Nigerias corruption crisis and security crisis need critical interventions. The President Muhammadu Buhari administrations war on corruption and struggle to tackle insecurity need more creative approaches.On the anti-corruption war, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) showed the way through an April 18 Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Dr. Muhammed Isah, Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), urging him to use his good offices and leadership position to urgently provide information on specific details of asset declarations submitted to the CCB by successive presidents and state governors since the return of democracy in 1999.SERAP is concerned that many politicians hide behind the fact that members of the public do not have access to their asset declarations to make false declarations, and to cover up assets illegally acquired in corruption or abuse of officeThe grim condition of many of our citizens since 1999 has been worsened by the deterioration of public services whereby access to clean water and affordable health-care has become a pipe dream and the supply of electricity became epileptic and irregular due to years of grand corruption by many politicians at the highest level of government.The organisation argued that Nigerians can no longer accept the excuse by high-ranking government officers that declaring their assets before the CCB is enough, as such pretext is not supported by the oaths of office by elected public officers. The failure by successive presidents and state governors to voluntarily make public their asset declarations would seem to suggest that they have something to hide.It also said: Given that many public officers being tried for or convicted of corruption are found to have made a false declaration of their assets, the CCB should no longer allow politicians to undermine the sanctity and integrity of the asset declaration provisions of the Constitution by allowing them to continue to exploit legal gaps for illicit enrichment.In SERAPs view, while elected public officers may not be constitutionally obliged to publicly declare their assets, the Freedom of Information Act 2011 has now provided the mechanism for the CCB to improve transparency and accountability of asset declarations by elected public officers.The organisation added: By Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011, SERAP is entitled as of right to request for or gain access to information, including information on the asset declarations by elected public officers since the return of democracy in 1999.According to SERAP, provisions on the declaration of assets by all public officers in Nigeria are entrenched in the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, contained in Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Nigerian Constitution. The primary objective is to prevent corruption and abuse of office and to ensure transparency in public officers.Public officers for the purposes of the Code, said SERAP, include the President and the Vice-President of the Federation, state governors and their deputies; the President and Deputy-President of the Senate, the Speaker and Deputy-Speaker of the House of Representatives and Speakers, the Chief justice of Nigeria, justices of the Supreme Court, the President and justices of the Court of Appeal, and other judicial officers and all staff of courts of law.On the question of security, SERAP wants to know how governments in Nigeria spend public funds meant to provide security for Nigerians. President Buhari and the governors of the 36 states of the federation are expected to provide answers. SERAP sent Freedom of Information requests, dated April 12, to them, asking for information on specific details of spending of appropriated public funds as security votes between 2011 and 2019. The organisation limited its request to details of visible, specific security measures and projects executed, excluding spending on intelligence operations.The organisations move was prompted by the growing level of insecurity, violence, kidnappings and killings in Zamfara State and other parts of Nigeria. According to SERAP, Section 14(2) (b) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended) provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. It is the security of the citizens that is intended and not the security of select individuals in public office.SERAP added: Available evidence would seem to suggest that many of the tiers of government in Nigeria have used security votes as a conduit for grand corruption rather than spending the funds to improve and enhance national security and ensure full protection of Nigerians rights to life, physical integrity, and liberty.Indeed, it is disturbing that the organisation quoted a former governor of Kano State, Musa Kwankwaso, who it said once described security votes as another way of stealing public funds. It also said: The current security realities in the country would seem to suggest massive political use, mismanagement or stealing of security votes by many governments.SERAPs letter, no doubt, puts the concerned governments on the spot. This is what happens when governments do not govern as expected. Its a shame that the concerned governments are being asked to account for security votes between 2011 and 2019. When insecurity reigns, it is unsurprising that a concerned organisation wants to know how security budgets were spent.The CCB boss is expected to provide the requested information within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter, while the concerned governments are expected to provide the requested information within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of the organisations letter. In both cases, SERAP said If we have not heard from you by then, the Registered Trustees of SERAP shall take all appropriate legal action under the Freedom of Information Act to compel you to comply with our request. It remains to be seen whether the CCB as well as the concerned governments would obey the law or disobey the law.It isnt enough to declare that the country is fighting corruption and tackling insecurity when the results of the efforts are insignificant. Corruption and insecurity still pose a major threat to Nigeria. SERAPs notable intervention shows that the solutions to the countrys corruption crisis and security crisis must be pursued with greater seriousness.
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