[The Presidential blog]: Bringing the anti-corruption crusade to a campus near you

What’s the motto of this administration? That’s right, anti-corruption.

It started with pending issues like James Ibori’s, and we’ve all had to bear witness to how much the Buhari-led administration is invested in fighting corruption in Nigeria. You can complain about the recession all you want. This government is committed to seeing an end to all forms of corruption and in every arm of government too.

It’s certainly not the first time this promise to wipe Nigeria clean of corruption is coming from the Presidential quarters. Except that it’s something to pay attention to when both the President and the vice-president make it the soul of their graduation address at two separate universities convocation ceremonies.

Professor Yemi Osinbajo had attended the convocation ceremony of the Afe Babalola University in Ado-Ekiti on Friday where he admonished that campuses, like Afe Babalola should consider themselves re-orientation camps in the fight against corruption.

Accoring to him, “all institutions of government are under the threat of corruption. He reiterated the government’s stance that “if we don’t fight corruption, corruption will fight us”. “We are thinking of using national re-orientation to fight corruption and other societal menace, and to my mind, Afe Babalola University appears as one of the great places to start with,” he said concluded.

Now, it became a remarkable thing when yesterday, at the University of Ilorin’s convocation ceremony, the president’s speech also revolved around the same topic. President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented at the event by Mr. Chiedu Mafiana, Executive Director at the National University Commission, said that “government is uncomfortable that our citadels of learning which should be training grounds for probity, social justice and decorum have become havens for gross indiscipline, cultism, sexual harassment, immorality, indecency, violence, unnecessary demonstrations and all forms of anti-social behaviours.”

He then warned that the general economic situation of the country will not permit for schools to continue to be dependent on the government alone. The president advised Nigerian universities to plow available resources into teaching, research and productive activities.

Most likely alluding to the recent unrest plaguing the University of Lagos, the president admonished that all schools establish proper communication links between students and management in order “to engender peace, tolerance, orderliness, self-discipline, sobriety and attitudinal change in our institutions of higher learning.”

If one takes the two presidential addresses, delivered in two different cities, and just a day apart, our best conclusion will be that Universities had better sit tight and watch their steps. Who knows if the next raid will be across universities’ quarters nationwide.

You will recall that some of the allegations that Olorunfemi Adeyeye and his students’ union comrades levied against Vice Chancellor Bello and the University of Lagos administration had to do with welfare and mismanagement.

The President and his number two making these statements at the Universities probably means that the campuses might feel the heat of the anti-corruption campaign that has been sweeping the nation including judicial officers an some past and present office holders.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

cool good eh love2 cute confused notgood numb disgusting fail