Being the Text
of Press Statement issued on the occasion of 2015 Annual Anti-Corruption Tour
organized by the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) on the
Anti-Corruption Day dated 9th of December, 2015.
Compatriots,
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), has organized
its 2015 Annual Anti-Corruption Tour to monitor some Federal and Lagos state
budgetary deficits typified by notable infrastructure decay in Lagos State with
a view to calling the attention of responsible authorities to it. Read more and check out more of the protest picture below
In the past few years, Nigerians have
been groaning under the weight of infrastructural decay all over the country
which is evidenced in many of the federal and state roads and hospitals.
The conditions of various government
hospitals are so bad to the extent that many accident victims and patients of
other emergency illnesses do not have beds to sleep, with many of the hospitals
lacking in other relevant equipment. In cases where there are equipment, they
are seldomly used because the equipment are either substandard or don’t have
expertise to operate, not to talk of maintain them. While many of our so-called
leaders patronize foreign health institutions to access basic health care, the
teeming masses that cannot afford costs of private health care are left to
suffer the jeopardy of perpetual illness or premature death due to lack of
necessary infrastructures in the all-essential health sector.
A recent report on PUNCH newspaper of
Saturday 14th November, 2015, titled “Lagos Hospital where new born
babies, mums sleep on chairs, floors”, was an exposé of what happens in
the Ifako Ijaye general hospital in Lagos state and some other government
hospitals all over the country. Pregnant women who had just been delivered of
their babies are told, and sometimes compelled to vacate the bed and sit on
plastic chairs so that other pregnant women in the queue could be admitted. The
same newspaper, The PUNCH, reported earlier that patients and visitors to
Gbagada General (Govt.) Hospital defecate in open spaces due to non-functional
and subsequent abandonment of its toilet facilities. A development, which
findings revealed as being synonymous with the government hospitals because of
the constraint of space and the need to attend to other women in labour.
On
the other hand, many of
the Nigerian roads are in bad shape. To put it mildly, the
state of most of the nation’s highways today has become a serious embarrassment
to the successive Nigerian regimes without reprieve in sight. It is not just
that most of these roads are so impassable; it is also a disturbing fact that
dangerous spots along many of them have also become convenient operating
centers for highway robbers, who lay siege on unsuspecting motorists and other
road users. This is aside the notorious fact that the poor state of these roads
hampers economic activities as much as it costs Nigerians their lives and
properties.
The
raining season is one season that most Nigerians especially Lagosians hate to
experience. Rains ought to have been factored into the plans of all states
developmental agenda. It is lack of adequate planning and preparation that
makes predictable disasters to become emergences before efforts are made to fix
them. If adequate precautionary measures had been taken in advance, the effects
of floods would not be as devastating as we have it presently in some states of
the country. It is not normal for flood to wreck constant
havoc on the people. Lasting solution must be found to the cause of such floods
because it does not only endanger lives and properties but also disrupts
economic activities in the state.
The
present state of Lagos State is particularly pathetic. This is a state where we have a raft of broken infrastructures as symbolized by
bad roads, poor quality of construction, dilapidated schools, a comatose health
system, flood-ravaged
neighbourhoods etc the conditions have been made such due to official
negligence, thereby causing citizens a lot of untold hardship in their bid to
eke a living. The state has a recent history of
an unaccountable government and complacent legislature; a ham-strung judicial
system, over-taxed citizenry and corporate bodies, and other poor developmental
indicators. These have left the people asking questions, questions and
questions. These questions, so far, have remained unanswered.
Roads
are bad - riddled with craters and gorges making them sources of personal
danger and economic waste. Schools lack functional infrastructures; most are in
various states of disrepair. There is no efficient drainage system, roofs are
leaky, and pupils still sit on bare and broken floors,
while their personnel are poorly motivated morally, technically and materially.
Ironically, Lagos State that prides itself as the
‘Centre of Excellence’ with a presumed ‘Modern City’ status has nothing much to
show for this over-bloated rating due to several dysfunctional infrastructural
facilities. To say the least, Lagos State cannot boast
of adequate social amenities and good infrastructural facilities in the
magnitude proportional to its income and need. Some parts of the State have
become a nightmare to its dwellers due to the decrepit state of its utility
structures and infrastructures which are grossly inadequate and non-functional.
The pressure on the highways which led to traffic
congestion on our roads would have reduced if the potentials of waterways are
developed. A
particularly terrible example is the
Apapa-Oshodi expressway
which serves as the main access to the nation’s two main seaports in Lagos but
is perennially congested and presently a complete disaster.
All attempts to fix the road have been mired in politics. Most of the adjoining streets, especially the famed Apapa
GRA are death traps, and maneuvering through them in times of emergency is a
waste of time. All the feeder roads linking Marine and Liverpool roads remind
drivers of a war-torn region.
