Politics President Jonathan Blames Nigerians for Failure of Anti-corruption Campaign

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abujagirl

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Yesterday, President Goodluck Jonathan blamed Nigerians for the failure of anti-corruption campaigns, accusing them of aiding and abetting corruption through their actions.

According to Osun Defenders,speaking at the opening of the 54th annual conference of the Nigerian Economic Society, NES, in Abuja the president said, if Nigerians failed to reward corrupt practices, those who enriched themselves through dubious means would not be celebrated.

He said that despite institutional reforms and other initiatives being undertaken to curb the menace, corruption still remained a major challenge to national development initiatives.President Jonathan , however, said that he would not mention names for fear of being attacked but advised that Nigerians should stop creating an environment where people would continue to be tempted to take what belonged to the public and causing further hardships for millions of poor citizens in the country.

He said: “We believe that we should not create an environment where people would be tempted to take what belongs to the public because that is why even in the fertiliser business we talk about electronic wallet so that funds are not exposed to corrupt people.

“When you talk about corruption, the private sector is involved; the public sector is involved; even the individuals including other societies and I wouldn’t want to mention names so that I will not be attacked.

“But I know that if collectively all of us don’t reward corruption, people would not be attracted to corrupt practices but when we all reward corruption, then of course we will be tempted to go in that direction".

“I want a society where all of us will frown upon people who come up with what they are not supposed to have. If a young man who just started a job and within six months or a year comes up with a car of N7m to N15m and you clap for him, then you are rewarding corruption.

“So for us as a nation, to bring corruption down in Nigeria, it is not just blaming government or blaming police but all individuals must frown upon people who have what they are not supposed to have, who live in houses they supposed not to live in; who drive cars they are not supposed to drive and who wear suits more expensive (than they earn).

“And until Nigerians are able to do this, then invariably we are all rewarding corruption and until we stop that, I don’t think we will get to where we want to go".

He noted that a major principle underlying the implementation of the administration’s transformation agenda was the unwavering conviction that reforms must not be centered on individuals, no matter how strong they might be.

“Our effort at strengthening the capacity of state institutions at fighting corruption is not limited to granting independence to EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies.

"It extends to developing affordable finance for housing, car ownership, etc as we believe that taking measures to help people realize their aspirations to own their own homes and fund those things that make life easier can also aid the fight against corruption,” the President added.
 
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