Last week, the senate indicted the SGF, Babachir Lawal, of corruption and mismanagement over the contracts awarded by the Presidential Initiative on the North East to companies for the benefit of the millions of Internally Displaced Persons in that oft-besieged part of Nigeria. The senate found that hardly any help was given to the IDPs and as a consequence they live in squalor, suffer from diseases and a lack of want.

The senate called for the resignation and prosecution of the SGF and public opinion support their stance. However, the SGF has made it clear he does not agree with their findings and recommendations. He has said they know not of what they speak and from his statement, he is not resigning any time soon. Quite a number of people have called on the President to take action and make sure the SGF is sacked and prosecuted for the abuse of his office and his financial crimes against the IDPs. Still, the president has not made a move concerning his SGF and as at this moment, he remains in office.

This is surprising from a President who cruised into power on the strength of his promise to fight corruption decisively. Many a person indeed voted for him on this point. One would have expected the President to have fired the SGF immediately he got wind of the report and distanced himself from his actions, thereby reassuring the populace that his fight against corruption is one that knows no friend or foe.

However, this is not the first time the President has failed to take action against members of his government that have been accused of corruption.

The Chief or Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, was recently outed as having properties in Dubai worth around $1.5 million. It was alleged that he purchased two houses in one transaction when he was still the Director of Army Procurement in the Army HQ through a vehicle purchase contract scam. It is instructive to note that the COAS at the time was Gen. Kenneth Minimah who was invited by The Presidential Committee on Defence Equipment Procurement in the Nigerian Armed Forces, alongside two previous COAS to answer questions surrounding the purchase of military equipment and ammunition. Officers who served under them were equally invited but Gen. Buratai was excluded.

There were calls for his resignation or sack but those calls were not headed by neither the COAS nor the President. The Army made a lukewarm excuse of defending him by stating that he paid for the $1.5 million houses through his personal servings. There really is no way a civil servant can pay such a huge amount for houses from only his personal services.

Also, the President’s Chief of Staff (CoS), Abba Kyari was alleged to have received N500 million from the telecommunications company, MTN. He was said to have demanded for it in return for getting them a reduced fine from the $5 billion imposed on them by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for flouting NCC rules regarding the registration of all lines on their network. It was further alleged that the President was made aware of his CoS indiscretion at several times. There were reports that the President ordered an investigation into the matter but 3 months later, we still do not know the outcome of such investigation or whether it was held at all.

Some other members of the President’s cabinet have been accused of financial misappropriation but the President has been silent on that regard. The President should know that there cannot be any meaningful fight against corruption if his top advisers and members of his cabinet are themselves outed as corrupt. He cannot, in good faith, move against other corrupt persons and leave his men to continually engage in corrupt practices.

The President needs to let Nigerians know that he is indeed serious about fighting corruption. He needs to let Nigerians know he would run a clean government – one devoid of any whiff of corruption. He cannot afford to have his government stained by allegations of corruption against its members. Nigerians have entrusted great faith in him to fight corruption, he should not let them down.

Isime Esene