Anti-corruption war: John Onaiyekan advises President Buhari

– John Onaiyekan has told President Buhari that his anti-corruption war looks biased 

– Onaiyekan also advised Buhari that judges be allowed to do their work without harassment and intimidation

Cardinal John Onaiyekan 

Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to let his anti-corruption war be biased. The revered clergy who spoke in Abuja
over the weekend urged FG to be cautious against creating the impression of witch hunting. “Government should not let people have a feeling that the war on corruption is about targeting certain or a few people. 

That will defeat the war against corruption. My feelings about this whole thing is based on my understanding of the fact that the kind of corruption in Nigeria we had was systemic, endemic. While not saying people who took money should be allowed to go free, I would have felt that the emphasis should be on the system. “Reorganise the system of governance in the country in such a way that it would not be easy for anybody to steal millions and billions of naira because of the position he or she had held in government. “Find a way to block all the holes in the system. 

Insist that the structures that regulate the affair of governance especially the financial aspect be done in such a way that you don’t have to be a saint to be able to remain honest”. Onaiyekan also advised that judges be allowed to do their work without harassment and intimidation. “When I talk about structures we are to include not only how business should be conducted in the civil service but how the law should be administered .The whole scenario of 100 lawyers invading a court over one case. 

That is ridiculous .We should find a way to prevent such charade.  “We have to see that judges are in position to do their work without intimidation, without harassment.  We are talking of separation of power, without anybody telling them what to do. I would have hoped that the whole process of dealing with the cases of corruption can be dispensed with without too much rigmarole and we still ensure that justice was done”. 

Recall that the founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) and the national chairman of the Unity Party of Nigeria, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to graft former Governor of Central Bank, Chukwuma Soludo, and Prof. Pat Utomi, into his economic team to revive the country’s economy.