Welcome Statement by Comrade Ibrahim M. Zikirullah, Chairman, TMG on the occasion of a One-day Interactive Session on “Anti-Corruption and Good Governance” organised by the Public Affairs Session of the United States of America and the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) on June 10th, 2013 at Centre for Women Development, Central Area, Abuja, Nigeria Protocol: His Excellency Ambassador Terence McCulley, the Ambassador of United States in Nigeria, Representatives of National Assembly and other government institutions Special Guests, distinguished colleagues and participants Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you most fraternally to this One-day Interactive Session jointly organised by the Public Affairs Session of the United States of America and the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) on the theme, ‘Anti-Corruption and Good Governance’. The current crisis of corruption in Nigeria makes the theme of this Session more germane. With few years behind our new democracy, unexpected trends are emerging and sounding a “wake-up call”. Experiences in the North, Niger-Delta and other regions of the country, for example, have shown that progress in electoral democracy is not linear, and that many of our democratic institutions are fragile. The quality of democracy in practice in Nigeria has become an issue for concern. Corruption, socio-economic injustice, rising crime rate, infrastructural collapse and citizen insecurity are the new frontiers of tensions and conflicts in our democracy. Today, hardly a day passes the sky without corruption making the headlines in the media. The effect of corruption in Nigeria has seriously constrained development of our economy and has significantly inhibited good governance in the country. This is why we have continued to occupy very low positions in international ratings of human development indices. However, Nigeria, in the last thirteen years made giant strides through political and economic reforms to control corruption. Sadly, rather than abate, corruption reached new heights becoming the bane of Nigeria’s underdevelopment during the period. Unlike 13 years ago, the problem of corruption today is not for the lack of institutions. In fact, a rough check puts Nigeria ahead of its neighbours in terms of the existence of legislations, agencies and procedures for combating corruption. Our problem is that most of the institutions, agencies and procedures have become dysfunctional. They do not work because rule of law and due process have been hijacked by powerful individuals. They make it difficult to fight corruption or hold corrupt officials and their backers to account. To reverse the trend and restore meaning to anti-corruption in Nigeria requires independent, transparent and accountable institutions including specialized anti-corruption agencies, law enforcement and judiciary backed by deliberate political commitment at the highest level to send clear signals that it shall no longer be business as usual. Distinguish guest, permit me to reiterate the commitment of the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) to fostering democracy and good governance in Nigeria. Since its establishment in 1998, as Nigeria’s first indigenous network for election monitoring and active citizens’ participation in the pre, during and post-election phases, the TMG has grown and now consist of more than 400 member organisations that cut across NGOs, community-based organisations, the media (including traditional and social media), faith-based organisations, professional bodies, women and youth groups, etc. Our rights, responsibilities and ethical obligations of nonpartisan citizen election monitoring is embodied in the Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations and Code of Conduct for Nonpartisan Citizen Election Observers and Monitors. At TMG, we are convinced that corruption is a symptom of fundamental failure of governance and so the higher the incidence of corruption, the more elusive that sustainable development becomes in Nigeria. Corruption increases poverty and disproportionately affects the poor because it pulls resources from the national treasury, away from where it is most needed into the pockets of a few individuals who are politically powerful. Corruption is a very destructive element in the governance of our country and accounts for very derogatory way the outside world perceives Nigerians. It is commendable that the Government has put in place agencies like the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to check corruption. However, these anti-corruption agencies can only succeed if there is strong will by the people, and if the political leaders are truly committed to the process and ready to implement all-encompassing anti-corruption programmes in an impartial way. This is extremely important if the fight against corruption is to succeed. To do justice to the topic of the day, we have invited our dear friend Mr. Peter J. Ainsworth from the United States Department of Justice to speak on the topic. He will set the tone for our discussion. Mr. Ainsworth is an erudite scholar and governance expert with worldwide knowledge of anti-Corruption. It is my hope that what promises to be a lively discussion that will emanate at this symposium will enrich our understanding of the principles of anti-corruption and good governance and how we can apply them in our respective endeavours to curb corruption in Nigeria. Finally, we thank the people and government of the United States of America for their unalloyed support to the development of democracy in Nigeria. Thank you.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 16:57:23 +0000
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