Enwegbara: The military institutionalised corruption in Nigeria

Mr. Odilim Enwegbara, Chairman /CEO of Pan Africa Development Corporation, told Assistant Business Editor, MATHIAS OKWE, in Abuja that the Nigerian military actually institutionalised corruption in Nigeria with the evolution of petrol dollars revenue from Nigeria s oil rich resources in
the early 70s.

What has gone wrong with the military, to demystify it and make it look so ordinary?
Just like these politicians, who see power as the quickest means of enriching themselves, the military officers, being Nigerians too, have always had the same agenda, if not bigger. In fact, unlike the civilians, who could be eventually called to account for their actions and inactions while in government, military-politicians have since discovered that any such threat to them could be frustrating and would be visited with coup. So, it is wrong to argue that our military personnel were corruption saints, especially when since 1966 coup, the upper echelons of the officer corps became extremely politicised with many senior military officers becoming de facto politicians in military uniforms.

When would you say this malaise began to show face?
It all started, as far back as, the General Gowon regime. Remember that as petrodollars flooded the federal government by such unbelievable ratios, military corruption at both federal and state levels became also amplified from mere small-time bribery to large-scale racketeering and looting galore by top military officers in government, with the assistance of their civilians. With this, the military not only proved they were not immune to corruption, but in fact, were capable of exceeding the scale of corruption practised by the civilian government they deposed in January 1966 coup.

Recall that when General Murtala Muhammed removed Gowon in a coup, his government virtually indicted all the Federal commissioners serving under the Gowon regime — both military officers and their civilian counterparts. Were there exceptions? With the exception of General Murtala Muhammed and General Muhammadu Buhari, who is that ex-top military officer, who ruled both at federal and state levels that were not massively corrupt to the extent that one of the military regimes eventually institutionalised corruption? So, show me that past top military officer, and I will show you an overly corrupt military officer. Show me the list of the Nigerian oil block owners, and I will show you that ex-military officers own 80 per cent.

How can we quantify the harm corruption in the military has done to Nigeria?
If based on US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports, Nigeria earned between January 1970 and May 2010 more than $500b, the same EIA’s records show that between June 2010 and February 2015, Nigeria earned from oil exports $501b, then Nigeria has since January 1970 and February 2015 earned over $1000bn from oil exports. Now given that the military ran Nigeria from January 1970 to May 1999 with the exception of between October 1979 and December 1983, and that even though when the country returned to democratic government in May 1999, then it is huge.

For this reason, it is certain that at least 80 per cent of the $1001b earned from oil have been spent or grossly mismanaged by the military. This is even more so given that even the past two civilian governments of Yar’ Adua and Jonathan, did everything possible to appease the military in an effort to prevent from carrying out coups.

We are aware of the Dasukigate and unfolding other revelations by other military chiefs, some of whom are reportedly refunding cash under a plea bargain arrangement to secure freedom from prosecution, how best do you think the institution can be sanitised to avert the perpetuity of the corruption malaise?
How else than what is going on now, that for the first time in the history of this country, generals are being forced to account for the public money in their custody? How else than the present public disgrace of these officers, who now shamelessly want to return what they stole if they could be let off the hook by plea bargain? It was Marcus Cicero (106 BC—43 BC), the Roman jurist and politician, who insisted that without fear of receiving a commensurate punishment for their crime, men would always commit crimes, hoping not to be punished.

Because of the sensitivity of the military in Nigeria’s safety and national security, it would be harsh to insist on capital punishment or life imprisonment for any military personnel found to be corrupt, no matter how small such corruption could be. Or else our military can easily mortgage our sovereignty to external highest bidders. To ensure that corrupt men and women are kept far away from our military, the professionalisation of military career has become long overdue. That should be encouraged along with the putting in place of a whistle-blower system in our military to the extent that officers should be encouraged to report fellow officers that are corrupt, including senior officers, especially if that should earn the whistle-blower a promotion.