Enforcement Alone Not Enough To End Graft, Says ICPC Chair

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, has said enforcement alone cannot end corruption in Nigeria.
Owasanoye spoke yesterday in Kaduna at a sensitisation workshop for stakeholders on: Bringing About Behavioural Change in Society Using the National Ethics and Integrity Policy (NEIP).

The ICPC boss said it is better and cheaper to prevent corruption than enforce it.

He noted that with the current dearth of honesty, integrity and uprightness facing Nigeria, the nation may not be able to bring about the changes it desires if citizens do not change their behaviours.

Represented by the Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner for Kaduna State, Prince Hassan Mohammed, the ICPC boss urged Nigerians to make intentional efforts to turn around negative behaviours to positive ones through the inculcation of positive values.

He said: “In the course of the work of the commission, it has become imperative to acknowledge that the law and order approach to the fight against corruption (enforcement) alone is not enough to get rid of the menace from the society. With the present realities facing the nation, if we do not change our behavours, we may not be able to bring about the changes that we desire in our society.

“The ideal behaviour for citizens is that they should respect the laws of the land, keep their words, do their duty with diligence, respect and value other human beings, avoid getting involved in stealing from the government, cheating others or any form of deception.

“Unfortunately, the reality is that many people are far from the ideal. Therefore, there is a need to make intentional efforts to turn around negative behaviours to positive ones through the inculcation of positive values.”

·Owasanoye said the ICPC had designed several programmes and initiatives to bring about positive behavioural change in the society.

·These, the ICPC boss said, include the National Values Curriculum (NVC) for teaching of positive values to pupils and students at primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.

·“We also initiated the National Ethics and Integrity Policy (NEIP) for promoting integrity in the society generally, the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to measure the level of compliance to integrity standards in government bodies, amongst other initiatives,” he said.

·The Secretary to Kaduna State Government (SSG), Malam Balarabe Lawal Abbas, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet and Political Affairs, Nuhu Isiyaku Buzun, urged fellow Nigerians to teach honesty and integrity from the homes.

·He added that doing so would ensure a corruption-free society.

·The workshop, which was supported by the MacArthur Foundation, was attended by members of the civil society organisations (CSOs), private sector actors, academics and civil servants from federal and state ministries and agencies.