By Ibrahim Magu
Protocols,
It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this epoch making event, which is the flag-off of the Nigerian Women Against Corruption (WAC) project.
Looking across this hall, I must say I am overwhelmed by the impressive turn out of women from all sectors and sections of the country. I am indeed grateful to you all for answering our call to join in this important crusade to free our nation from the hands of corruption.
I am indebted to Her Excellency the wife of the president, Hajia Aisha Muhammadu Buhari for graciously accepting our invitation to flag-off this project despite her tight schedule. Beyond her presence today, her support, counsel and encouragement were instrumental in making this event a reality.
Today’s ceremony is the climax of many months of toil by stakeholders drawn from various ministries, departments and agencies, underlining the fact that everyone is affected by the corruption cankerworm and there is no monopoly of ideas on how to root it out of Nigeria forever.
Ladies and gentlemen, the project which we are about to flag-off this morning, is a unique initiative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) designed to mobilize Nigerian women to become active change agents in the important national agenda to reclaim our nation from the grips of corruption.
Nigerians have come to the realization that corruption is at the centre of all our development challenges. It is the reason the country has been unable to transform its rich natural and human resource endowment into prosperity. It is the reason for endemic and embarrassing poverty in the midst of plenty.
We certainly cannot continue this way. It is time to break with the past and deliver hope to future generations. We at EFCC are convinced that the power to change the destiny of our nation lies in the hands of women.
Ladies and gentlemen, we stand at the cusp of generational change. There has not been a more historical moment than now, to conclusively deal with the existential issues of Nigeria. And, corruption is at the centre of every problem currently facing us as a nation. The task that faces us today is not one to dodge or leave to others. Destiny has placed us in this nation-space at this point in its history and we have a duty to work together to save it from collapsing under the weight of corruption. President Muhammadu Buhari, many years ago, reminded us about this sacred duty, when he said:
“This generation of Nigerians, and indeed future generations, have no country other than Nigeria. We shall remain here and salvage it together!”
We all have equal stakes in the survival and rebuilding of Nigeria. A number of our compatriots tend to view the war on corruption as President Buhari’s project or as EFCC’s war. But, we at the EFCC cannot claim to have a monopoly of knowledge on how to win the war against corruption, which is critical to the Nigerian project. That is why we seek the partnership and participation of everyone in the battle.
The choice of women as torch-bearers in this important crusade is informed by the vital role they play in making the society a better place.
Permit me to remind this gathering of the eternal words of Napoleon Bonaparte, the famous French General, who said,
“Give me good mothers and I will give you a great nation”.
There is no gainsaying that women, especially mothers, have a significant influence on the direction the society takes; every generation is raised and nurtured by women.
However, a research carried out by the United Nations Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM, shows that women are far more vulnerable to the impact of corruption than men. This is particularly true in public service delivery.
Women form a larger proportion of the poor and take primary responsibility for child care; they are more reliant on freely-provided public services. As a result, corruption in public service delivery has disproportionate impact on them and their children.
The challenge of corruption which we all face, has thrust on women, perhaps a more critical role in the struggle to free Nigeria from the shackles of corruption.
Personally, at the EFCC, we feel the pain of Nigerian women impacted by corruption. That is perhaps, one of the driving forces behind the uncommon determination of the team I lead, to give everything within our powers to root out corruption anywhere we see it in Nigeria.
We are here today to enlist women all over the country to be part of the fight against corruption. The Women Against Corruption project will create public awareness through the mass media, develop anti-corruption programmes that will be women-focused and women-driven, involve women directly in the fight against corruption and thereby enhance their roles as watchdogs, whistle-blowers and foot soldiers.
A new regime of probity and accountability will be driven by our women.
The participation of women in anti-corruption initiatives is an addition to our collective effort to rid the society of the menace. We are optimistic that this initiative will create opportunities for women’s organizations to become more actively and effectively engaged in the fight against corruption.
The questions some of you may be asking at this point may be what role does EFCC want us to play in the renewed war against corruption?
The roles expected of women include:
- First and foremost, personal integrity, transparency, zero tolerance for corrupt practices and practice of simple life styles.
- Promotion of family values of hard work and honesty in children.
- Refusing to flatter or tolerate anyone known to be corrupt.
- Obeying religious and spiritual instructions about openness, transparency and aspiration to higher values.
- At the personal and organizational levels, blowing the whistle on corrupt people.
- Forming non-governmental organisations with the purpose of promoting anti- corruption values in the wider society.
- Active involvement in the Women Against Corruption Network that will emerge from this flag-off and rollouts across the States and Local Governments.
It is our belief at the EFCC that enlisting the womenfolk as change agents could be the turning point in the fight against corruption. It is therefore my fervent hope that this gathering is but one little step in the long journey to making Nigeria corruption free.
My message to you all this morning is to lead from the front in the war against corruption.
We must begin the fight against corruption from our homes by ensuring that our children, brothers and husbands are not involved in activities that could bring the family’s name to shame. I am persuaded that if women can fight corruption from their homes by rejecting ‘fortunes’ not supported by the family’s legitimate earning, the fight against corruption would be easily won.
Nigerian women, heed the clarion call to duty. Consider yourselves from now on, as soldiers in the anti-corruption army. I enjoin you to pick up your battle axe and march with us into the battlefield to take on corruption wherever it rears its ugly head.
After today’s flag off ceremony, the advocacy will be taken to the zones, states and local government levels for effective grassroots mobilization and mass participation. I therefore call on women in the thirty six states, including the FCT and the 774 local governments across the federation to be prepared to carry on the torch of probity and transparency in the conduct of public affairs.
Once again, I want to welcome you all to this very important occasion. I also want to remind you that we have no other country than Nigeria; all of us – men, women, children, the young and the elderly, must all come together to build the Nigeria we want to live in and hand over to generations unborn.
Finally, let me remind us all that the building blocks of the Nigeria of our dream are to be found in the warning of President Muhammadu Buhari for us to:
“Kill corruption before it kills Nigeria!”
I thank you all for honouring us with your presence and for your kind attention.
Ibrahim Magu is Acting Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. He presented this speech at the flag-off of the Nigerian Women Against Corruption Project (WAC) at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria, on Wednesday, December 7, 2016.
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