Monday, January 12, 2015

7 Impressive Ways President Jonathan Fought Corruption (No. 3 Will Make You Scream)



These days, I hear people say that president Jonathan has done “nothing” to fight corruption in Nigeria.

When I hear this, 2 things come to my mind. It’s either…
  1. They don’t know the truth or…
  2. They are lying

For Nigeria to “beat” 8 countries to become the 136th most transparent country in the world is not accident. It happened for a reason.

Below are 7 things the Nigerian President did to reduce corruption…



1.  40 Years Of Corruption In The Agricultural Sector Ended Within 90 Days

Before President Jonathan (and his team) came on board, this was how fertilizers and seeds were distributed to government (and farmers)…

-         Fertilizer and seed suppliers will collect money from the government

-         Some bagged and supplied sands; others supplied under sized bags. Seed suppliers bought grains from the market and supply as seedlings.

As a result, their supplies were useless. They collected government money and supplied fake products.

To make matters worse, distribution was another problem.

If the government gives distributors fertilizers and seeds to share to farmers for free, they’ll sell it.

So how did President Jonathan solve the problem?

Common phone. Yes! COMMON PHONE. 

The federal government distributed e-wallet installed phones to farmers.

And how did these phones do the magic? Simple! Instead of getting supplies from the suppliers, the federal government pays the money directly into the farmers’ phone. The farmers buy the fertilizers themselves – after all, they know the original and fake fertilizers better – It’s their line of business.

The Result?

N50 billion Naira has been blocked from fertilizer money thieves.

Also, local farmers started producing in full capacity. As a result, Nigeria has saved more than N700 billion on food import.

Sources:
        Punch - Phones Stop Corruption In Fertilizer Sector
        The Nigerian Voice - President Jonathan Ended 40 Years Of Corruption In Agric Sector
        The Sun - Nigeria Loses N776bn To Corruption In Fertilizer Sector

2.   President Jonathan Organized The Freest, Fairest And Most Peaceful And Credible Elections EVER

                “Electoral corruption is the mother of all corruptions” 
                                                     – President GoodLuck Jonathan

When President Jonathan was sworn in as the acting president in 2010, he vowed to fight electoral corruption to a stand-still.

How did he go about it?

-         He enacted electoral laws and guidelines that were beyond manipulation

-         He created an electoral system that is manned by qualified, competent and efficient personnel

-         He conducted free, fair and credible elections

The Result?

Governorship elections were acclaimed by both local and international observers and free, fair and credible in…

-         Edo state
-         Ondo state
-         Anambra state
-         Ekiti state
-         Osun state

In these 5 elections, only 1 was won by the president’s party (A.k.a the ruling party), the PDP. The major opposition the APC won in 2 states and 2 other parties APGA and LP won the other 2.

As a result, the confidence of most Nigerians in the electoral process has increased dramatically.

No wonder more Nigerians are now interested in getting the permanent voters card.

Sources: 
       Today's Zaman - New Nigerian Leader Jonathan Sworn In, Pledges Electoral Reform 
       Point Blank News - President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration’s War On Corruption
      Vanguard - Gains of electoral reforms

3.   60,000 “GHOST” Workers Exposed

Between 2007 – 2010, the federal government built a new system for paying salaries, the IPPIS system.

In 2012, President Jonathan (and his team) took it a step further. They used it to expose “ghost” workers.

By October 2014, they’ve discovered over 60,000.

For years, these fake workers has been collectively carting away N160 billion every year.

Impressively, the case has been transferred to ICPC for further investigation and prosecution.

Sources:
            Leadership - FG Uncovers 60,000 Ghost Workers

      4.  N1.4 Trillion Worth Of Public Sector Theft Blocked Through Import-Waiver Reforms

What’s import waiver? Simple!

It’s the tax (A.k.a import duty) that the government removes on economic boosting goods – goods that boost the economy. Eg. Raw materials, machinery and spare parts.

Before Jonathan (and his team) came in, corrupt public officers heavily abused this system. They gave and received waivers on unapproved goods. Between 2011 – 2013, over N1.4 Trillion was lost.

As a result, the importers whom the waiver was meant for hardly got it.

With the Jonathan reform in the sector, loopholes have been blocked.

Sources:
            New Telegraph - Okonjo-Iweala: We Have Reformed Import Waiver System
            Punch - Import Waivers Granted By Past Govts Lopsided –Okonjo-Iweala
            Nigeria Intel - Reforming the import waiver regime
                                                           
      5. Stealing Money Through Government Contract Is Now Harder Than Ever

In 2007, the federal government made a law that made it difficult for government contractors to steal money. It is called the public procurement act.

As a result, they’ve (between 2009 – 2013) blocked N558 billion from getting to contract thieves.

They even went as far as fishing out 180 contract stealing companies. The case has been forwarded to the anti-corruption agencies.

Sources:
           Premium Times - Nigerian Govt. Urges States To Replicate Procurement Laws

      6. Ongoing Sanitization Of The Oil And Gas Sector Already Yielding Results

When President Jonathan came on board, he primarily focused on fighting corruption in 3 key areas…

-         Electoral corruption
-         Fertilizer distribution corruption
-         Corruption in the oil and gas

So far, war on “electoral corruption” and “fertilizer distribution corruption” has recorded tremendous success.

