Hamza Al-Mustapha, presidential candidate of the Action Alliance (AA), has stated that the activities of the institutions established to tackle corruption in Nigeria are like asking a rabbit to oversee lions.
Al-Mustapha made the remark while speaking in an interview on Tuesday with Channels Television.
The former aide to the late Sani Abacha, said if elected president, he will set up structures and relevant agencies to address corrupt practices.
“In Nigeria, I believe institutions primarily managing security, corruption issues in Nigeria are ill-equipped. They are too small; they are not organised properly,” he said.
“A situation with this the way I see it, where you call a rabbit, to be the chairman of arresting lions, you know is semantics. The rabbit will be running around the animal kingdom, but the lion will be sleeping the way it wants and nothing will happen.
“You don’t have national economic intelligence agency or your commission. You also do not have a national electronic agency management of your economy to determine data of corruption in terms of management or domestic activities, international trade, movement of your resources, activities in your banks, central bank, ministry of finance, ministry of national planning and in understanding what they do with your resources.
“How come you don’t have the seeming structures and you want to relate with the international community that you cannot drive? Who do they communicate with? So, once they come, they don’t have relevant agencies they are working with in today’s modern world. How can you manage corruption? So, you have to reset the country first.
“So, we have an understanding of two new agencies to come on board and it is bigger. It will go along with the economy.”
The presidential candidate also stated that he is bold enough to confront corrupt individuals, irrespective of their social or political strata.
“If you’re talking about boldness, God willing, I’m not boasting,” he said.
“Boldness in rendering service for Nigeria was first of all, what fetched the persecution I went through yesterday because I don’t know how you can ask me to paint white [as] black and prevent black [as] white. Many of those who believe they hated my guts were the ones that punished me and call me names,” he further stated.