FROM ONYEKACHUKWU MELUWA, WARRI
Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr Ola Olukayode said corruption could be defeated in Nigeria and good governance entrenched if citizens individually and collectively embrace accountability, transparency and due process in all aspects of life.
Olukayode made the remark in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State on Wednesday, in a keynote address at the opening of the 12th annual conference of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria, ACSPN.
The conference was sponsored by Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, TSSNL, a federal government contracted pipeline surveillance company.
The conference attracted leading mass communication scholars across Nigeria.
Represented by the Assistant Commander and Head of Public Affairs, Benin Zonal Directorate, EFCC, Mr Williams Oseghale, Olukayode lamented that every challenge currently affecting Nigeria’s socio-economic development could be traced to corruption.
“The rising troubles of unemployment, insecurity, poverty, diseases, low life expectancy, hunger, kidnappings and others are the result of mismanagement, misapplication, embezzlement of our resources by those entrusted with them,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria is known globally as a nation with a culture of corruption and impunity.
To change the trend, he called on the media to rise up to the challenge of anti-corruption advocacy.
“Media practitioners should desist from eulogising and glamorising corruption.
“I urge the media to use their various platforms to fight corruption and the twin evil of economic and financial crimes,” he said.
He urged journalists to emulate the founding fathers of the profession and embrace investigative journalism that exposes fraudsters and public office holders who siphon public funds, noting that “it is only when the media takes up this noble responsibility that it will fulfil its constitutional role as the fourth estate of the realm by holding government accountable to the people.”
Olukayode reaffirmed EFCC’s commitment to eradicate corruption and economic crimes, insisting that media collaboration is critical.
He praised ACSPN for making corruption, good governance and the media central to the conference, describing the theme as timely and vital to building an egalitarian society.
He challenged the delegates to set an agenda for media practitioners in the quest for a better Nigeria.
In his welcome address, the National President, ACSPN, Professor Rotimi Olatunji described corruption in Nigeria as multifaceted, ranging from petty graft to grand corruption by politicians and elites.
He warned that its corrosive effects hinder economic growth, discourage investments, damage infrastructure, fuel poverty and insecurity, and threaten the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.
He urged communication professionals to amplify voices against corruption.
