Posted by President Bola Tinubu may succeed in some areas but fail to combat corruption, according to Babafemi Badejo, a professor of political science and international relations.
On Wednesday, a professor at Chrisland University in Abeokuta, Ogun State, held an inaugural lecture titled “Interests,” during which he warned that Tinubu could end up failing in his fight against graft just like Muhammadu Buhari did.
Badejo believes that Tinubu’s lack of involvement in the anti-corruption campaign since joining the administration is evidence that the President is not committed to eradicating the problem.
When it comes to fighting corruption, I believe that former President Muhammadu Buhari was a dismal failure. He initially expressed interest in adopting UN anti-corruption tactics and even appointed a committee, but its work has yielded no results as of yet.
It’s too soon to tell about President Tinubu, but based on his first month in office, he’s already off to a great start and will likely outperform Buhari in most areas (except corruption), he added.
Badejo pointed out that Tinubu has not been providing the same level of comfort for judges and the public as he has been promising when it comes to combatting corruption.
But he added, “No country can be comfortable by staying very far away from fighting corruption,” suggesting that he hoped Tinubu would eventually come around to the issue.
The University Don bemoaned that corruption flourishes in Nigeria because the people there are “too docile and tolerant for too long.”
He insisted that no administration up to and including Buhari’s had tackled corruption head-on with genuine political commitment.
Badejo argued that while Tinubu may not be any worse than Buhari at combating corruption, “even if he ever wanted to fight corruption, the resultant outcome is unfruitful half-heartedly done prosecutorial gimmicks and noise, cherry-picking, and selective haphazard trials.”
A person’s connections to others or their social standing should not grant them immunity from punishment, he argued.
He argued this was crucial because it showed the President and other top officials were serious about fighting corruption by setting an example of zero tolerance for the practice.
“The fight against corruption in Nigeria requires concerted commitments and ingenuity as part of a holistic approach,” the Professor argued.