Lawyer urges ICAN to lead campaign against dirty naira notes 

A female Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Folake Solanke has asked the Society of Women Accountant of Nigeria (SWAN) to lead a campaign against dirty Naira notes.

According to her, some of the notes have become so dirty that one could hardly read the nomination numbers on them.

She stated this at the 40th anniversary symposium of SWAN in Lagos.

Solanke suggested that the association should urge the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure that the deadly currency notes are burnt under high-level official supervision.

She said: “Accountants must be vigilant in execution of their duties, in order to help the nation to fight against corruption and to give account of their performance, they must uplift the status of the nation.”

The event, which had ‘Restoring an enduring value system for our nation’, witnessed the presence of dignitaries such as Prof. Ngozi Osarenren, Abiola Afolabi, Toyin Bakare, ICAN past president; Elizabeth Adegbite, First Female Chartered Accountant in Nigeria; Olutoyin Olakunri, Past President (ICAN; Ann Uzoegbu, incumbent President of ICAN; Isaila Zakari, and the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed amongst others.

In her presentations, Justice Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo of the Court of Appeal stressed the need for professionals in every sector to develop strong values as a critical factor to overcome the problems of bribery and corruption in the country.

She posited that it has become a consensus that incidents of moral decadency among professionals in the country, namely bribery and violation of power have become rampant noting that it is imperative that serious counter-measures are taken to address the problem.

According to her, besides building first-class work force for the nation, government should recognize the importance of cultivating entrepreneurs for the economic development of the nation.

“There is no better time than now for us as a nation to engage in active discussion on issues relating to our value system. Value dictates the choices man make. And, choice influences the behaviour of every man. The need for evaluation and orientation is therefore important especially as values have much implication on human conducts and actions. In this respect, Former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo once said, “if I sweep my front house and you sweep your front house, the environment would be clean”, that should be our watchword and not “scratch my back and I will scratch your back attitude”, she stated.

She added that in developed societies, achievements of individuals are based solely on their passionate contribution to the development of their fatherlands. However, she lamented that in Nigeria, individuals are celebrated based on their smartness to divert public funds to private accounts while those who are supposed to be behind bars are bestowed with chieftaincy titles and honorary degrees which have also contributed to the deterioration of value system.

“No one needs to tell us that our value system in this country has been bastardised. Gone are the days when hard work and merit is celebrated. The craving for illicit wealth has become a cankerworm, which has eaten deep into the fabric of every facet of our dear country. In those days, people were afraid to steal so as not to dent their family or community reputation, but now, people steal so much and they are publicly celebrated,” she said.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed called for collaboration with government in promoting transparency, accountability as well as due process to strengthen the nation’s value system.