Buhari unveils A,B,C of corruption fight, tasks African youth
Pr e s i d e n t Muhammadu Buhari yesterday unveiled what he tagged as the A, B,C of corruption fight, urging African youth to takeover the war against the menace for the development of the continent.
Declaring open the Africa Youth Congress Against Corruption (AYCAC2018) at the State House Conference centre, he stressed that youth involvement in corruption war was critical to winning the battle.
“Let me share with you what I believe are the A, B, C of fighting corruption:
“'A' stands for Action. Let us all move from talk to action. I urge you to develop tangible projects in your community to instil transparency and accountability of the highest standard. I look forward to receiving your Creed of Transparency from this Congress with a view to forwarding the recommendations to the next Summit of the African Union in February next year.
"'B' stands for Building bridges . The youth have a unique opportunity to spearhead the building of inter-generational and cross-sectoral bridges in our various communities. Often, fighting corruption requires partnerships with unlikely allies. Be open to exploring constructive partnerships with a wide base of actors. Again, I look forward to all of you joining the Transparency Champions Network that was created following the Regional Youth Consultations.
"'C' stands for Culture. So, let us cultivate and equip ourselves with African culture, right attitude and mindset change that will enable us to stand firmly against corruption. By so doing, accountability and change will begin with you and me," he said.
Advocating for the introduction of anticorruption curriculum in schools, the President said: " to the young people of Africa, this fight against corruption is yours to lead and to win in order to reverse the negative trends of corruption and it’s implications for Africa.
He said the Youth of Africa must pool their energies to effectively ensure that the natural and mineral resources remain on the continent for value addition, job and wealth creation as well as to create affordable health-care and quality education for the people.
“Winning the fight against corruption is very much in your hands!
“Of particular interest to the youth, as reflected in the Nouakchott Declaration, is the emphasis on the imperative of investing in the demographic dividends through anticorruption, education and sensitization campaigns, targeting young people as a means of bringing about behavioral change.
“I thereby encourage young Africans, to use this Declaration as motivation to achieve greater resource investment in developing anti-corruption curricula and anti-graft campaigns in schools, businesses and the general public space," he said.
The President said African Youth must remain in the front and centre of restoring traditional African values of probity, integrity, honesty, diligence and hard work.
“It is only when the youth drive this change, that corruption will be eliminated," he said.
The President showered encomiums on Mr. Moussa Kondo (Mali) ,Mr. Maxence Melo,( Tanzania) and Damilola Olawale (Nigeria) for their contributions to the fight against corruption in their respective countries.
He urged the participants drawn from different African countries to at the end of the Congress come up with an Agenda for Action on Winning the Fight against Corruption that will serve as the rallying cry of the African Youth towards a corruption-free Africa.
“Strive for an Agenda for Action that will be results-oriented and serve as a roadmap for our continent," he said.