Fight Corruption, Not Mugabe, Anti-corruption Group Tells FG

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Friday, April 11th, 2014

Kayode Adelowokan

The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has urged the Federal Government to address the endemic corruption bedeviling the country.

Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan

This came on the heels of the summoning of the Zimbabwean Head of Chancery, over remarks credited to President Robert Mugabe, which depicted Nigerians as very corrupt people. Mugabe was reported to have said Nigerians are corrupt people when he hosted service chiefs on his 90th birthday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Zimbabwean Head of Chancery, Stanley Kunjeku, in Abuja yesterday to formally lodge a protest.

Reacting to the summon, the Executive Chairman of the Coalition, Mr Debo Adeniran noted that Mugabe’s statement means that Nigeria has no integrity whatsoever in the sight of the outside world.

He said, “It is very unfortunate that the truth about our country is coming from a tyrant. Mugabe may be a lot of things to different people but he spoke nothing but the whole truth. What is however unfortunate is that if Mugabe, can see Nigeria in such light, it means our country doesn’t have an iota of integrity before the outside world.

It is a known fact that corruption has become a way of life in Nigeria, and that our country is so corrupt to the extent that even corruption is scared of us. It is sad being insulted by other governments that are corrupt. Mugabe, though corrupt, spoke the truth about our country. The level of impunity in this present government is disheartening.”

The anti-corruption crusader however urged the FG to deal with the message rather than the messenger.

“What Robert Mugabe said about us as a country cannot be controverted. It is not enough for our country to resolve to diplomatic row. The FG should deal with the message rather than taking on the messenger. If our leaders feel the Zimbabwean President had said anything untrue, they should counter his claim with facts; or else the FG should tackle the issue of endemic corruption ravaging every sector of the country and stop playing to the gallery,” Adeniran said.