The Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore those who are asking him to back down on the fight against corruption.
At its regular monthly media briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the Executive Secretary of the Centre, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas (retired) also recommended to governments and other stakeholders to begin the process of rebuilding communities destroyed by terrorism in the North East so that displaces Nigerians can begin to return home.
According to Anas, “the culture of impunity and non-compliance with due process needs to be checked”, he said especially considering that the international oil market with prices diving as low as about $40 a barrel, perhaps the lowest since 1986.
“The Centre acknowledges the considerable impetus in the fight against corruption, especially at the Federal level. Of particular interest to the Centre is the strategic directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Federal Government to start using Treasury Single Account (TSA).”
CCC, which is an independent non-governmental organisation floated by Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA) also expressed believe that the introduction of TSA is a step in the right direction capable of ending leakages of revenues meant for the federation account.
He canvassed that states and local governments should also key into the fight against corruption at their own levels adding “we are all witnesses to the wonton impunity of leaving behind billions of naira in debts by various state governments to their successors.”
Nonetheless, he warned that due process must be followed in the fight against corruption in order to ensure that no one elude the justice system.
On internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in and outside official camps, Anas said the Centre recently organised visits to some of the IDP camps in the North East, which afforded the Centre opportunity to critically evaluate the humanitarian efforts of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the military, International bodies, NGOs and Civil Society groups.
He said it was discovered from available records that there are presently 27 official Camps
coordinated by NEMA where internally displaced persons are managed in Nigeria comprising the following: 16 camps in Borno State, 4 camps in Adamawa State, 4 camps in Yode State, 1 camp in Edo State, 1 camp in FCT and 1 camp in Plateau states.
“There is also urgent need to complement governments’ efforts aimed at bringing succour to IDPs through our common humanity from the well do Nigerians. For example, CCC visit to WTC camp in Maiduguri, Borno State, which houses a total of 6,139 IDPs made up of 2,518 female children, 1,464 male children and 2,157 female adults displaced in December 2013 from Bama Local Government. The sad thing about this camp is that 45% of the children in this camp are orphans while 80% of the women are widows.”
The Centre therefore recommends that affected states and the Federal Government should begin to work out programmes and modalities towards permanent resettlement of the people in these camps so that the families could be reintegrated back to the communities and the society to pursue their normal livelihood. It also advised the immediate reconstruction of towns and communities destroyed by the insurgents amongst others.
Speaking about the current flooding being witnessed in several parts of the country, Anas lamented that individuals, communities and governments appear not to have taken advantage of the timely warning issued by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) of the impending hazards due to anticipated heavy rains in 2015.
“Given the destructive socio-economic impact of flood, it is critical that mitigating and attenuating measures be put in place to forestall the flood and the resultant consequences.
“It is precarious to rather wait for floods to happen and deal with the aftermath instead of taking necessary precautionary steps that will minimize its devastating effects,” he said.
He recalled that in 2012, following the sudden bursts of the Cameroonian and Guinean dams coupled with the heavy rainfall experienced between May and September, over 20 states in the federation were affected by flood waters.
“Yet it did not come without a warning. The consequence of the flood then was that by 5 November, 2012, over 363 people had died as a result of the flood with about two million people displaced. The states most affected then were Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau, Benue, Bayelsa, Kogi, Niger, Lagos Cross Rivers, Rivers and several others.
“Of course the flood destroyed properties worth billions of naira, dislocated many families from their homes, destroyed farmlands, businesses, polluted water resources and even increased risks of diseases. As a result, the country suffered from land and gully erosion, huge economic losses such as food shortages and spiralling prices even in unaffected areas.”
The Centre canvassed for more pragmatic efforts by the Federal Government over the danger posed by the annual ritual of releasing excess water by Cameroon.