Fighting corruption: Anyaoku calls for removal of immunity clause

Chief Emeka Anyaoku

Former Secretary General of Commonwealth, Chief. Emeka Anyaoku, has  called  for the removal of the immunity clause which restricts  political office holders  from prosecution as he renews call for the conveyance of a National Conference.

Anyaoku made this call at the Distinguished  Management Lecture organised by the Nigerian Institute of Management, NIM, in celebration of its 50th anniversary with theme “Nigeria at 50 – The Challenges of Nationhood,” where he  said the removal of the clause would wipe out corruption from all facets of the Nigerian  nation.

According to  him, “when immunity clause is removed, all forms of corruption will drastically reduce in Nigeria. Since the immunity comes from the top, the other people will follow suit. The President and the Governors should not have any immunity from criminal offences.

They should only have immunity for civil offences because constant law suits on civil offences will distort the day-to-day running of the country.”

On National Conference,  he said an appropriately representative conference of the Nigerian people should be constituted to consider how Nigerian’s present constitution could be reviewed and amended to reinforce progress towards the Nigerian nation.

He said Nigeria at 50 as at last birthday is yet to grapple with the challenges which are retarding the possibilities for its national growth and development, while stating that Nigeria still faces a number of challenges that it faced at independence.

According to him, prominent among the challenges is the consolidation of sense and reality of Nigeria as a nation. He further said that these facts were brought to fore in the debates and controversies that preceded the April 2011 Presidential election.

Anyaoku noted that the continuing emphasis on ‘zones’  and ‘sections’ in the appointment to political offices, rather than on qualification and competence, regrettably showed that for a significant number of Nigerians, Nigeria is yet to arrive as a nation, adding that the patriotic love for the Nigerian nation should be the driving force behind its political leaders and public office holders.

He enthused that much of the talk about Nigeria’s greatness is still in futuristic terms, whilst stressing that the nation has so far essentially failed to make its numerous potentials a reality.

He also said until the vast majority of the citizens are, in their pursuit of self-fulfillment, driven by an innate desire to serve their fatherland, the Nigerian nation would continue to be short-changed in terms of reaping the full benefits of its abundant human and material resources.

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