The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), an anti-graft civil society organisation, has called for a new approach and strategy in the nation’s fight against corruption.
Debo Adeniran, CACOL’s Executive Chairman, who spoke at an anti-corruption workshop organised by the group in Lagos on Wednesday, said there was the need to take the fight against corruption to the grassroots, rather than concentrating on the elite.
Adeniran, who spoke on the theme, ‘Curbing Corruption In Nigerian Political Process: Establishing a Grassroots Paradigm in Good Governance, Accountability and Transparency’, maintained that the country would be better if everyone would be involved in the anti-graft war and contribute to make the society better.
He maintained that the war against corruption would never be effective if it was concentrated at the top, saying that the people at the local level needed to be involved to make it effective.
Adeniran said: “We want to bring the fight against corruption to the grassroots. If we welcome those who do not represent us to our communities with open hands, it means we are not helping to sanitise the society and make the country better.
“The fight against corruption should be taken away from the elite to the grassroots. We want the people at the grassroots to understand their duties and how to do the job of whistle blowing.”
He stated that rather than be collecting money from their political representatives when they visit their constituencies, community leaders should insist that such representatives bring dividends of democracy to the people and communities, as that was why they were voted into positions they had been occupying.
According to Adeniran, the anti-corruption crusade should be taken to the homes and schools for it to sink deep into the minds of the people, including children, even as he lamented that parents and teachers had been encouraging corruption by assisting their wards to engage in examination malpractices.
He stressed that the traditional approaches to anti-corruption messaging in Nigeria have been characterised by sensational reporting of corruption cases involving huge amounts of money or the use of extreme language to eliminate undesirable behaviour.
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“These kinds of messages risk including apathy in citizens by rein forcing their sense of powerlessness in the face of rampant corruption.”
Adeniran said that anti-corruption messages must be carefully framed to effectively communicate the negative impacts of corrupt behavior while empowering targetted audiences to take practical and effective action.
“Pro-accountability actors must avoid the one-size-fits-all approach to anti-corruption messaging and ensure that messages are assessed for effectiveness before dissemination,” he added.
He suggested that government should rethink and redesign routine procedures for providing public service to ensure they would be citizens and business friendly, adding that options for complying with penalties for minor violations should include online platforms where citizens could lodge complaints, disputes imposed penalties and report instances of soliciting or extortion.
The event attracted hundreds of parents, school teachers and Community Development Associations (CDAs) leaders, as well as activists and the civil society community.
