Peter Bassey|19 July 2016|11:22AM
Corruption has been described as a cancer that is slowing world's development and progress. Despite the myriad of challenges we face in Nigeria as a country, corruption tops the list and can easily be referred to as the genesis of all problems.
Political corruption is the use of power by government officials for illegitimate private gain. An illegal act by an office holder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties. Therefore forms of political corruption vary, but may include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism patronage, influence peddling, graft and embezzlement. Corruption facilitate criminal enterprise such as drug trafficking to mention a few.
The emergence of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the ruling party and their innate ability to beam the search light on corrupt leaders and expose them is accolade worthy. It is shocking and emberasing how our leaders whom we elect to represent us could be so engrossed in corrupt activities to the detriment of Nigeria and Nigerians.
While I remain a core believer and follower of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), I am not and will never be in support of any leader, past or present who indulge in corrupt activities to the detriment of my fellow countrymen. With this kind of helpless situation most Nigerians finds themselves now, party line should never allow any reasonable person to support a leader who will steal funds meant for the public for his or her own personal use. In most cases, these stolen funds are even enough to fund a nations budget. Such an act is witchcraftcy and a great injustice to humanity. Accept it or leave it, corruption is the root cause of our under development, poverty, slow economic growth, increase unemployment, poor health care system, illiteracy among other negativities in Nigeria.
Nigerians should understand that “if you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem”. It's on this basis that I lend my voice in support of the war against corruption, and I belief strongly that all well meaningful Nigerians will do same.
While I applaud and encourage the APC federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari on anti corruption campaign, I also want to use this medium to call on the APC government to be rational on this fight against corruption, this will enable the common Nigerian to keep faith on this government. It is almost becoming evident that this fight is loop sided and the situation is becoming worrisome to some of us that believed that the fight is necessary to clean up our system.
Else, how do we explain these questions:
1. Do the APC change dynamics exclude her members from being investigated, arrested and arraigned? Or is the APC now a save haven for PDP former leaders?
2. Are the measures put in place to curb corruption working? Or are the institutions saddled with this mandate influenced by the broom spirit, only to go after individuals under the shadow of the umbrella?
3. With all amount of sincerity, are we saying that so far, no APC member who was a former PDP public office holder for the past sixteen years corrupt? Or because they are now in APC, old things have passed away and behold…?
Let me submit by stating the obvious, APC should understand that Nigerians and the international community appreciate them for fighting corruption. Perhaps for continual support on this, the fight must not be bias or selective. So that we do not set the pace for continual witch haunting even to the generations unborn.
“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently” -Frederick Nietzsche.
Peter Bassey
Writes from Calabar