There are other visible
contradictions like the gap between Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland and others
classified as ‘Lagos no-land’; all of which ought to be equally developed with
the collective resources of the state. The basis of the differential
provisioning becomes hard to understand thus becoming subject to primordial
interpretations as in the case of extremely opposing two sides of the city that
radiate immoral affluence on one side and roasting poverty on the other. This
is accentuated by the ultra-expensive Cable Bridge in Ikoyi-Lekki access road
and the Pako Bridge in Ayobo-Igando axis, all in Lagos state. For residents of
Alimosho and other underdeveloped areas, the need to link communities has been
a major drive which has resulted in the construction of wooden bridges
otherwise known as ‘Pako bridges’ in parts of the states. The Alimosho Pako
bridges, as an example, provide the needed escape and a short route for
motorists who intend to avoid the burden of traffic snarl at the popular
Ayobo-Igando axis.
These
wooden bridges built by
communities also go to show the failure of government in the provision of essential
infrastructure for the people. For
so many years the owner of this Pako bridges have been extorting poor citizens
with it. Each passage on this motorable and pedestrian wooden bridges cost as
much as N200 per vehicle and N30 per person. It is high time the Lagos state
government intervened in this situation by building a proper bridge for the
citizens living in the area for free as dividend of democracy. Why do we have
to suffer in our own state to have access to a road?
There
are other invisible contradictions within the aspiring modern city that Lagos
State is. It appears that there are deliberate concerted efforts to obliterate
the poor who government apparently seems to consider as deface to the face of
the mega environment Lagos state desires. To clean the environment and make it
decent for the rich and the international community, the commercial and
residential shacks of the poor are demolished, together with their goods and at
times even, with the people. However, it must be reiterated that it is the mega
population that confers the ‘megacity’ status on Lagos not the expensive
estates. What is expected of a responsible government is to expand
infrastructural facilities to contain and made affordable for the population of
various socio-economic classes; not depopulation by systematically frustrating
the poor out of the city.
Thousands of potholes form a
death-ring on Lagos roads thus make driving in the state a living hell on
earth. Taking a look at Command- Ile-Iwe/Meiran road, you would continue to
wonder if those roads are considered as Lagos roads. The Meiran road
which is less than 2 kilometers has been under perpetual construction for 5
years now with the project yet to be completed. Even though some of the major federal
roads are considered to be in good shape; they are bumpy, narrow and badly
managed. A vast majority of the feeder roads are a crying shame on governance
and those who run the affairs of the state.
Most of the roads actually need
complete redesign and reconstruction, with side drains to channel flood waters
into dedicated reservoirs by very competent and reputable construction
companies; not quacks masquerading as construction companies, who collude with
state officials to shortchange the state.
A worrisome contribution of the
federal government into the national infrastructural decay is the old Toll-gate on the Abeokuta Expressway where
there have been daily cases of road crashes. These accidents no doubt have
caused several losses to life and property since a very long time. According to
the 2015 statistical data of accident cases requested and received from the
Federal Road Safety Commission, Sango-Otta Unit, a total number of forty (40)
road accident cases occurred on the route between January and November. A total
number of 354 people were involved, 116 people got injured while 26 people lost
their lives. It is expected that a responsible Federal government would have
devised a lasting solution to the preventable carnage occurring at that spot. A
flyover on the road, we believe, would have prevented the perennial loss of
lives and properties.
We urge the governments at various levels to
give adequate attention to all the aforementioned and all other begging areas.
We therefore appeal to them to urgently address and fix the issues of
infrastructural deficiency. This, we believe, would alleviate the hardship,
pain and loss that majority of the people of Lagos, and Nigerians as a whole
experience in various parts.
Taking
a look at the anti-corruption campaign
so far, we all should first of all admit that our dear country, Nigeria, is yet
to attain the true status of nationhood; true federalism is yet to be attained.
Our democracy is yet to meet the required standard that could make it take its
pride of place among the comity of democratic nations of the world as it lacks
the posture of a true representation of the people. Elected leaders must be
made answerable to the electorates whenever the need arises; our legal cum
judicial system needs to be comprehensively overhauled in order to ensure
effective dispensation of justice; fiscal and economic policies need to be
reviewed to reflect the reality of our composition as a conglomerate,
especially in the area of distribution and sharing formula of revenue amongst governing
institutions at the three levels of government i.e. federal, state and local
governments and of course, we need to
strengthen the machinery that effects a clear-cut separation of powers as well
as the independence of the three arms of government, to ensure necessary checks
and balances at all times and thus prevent impunity and arbitrariness in any
form or guise.
Corruption
is Nigeria’s primary problem and it is a major
challenge
the country must battle and overcome if indeed
Nigeria must enjoy the dividends of democracy. Corruption has so far succeeded in
not only ravaging our values and pride, but has also succeeded in bastardizing
the psyche of the majority so much so that common thieves are openly
hailed and celebrated. Ours is gradually
becoming a society that encourages opportunism in whatever form.
