Former House of Representatives member and anti-corruption crusader, Hon. Dino Melaye has raised an alarm over what he tagged the unprecedented massive corruption in the national polity, with special focus on some close aides of Mr. President. In this interview with our Correspondent, DELE OGUNYEMI, in Ibadan, he urges the Nigerian masses to shine their own eyes properly in 2014 by calling public office holders to accountability through closer monitoring of their day to day activities, to effectively checkmate the cankerworm ravaging the nation. E
To start with, how would you assess the state of the nation in 2013?
I will start by saying that Nigeria, as a country, is not only sick, it is equally suffering from what I call a dreadful continental abnormality. Nigeria is suffering from very massive corruption; and in the history of the country, we have never had it so bad. This government of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is the most corrupt in the history of Nigeria. And that is the fact. Nigeria is in perilous times; in times of opprobrium and unfortunately, this particular government is engrossed in massive corruption, promotes corruption, embraces corruption and corruption is now with impunity. And it is also unfortunate that despite the fact that many ministers have been indicted in this government – from the Minister of the Niger Delta to the Minister of Aviation to the Minister of Petroleum – it is unfortunate that the President does not have the capacity to probe these ministers. The most recent is the Minister of Aviation who has been indicted by both the EFCC, the Presidential Committee set up by the President and even the House of Representatives. But she failed, as a Minister, to resign and the President is yet to take any decision on her. The Minister of Petroleum has been indicted by six different committees. The first is the House of Representatives Committee on Subsidy headed by Farouk Lawan; the second is the Ribadu Report; the third is the Aig-Imoukuede Report – a committee set up by the Minister of Finance; the fourth is the NEITI Report; the fifth is the Senate Committee on Subsidy headed by Senator Bukola Saraki and the sixth is the KPMG Report on the Petroleum Sector. These six reports have indicted the NNPC, where the Minister of Petroleum is the Chairman of the Board; they have indicted the PPPRA where she is the supervising Minister; they have indicted the Ministry of Petroleum where she superintends as the Minister. But despite these indictments by six different committees, the Minister of Petroleum is still elegantly and fashionably attired as she junkets all about and also attending the Federal Executive Council meetings in the watchful eyes of unperturbed President. It is quite unfortunate.
We have a precedent and it is a public and national convention in this country that once a minister is indicted, that minister is suspended or removed from office. When Sunday Afolabi was Minister of Internal Affairs during the Obasanjo’s first term, he was indicted in the National Identity Card scam. He was instantly removed as Minister of Internal Affairs and he eventually died in prison. When Fabian Osuji was Minister of Education, he was indicted of corruption and was removed as Minister in Obasanjo’s second term as President. Even recently, during the tenure of late President Umar Yar’Adua, of blessed memory, when the Minister of Health, Professor Adenike Grange and the Minister of State for Health, Gabriel Aduku were indicted of N10million, they were removed as ministers, even before the completion of investigations by the anti-graft agencies. But today, we are having ministers who have been indicted and re-indicted. But the President do not have the capacity or capability of removing them or suspending them as ministers. Corruption is the bane of our development as a nation. And that is the reason why we are where we are. And unfortunately, the Federal Government has failed to demonstrate the capacity or capability to fight the endemic corruption.
You currently head an NGO – the Anti-Corruption Network. What has the organization been doing to checkmate the ugly trend?
We have written series of memos to Mr. President; we have written petitions to all the anti-graft agencies; we have carried out 82 protests put together against different corrupt practices by officers and public personalities in government. But as I speak to you, none of them has seen the light of the day. We have written petitions against the former Governor of Kogi State and so many other Governors. We have protested and submitted petitions against the Minister of the Niger Delta; we have written against the Minister of Aviation; we have written against the Minister of Petroleum; and after government officers. But as at the moment, none of them, since the inception of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration, not one politically exposed person has been prosecuted and jailed.
How has your organization – the Anti-Corruption Network – been collaborating with others with similar objectives?
