Ugolor: Nigeria Should Pay More Attention to Corruption Prevention than Prosecution
As the country grapples with the issue of official corruption, which is enhanced by slow prosecution and cronyism, the Executive Director of the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, Rev. David Ugolor, shares his views on the scourge of cor
You have devoted half of your life (24 years) to advocacy for a better society...how has the struggle been and can you recall three landmark events that have helped shaped your activism? Looking back to how I started from Sapele to Iguobazuwa in Ovia South-West Local Government, Edo State, I would say that a lot of water has passed under the bridge. The key to the success of my work which led to the establishment of the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) is traced to my firm belief in God Almighty and my parents. For the past 25 years I have been deeply involved in defending the human rights and participating actively in the global civil society movement through various platforms and this has attracted obviously, both pains and victory that one can easily ascribe to God Almighty.
Therefore, one can easily point out many landmark events that have helped shape my activism. But for the purpose of your question, I will restrict my response to only three which really impacted positively on my work through the ANEEJ platform. The first one was when I refused to be intimidated by my secondary teacher who took sides with a female junior student who misbehaved during our preparation for final examination at Iguobazuwa Grammar School. My action provided the opportunity for other students to begin to stand up for their rights and we later established a secret students’ team to monitor the corrupt activities of teachers with female students.
The outcome of this bold initiative denied me the privilege of becoming the Head Prefect even though I merited the position. When my name was excluded from the list of those appointed into student leadership, I was not only disappointed but became more inspired to sustain the demand for justice within the school system and remain firm to the cause until I finished from that school. Before then the school nominated me to participate as one of the best students in the Gani Fawehinmi Scholarship in Benin City. I missed the opportunity to be selected because of the large crowd of people who wanted to take part.
But I was not discouraged because I listened to Gani’s speech on that very day and everything about me changed. From that day, I made a commitment that I will always stand for justice and fight to defend the rights of our people. What I was unable to get from that scholarship I received from Gani what I will never forget in my life. I later became an active member of the National Conscience movement which was established by Gani to defend the rights of Nigerians.
The second landmark event was when I recovered my father’s pension money from the Nigerian Police in Iguobazuwa. That action was very historic and it remains a defining moment in my life struggle to survive in Nigeria. My father retired from the Ministry of Agriculture and later died before his pension was paid by the Government. This experience also contributed to what inspired me to always stand up for justice, equity and fairness.
The third one was my experience from the Nigerian Police which was connected to the assassination of my late friend, Olaitan Oyerinde, former Principal Private Secretary to Adams Oshiomhole, the former Governor of Edo State. I was arrested by the Nigerian Police and framed up as the killer. But the response of the people, particularly the people of Edo State and my good friend, Comrade Adams was very inspiring and I was later vindicated after the SSS displayed the real killers. That experience has also helped to shape my belief and commitment to the struggle that light will always overcome darkness. Many things have happened in the last 25 years fighting as a human rights activist and I am indeed grateful to God Almighty that I am still working and defending the human rights of our people.
In tandem with your organisation’s name and vision, do you think economic justice for all is possible in Nigeria? Absolutely, economic justice is very possible. What we need to do is to continue to demand for economic justice. We will continue to work to promote economic and environmental justice for all in Nigeria and other parts of the world in line with our name and vision. You know that this is a responsibility for all and not only ANEEJ or the government. But the challenge is in getting all parties to play their role. We are playing our role; the government also should be playing its role.
Because of the prevalence of corruption and other anomalies, it is equally difficult for government to meet its obligations to the people. We are all aware that public funds that could be better used to address critical sectors for national development, such as health, education, electricity, roads, and other infrastructural projects for the social, political and economic well-being of the country are diverted by some Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), civil servants and their agents. This will not lead us anywhere until we denounce this and work for the good of the common man.
As an anti-corruption crusader, which aspect should Nigeria focus on more: preventing official corruption or punishing corrupt acts to serve as a deterrent to others who may be tempted? Both aspects of anti-corruption are essential but the most important is taking steps to prevent corruption. Unfortunately, the bulk of Nigeria’s effort and attention has been channelled to investigation and prosecution of corruption suspects. The truth is that preventing corruption is more economical than investigating and prosecuting corruption suspects. This is because resources which ordinarily would have been spent on development initiatives that will improve the lives of citizens are spent on investigation and prosecution of suspects. A former chief justice of Nigeria once lamented the slow pace of investigation and prosecution of cases in Nigeria. The Chief Judge also cited the trial of former Governor James Ibori in the UK and said his investigation alone cost the British taxpayers £14 million.
Apart from that, the current system in the country allows corruption to thrive. Many years later after the crimes, attempts are still being made to bring suspects to justice. What I mean is that certain class of public office holders in Nigeria enjoy immunity e.g. the president and the governors. Some of these persons often do two terms in office, in many cases, before prosecution starts, many of the witnesses may have died or the evidence destroyed. Our judicial system adds to the frustration, as cases drag for several years without making headway. This explains why we have many pending high profile cases. It is regrettable that some of the governors who served between 1999 and 2003 and even up to 2007 are still been prosecuted today, with only very few having been convicted in Nigeria like former Edo and Bayelsa State governors.
Another side of the matter is that, often times, the ruling party is reluctant to expose and prosecute their party loyalists. A lot of red flags have been raised among politicians belonging to the ruling party in Nigeria. Yet action has not been taken in many instances. This was not different from what happened in previous administrations when a different party was in charge.
That is why I would suggest that Nigeria should pay more attention to corruption prevention. Institutions should be strengthened to make it difficult for corruption to take place in the first place. People who have corrupt tendencies can operate in a system but the system will prevent them from doing otherwise. I particularly appreciate some of the work of ICPC that is directed at corruption prevention especially the effort to establish anti-corruption and transparency units across MDAs and schools outreach.