The tendency to exploit every given
opportunity to satisfy one’s selfish desire no longer rest only with the
leaders, the led themselves now encourage the leaders to thrive in self-serving
exploits. It’s saddening and highly disturbing to see what has now become the
norm for the led to constantly remind their newly elected (or appointed) leaders
of why they should see their new positions as an opportunity that might come
only once and so urge them to corruptly enrich themselves to the maximum at the
expense of the less privileged. The common phrase nowadays is ‘it is our turn
to chop’. It is now a common sight to see ‘men of timber and caliber’ turning
out in large number to accompany an accused corrupt person to the court or law
enforcement or anti-corruption agencies, on a solidarity mission; all aimed at
intimidating the institution of justice.
The
authorities should also refrain from victimizing and humiliating the heads of
anti-graft agencies and panels. Such practice is fast becoming a regular
practice especially when highly placed public exposed person is under
investigation or prosecution. However, if in the course of performing their
statutory duties, they are accused of wrong doings, they should be made to
complete the assignments they are handling and allowed to get to a logical
conclusion before they are prosecuted or made to quit the office. Quitting the
office abruptly will be more of advantage to the accused persons than to the
cause of justice and getting the heads of these agencies and panels out of the
way might be the only reason why the complainant or their cronies could have accused
the heads of agencies investigating or prosecuting them so that the process of
getting the criminals diligently investigated and prosecuted may be truncated. The
anti-corruption war in Nigeria can neither be effective nor sustained where
there is no security of tenure and the leaders of the anti-corruption agencies
are subjected to summary dismissal.
We need a
judicial reform to ameliorate the situation of the judges and the Nigerian
judiciary because the judiciary is terribly sick, and unless all necessary
efforts are put in place, Nigeria will not have any hope for further
development from the level that we are now. We need to remember that the judiciary is supposed to be the hope for the common man. The
judicial system is too much of a serious business than to be left for the
judiciary alone to tackle, since majority of them are profiteering from the rot
that is in existence. It is up to those of us who are likely to be victims of
their misbehavior to put our acts together, and devise means of stopping them;
so that the general public may know that some of our judicial officers cannot
be trusted not to go into conspiracy, or unholy alliance with criminals that we
have to root out of our own system.
CACOL wants to use this medium to call on
the federal government to ensure that those who stole the $2.1 billion meant
for the procurement of arms are BROUGHT
TO BOOK, tried and charged for mass
murder. They should be punished
for misleading Nigerians into internecine. Several soldiers and innocent citizens
were sent to their early grave while civilians were exposed to Boko Haram
pro-bono due to poor equipment.
The EFCC should ensure that proper
investigation is carried out, ensuring that all cases goes through due judicial
process and if the suspects are found culpable they should be prosecuted and
equally allowed to face the full penalty; because no corruption culprit should
be allowed to go unpunished. They should be used as an example for others who
may want to indulge in similar act.
We also want to condemn the controversial
Social Media Bill being proposed by the Senate. The
bill which is titled “Bill for an Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and Other
Matters Connected Therewith,” seeks to gag online media by imposing a two-year
jail term for an abusive statement.
The bill also seeks to
impose a jail term or N2m fine or both if a person spreads false information
about a public servant through the social media.
We must say the bill is a threat to
democracy and should be totally condemned by all Nigerians. Our lawmakers,
rather than focus on laws for good governance that
will ensure the welfare of the people, are busy introducing law that
will gag Nigerians from freely expressing themselves. We say no to anti-social
media bill, it is anti-people.
We
must also say that we see the stance of those
calling for the extension of the probe to other past administrations as
self-defeatist, self-condemning and an obvious product of a guilty conscience. Corruption is sure
the only reason our blessed country is not moving forward. Nigerians should,
despite our political differences, admit that at least Buhari is starting
somewhere. Corruption has been so much embedded in our collective psyche that
any person who has the best of intentions at giving it a kick is perceived as a
nutter, bent on ‘wasting our precious time’. We must know that it takes bravery
and courage to step on toes of the powerful and the untouchables.” We imploring President Buhari to disregard such
distractions and concentrate on pursuing his anti-corruption crusade with all
his vigor and ensuring that the thieves of our common patrimony are exposed and
adequately punished.
As
for us in CACOL, we are ever ready to collaborate with the relevant authorities
in this regard, to wrestle this monster to submission by every legitimate means
possible and are urging all well-meaning citizens of this country to join hands
with President Buhari in this battle for national survival. We believe he’s got
the credentials and the wit to do it.
Finally,
we call on all Nigerians to embrace CACOL’s slogan – “NAME, NAIL, SHAME AND SHUN CORRUPT LEADERS ANYWHERE, EVERYWHERE”.
Don’t join in the foolish acts of hailing and celebrating them, instead,
harass, embarrass and disgrace them even to their faces.
Debo Adeniran
Executive Chairman, CACOL
0803-7194-969
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