Don Advocates Creation Of Anti-corruption Academy

THE Deputy Vice Chancellor, Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, Dr. Ibikunle Hakeem Tijani, has appealed to the National Universities Commission (NUC) and other education boards charged with the regulation of curricular in primary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions to ensure urgent restructuring of the sector.

While noting that teachings on the evil of corruption in schools should be introduced, he explained that the family and kitchen table dialogue must be strengthened nationwide. Advising that teaching and modeling corruption free citizenship should go beyond the National Orientation Agency and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, he said the fight against corruption should be taught in the academia.

“If the Singapore model, can search for the next head of ministries in their primary schools and groom them, what stops us from going to the primary schools and begin to teach best practices and the evil that is corruption? Knowledge production in our schools should not be limited to research, but ethics, modeling best and acceptable practices worldwide.

“Simply put, there is urgent need to develop the best pedagogy for the reorientation of everyone, youth or older generation. Massification of the Almajiri schools without teaching about cattle rustling as being wrong and unacceptable is a gross miseducation of the youth. Giving access to the Niger Delta youth to study overseas or within Nigeria without modeling good governance and financial responsibility is a gross misplacement of our potentials, and attaining our reality as a giant in the comity of nations,” he said.

To win the war against corruption, Tijani said the country needs to go beyond rhetoric and ensure continuity and sustainability.

“Continuity is needed to ensure sustainable anti-corruption crusade. One way is to ensure that the institutional organs meant to eradicate corrupt practices are sustained. Complementing ICPC and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with the creation of the anti-corruption academy is a step in the right direction.“

The Vice Chancellor noted that Nigerian leaders and citizens seem to be ‘people of the moment’, who had fail to sustain anti-corruption in the society. “Whether we think about late General Murtala Muhammed, who, perhaps, in our recent post-colonial history and efforts at nation building, was at the forefront of anti-corruption; or the Buhari-Idiagbon regime with the crusade of War Against Indiscipline (WAI); sustainability has been elusive and a facade when it comes to anti-corruption crusade.”