Editor’s note: Subair Mohammed, NAIJ.com partner blogger in this latest article explains why public flogging of corrupt politicians will end financial crimes in Nigeria
Mohammed is a Lagos-based journalist, who has great passion for writing. He could be contacted via: mohammedsubair872@yahoo.com
While I was meditating on the subject matter to hinge my next article on, voice of a female newscaster from a nearby station buzzed out of a radio, crept into my thought and disrupted it.
The news was about a butcher, Abdul-Rahman Umaru who was sentenced for stealing a goat belonging to one Amina Mohammed from Maitumbi community in Minna, Niger state.
According to Alfred Auta, the prosecuting officer, Amina alleged that Umaru had stolen a goat belonging to her valued at N25, 000 and killed it in an uncompleted building.
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Subsequently, in her ruling, Magistrate Amina Musa of the magisterial court sitting in Minna, sentenced the accused to 30 days imprisonment with an option of N5, 000 fines, just as she ordered Umaru to pay the sum of N25, 000 to the complainant as compensation for the theft.
With this news report, I realised the extent of double standard in the country’s judicial system which protect only the interest of the elite class but fails as the hope of the down trodden.
Often, it is said that crime knows no bound, gender or status but there is no denying the fact that the impact of the ‘pen robbery’ by the country’s ruling class are felt more on the society than that committed by an ordinary citizen.
Certainly, this is not about validating crime for I firmly belief that offender should be punished accordingly for any crime committed.
But it is demoralizing that the country’s legal code imposes stiffer sanctions on the less privileged for minor offences while the privileged class are given preferential treatment to plea bargain for crimes against the collective will of the citizenry.
Meanwhile, the desire to fight crime by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration combined with the pressure from Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundry (FATF) which named Nigeria as one of 23 countries that are non-cooperative in the international community’s efforts to curb financial crimes led to the establishment of the Economic and Finance Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2003.
But considering the level of economic stagnation and poverty occasioned by persistent corruption by the ruling class in the country, the effectiveness of the EFCC in absolutely curbing financial crimes is doubtful as it has recorded more successes in the recovery of looted funds than in securing jail term and casting corrupt politicians into the bin of political irrelevance and forgetfulness.
However, with this in mind, I felt the desire to proffer a unique brand of solution that if incorporated into the country’s criminal code will usher in a new perspective to dealing with financial crimes in public offices on one hand and elected public office holders on the other.
The dignified position of leadership and governance require an amount of trust, integrity and absolute commitment on the part of the leader to serve and protect the interest of the led.
Contrary to this, the country has witnessed a huge betrayal of public trust by the ruling class as they not only engage in corrupt practices, they rejoice in it and are honoured rather than being disgraced for engaging in such acts that dehumanised and impoverished the masses,
The reason society imposed punishment on erring members is to maintain sanity and also to deter potential offenders through confinement.
But for some of Nigeria’s politicians, serving a jail term makes them more kingly than they ever were while conviction has no relevance to their personal integrity.
In fact, many of those that were convicted for corrupt practices by the court of law control the political scene from the prison and even go as far as imposing their preferred candidates in government while in prison.
Meanwhile, Nigerians are the happier for the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari as the Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer.
For one, President Buhari brings to governance integrity, accountability and probity which redefine governance and public perception of it.
However, for a sustained global positive perception, anti-graft campaign and political and economic stability corruption needs to be made unattractive.
And how do we achieve this? It is by dishonouring and subjecting corrupt public officers to a national ridicule; doing this would serve as a deterrent to any public officer who might be considering corruption as an option.
After a thorough investigation and prosecution by the EFCC and ICPC, instead of the court pronouncing a jail sentence and forfeiture of looted funds and properties, it would be more shameful and dishonouring to sentence perpetrators of financial crimes to certain number of public thrashing to be televised live on national television.
Although, through an acts of shame, corrupt officers have brought dishonoured upon themselves but since they are not bothered about this, I think there is no harm in further casting a long lasting public shame and unworthiness on their personality.
By horse whipping corrupt elected officers in the public space by heavily built men in the presence of their immediate family, business associates and the world and tears rolling freely from their cheeks as they laze around in agonising pains as a result of the beating, they would forever go into hiding and forget everything about public life.
Imagine the cry of a corrupt former governor, minister or senator from horse whip beating on a live television and in the presence of their children.
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This is enough to cause a lifetime humiliation and end their political career that not even granting of a presidential pardon could bring them out of their shell to face the public.
For me, this is an effective remedy to the widespread corruption ravaging the country and neither the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission nor Senator Dino Melaye’s recently launched antidote for Corruption could beat the magical transformation it would bring about.
Interestingly, my solution is uniquely different in that it requires no cost and there will be no excuses of limited court rooms, absence of judges and endlessly prosecution by the EFCC while the country’s commonwealth would be safe but the damage to their career and personality is eternal.
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, reiterated the agency’s readiness to ensure that corruption is completely wiped out in Nigeria.
Watch the arraignment of Andrew Yakubu, a former group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC):