Buhari, Osinbajo Should Declare Their Assets Publicly - Ex-NHRC Chairman

A former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, says President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo have not done well by not declaring their assets publicly.

Odinkalu spoke in an interview with Channels Television on Sunday night.

He said both leaders should fulfill their campaign promise to declare their assets, adding that transparency was a requisite to fighting corruption effectively.
The human rights activist, however, said the President had demonstrated the courage and will to stop corruption in public office.

Odinkalu said Nigerians were not interested in perfection but that a process of change was set in motion which could then be monitored for further progress in the country.

He said, “I have to say I disagree and continue to disagree with the way in which their asset declarations were managed.

“I don’t think they have kept faith with their campaign promise to publish their assets and I do think that it is necessary in order to fight corruption effectively.

“The President is an individual and he is not going to fight corruption by himself. My view has always been that the most a President could do is to provide leadership.”

Odinkalu said a comment credited to British Prime Minister, David Cameron, that Nigeria is a fantastically corrupt country, was a call to action.

He, however, said Cameron’s comment demonstrated “colonial arrogance.”

He said, “The important thing is (that) we focus on rebuilding our country into something we all can be proud of and a country that works for its citizens and does not excuse the misbehaviour of people because we think those are big people.

“The problem we have with corruption in Nigeria is actually impunity. It’s about institutions and the application of rules to people. That’s where we fail because Nigeria is a very stratified and very hierarchical society.”

Source: Punch