Nigerians Defend Corrupt Leaders Yet Complain About Corruption – Olukoyede

EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede criticizes Nigerians for protecting corrupt leaders while simultaneously lamenting widespread corruption in the country.

Ola Olukoyede, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), observes that while Nigerians express disapproval of corruption, they often support corrupt leaders during legal proceedings.

Olukoyede stated that if all citizens view corruption as a shared adversary, underdevelopment would become a thing of the past.

“Everyone is lamenting about corruption among Nigerians, highlighting how the entire system suffers from this issue and stating that it is detrimental to our country,” he remarked while welcoming officials from the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC), led by Chris Olukolade, on Friday in Abuja.

Olukoyede stated that working together with the CCC will enhance strategic communication and public engagement, emphasizing that gaining public support is essential for the EFCC’s success.

He mentioned that the EFCC will collaborate to enhance public awareness about its activities and emphasize the importance of integrity among Nigerians.

When we look into high-profile cases and bring individuals to court, those same people often show up with signs supporting corrupt leaders. This behavior suggests a lack of commitment to the cause. To effectively tackle this issue, it needs to be a joint effort from everyone involved.

“One agency cannot tackle this challenge by itself. It’s virtually impossible for the EFCC to address all these battles alone. Society, policy, and citizen welfare each play crucial roles in addressing this issue.”

The EFCC head discussed the direction of his leadership, stating that he has focused more on prevention than enforcement since assuming the role.

In addition to prevention, the EFCC chief highlighted that utilizing intelligence gathering has been crucial to some of the Commission’s recent remarkable successes.

We are currently placing greater importance on prevention, a crucial part of our mission. At the EFCC, we shouldn’t wait for funds to be embezzled before taking action. To enhance our preventive measures, I’ve set up a new directorate named Fraud Risk Assessment and Control (FRAC), which focuses more on plugging financial leakages.

We have access to the GIFMIS, the government’s payment platform. Our aim is to trace and monitor where every released fund goes. We are committed to ensuring that all capital projects are completed successfully. By focusing on prevention, we’ve realized there will be less need for enforcement later on.

“We are not easing up on our enforcement mandate; in fact, we are expanding it. However, we believe that prevention is crucial because it’s more cost-effective than responding after an incident occurs. That’s one of our primary areas of focus at the moment.”