Whereas the government is in
short of money and is borrowing to finance its activities, expenses are skyrocketing,
and leakages abound. An international assets recovery firm, Forensic Assets
Investigation and Recovery Services (FAIR), reported that Nigeria has refused
to recover $69 billion oil sales money stashed away in American banks by a few
of its citizens. This is shocking, especially as the country’s President claims
to be fighting corruption and anxious to stabilize the economy.
The allegations by FAIR that billions
of dollars of oil wealth are stashed away by some Nigerians in American banks are
very weighty. In January 2019, FAIR, which collaborates with the World Bank,
intimated the Buhari regime of the loot estimated at $69 billion through the
now-disbanded Special Presidential Investigation Panel. The loot was reportedly
made from illegal oil deals masterminded by public officials through the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). FAIR alleged that $9 billion of the
hoard was traced to a former National Security Adviser under the Goodluck
Jonathan administration. For one individual, that is astounding.
By any standard, $69 billion is a
staggering sum. At a time of shrinking revenue, rapid acquisition of new loans,
muted growth and a burgeoning population, Nigeria is likely to be far better
off than its current state with that amount. It is about twice the size of its
external reserves, which stood at $34.8 billion in March. That sum reportedly
sitting idly by in Texas banks is nearly twice the 2021 budget of $35.66
billion. Indeed, it can solve many problems, including liquidity problems and
wipe out a good portion of the $86.3 billion national debt. In education, it
can provide the funding requirements of the memorandum of understanding between
the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (AASU) and
pay for the sorely lacking social infrastructure, for which Nigeria needs $10
billion annually.
Defending the regime, the office
of the Attorney-General of the Federation says it is gathering evidence on
culpable government officials involved in the deal. In Nigeria, that is the
euphemism for inconclusive probes. And, under Buhari, the anti-corruption fight
is haphazard. To allay that fear and restore confidence in the regime’s
anti-corruption war, this probe should be comprehensive, transparent and the
feedback subjected to public scrutiny and parliamentary oversight.
Incidentally, several corruption
scandals have been unearthed in this dispensation, but most of them have been
poorly handled, reinforcing the public perception that the anti-corruption
crusade is mere rhetoric. Beyond the seizure of houses worth $80 million and
jewellery estimated at N14.4 billion from former petroleum minister, Diezani
Alison-Madueke, bringing her to justice has been difficult. She was also
mentioned in a $115 million slush fund to rig the 2015 elections. In her case,
she fled the country in 2015, but even for those at home, their cases die down
over time. Nigerians were shocked when $43.4 million, N23 million and £27,800
were discovered in an Ikoyi, Lagos home. After a brief period, the noise
subsided. For a former governor, who is now a serving senator, his prosecution
by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for fraud collapsed on
the altar of the All Progressives Congress’ politics to select the Senate
President. Accused of grand corruption, Abdulrasheed Maina, a former chairman
of the Presidential Pension Task Force is just undergoing trial after public
outcry.
All this paints a picture of a
government treating corrupt practices banally. In April, the NNPC, which
contributes about 75 per cent of the federally shared revenue, said it was
unable to do so because it had paid for petrol subsidy. With such dire reality,
the government should be interested in recovering the loot stashed away by
corrupt Nigerians at home and abroad.
Among such is the $62 billion
judgement of the Supreme Court. In 2018, the court ordered the Federal
Government to recover the sum from five international oil companies for
violating a 1993 law on production sharing contract. Up till now, that
enforcement is hanging. In the same vein, the Asset Management Corporation of
Nigeria (AMCON) has not been able to recover any substantial part of the N5
trillion of the bad debts of a few Nigerians it acquired following the
financial crisis that started in 2008. According to AMCON, just 350 debtors owe
82 per cent or N3.6 trillion of the debts in their books. Although they have
collateral, AMCON seems powerless in seizing their assets. That is an
ineffectual way to fight sleaze.
But the government ought to
understand that crime thrives when there is no punishment. In Nigeria, that has
been the story, not the least under the current regime. That should not
continue. Wealthy Nigerians and multinationals owe the taxman trillions of
naira with no hope that they will ever be made to pay. In contrast, Spain has
recovered millions of dollars in tax backlog by publicly prosecuting football
stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Xabi Alonso, and a coach, Jose
Mourinho. With a strong political will, the government should rise to the
challenge of bringing looters and tax evaders to justice.
The state governors have been too
docile in these affairs. They should show real interest in the current case
because the loot, if recovered, belongs to the centre and the federating units.
Governors should mount pressure on the Federal Government to get to the root of
the $69 billion loot through a wide-ranging investigation of those mentioned by
FAIR. The stakeholders should carry the assets recovery firm along.
Above all, Buhari should fulfil
his campaign promise to reform the NNPC and prevent such wheeling and dealing.
(Punch)
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