BREAKING NEWS, Crime
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THE Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans, CANAN, has described as tragic the staggering amounts of money allegedly misappropriated in the ongoing crackdown on corruption in Nigeria.
“We express shock at the shameful high-level corruption perpetuated by those entrusted with power and hereby call on President (Muhammadu) Buhari to leave no stone untouched in his resolve to name, shame and prosecute all those involved.
“While conscious of the legality of being innocent until proven guilty by a law court, we call on the administration not to be intimidated by the antics of the highly placed suspects but undertake their prosecution in a universally accepted manner,” the group said in a statement.
The CANAN said it was particularly miffed by the heartlessness exhibited by all the accused individuals in the way they allegedly withdrew and shared millions of dollars while millions of average Nigerians were allowing in abject poverty.
It said the discovery was unprecedented in the history of the nation. The group noted the impunity with which the money was brazenly withdrawn without any empathy for the generality of the people, and also expressed disappointment that some members of the media were allegedly involved in the scandal.
“Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, is the continent’s top oil producer and one of the biggest producers in the world. Yet corruption has unfortunately undermined the nation, and according to analysts, kept 68 percent of its population living on less than $1.25 a day thereby perpetuating instability, especially the long-running conflict with Boko Haram.
“The situation becomes graver with the proven strong link between corruption and insecurity. According to Transparency International, when a country’s institutions are weak, its security forces are not trusted and its borders are not strong, as is the case in Nigeria. It gives terrorist organizations room to flourish,” the statement said.
This, the CANAN, said had, indeed, had become a tragedy for the nation, but that the current administration could only be supported to root out the endemic corruption which had eaten so deep into the system.
As a Christian body, the CANAN vowed to continue to pray for the country that God should touch the heart of the Nigerian leaders and make them God fearing as a first step to stem the tide of corruption in high places.
The CANAN is the voice of Nigerian Christians in the United States speaking for the voiceless. The association was the vanguard for the designation of Boko Haram as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, FTO, by the US government even against the strong opposition from the Nigerian government then.
— Jan 4, 2016 @ 17:30 GMT
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