Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated that the war against corruption has come to stay in Nigeria.

This is one of the two areas former president Olusegun Obasanjo has scored him high.

According to him, Nigeria remains committed to fighting corruption “today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.”

Buhari stressed this on Sunday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while unveiling the African Union’s anti-graft campaign at the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU.

The theme of the summit is: “Winning the Fight against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to African Transformation.”

President Buhari told African leaders that his administration had gone far in its change agenda, of which the fight against corruption was an important part.

Buhari emphasized strong institutions as a necessary condition for winning the fight against corruption.

He said to win the war, African leaders must empower anti-corruption agencies and insulate them from political influence.

President Buhari cited a report that the continent loses $50 billion annually to illicit flow of capital.

According to him, the manifestation of corruption in Africa demonstrates a need for strong leadership.

He called on African nations to build synergy between the executive, judiciary and legislature in order to entrench good governance.

The stressed that Africans, especially leaders, must have a change of mindset by prioritising accountability and transparency in order to succeed in the fight against corruption.

He, however, noted that fighting corruption will not be a straight forward task as corruption will always fight back.

He said that in spite of any setback faced in the fight against corruption, African leaders must remain resolute.

He recommended, among other things, that an African youth congress against corruption be organised and criminal justice system be strengthened in order to win the anti-graft war.