7th March, 2013
Former Head of State and the leader of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, Maj-Gen.Muhammadu Buhari, has declared in London that the fight against corruption in Nigeria was beyond the capacity of any government because the scourge was deeply rooted in the nation.
Buhari stated this at the 4th British- African Diaspora Conference with the theme: “Stable Democracy and Nigeria’s Economy,’’ held at the British House of Parliament.
He said corruption still remained the old and ever present devil that had eaten into all facets of life in the country.
“Until serious efforts are made to tackle corruption which is beyond the capacity of the government, economic growth and stability will continue to elude us.”
Buhari called for cooperation of all Nigerians in the quest to tame the monster.
He quoted the Chairman of one of the bodies responsible for fighting corruption in Nigeria, Mr. Ekpo Nta of the ICPC, as saying that “there is no political will to fight corruption in Nigeria.”
He said this stresses the need for all hands to be on deck in our collective fight to eliminate the scourge from our nation.
Buhari, however, said that Nigeria had the capacity to emerge as an economically competitive nation adding that “democracy” cannot function optimally without a certain level of economic attainment.
He also spoke on a wide range of issues from state creation to zoning system, while expressing concern over INEC, and the 2015 general elections.
According to him, the present leadership of the electoral body is incapable of delivering a fair election, as it had a cosy relationship with the executive and the judiciary.
“INEC requires a group of independent minded people, patriotic and incorruptible, who have the courage and the capacity to handle such a strenuous assignment of conducting elections in Nigeria,’’ he said.
Speaking on poverty and wealth creation, Buhari said there was no short cut to poverty eradication other than to get people to work and earn money.
To this end, he stressed the need to ensure that agriculture thrives with the provision of fertiliser, pesticides and small scale credits to farmers.
“Agriculture will boom within five to seven years if given proper attention and in addition, the drift to urban centres will be greatly reduced.
“Equal attention should also be paid to the revival of employment generating activities, notably in the textiles industry and other land and forest resources based industries to absorb urban labour in the drive to tackle poverty, reduce crime and boost economy.”
Also speaking, Malam Nasir El Rufai, former Minister of the FCT, said Buhari was persuaded to return to active politics even though he had earlier said he would never contest for the presidency after losing in the 2003 and 2007 elections.
El Rufai, while answering question on age limit for presidential aspirants, said: “I believe strongly that it’s not about age but combining the wisdom of the old, and dynamism of the young to move the nation forward.”
The organiser of the conference, Mr. Alistair Soyode, Chairman of BEN TV said the conference was launched last year as part of efforts to engage the Diaspora on developmental issues in Nigeria.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the conference had in the past featured Mr. Labaran Maku, Minister of Information, and other prominent Nigerians.