Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, executive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has urged young people nationwide to prepare for leadership roles in an effort to advance their country.
Bawa delivered the speech on January 17, 2023, in Sokoto while serving as conference chair for the Usmanu Danfodiyo University’s Zero Tolerance for Corruption club. The conference was on “Corruption in Nigeria: Trends and Patterns.” He argued that young people should be ready to face the challenges facing the country head-on and come up with novel approaches to problems in order to produce more beneficial outcomes.
“As young people concerned about the future of their country, what is paramount for us now is not to continue whining about the enormity of the challenge of economic and financial crimes but come to a deliberate realization that things must be done differently”. The onus is on you as the critical demographic that will take the leadership of this nation in a few years time, to engage in the efforts to free our country from the stranglehold of economic and financial crimes” he said.
The head of the EFCC warned young people against engaging in corrupt behavior, stating that it is the “most depressing problem and threat to development in any nation, a deliberate perversion of established rules and negation of accepted standards of behavior in any society, and deviating from rules of honesty, integrity, and transparency.”
He charged members of the club to emulate ” Sheikh Usmanu Danfodio after whom the institution is named in aversion for corrupt practices and sticking to the values of honesty, integrity, and accountable leadership. It is with this understanding that I commend this initiative which is perfectly in sync with the vision of EFCC to raise an army of anti-corruption soldiers in tertiary institutions”.
Dr. Keji Muhammad of the Faculty of Law spoke as the lead speaker on the topic and bemoaned the complexity of corruption, highlighting the psychological, social, moral, political, bureaucratic, and electoral ramifications it has. In a similar spirit, the Sokoto Zonal Commander of the EFCC, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE Aliyu Yunusa, urged youngsters throughout Nigeria to despise the get-rich-quick mentality that afflicts the country in a brief welcome address.
University instructors as well as officials from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission, Nigeria Police, and other organizations attended the conference.