Bamidele Aturu, lawyer and civil rights advocate, says the Code of Conduct Bureau and its tribunal cannot work because the judiciary and the civil society are too weak. He spoke with ALABI WILLIAMS.Why politicians do not take assets declaration seriouslyPOLITICIANS do not take assets declaration seriously simply because we have a weak civil society and a corrupt judiciary. If the civil society were not fractured, atomized and ideologically deficient, it would have been difficult for the politicians to treat the Code of Conduct with contempt.The other reason politicians ignore assets declaration or do it perfunctorily, nay, fraudulently, is traceable to the fact that the economic system of capitalism cannot be operated in underdeveloped societies, such as ours with corruptive or primitive accumulation. Corruption is, therefore, the bedrock of primitive capitalism. This explains why judges own several properties within and outside Nigeria, just as their politician brothers and sisters.The corrupt system reproduces and generates and re-generates corruption at all levels. The Police, which are a product of the system, are corrupt and therefore, there can be no effective and honest enforcement of the laws on corruption. It is thus a vicious cycle.Enforcement mechanism is unreliable; the judiciary is part of the rot, and, of course, the politicians are the pre-eminent corrupt agents. This, in summary, explains why the politicians ignore or treat assets declaration as a huge joke. It is unfortunate.Possibility of genuine trialWE are not likely to see genuine trials for violation of the Code of Conduct until and unless the citizens demonstrate an organised revulsion to the criminal looting of the country.Well, maybe there will be one or two politically motivated trials here and there, which I can assure you will end up being settled, as usual or compromised, but there will be no genuine trials. This is not to suggest that persons should not be tried simply because they argue that they are being politically victimized. That is arrant nonsense.The reason we would not have genuine trials, as I stated, is because we run a system that can only operate on a corrupt code. Since 1999, almost all those who were presidents, governors or lawmakers at all levels have built new and gargantuan mansions; some have bought private jets but none has been seriously convicted of crimes of various types of public pillaging, which everyone knows they committed.Whenever you hear of a former or serving official being charged with any crime, take a look at the name of the lawyer prosecuting; 99 per cent of those lawyers would be those who have no genuine commitment to fighting corruption. It is a class thing. Once in a while, they may brief a lawyer, who is not one of them, but usually, it would be in a minor case or when they actually want to let the offender know that he or she has overstepped his or her bounds in the cult of looting.Of course, the archaic procedural laws also help the looters in many of the cases. All these show that the State is not serious in fighting corruption.On ownership of foreign accountTHERE is nothing wrong with the law prohibiting the holding of foreign accounts while in public office. Those in Diaspora can close their accounts if they are serious about serving their country. Do they still want to be operating the accounts while they are serving in Nigeria'They can close their accounts and open accounts for their children if they are still schooling abroad. That is not too much of a sacrifice for wanting to serve your country. But if that is too much for them, let them remain where they are. The law should be left the way it is on that subject.Public declaration is good. Now that we have the FOI Act, Nigerians should regularly write to the Code of Conduct Bureau, to get updated information on the assets of our rulers and their friends and family members. This should help us detect any criminal enrichment.The Press should also engage in investigative journalism and not the present mere cataloguing of frustrations that we see daily in the media. Also, it is not enough to declare that you own billions of Naira or dollar; we need to ask further questions as to how you come about such stupendous wealth.Our anti-corruption laws should be amended to ensure adequate protection for whistleblowers, to encourage more Nigerians to come out and inform on the criminals who pretend to be our leaders.The Code of Conduct Tribunal is like any Nigerian court; Nigerians operating under the corrupt Nigerian system people it.I cannot say that the members are corrupt or are not corrupt. But I can tell you that they are not immune from pressures and inducements. Whether they will show themselves as honest adjudicators is a matter of time. I wish them the best of luck. May God bless Nigeria.
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