Corruption war, battle for Nigeria’s soul – Buhari

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has said that his administration remains focused in the fight against corruption because it is a battle to regain Nigerai’s soul.

Buhari, who stated that corruption was endemic in the country, explained that graft was the main reason a potentially prosperous country like Nigeria was struggling to feed itself and provide jobs for its citizens.

The President, who made this remark on Sunday at the second plenary meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria held at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, lamented that hundreds of thousands of deaths from communicable diseases recorded in the country could be traced to the greed and corruption of a few.

He added that two-third of Nigerians were living in extreme poverty.

“Our fight against corruption is not just a moral battle of virtue and righteousness in our land, but it is a fight for the soul and substance of our nation. Corruption in our country is endemic that it constitutes a parallel system.

“It is the primary reason for poor policies, wastages and bare-faced theft of public resources. It is the main reason why a potentially prosperous country struggle to feed itself and provide jobs for millions of its people.

“Hundreds of thousands of infant and maternal mortality statistics, hundreds of thousands deaths from communicable diseases are traceable to the greed and corruption of a few,” the President said.

Buhari, who was represented at the occasion by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, stated that Nigeria must “trail the paradigm of thinking about the economy.”

He explained that the country must block all leakages and invest in infrastructure in order to improve its revenue base.

“We must trail the paradigm of thinking about our economy and the ultimate goal of the majority. For one that will create an enabling environment for enterprises, we must reason, plan and budget with the understanding that two-third of Nigerians are poor.

“They must be helped, first to survive, and then, fully participate in the economy of the nation. Consequently, we must create tenets for the very poor and vulnerable while ensuring that social spending also resurrects investments in the economy.

“We must invest substantially in relevant education; teacher training and vocational and entrepreneurial training. The country is today experiencing its worst economic situation in decades. A terrible combination of waste, corruption and severe downturn in all earnings have drastically reduced our esteemed resources.

“We must urgently now find it in investing in infrastructure and all crucial components in the medium and long term means of diversifying our economy.

“Meanwhile, we must block all leakages and improve on our revenue base,” Buhari stated.”

On the insurgency in the North-East, the President said Boko Haram now lacked the strength to take over the region and any part of Nigeria.

The event was attended by Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Uche, and the Archbishop, Province of Niger Delta (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Ignatius Kattey.