Kelvin Bowoto
Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has attributed Nigeria’s high rate of corruption to residents’ disregard for cultural norms.
He made the statement yesterday when the executive secretary and chief executive officer of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), Otunba Biodun Ajiboye, paid him a visit to discuss inter-agency collaborations aimed at reorienting Nigerians on the importance of reviving their cultural values as a tool for combating and eradicating corruption in the country.
Ajiboye stated that the commission is doing everything possible to combat corruption and that one of the ways it will accomplish this is through citizens’ cultural orientation, which has a high level of moral degeneration and values that are utterly broken.
“What does not belong to you, you have no business with it, and a moral and value reorientation of the population will help us achieve a lot. Instead of recording thousands of convictions, we should direct our efforts toward crime prevention. There is also a need for us to hunt for loopholes and re-orient people, which is where NICO comes in. We need people like you to join us in the fight against corruption,” Olukoyede remarked.
“Basic orientation is needed for Nigerians to understand the need to avoid engagements in criminal vices, and we will not mind giving your institute a desk in the Commission to see how we can join forces in re-orienting Nigerians because if we go back to our values and with the potency it has to take away the issue of moral decadence, I can assure you that it will reduce the bulk of my work,” he said.
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Earlier, Ajiboye stated that his visit was to seek the commission’s help and collaboration in carrying out the institute’s duty as the country’s leading cultural training institute. He maintained that such collaboration will not only help to combat financial crimes and fraudulent activities by culturally and psychologically rewiring Nigerians to our cultural ideals and ways of life, but will also increase advocacy for the return to Nigeria’s cherished cultural values.
Previously, Ajiboye indicated that his visit was to seek the commission’s assistance and participation in carrying out the institute’s role as the country’s foremost cultural training institution. He argued that such a partnership will not only aid in the fight against financial crimes and fraudulent operations by culturally and psychologically rewiring Nigerians to our cultural ideas and ways of life, but will also raise support for the return of Nigeria’s cherished cultural values.
In his own words, “The institute is of the firm belief that as a crime detection and prevention agency, the EFCC can leverage the advantage of the Nigerian cultural element to tackle corruption and financial crimes in Nigeria.” If Commission personnel can be grounded in Nigerian culture for effective investigations and interrogations, they will be able to fulfill their duties more efficiently.
“There is little doubt that cultural appreciation can help curb financial crime and corruption among Nigerians. You would agree with me that there is no culture in Nigeria that promotes criminal behaviour or greed. However, these ideals have been supplanted by a foreign culture of covetousness, as seen by the ever-increasing number of internet fraudsters, or ‘yahoo yahoo, as they are commonly referred to, as well as other corrupt acts such as embezzlement or theft of public funds. All of them are kinds of theft, and no culture in Nigeria promotes thieves.”
“We are therefore proposing a cultural orientation program for top commission officers in order to use the cultural understanding they will obtain to enhance crime investigation and interrogation purposes. You will agree with me that a suspect whose cultural background is acknowledged and understood is more likely to cooperate during interrogation. He believes NICO can properly teach and equip commission officers with such significant cultural orientation training.”
Techrectory with Agency Report.
