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You can’t win war against corruption without sanctions, monitoring – Emir Sanusi tells FG
The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi 11 has declared that the war against corruption launched by the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari can never be won unless there are appropriate sanctions for offenders and monitoring of corrupt cases by the forth estate of the realm- the media.
Sanusi specifically highlighted lack of discipline, sanctions, monitoring and evaluation of corrupt cases as the four major problems aiding high level of corruption in Nigeria and other developing countries in Africa and Asia in general.
The monarch who was represented by the Sarkin Shanun Kano, Alhaji Shehu Mohammed made these declarations on Wednesday while speaking at the opening of “International Conference on Tax Havens and the Developing World: The Global Dimension,” organised by Centre for General Studies in conjunction with office of International Programmes, University of Ibadan.
Sanusi who regretted that it is unfortunate that most companies and individuals who are suppose to pay tax in developing countries in Africa and Asia hide under the guise of tax heaven to avoid tax payment, informed that most Nigerians quote laws to disobey the laws at the expense of socio-economic development of the country.
He said “Most Nigerians do want to pay tax, most Nigerians uses laws to disobey the law. Most individuals and companies in Africa and Asia prefer to take their money to tax heaven to avoid payment of taxes.
He however said that corruption is the biggest problem encouraging tax heaven to thrive as he remarked that most companies and individuals hide under the guise of tax heaven to avoid tax payment.
“Corruption is the biggest problem that is encouraging tax heaven.
The monarch then maintained that the war against corruption can be won just within six months if the government can instil discipline among the citizens and provide appropriate sanctions for the offenders.
Sanusi, however, tasked journalists to do follow up to stories of corrupt cases after they have been reported in the media.
He said journalists can do monitoring and evaluate of corrupt cases under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as ways of taming corruption.
“There are four major problems that is aiding corruption in Nigeria. One is lack of discipline, the second one is lack of sanctions, the third is lack of monitoring and the forth is evaluation.
“Lack of discipline is paramount in this country, if we tell our people to be discipline, it is the first way to discourage corruption
“Lack of sanctions. I know the EFCC man that is here, they are working, they are fine policemen who are good in forensic analysis but if sanctions can be where they should be, I can tell you that six months we can fight corruption.
“Lack of monitoring and evaluation of corrupt cases, the press are not monitoring corrupt cases. I wish the press can keep their diaries and remind the EFCC of all the corruption cases. There is no monitoring of the cases.
“I want to suggest this to the conference and I believe this is what the conference will address”.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Idowu Olayinka who spoke through Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) Professor Emilolorun Ayelari maintained that tax payment is a compulsory obligation which all citizens within the reach are expected to pay.
Director General, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Lagos, Professor Akpan Ekpo in his keynote address titled, “Tax Havens: issues of international tax evasion and avoidance – A Global perspective”, identified lack of transparency and sharing of information as a major problem responsible for low tax revenue in the country.
He, however, suggested establishment of public registries of verified ownership of all legal entities.
Ekpo also called on policy makers to compel multinationals and companies to publicly declare their revenues, profits and losses as ways of ensuring that all and sundry key into payment of taxes.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has made headlines by announcing a further reduction in the price of diesel, dropping it from ₦1200 to ₦1000 naira per litre.
The refinery’s decision comes on the heels of its recent supply at a significantly reduced price of ₦1200 per litre, which was introduced three weeks ago, signifying a remarkable 30 per cent decrease from the previous market price of approximately ₦1600 per litre.
This substantial reduction in diesel prices at Dangote Petroleum Refinery is expected to reiterate positively throughout various sectors of the economy, potentially serving as a catalyst in alleviating the persistently high inflation rate in the country.
In a statement last week, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual and the owner of the refinery, expressed his optimism regarding the potential impact of the price reduction on inflation in Nigeria.
“I believe that we are on the right track. I believe Nigerians have been patient, and I also believe that a lot of goodies will now come through. There’s quite a lot of improvement because if you look at it, one of the major issues that we’ve had was the naira devaluation that has gone very aggressively up to about ₦1900,” he remarked.
As anticipation builds around the implications of this move by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, stakeholders and consumers alike remain hopeful for the positive effects it could bring to the Nigerian economy in the coming months.
More than 50,000 Russian military personnel have died during the Ukraine conflict, the BBC reported Wednesday, citing its own reporters, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers.
They found that more than 27,300 Russian soldiers died during the second year of the war, a 25-percent increase on the first year.
BBC Russian, Mediazona and volunteers have been counting deaths since February 2022, using open-source information from official reports and the media, as well as using satellite images of Russian cemeteries to estimate the number of new graves.
The figure of more than 50,000 is eight times higher than the official toll acknowledged by Moscow in September 2022. It does not include deaths of militia in Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine said in February that it had lost 31,000 soldiers, but that figure is also likely to be significantly lower than the true toll.
Russian losses spiked in January 2023 as it launched a large-scale offensive in Donetsk and again months later last year during the battle for the city of Bakhmut.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” at dawn on February 24, 2022, which has since turned into a bloody and attritional war, isolating Russia from the Western world.
Responding to the report, the Kremlin said it did not disclose any information on military deaths and casualties, which falls under the remit of the defence ministry.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added official secrets laws and those covering what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine meant it was “absolutely understandable” that the ministry did not release the figures.
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has disclosed that 95 million Nigerians need to enroll for the National Identification Number (NIN) to meet its target of 200 million enrollments by 2025.
Kayode Adegoke, Head of Corporate Communications at NIMC, emphasised the importance of this enrollment during an interview on X over the weekend.
He stated, “For NIMC to meet the 200 million target by 2025, 95 million Nigerians need to register for the NIN.”
Adegoke revealed that over 105 million NINs have been issued to Nigerians and legal residents so far.
He assured Nigerians of the commission’s commitment, saying, “We want to assure Nigerians that within the next one or two years, we will reach our target of enrolling all Nigerians.”
“The NIN serves as a unique identifier for each citizen and has become increasingly important for various government initiatives aimed at improving security, governance, and service delivery.”
Adegoke highlighted the efforts to streamline the modification and enrollment processes under the leadership of Abisoye Coker, the director-general of NIMC. He announced the development of a self-service platform, allowing Nigerians to make necessary modifications such as changing names, dates of birth, email addresses, and phone numbers from anywhere, using different devices.
Emphasising the convenience of the self-service modification portal, Adegoke encouraged Nigerians to utilize this innovative solution.
He noted the evolution of the process, citing the past requirement for applicants to visit NIMC offices for data corrections.
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