Segun Atanda/
In his quest for a corrupt-free nation, the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, has found wisdom in a Nigerian adage that says: ‘Trim the Iroko Tree When it’s Young’.
According to the EFCC spokesman, in Ibadan, Mr Ayo Oyewole, Magu has called for a review of the existing university curriculum to accommodate anti-corruption components as a way of building a corrupt free nation.
Making a presentation yesterday at the 7th Convocation and 10th Anniversary of the Fountain University, Oshogbo, Osun State, Magu said: “My desire is to have all first year undergraduates, regardless of discipline or course of study, exposed to anti-corruption course as part of a general course.”
According to him, corruption would have killed Nigeria if the rate at which it was festering then had not been checked.
He lamented the damages corruption had caused Nigeria as a nation, while expressing the determination of the EFCC to carry anti-graft war to a higher level.
Magu, who spoke through his chief of staff, Olanipekun Okukoyede, decried the extent at which the ills of corruption had affected the fortunes and developmental growth of the country.
He said, “Through the numerous efforts of the EFCC in tackling all shades of corruption, foreign investors now have confidence in Nigeria and Nigerians.”
He stressed the need for all and sundry to key into the anti-corruption crusade of the present administration for the country to have a sustainable development.
The anti-graft czar expressed optimism that “a corruption free Nigeria is achievable given the right leadership, such as we have today, and a citizenry that is prepared to offer the needed support and cooperation”.
While dismissing the allegation that the war against corruption is selective and targeted at perceived opposition, Magu said that the anti-corruption crusade under his leadership was anchored on the fear of God and national interest. He added that only those who had soiled their hands in one form of corruption or the other would have cause to fear the EFCC.
He said, “The corrupt, using sponsored people, claim that they are being prosecuted because of the region they came from, the religion they profess, or their ethnic identity. They do their utmost not to answer the all-important question of whether or not they are guilty of the corruption allegations against them.
“Who among the corrupt and those engaged in financial and economic crimes does so in the name of his or her region, religion or ethnic group.”
He, however, expressed his believe that Nigeria would triumph over the numerous challenges confronting it with strong determination by the people to shun corruption of all manners, given the political will of the present administration to tame the monster.
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