Actually that is our main agenda. The Anti-Corruption Network is a network and we are trying to make sure that we synergize with other NGOs who have similar objectives and intentions. Corruption is the cankerworm that has bedeviled us as a nation. And if we take charge of corruption, then we will take care of our economy; we will take care of unemployment; we will take care of our roads, education, power supply, etc. So, what we are doing as an organization is to make sure that we force government to do the just because in an unjust society, silence is a crime. Every Nigerian must decide to work for the emancipation of justice and equity, we must decide to come out of our gullible cocoon and become change agents. If we do not agitate, we cannot ameliorate, palliate and correct the problems that are on the ground. It is because Nigerians are so indolent, gullible and too quiet about corruption that the leadership of this country celebrate corruption in the manner they did. And unfortunately, we the followership also celebrate corruption as we fail to put the leadership into accountability. Until we come out of our cocoon and we start raising our voices against corruption among the leadership, we cannot fight the cankerworm. And corruption is the main reason why today dollar is one to N170, the highest in the history of this country. Inflation is on the rise. Unemployment is on the rise, insurgency is on the rise, killing and kidnapping also on the rise because of corruption. Once we get rid of corruption or we reduce it to the minimal, then we can begin to celebrate democracy. Democracy is supposed to be government of the people by the people and for the people. But as it is being practiced under this administration, democracy has been translated to be government of the greedy by the greedy and for the greedy. And Nigerians should not be quiet.
What will be your message for Nigerian youth in particular?
My message for the Nigerian youth is that they must start participating in policy formulation and policy implementation. They must start making public statement on how they are being governed because we have been showing a lot of disenchantment, we show a lot of disillusion. But we must start voicing out. We must start being voice of the voiceless. We must start making agitation and become change agents if we must move forward as a country. For example, the proposal from Mr. President to the National Assembly for the 2014 Budget showed that the President is proposing N1.6billion for the purchase of a jet when there are over 12 jets in the Presidential fleet. The President is also proposing that N2.4billion will be used for his foreign travels. Is the President the Supervisor of the world? Where is he travelling to that he is going to spend N2.4billion in an economy where one cannot even guarantee three square meals? In an economy where N18,000 is the minimum salary. In fact, over N360million also has been proposed by the Presidency for refreshment for the Office of the President. So, Nigerians must start speaking because if we don’t speak, then we are destroying generations yet unborn. If we don’t speak, then we cannot have the way forward. If we don’t speak, then our future is doomed. I am interested in the future of my grandchildren and great grandchildren that I may never know. I am interested in having a better future for them.
The recent 18-page open letter by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Goodluck Jonathan shows that you are not a lone ranger in the crusade against corruption in the country. What is your reaction to ex-President Obasanjo’s letter?
The truth of the matter is that many people are saying Obasanjo is not the right person to say this or that, but who is the right person? The Bible states clearly that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; and Saul was Saul until he became Paul. So, what I am interested in is the message. The messenger is import but you cannot throw away the bath water with the baby. We must examine what President Obasanjo is saying and God can decide to use anybody. And should we continue in sin and ask grace to abound? So, Nigerians must take the contents of President Obasanjo’s message with all seriousness. Nigerians must take everyone who is trying to right the wrongs in the society seriously. Nigerians must take fighting corruption seriously. And finally, I will say that my advice to Mr. President is that ‘Mr. President , when you see a snake, kill it; don’t set up a committee to investigate or find out if it was a snake or a lizard. Once you see a snake, kill it.’
And now that we are in the year 2014, what should we expect?
What I expect in 2014 is that Nigerians would become outspoken and Nigerians would become more vibrant; Nigerians would agitate; Nigerians would ask questions; Nigerians would defend their votes; Nigerians would ask Local Government chairmen questions, would ask their councilors questions, would ask their governors questions, would ask their ministers questions; and we will not keep quiet any longer because the day you keep quiet, that day you start dying.