Corruption fighting back against Tinubu’s government – Pelican

An anti-corruption ambassador, Dr. Babatunde Adeyemo, on Wednesday said that corruption was fighting back against the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, both locally and internationally, in an attempt to sabotage the gains the government had recorded over the past two years.

Adeyemo, a veteran broadcast journalist turned realtor in the real estate industry, stated this after a 5km walk against corruption organized by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. The event, which featured Oba Alexander Olusegun MacGregor, the Kabiyesi of Orile Ilawo, and National Youth Service Corps members, was held to mark the “Zero Tolerance for Corruption in Nigeria” campaign organized by the National Anti-Corruption Coalition (NACC).

He said that the recent gains of a steady exchange rate, subsidy removal, reduction in oil theft, and the introduction of oil import tariffs had combined to make Nigeria’s economy less vulnerable to manipulation by corrupt actors, both locally and internationally. He stressed, however, that corruption was fighting back to set the nation backward again.

Citing recent desperate attempts to portray Nigeria as a country of genocidal killings against Christians—with the intention of mobilizing the international community against the nation—as an example of the fight against Nigeria’s economic trajectory, he urged citizens to rally around the President at this critical time to overcome the current challenges.

Adeyemo, after the road walk which commenced at the MKO Abiola International Stadium, Kuto, passed through Kuto–Central Bank–Ibara Road–Omida–Panseke–Oke Ilewo, and terminated at the Iwe Iroyin Press Centre, Okelewo, Abeokuta, expressed concern that many youths who should support the administration’s economic reforms were not doing so due to limited orientation. He noted that this made it difficult for them to recognize that Nigeria was making steady progress under President Tinubu.

He observed that it was now seamless for travelers to obtain dollars using Naira cards abroad, unlike before the present administration came on board, adding that bankers now had more confidence to transact international business because the exchange rate was stable.

He said, “It’s disheartening that corruption is fighting back against this administration both locally and internationally. Unfortunately, most of our youths, who are supposed to rally around the present government that is making laudable progress, are not reasoning along or being realistic. The problem is that there are lots of brain drains. The Western world has taken most of Nigeria’s best brains away for greener pastures, leaving us largely with ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ youths who cannot be objective in their reasoning.

“In the last few years, a lot of things have been improving in Nigeria, especially the exchange rate. For those of us who travel abroad, it used to be difficult to access forex—even with money in domiciliary accounts. But now, you can go abroad and use your Naira card to withdraw dollars from foreign ATMs because the exchange rate is now stable and banks have more confidence to transact business in Naira.

“Secondly, fuel and crude oil are no longer being siphoned out of the country as before. The rate of crude oil theft has reduced to the barest minimum. Subsidy has been targeted at those who truly need it. In fact, subsidy is gone.

“So, you shouldn’t expect corruption not to fight back, both locally and internationally. Take it or leave it, internationally, the Western world would not be pleased to see the dollar or pound fall against the Naira. How do you expect them to react?

“When you look at recent occurrences in Nigeria, you’ll realize we truly need the current transformation. Yes, we still face challenges such as insecurity, but portraying it as Christian genocide is misleading. Nigeria is a peaceful nation. We have some extremists whose activities are highly condemnable, but they are not acting against any particular religion.

“Most of the states that experience security breaches, especially in the North, are predominantly Muslim. For anyone to describe the situation as genocide or intentional killings by the government or religious terrorists is insincere. I believe that at this point, we need proper orientation, especially for the younger generation, beginning with corps members. That’s why we are here today.”