Why PAC on Anti-Corruption War Should Be Scrapped Now. By Felix N.Jarikre.

Prof.Itse Sagay (SAN)

Having read and analysed the newspaper interviews of Professor Itse Sagay on several occasions, I am firmly convinced that the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption War of which he is the Chairman should be  disbanded, scrapped, trashed and thrown into the dustbin.

The members should be sent home packing; they have truly outlived their relevance. If they are not ready to retire, they should quietly join other unemployed Nigerians to look for jobs and prove their usefulness to society.

How did I come to this conclusion, of which I’m aware, no doubt, some would call rash? Clearly, the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption War is not meant to be anything other than being a diabolical instrument of official subterfuge and deception set up to only protect and polish the sainted public image of Muhummadu Buhari, Nigeria’s president, as an infallible and untouchable anti-corruption crusader.

Though, ostensibly, he claims “our job is mainly coordination, support and research – things which, from the background, give a fillip to investigations, to the anti-corruption struggle; to give it sustenance, to make it sharper, more effective and fast.”  Don’t take his words for it; that’s a smokescreen!

The erstwhile respected SAN (Senior Advocate of Nigeria) who finally came out to proclaim with aplomb that he is a card-carrying member of the ruling APC, has kept himself busy denouncing and castigating those who accuse Buhari’s government of being selective, partisan and vindictive in their self-imposed war against official corruption.

  One is however not surprised at the self-righteous ease with which Professor Itse Sagay, a legal luminary, declared himself to be an APC politician – as it takes a simple public proclamation that one is an opponent of corruption for a thief to be transformed into a chief, a villain into a hero!

All it takes, after all, is for you to take a few acting lessons, unknown to the prying eyes of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) on how to shed well-rehearsed tears, vowing to kill corruption before it kills Nigeria! It’s the easiest way for a ravenous wolf to wear the skin of a sheep, moving stealthily about, undetected, with the dubious label of a progressive.

If the voluble professor pretends not to know, for reasons best known to him, I’m here to remind him the effect of corruption in retarding the growth of Nigeria is much more too serious, cancerous and deadly to be politicized. 

For those who are familiar with my political writing, I have always advocated that President Buhari should stop trying to steal the thunder from the Nigerian people on the best way forward to wage an inevitable, urgent war against official corruption.  Playing to the gallery by politicians, hungry for power and undue influence, has led us nowhere but the pit of disillusionment and apathy.  Besides, we have always known, except we choose to pretend otherwise for political convenience, that Buhari had always managed in the past, deploying his considerable power and influence, to shield himself from public investigation of his activities in the various public offices that he held. In other words, he had always evaded the need to be accountable and transparent to the Nigeria people. It beats every sense of morality therefore for such a fellow, despite his vaunted integrity – known personally to him and his bands of sycophants – no matter how powerful, to sit in prosecutorial judgement over those to be classified as corrupt or not.  The holy book is unequivocally clear when it stated that you can only rebuke disobedience when your obedience is complete!

It bears repeating that Buhari is not a messiah, unable to sin! As the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he must be respected, but he is not to be trusted. Buhari should be made to subject himself to this fight against official corruption. None is exempted. We are all "suspects," APC or PDP, senator or honourable rep, councilman or assemblyman! 

The message must be clear that the Nigerian people wants to own and champion this fight through our legislative arm of government at various levels.

Let Buhari reject every distraction, face the task of governance and bring the economy back on track. EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) and ICPC (Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission) should be empowered to act independently and impartially. We want to see their guns blazing at all sides, no matter your political persuasion or affiliation.

Please get hold or browse the Punch newspaper of February 7, where Itse Sagay was interviewed by Tobi Aworinde, for a context:

Do you agree with the belief that the partisanship of anti-graft agencies has been a factor in the failure to probe corrupt officials?

Prof. Itse Sagay replied: There is nothing partisan at all what is going on. Only those who have looted the country dry; who now want to escape with their loot without consequences, are the ones raising that issue. There is nothing partisan. What is happening is that investigations are revealing those who are behind virtually grounding the country...As they are being discovered, then they look for ploys to try to divert attention. Even if there are some All Progressives Congress members who are also involved in corruption, what does it matter? In fact, let me put it this way: Anybody who is saying there is selectivity or that it is partisanship should just come out and say: “Yes, I confess. I have looted the country. This is how much I have taken. Now punish me. Then, go after the APC.’ Let us do that; let us punish them. Let us take the loot from them, then, we will go after the APC they are talking about. You cannot be guilty and then shield yourself by saying there are some other people. It is not a defence in criminal law that others are guilty...

First, I never knew until I read that interview the legal luminary is also a secret spokesman stooping low to defend our anti-graft agencies. Second, in his incoherent and impatient reply, the learned professor is caught pants down seriously pushing the proposition that APC members who looted and bled the country dry should be ignored, left to move about freely until PDP looters have been adequately punished. Perhaps we can wait till the year 2023 to see that happen! Hopefully some of us will still be alive then! 

Now if that doesn’t describe selectivity and partisanship, someone should please give me a new definition of what those words mean.

One last question: is it too much, sir, for our anti-graft agencies to go after PDP and APC looters at the same time?  What a shame!

Go, Itse Sagay, go home!