Corruption Halts Nigeria’s Development – Tambuwal
Speaker, House of Representatives, AlhajiAminuTambuwal, has said that corruption and poverty are social vices that are detrimental to national development.
He said this at a lecture on “Religion, ethnicity and corruption: Challenges of national security” held at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria yesterday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said the lecture was organised by the Centre for Peace, Conflict and Security Studies, ABU, in collaboration with Students’ Representative Council of the institution.
Tambuwal, who was represented by Hon. Bashir Adamu, Chairman, House Committee on Defence, lamented over the prevalence of corruption and poverty in the country.
“Corruption is not only in the public service but it cuts across all segments including schools, businesses and even our homes.
“In the same vein, unity of Nigeria is a forgone conclusion, this should be a topmost priority because the idea of separation is not an issue,” he said.
The speaker stressed the need for Nigerians to exploit all avenues to ensure corporate existence of the nation through unity, peace, tolerance and understanding of one another’s cultures and values.
“For democracy to succeed, people must learn to accommodate, tolerate and embrace one another,” Tambuwal said.
In his speech, the ABU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha, observed that national conflicts were added conflicts emanating from ward, local and state levels.
Mustapha, who was represented by Prof. Adebayo Joshua, Dean, School of Post-Graduate Studies, assured the centre of the institution’s support.
He hoped that more of such lecture would be organised to enlighten the people on the consequences of the menace.
The guest speakers, Prof. Aminu Mohammed-Dorayi of the Institute of Security Studies and Dr.AbubakarSaddiq-Muhammad of the Political Science Department, ABU, advised Nigerians not to use religion and ethnicity as a means of achieving political goals.
They identified lack of political will to genuinely deal with corruption, poor criminal justice system, absence of moral code of ethics and integrity benchmark, as some of the factors responsible for endemic corruption in the country.
