Mallam Nuhu Ribadu was the pioneer
chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). During his tenure, Nigeria recorded some successes in its fight against corruption.
In 2011, Ribadu made an unsuccessful
bid to clinch the coveted seat of power,
the presidency.
In this interview, Ribadu recounts how
he waged anti-corruption war against
the powerful in Nigeria. He spoke
briefly on the newly formed political
party and el-Rufai’s controversial book,
among others. Excerpt:
.
Q: What do you think about Africa and
its leaders?
.
Ans: Africa can come in different sizes and
shades for all of us. For me, I see a
continent that has gone through the
most difficult history, challenges and
injustice. I also see a continent that is of today and tomorrow. I see a continent of the future. Certainly, we’ve seen the worst part of our own history and survival as Africans. For me, it can only get better. We’ve seen a lot of
difficulties. You know that difficulties
give you the room to do what is right.
We are confronted with a bright and
very encouraging future. Africa is a
continent of tomorrow. If you look at
what has happened in the past, it will
not be very difficult for you to know that indeed, the future belongs to Africa. Today, you talk about China and Japan. Before now, we had the Roman Empire,Europe and the United States. I can assure that one day, we will be talking out Africa.
What matters is for us to work towards
this greatness and prepare for it. I’m a
proud African. Given another chance, I
will want to come back as an African.
Africans, in spite of the evils that have
been meted out to them, still have the
heart to forgive. When you hear the
story of Nelson Mandela, it tells you who we really are. His story is not just about South Africa; it is about Africa itself. This is who we are, as a people. When he was released from prison, he decided to bring South Africans together; white and black. So, when I think about Africa,I see us as a people with a very large heart who forgive in spite of the evils that have been meted out to us. This is the same continent where people were forcefully taken to Europe as slaves, but we forgave. Most of the challenges the African continent is facing today are borne out of our history. Very little can be attributed to our own personal doing.
It takes time to get out of this kind of
mess. I understand why we are where
we are, but we will certainly get out of it and I can assure you that tomorrow
belongs to us.
.
Q: You managed the EFCC for years.
How did you succeed in bringing the
high and mighty to book in the fight
against corruption?
.
Ans: I think all my life has been about
service. My entire life has been purely
based on fighting injustice. That is the
reason I joined a law enforcement
agency. I felt it was the place where I
could defend the cheated and the
underprivileged. Indeed, defend the
ones that are treated unfairly. The
profession gave me the chance to
challenge those who took advantage of
others. I fought armed robbers as a
police officer. For me, these people are
the worst you can think of. Because
they’ve guns, they go after innocent
people. They take their lives. And for
me, the worst form of human rights
abuses is to take another man’s life. So,
I fought people like that. I fought those
who cheated. I fought fraudsters; those
who think they’re smart and misused
God-given talent to defraud others. I
brought so many powerful fraudsters to
justice in Nigeria. I fought politicians
and the public officers and brought
them to justice.
We brought justice to them. Those who
felt they were above the law, those who
took advantage of their positions, those
who misused their powers, I brought
them all to justice. That is all I’ve been
doing all my life. I like fighting for
justice and for what is right. I hate to
see people take advantage of others,
simply because they’ve the powers. I
hate that. This is my life. I can fight for
the poor, the weak and the
underprivileged in the society, because
those who are on top feel they can
always do what they like to them.
Nothing gives me more joy and
happiness than to see people being
brought to justice. This is where I
belong. In doing this, I’ve worked in
various fields and departments. Right
now, I’m a politician and for me, it is a
continuation of the fight for justice.
Politics will, again, offer me the
opportunity to fight injustice. And the
only way Nigeria can earn the respect of the world is to fight injustice. That is
why I want to be involved. I’m grateful
to God for the kind of life I’ve lived and I thank Him for that.
.
Q: How did you succeed in your war
against corruption?
.
Ans: I’d the chance to set up the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC). We built a structure that was
able to deliver its best. We trained the
best personnel to fight corruption. I ensured that I wasn’t corrupt or allowed anyone that worked under me to be corrupt. We were able to achieve that. We partnered international bodies,especially law enforcement agencies and we brought the best from around the world to Nigeria. We made a difference.
We ensured that no one was above the
law. Before EFCC came on board, there
was never any single conviction of any
corrupt public official. When we came,
we said nobody was above the law and
that we were going to take the war to
wherever there was corruption.
Powerful individuals, politicians,
businessmen were brought to justice.
Within a short period of time, Nigerians
began to feel the impact. Even powerful
419 guys weren’t spared. They were
brought to justice.
We went after these fraudsters all over
the world; recovered the money from
them and returned them to Nigeria. We
went after police officers,
parliamentarians and strong
government politicians and within four
years, we recorded over 300
convictions. We recovered over $5
billion within that period. The EFCC
became a household name. We set up
