Saturday 13 July 2013

How Nigeria can win anti-corruption war –Aifuwa

 

Right now, the nation is getting soaked, especially the government, in the steps towards the centenary celebration. Most of the things they do either get coloured in centenary or take directly from the plans of how best they intend to hold the anniversary.
Apart from the plans of the government, some informed private citizens have also started making inputs into how best to make the event to come most fruitful and memorable.
One of such personalities and experts is Dr. Paul Amen-Aifuwa, President of Time Communications Limited, who has proffered solutions to the problems of the nation towards the 100-year celebration.
In a memo he wrote as part of his contribution, he lamented that the nation had tottered on the path of retrogression and should get its acts right and find ways of making amends from now.
He is sure that everything today branded as corruption in the management of the nation and major threat to her existence, is the cumulative effect of what earlier manifested in the civil war and various odd military interventions. He describes corruption as the “social baggage whose contraband contents are ethnic differences, disunity, nepotism and parochial flirtations.”
Amen-Aifuwa itemised the crises Nigeria had been through from the struggles against colonialism to the civil war and military incursions that interrupted the political development.
Deriving from his insight, there are about five flanks through which the nation should fight its present problems and get it right to grow as it is supposed to.
The five major areas the government should channel its efforts to win the battle and find a new and refreshing bearing for the nation beyond the celebrations it plans,    according to him, include moral re-invention, decisive war against insecurity, insurgency and other divisive trends that threaten the nation.
On the security threats he aptly titled it “exorcising the insurgency and insecurity challenging our nationhood and unity.”
Notwithstanding the many problems the nation faces and has faced in the past 99 years, he is still hopeful that if the leadership of the nation would make deliberate effort towards a turn around, it is still very early and timely to set the nation on the track of better evolvement and greatness.
In the 39-page document titled Nigeria Leadership Can Make it, he advised the leadership of the nation tenaciously tackle the task of ‘exorcising insurgency from the land; develop a national welfare plan to give the poorer citizens a better sense of belonging; strengthen legislation, the legislature and other ailing organs and institutions of democracy and decide to deliberately change the course of leadership.’
He noted that where Nigeria missed it is at the level of allowing violence against each other to take root as a way of life. “The deplorable scenario is one that violence jolted the policy unabated with dire threats to life expectancy which is now at its lowest ebb.”
It is his argument that since the nation has spent about 99 years not finding its bearing to a better society, there should be proper re-think on how best its future should be managed away from the format that encourages and breeds corruption, divisions, disunity and general insecurity.
Amen-Aifuwa in addressing the security insurgency in the north faulted attacks on the federal government and President Goodluck Jonathan and said such is in bad taste. He said: “Stakeholders aggression against the president on the measure adopted to tackle Boko Haram is misplaced. They are as unfortunate as they are ironically uncalled for. There is no more to it than meets the eye, and if political differences must be sunk in the face of the looming offensive, it must be found in the realm of more result oriented and tactfully logical attention.”
He challenged even political opponents of the government to overlook their differences and stand on the platform of recreating and retrieving Nigeria from her enemies for the benefit of all.
He described the outbreak of “insurgence as an abomination to our founding fathers. All we need for the nation is the exercise of redeeming her from insurgents and it must be firm and fair, that would include using force where necessary and to temper such move with robust reconciliation and rapport with the sect members.”
He also called for an “armament against human ethical violation that has led to so many problems in the society by deliberately making laws targeted at the celebration that would have national and global appeal as a means of reviving our ethics.”
Further in his espousal, he said “the seeming combative engagements of the pro-northern personalities against the Herculean efforts of the federal government in the face of the insurgents aggression against their own fatherland are as unfortunate as they are uncalled for.” He rather advocates a bias for the nation’s unity by all stakeholders instead of ethnic and regional inclinations that threaten the continued existence of the state.
Aifuwa challenged the nation to find means of creating platforms that would make the centenary not just a momentary celebration but one that would leave powerful marks on the psyche of the people to engender lasting revival of ethics and values that would lead to greater growth and stabilize the security system and foster national unity and identity. He said this would be given a sound bite if there would be legislation against wrong values that are not in tandem with the nature of the nation and Africa. He called it moral legislation against wrong values. But notwithstanding the daring threats, he is certain the leadership of the nation can make it and steer the nation out of chaos and unto the track of growth, unity and peace.
TheSun

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