But the oil and gas has been the hardest. Nevertheless, this is what he has achieved so far…

He exposed the biggest scam ever in Nigeria’s history.

In 2011, he told us (Nigerians) that there was huge corruption going on in the fuel subsidy sub-sector. So, he took the subsidy money and put it in places where it will yield more dividend.

Well, nobody understood him. So in January 2012, we all went on strike.

To prove his point, a probe panel was set up. What did they discover? USD6.8 Billion (N108.8 Billion) has been stolen in just 3 years.

Let’s put things in perspective. What really is subsidy?

If a cup (Aka. De Rica) of garri is N300 and I pay N100 for you, then I’ve subsidized the garri – that’s garri subsidy.

What is subsidy scam?

If the garri seller sells 1 cup of garri to you and then lie to me that he sold 10 cups, that’s subsidy scam.

The Result?

The subsidy money was used to create the sure-p programme. Below are the achievements so far…

-         Used to support road construction.

As a result, 17,000km out of the 23,000 km of bad federal road completed. It’s just remaining 7,000 km and the entire federal road in Nigeria will become good.

-         Support for maternal health

600 health centers (mostly in rural communities) already built – and equipped. 700 still under construction.

Consequentially, maternal death has been reduced by 60%. Half a million women now give birth under the care of trained midwives.

-         Increased water access - Over 620 boreholes built nationwide.

-         Supported the fight against unemployment

Sure-p has been helping in the struggle to get jobs for the 22 million unemployed Nigerian youths…

It’s been working with (and paying) 2,000 youths across the country.

3,000 graduates has gotten jobs under the “graduate internship scheme (GIS)”

5075 youths undergoing vocational training.


Furthermore…

He created and sponsored the most controversial bill in Nigeria’s history, the “Petroleum Industrial Bill (BIB)”

In 2008, the federal government created and sent the petroleum industrial bill (PIB) to the national assembly.

It is a bill that will block all the corruption loopholes – and solve every other problem – in the petroleum industry.

What happened to it? It was vehemently rejected. On 18th July 2012, President Jonathan resent the bill.

But up till now, legislation on the bill has not gone half way.

In May 2015(barely 4 months from now), this current national assembly will be dissolved. A new one will be set up and everybody will go back to square one.

Hmm… You never knew corruption could fight back? Now you do.

As if that is not enough…

He has commissioned – and never stood on the way of any – probe in almost every sector of the industry…

-         Aig- Imoukhuede Presidential committee on verification and reconciliation of subsidy claims and payments

-         Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force Committee

-         The Dotun Suleiman committee

-         The Kalu Idika Kalu committee

-         The 20 Billion Naira Scam probe

-         Etcetera…

Sources:
Nigerian Live TV - INCREDIBLE! Mr President and I are fighting corruption in the oil sector – Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke
Vanguard - Jonathan Insists On Fuel Subsidy Removal
One.org - FAQ: The Fuel Subsidy Protests In Nigeria
Nigeria Politico - Fuel Subsidy $6.8 Billion Scam: Nigeria’s Biggest Corruption Scandal Ever
The News - Appraising The Gains Of SURE-P
African Arguments - Nigeria: Any Chance Of Progress On The Petroleum Industry Bill?
Mondaq - Nigeria: An Overview Of The Petroleum Industry Bill, 2012
Point Blank News - President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration’s War On Corruption

      7.  EFCC Has Prosecuted 427 Cases In 3 Years

The Jonathan led federal government strengthened the EFCC and allowed them do their job. As a result, 427 cases were prosecuted between 2012 – 2014.

The Result?

Fraud in Nigeria reduced from N495 billion to N300 billion. Hence, EFCC saved the country N195 billion.

Sadly, most of the successfully concluded cases are…

-         Advanced fee frauds
-         Internet frauds
-         Commercial cases

Cases involving top government officials have dragged on for years.

The EFCC has blamed this on the Judiciary. These officers (and politicians) frustrate the process. They manipulate the judiciary with the wealth and influence they’ve acquired.

Unfortunately, the federal government (A.k.a the executive) has very limited power over the judiciary (the 3rd arm of government).

Despite that, President Jonathan has continued to use “advocacy” to push for the sanitization of the judiciary.

When he finally succeeds, then every Nigerian – including the very high and mighty – will become truly subject to the law, irrespective of who is president.

Sources:
            Vanguard - Why EFCC Can’t Convict Big Thieves – Lamorde
            Daily Trust - EFCC Records 110 Convictions This Year

In Conclusion

President Jonathan’s approach to fighting corruption looks radically different.

He has focused on strengthening institutions and blocking loopholes in the system.Where possible, he used technology.

Funny enough, this is how Denmark, New Zealand and Finland (the 3 most transparent countries in the world) rooted out corruption from their country.

Please share this article on Facebook and Re-Tweet. Your action may just open the eyes of one more Nigerian.

Finally: Please follow me on twitter and like me on Facebook. Let’s continue the conversation there.

More Sources:
        Punch - I Won’t Fight Graft By Putting People In Crates –Jonathan
        Nigerian Tribune - Nigeria Winning War Against Corruption
        This Day Live - Goodluck Jonathan’s and the Years not Wasted
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