Opinion: Allegations of corruption as another means of political witch-hunting

by Muhammed Olayinka

princess_stella_oduah_ogiemwonyi_12

But should we then kill today’s cook on account of yesterday’s hunger, though she was not responsible for it? I submit that if we cannot determine the purpose for which such allegations are raised, then we should wave them aside for the overall good of the society.

For some time now, the Nigerian media have been inundated with stories of alleged corrupt practices involving the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah over a – yet –to be verified claim that the Minister masterminded the procurement of two bulletproof cars through the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, one of the agencies she supervises. The way and manner this story has been hitting the front pages of national newspapers only proved that there was more to it than meet the eye.

Anyway, the focus of this article is really on the flip side, the unquantifiable damage of the whole gimmicks to Nigeria. Is it not now very clear that some politicians who, by misadventure, have found themselves at certain sectors of our economy, aviation inclusive, wish to remain there even in their unproductive age?

I listened to Capt. Dele Ore, an Aviation Round Table expert, during a conference in Lagos. He maintained that aviation is all about getting the human capital right. He, however, confused his standpoint as he advocated that politicians should not be allowed to head Aviation Ministry and agencies. Is Capt. Dele Ore saying that if, in line with citizens’ right to freedom of association as provided in the 1999 constitution, an aviation expert delves into politics, he should hands off aviation matters? Is that how to be apolitical? I do not share his views, after all. The world over, you cannot separate economics from politics; the two are inseparable.

Successive Nigerian leaders have, at every opportunity, canvassed for the her best hands abroad to return home to be part of the concerted effort at achieving the desired development. President Jonathan, in his capacity as the present Nigerian leader, has  not only added his voice to this clarion call, but has also tried to bring some of them home. The move produced Prof. Bath Nnaji! But did he find his feet in the murky waters of politics of position and grandstanding bedevilling our body polity? There was also Prof. Adenike Grange, the first female Minister of Health who served in the late President Yar’adua’s administration. She too came to help build her country having held strategic positions in the international scene where she distinguished herself at the apogee of health sector management and administration. However, she was hit by the lethal missile of alleged corruption, which has become the modern tool for political witch-hunting in Nigeria? We can go on and on! It is this tactics that is being used against the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah today.

Nigerians must begin to unravel the intents of those who accuse others of corruption before joining the bandwagon. Yes, it is true that the economy has suffered mismanagement by bad rulers who pounced on our collective wealth like the hungry lion in the past. But should we then kill today’s cook on account of yesterday’s hunger, though she was not responsible for it? I submit that if we cannot determine the purpose for which such allegations are raised, then we should wave them aside for the overall good of the society. I say this because the Aviation Ministry brouhaha has clearly shown that most of these allegations start from questionable quarters, especially those who lost out in the bid to illegally enrich themselves from our common wealth.

It is, therefore, imperative that this trend of robbing in corruption on the personality trait of the nation’s best hands, who had achieved success in their various careers in life before taking up any national assignment, must stop if Nigeria would attract more of them out there home to contribute their quota for accelerated national development.

 

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Read this article in the Leadership Newspapers

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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