As Nigerians ponder on their choice for the February 2023 presidential election in the country, a United States based media, research and data analytical group, Bloomber LLP have waded into the discussions in the Nigerian political space.
In a publication authored by William Clowes of Bloomberg, which was published on Wednesday, the candidates of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were both analyzed and concluded to be a major threat to any possible recovery of anti-corruption fight in Africa`s largest economy.
The author started by acknowledging that corruption is a major issue in Nigeria and always talked about in the run up to the country`s elections. However, the candidates of the APC and PDP, which he considers as the two front-runners are not likely to bring the issue of corruption up for discussion because they stench with corruption.
“The fight against corruption has been a top campaign issue in Nigeria’s last two presidential elections, but the history of graft allegations surrounding the two main candidates means neither is likely to raise it in the run-up to February’s vote.” Says the Bloomberg publication.
Referring to Bola TInubu in particular, the publication commented on his recent connection with Nigeria`s anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which was on his trail as recent as June 2021.
It also made reference to previous corruption case in the United States against the former two term governor of Lagos State, which it said was settled out of court in the US.
He said, “Front-runner Bola Tinubu, who secured the ruling party’s nomination earlier this month, was being investigated by the country’s anti-corruption agency as recently as last June. Three decades ago he fought a lawsuit in which the US government accused him of laundering the proceeds of heroin trafficking and eventually reached a settlement.
“As of last June, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had an open investigation into Tinubu, the agency’s chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, told ThisDay newspaper at the time, without specifying what it was scrutinizing. An EFCC spokesman didn’t respond to questions about whether the probe is still active.” Said the author of the publication.
Commenting about Atiku Abubakar, he also recounted two corruption-infested transactions involving the former Vice President, which landed him in trouble with the United States government just as Tinubu.
He said, “Atiku Abubakar, his chief rival, brought tens of millions of dollars of “suspect funds” into the US when he was Nigeria’s vice president in the 2000s, according to a US Senate report, and was implicated in a bribery case that resulted in the imprisonment of an American congressman. Neither episode resulted in charges against Abubakar.”
Speaking further about the APC candidate, he said, “Tinubu is also accused in an ongoing Nigerian high court case of secretly controlling the company that handles Lagos state taxes and is entitled to take a 10% cut of what it collects. It was awarded the contract while Tinubu was governor.
“The firm’s founder sued Alpha Beta Consulting LLP and Tinubu in June 2021, alleging the company had wired out millions of dollars in “suspicious monetary transfers” and denied him his share of profits for more than a decade. The plaintiff and ABC are currently discussing an out-of-court settlement.”
Therefore, according to the author, should any of these two candidates emerge victorious in the presidential election, Nigeria will be in for worse days in both the area of security and the economy.
He said, “Efforts to restore security and fix the economy alone will likely fall short because there’s an unavoidable connection between financial graft and government dysfunction in Nigeria”,
Also, quoting “Leena Koni Hoffmann, an associate fellow at Chatham House in London,” he concludes that internal corruption within the system in Nigeria will impede progress in the country, saying that “Corruption `hollows systems out and cripples them from the inside,` she said.
She further said that due to the corrupt nature of the two candidates, “Both contenders will focus on issues other than corruption while campaigning. They know it’s not part of their political image,” she said.
The Bloomberg writer then disclosed that the “Spokesmen for Tinubu and Abubakar didn’t respond to requests for comment” in respect of the publication.
He went further to also indict the current President Muhammadu Buhari for presiding over a very corrupt regime, while noting that under Buhari`s government Nigeria has ranked very high on corruption indices. He noted that “Nigeria ranked 154th out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index, an all-time low.”
He also quoted Transparency International saying, “Inaction against those implicated in wrongdoing has created a sense of impunity and stalled the fight against graft, the Berlin-based watchdog said.”
However, the publication was completely silent on the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, whose popularity in the country and acceptance of his candidacy has risen sky high across age brackets, tribes and classes of the Nigerian society.