offices across the country. Ability to lead under very difficult terrain is key in the fight against corruption. That was what I brought into the job and that is why we were able to achieve the things we did. Anti-corruption war is the most difficult job to do in Nigeria. When you fight it, it fights back. I’ve said it several times. It fights back with vengeance.
The people we are fighting are strong
and very powerful.
As chairman, I was never corrupt. We
were fair and just. EFCC almost
changed and transformed the country.
Corruption fought back and we can see
the outcome. Hopefully, we will bounce
back. There are two things destroying
Nigeria. They’re insecurity and
corruption. Anybody who wants to
transform Nigeria must confront these
two things. This will be the foundation
upon which everything will happen. We
should build a nation out of our country.
Leaders must concentrate on these
things. The resources are there to fight
these things. But when they come, they
end up in the pockets of private
individuals. Instead of them to use
money for the good of all of us, they
convert it for their personal use. No
magic can make you develop if the
money you get always ends up in the
pockets of individuals. These same
people will use this money to corrupt
the electoral process. They use the
money to bribe religious leaders. They
use the money to buy private jets.
I have never seen any part of the world
where private jets are packed the way
we’ve them in Nigeria. I’ve been to so
many parts of the world. There was a
day I counted over 45 private jets in
Abuja airport, but you can’t get 20
functional airplanes. What sort of
society is this? They’re using the money
to create more problems for the
country. They’ve also used the money to
build big houses in Abuja. When you use Abuja to judge Nigeria, you’ll think you’re in a different world. A typical big
man in Nigeria steals money and builds
houses for his numerous wives and all
sorts. They’ve houses all over the world.
Through that, they get our young
generation angry. It is bad. Out of anger and frustration, we now have young people wearing suicide vests and
blowing up places. This is what
corruption and bad leadership have cost us. We’ve used EFCC in the past to fight corruption and rescued Nigeria. We can use it again to change things.
.
Q: Recently, some opposition political
parties merged. What is your take
on this?
.
Ans: I’m so proud of it. I’m very happy that
I’m part of it. I think it is part of the
biggest development in our recent
history. I pray that it will work this time
better than before. This country needs a strong and viable opposition that will
help Nigerians to choose as an
alternative. We had not been able to
provide that before. The opposition
parties were more or less regional until
now. We now see them coming together.
It is going to create a national party that is going to rival the PDP. I’m part of it and part of it. Most importantly, I hope it is going to bring the change that we are looking for. Coming together may be meaningless if it is not going to bring a new thing. Coming together must provide us the opportunity and chance to do things in a different way. Let us hope the merger will provide a new way by which we can do politics in Nigeria.
Let us see to it that this merger
provides the platform to play national
politics and not sectional. It is good for
our country and let us hope that it will
help us get out of the problems that
we’ve found ourselves. I pray that it is
going to give Nigeria s a chance to
create a solid platform to do what is
right. I also pray that the merger will
not produce corrupt and sectional
leaders.
.
Q: There’s the rumour that there are
cracks within the new party already.
Why is this?
.
Ans: I doubt very much that there are cracks
already. It is a very challenging process.
It is not going to be easy. Those
benefitting from today’s political
structure will not allow it to happen.
They’ll fight back. What matters is for
people to hold on and fight till the end.
Those that are merging will not get it so easily. If they were imagining that
others were going to accept it like that,
they’re making a mistake. Those who’ll
lose out will fight back. Out of the four
parties that signed, it is only in one that
we see factionalisation. What APGA is
even saying is that they didn’t have
enough time to prepare. My hope is
that, with all these, they’ll still come
back. They’ll do a catch-up. It matters
that they join the progressives. We’ve
seen the consolidation of the
conservatives, that’s the PDP. Now, we
are seeing the emergence of the new
progressives.
The PDP has ruled Nigeria since 1999
and the only thing they brought to us
are insecurity, suicide bombers,
corruption at the highest level. PDP has
failed Nigeria. It is time to give the
opposition a new chance. I call on other
opposition parties to join the new train
of progressives.
.
Q: What are your plans for 2015?
.
Ans: I’m part of the merged party. We’ve a
process. We are going through the
formative stage. It will be very unwise
and improper for anybody to jump the
gun and make a conclusion. Let us build the new party first and then individuals can come forward with their own ambitions to do what they feel is best for them, including myself. Nigerians are very wise and they know what is good and workable. I believe as we move on,this new party will be able to build leaders that can rule this country.
.
Q : What do you think about el-Rufai’s
new book?
.
Ans: El-Rufai is entitled to his own opinions
and views. He’s entitled to construct his own truth. People must respect that. I’ve no quarrel with that. It is his own views and opinions. It is his own
interpretation of things and I’ve nothing other than to say I wish him well.
LINK:
www.sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/my-role-in-new-party-ribadu/

Guy rearrange your post now

jmaine: Guy rearrange your post now

Help me re-arrange am na,you no even appreciate say I used phone post that plenty topic,guy park for corner jare.