The President of Women Arise for Change Initiative, Joe Okei-Odumakin,
has called on Nigerians to continue to expose corruption, saying it is
necessary to preserve the future of the country.
Okei-Odumakin, a leading female rights activist, also described corruption as “cancerous.’’
Okei-Odumakin, a leading female rights activist, also described corruption as “cancerous.’’
Speaking at the Lagos zonal office of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, after participating in a walk against corruption
organized by the Commission, she also called on Nigerians to unite
against corruption.
Okei-Odumakin, who lauded the courage of the
Nigerian media, human rights groups as well as civil society
organisations in the fight against corruption, said the time for
agonizing over the effect of corruption had gone, adding that “A state
of emergency must be declared within the sector, so that corruption will
know that it is an orphan.”
In his address, the Chairman of
Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, Debo Adeniran, said the walk
was an expression of sheer determination to wipe out corruption from
Nigeria.
Adeniran, also the pioneer Secretary-General, Committee for
the Defence of Human Rights, CDHR, said the EFCC had been doing well
and “touching the untouchables in the society.”
According to him,
“Those who think they are winning the war against corruption are living
in fool’s paradise. The war against corruption is winnable. Today’s walk
became necessary and it has sufficiently sensitized a lot of people.’’
Adeniran, who said Nigeria stands a chance of reclaiming her lost image
through the current anti-graft crusade, further urged Nigerians to
support the efforts of the acting chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, to rid
Nigeria of corruption.
He said: “Though some people may not want
the EFCC to succeed, we will not allow the EFCC to go down. We must
support Ibrahim Magu.
I don’t care what the National Assembly feels or
says. The appointment of Magu can’t be defeated because we, the Nigerian
people, have said so.
We have been waiting for so long for somebody
like Magu. He has committed his life, resources and all to the fight
against corruption.”
Also, the Leader of Coalition of Human Rights
Defenders, Inibehe Effiong, said the current decadence in Nigeria could
only be eradicated through a sustained war against corruption.
According to him, “When the ruling class unites against the EFCC and we
are clapping for them, then, we are indirectly slapping ourselves in the
face.
“If the EFCC loses a case, it does not mean that it has lost the fight.’’
In her short address, the Chief Orientation Officer, National
Orientation Agency, NOA, Lilian Ndukwe, said the fight against
corruption should start from the grassroots rather than from the top.
Earlier, the Head of Operations, Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, Lagos zone, Garba Dugum, called on Nigerians to join
hands with the Commission in the fight against corruption, saying it is
the greatest evil bedeviling the society.
Speaking after the
well-coordinated walk against corruption, he said it was important to
always sensitize members of the society about the inherent danger of
corruption.
Dugum, who spoke through the Head, Economic Governance,
Mohammed Rabo, described the walk as a proactive measure against
corruption.
He said: “It is the most beautiful walk I have ever
seen. The essence is to sensitize members of the public; it is a kind of
public awareness. It is also a proactive measure against corruption.
We have sent a message to the public and it has been delivered.’’
Dugum, who expressed gratitude to the civil society groups, human rights
organizations and the media organizations that collaborated with the
Commission in the walk, added that anyone who involved in the fight
against corruption had put his or her life on the line.
“When you
fight corruption, you have put your life on the line. We are not
cowards. It is clear that corruption is fighting back, but we will
continue to give it punches with this kind of efforts,’’ he added.
Staff of the Commission, invited members of civil society organizations,
human rights groups as well as the media partook in the walk, which
kicked off from the Commission’s Lagos zonal office through Awolowo Way,
Ikoyi to Marina and back.
Participants carried placards with such inscriptions as: “Shun Grafts, Economic and Financial Crimes”; “Speak Out! End Corruption Now: “Nigerians Unite Against Corruption; “Walking Against The Evil Called Corruption; “Enough is Enough” and “Flush Out Corruption; It Stinks”
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