President-Elect General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who has been known for his anti-corruption stance, has seemingly begun to reconsider promises he made on his presidential campaign tours to stamp out corruption in Nigeria if elected.
Buhari spoke to Peter Okwoche of the British Broadcasting Cooperation, BBC, on Wednesday after he was announced the winner of the Presidential Election and presented with a certificate of return by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and seemed shifty on his corruption stance suddenly.
Buhari’s body language seemed greatly changed concerning corruption and he stated that “I pray that Nigerians should give me the opportunity to fight corruption.
“I made the promise that I will fight corruption, I hope Nigerians will give me the opportunity and I hope my effort will be good enough.’’
While campaigning Buhari vowed to fight corruption to its fullest whether given the opportunity or not but currently some have claimed that his anti-corruption crusade has seen him venture into the murky waters of politics not to improve the economy but for vendetta.
After receiving his certificate of return as President elect, former President Olusegun Obasanjo wrote a letter to him reminding him of his promise to fight corruption.
Nigerians are of the view that Gen. Buhari may not be able to tackle corruption as promised because he was sponsored into power by alleged corrupt politicians.
Buhari said “Corruption attacks and seeks to destroy our national institutions and character. By misdirecting into selfish hands funds intended for the public purpose, corruption distorts the economy and worsens income inequality. It creates a class of unjustly-enriched people.
“Such an illegal yet powerful force soon comes to undermine democracy because its conspirators have amassed so much money that they believe they can buy government.
“We shall end this threat to our economic development and democratic survival. I repeat that corruption will not be tolerated by this administration and it shall no longer be allowed to stand as if it is a respected monument in this nation.
“I pledge myself and our in-coming administration to just and principled governance.
“There shall be no bias against or favouritism for any Nigerian based on ethnicity, religion, region, gender or social status.
“Let me state clearly that President Jonathan has nothing to fear from me. Although we may not agree on the methods of governing the nation, he is a great Nigerian and still our President.
“He deserves our support and permanent respect by virtue of the office he has held. This is how an honourable nation treats its servants and conducts its affairs; and this is how Nigeria should be.”
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