICPC officials should not be sent to China to understudy the mechanism by which corruption is being effectively tackled and curbed in that country where there is zero tolerance for corruption. Our leaders at all levels of governance in Nigeria should be compelled by law to address the fight against corruption with all the seriousness it deserves.

In China, looters of public funds are outrightly executed, unlike what obtains in Nigeria where their counterparts are regarded as a class of untouchables protected by one law or the other.

This situation has undoubtedly turned the stealing of public funds into a very lucrative business in Nigeria. At the end of the day, room is given to the looters to enjoy their loot without any hindrance while way is paved for their children to continue savouring the stolen public funds for eternity. The recent call by some citizens for revolutionary ideas in moving Nigeria forward is commendable. But the bitter truth is that our nation cannot afford any revolution now as this would be too dangerous and costly , considering the teeming youths and “area boys” that abound in all parts of the country.

The public fund looters and money launderers in our midst must be made to cough out their loot, which in turn should be used to provide the suffering masses with the three basic needs: food, shelter and clothing.

Odunayo Joseph-Joledo,
Mopa,
Kogi State.

Suffering in the midst of plenty

I think we should give kudos to our servant leader who has been ordained to rule us, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. It pains me to the marrow that with the volume of money we have been able to make from oil since 1958, the average common person is still wallowing in poverty. The three basic needs of the human being ,that is shelter, food and clothing, still elude us. Let’s take what is happening in the health ministry as an example. How can a single person get N40 million as gratification, when the ordinary Nigerian is living by less than one dollar a day? Out of the N300 million shared among the high hierarchy and other cadres, we were informed that the upper house members got N10 million.

I am happy that both the Minister of Health and Minister of State for Health have resigned honourably. The president should beam his searchlight on other sectors and see to it that all culprits that flouted the presidential order to return all unspent allocations for the 2007 budget are prosecuted. It is time for all our leaders to have the fear of God in them and serve the masses well.

Taiwo Adelaja,
Dept. of Microbiology,
O.A.U. T.H.C,
Ile Ife, Osun State.