Lai: Beneficiaries of corruption are fighting us

Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, says the federal government is walking a lonely road in its anti-corruption war as “most Nigerians” who are beneficiaries of corruption are fighting back.

Speaking at the 68th general assembly of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Mohammed said media should stop making a mockery of the anti-corruption war of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

He appealed to the media not to “sit on the fence” in the fight against corruption.

According to him, by continuously reporting lost corrupt cases, the media weakens the anti-graft war and gives succour to corrupt people.

“I intend to dwell on an issue that is key to the survival of our country, that touches you and I directly and the quality of our lives, an issue that if we fail to tackle decisively, it will kill us as a country. And that is the issue of corruption,” Mohammed said.

“As we have said times without number, this fight must not be seen as the fight of the federal government alone. It is our fight.

“Fighting corruption anywhere in the world is like walking a lonely road. While many may join hands with you to tackle insecurity or to revive the economy, you are on your own when you take on corruption.

“Most Nigerians who are direct beneficiaries of corruption, hence resist us.

“The fourth estate of the realm cannot afford to sit down on the fence as far as this fight is concerned. We are not saying that the media should not criticise us but it should stop mocking us.

“When the media is not fully on board, the fight against corruption becomes tougher.

“When the media sits on every setback we suffer, prosecuting this war, they give succour to the corrupt.

“When the media falls to the distraction tactics of those mortally against this war, they weaken the battle.

“In recent times, it is not unusual to read such headlines as Buhari’s government losing corruption war. This is sheer mockery, not reporting. How many newspapers have written strong editorials to support this war?

“And this war is not Buhari’s war, it is our war.”

He explained that of the three campaign promises of the administration, combating corruption has been the most difficult to accomplish.

He, however, added that despite the setbacks, the anti-corruption war has recorded some progress.

“Of all the three broad aspects we campaigned with,- revamping the economy, fighting corruption and tackling insecurity, the toughest is fighting corruption,” he said.

“Yes, corruption is furiously fighting back but it cannot match the courage, determination and commitment of this administration.

“For our efforts so far, we have so much to showcase. From tackling corruption, we have succeeded in raising power generation from 2,690 megawatts of power to 7001 megawatts, because we are fighting corruption, we are saving N45bn monthly by cutting unnecessary allowance of officials, we have recovered $2.9bn from looters so far.

“We took Nigeria out of recession without retrenching one single worker even when oil prices were very low. we have achieved all these and more without having all the stakeholders on board in the fight against corruption. Imagine how much more we would have achieved if all hands have been on deck?

“We need allies, not antagonists, those who will offer constructive criticisms, not those who will mock us. no administration in the history of this country has exhibited the type of courage to fight corruption that this administration has shown. And we are proud that we have taken corruption under the table in just two years.”