Emmanuel Onwubiko
Nigeria is currently the seventh most populous country in the world with a total population projected to reach 236 million by 2030 and 410 million by 2050 making her the fastest-growing among the 10 most populous countries globally and projected to exceed the U.S. as the third-largest by 2050, according to the United Nations. Yet, Nigeria has a median age of 18.4 years of age. This represents nearly 70% of her population under 30 years and the involvement of the youths in the political space of the Nigerian state has burst into the public political consciousness.
However, traditional factors absorbing modern institutions have created Nigerian youth not equipped for the challenge of nation building amidst the obvious inevitability of her pivotal role in the development of the country. Sadly therefore, while the emphasis has shifted from a developing the young minds, it is placed on a qualified youth developer who are themselves not properly groomed or developed.
Against this background it is not only important but also very essentially urgent matter to advocate a course or collaboration between a constitutionally recognized scheme like the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and a most pre-eminent modern specialized crime fighting agency like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim the charismatic educationist heading the NYSC and the no -nonsense police officer and Commissioner Ibrahim Magu of EFCC are the personalities driving this process. In the February 14, 2020 anti-corruption walk led by the EFCC, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, was quoted as saying that the anti-corruption walk would be an annual event because “the mind of the youth is a fertile ground and a potential force, to raise an army against corruption in the society” and that it “won’t end with the walk, but will continue after, with anti-corruption programs to run through the year at the various places of primary assignments of the youth corps members.”
It is important at this juncture to consider the rationale for setting up the NYSC and EFCC. After Nigeria was ravaged by a brutal civil war occasioned by the mismanagement of ethnic heterogeneity and power tension, the search for a national solution gave birth to the National Youth Service Corps pursuant to Decree 24 of May 22, 1973, promulgated by the Military regime of General Yakubu Gowon later replaced by Decree 51 of June 16, 1993 which is now saved by section 315(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) that recognizes it as an existing law and gives it the same effect as any other provision of the Constitution.
Similar circumstances and background led to the establishment of the EFCC focusing on another monster of the Nigerian society, corruption and allied practices. The Group 7 (G7) countries’ summit in 1989 established the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on money laundering, which by 2001 had blacklisted Nigeria as a non-cooperative country. One of the recommendations of the FATF was the establishment of an anti-corruption agency to function as a financial intelligence unit that possessed sufficient statutory enforcement powers. In 1996 Transparency International listed Nigeria as the most corrupt country in the world. Moreover terrorism that dawned on 9 September 2001, resulted in increased pressure by the United States (US) and the United Nations UN) on countries (particularly developing countries) to put in place measures to combat financing of terrorism. These besides the reality of the perception and effect of corruption in Nigeria led to the establishment of the EFCC pursuant to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, which was repealed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act 2002. Section 6(c)(n) and (o) of the EFCC Act vests the EFCC with the function of coordinating and enforcing all economic and financial crimes laws and enforcement functions conferred on any other authority. Furthermore, Section 7(2) of the EFCC Act empowers the EFCC to enforce any and all laws and regulations relating to economic and financial crimes, among others.
From a backdrop of the entrenched twin evils of ethnicity and corruption which have bedeviled the Nigerian State leading to the establishment of the NYSC and EFCC, it is obvious that the primary goal is to achieve a new order for Nigeria. It is therefore correct to say that the re-orientation of the minds of Nigerians howbeit one from a social engineering perspective and the other from a reformation perspective through the criminal justice system are inherent functions of both organizations. First, both NYSC and the EFCC were set up to combat the entrenched menaces of moral decay resulting in tribalism and corruption. Second, both agencies are legally considered to be very important to the continuous existence of Nigeria that while the former is made a part of the Constitution, the latter is endowed with wide investigation and prosecution powers not only with effect to crimes created under its establishing law but also related laws.
Third, while the former is clearly created to function with enormous civil responsibility related directly to the youth the other latter is created with tremendous criminal responsibility with a large chunk directly connected to offences which relate to activities increasingly consuming young minds like cybercrime popularly called “yahoo”. Fourth, both agencies are meant to enhance image and economic development of Nigeria. In this regard, the NYSC takes a direct self-development approach of the corps members through community development initiative with the aim of: instilling the tradition of dignity of Labour; enlisting the corps members’ commitment to their host communities not as tourists but as members of the community; offering insight into the custom, culture and tradition of the people; rekindling self-help spirit in local communities towards emphasis on self-reliance; enlightening local communities of the lives of other parts of the country and providing a forum for training of the young in leadership of development initiatives.
In the same vein one thing which is lost about the criminal jurisdiction of a law enforcement agent like the EFCC is that it is essentially not set up to achieve conviction of suspected criminals but to contribute to a new perception and way of life of Nigerians. Neither can achieve this new order without the other or support of all Nigerians especially the most active set of her population being the youth. At its Anti-Corruption Summit of 2019 held on June 11 at Hilton Hotel in Abuja, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, alluded to this fact when he said despite the achievement of the EFCC, “corruption remains in our country. I believe that the fight against corruption requires a multi-stakeholder approach. The private and public sectors are critical players in this regard and I am glad some state governors are taking steps to establish institutional mechanisms to fight corruption. However, institutional mechanisms alone will not eradicate corruption; we must have a passion and the will to make a difference.”
Also in his contribution at the same conference among a panel of eminent discussants chaired by former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, the former Director of the Nigeria Law School – Lagos Campus, Professor Ernest Ojukwu, SAN, called for reorientation of the political actors, using vivid examples of moral decay amongst segments of the population, like students bodies and such groups as NBA. This was actually an indirect call for reorientation of young mindset towards sane political climate and participation. Only this approach can reform the political space. Sadly we are a country known for momentous statements without commensurate practice or culture of implementation. There is urgent need for a direct collaboration between the two agencies in engaging the minds of the young Nigerians in fighting corruption. To effectively perform its traditional role as an anti-graft agency and to enhance its ability to not only collaborate with NYSC but also affect it towards fighting corruption and reorientation of the young mindsets, the EFCC must be non-partisan. Affiliation to a political party has ability to derail it. It must aggressively enforce laws on corruption and allied matter to give the young minds a sense of responsibility for actions against the general perception of anything goes.
Onwubiko is the Head of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria