– One year ago Ibrahim Magu was chosen
by Buhari to lead his fight against corruption
– While many Nigerian questioned why the
president appointed him, Professor Paden
explains the close relations of the duo
President Buhari
Muhammadu Buhari was elected as Nigerian
president partially on the promise to
eradicate corruption in Africa’s most
populous nation.
It seems that he is living up to his pre-
election promise of making the fight against
corruption at all levels a top priority of his
administration.
The country has been crippled since its
independence by political instability,
inadequate infrastructure, poor
macroeconomic management, and
corruption, above all.
In November, 2015, President Buhari has
fired the chairman of the anti-corruption
agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, Ibrahim Lamorde and chose
Ibrahim Magu to lead his war against graft.
Later, Mr Magu has boasted that what it
achieved within the last 11 months in terms
of looted asset recovery surpassed its first
12-year record.
Consequently, many Nigerians wonder why
Buhari trusted the EFCC chairman so much.
Professor John Paden, who recently
presented Buhari’s biography, gave insight
on insight on their close relations in his book
on page 193.
He wrote: “Buhari has often said that if any of
his own children were accused of corruption,
and the authorities did not investigate, he
would never forgive the authorities. On
numerous occasions, Buhari has urged public
officials to do their duty without fear or favour.
He has also tried to inspire younger
generations to regard public service as an
honest calling.”
“For example, the current acting head of EFCC,
Ibrahim Magu, was a schoolboy in Borno when
Buhari was military governor in 1975. Buhari
gave a talk to a group of boys that included
Magu and urged them to do their best.”
“Magu was inspired and became a
professional policeman. In 2015, Buhari asked
Magu to head the EFCC, a dangerous job if
done well. By mid-May 2016, Magu had
secured 143 convictions of corrupt officials.”
Mr. Magu was one of the early recruits into
the anti-graft commission by the pioneer
chairman of the commission, Nuhu Ribadu.
Acting chairman is seen by peers as an
incorruptible and courageous officer.
Recently he raised the alarm that there were
deliberate plots to ruin his reputation by
forces that are not comfortable with his
campaign to rescue the nation from the vice
grip of corruption.
