The drama, accusations and counter accusations that are playing out at the ongoing House of Representatives ad hoc committee’s investigation into an alleged mismanagement of personnel recruitment, employment racketeering and mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) is an indication of the systematic rot in the country.
The high level of corruption in the land has been a long-standing and complex issue that has deeply affected the country’s development, governance, and overall well-being. It has affected virtually every sector and every aspect of our lives. As a matter of fact, if someone is given an appointment or elected into a public office both himself, his family and even his community see it as an opportunity for them to partake in the sharing of the national cake and  he may be considered a failure if he does not do anything possible, including corrupt acts, to enrich himself.
With the damning revelations that  emerged  from the lawmakers’ probe, it is obvious that the situation will not change any time soon. People entrusted with the responsibility of running the affairs of the nation and ensuring fairness are neck-deep in subverting the very essence of their appointment.
The drama; Some Commissioners of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) appearing before the investigating committee accuse the Executive Chairman of the Commission, Muheeba Dankaka, of nepotism, corruption and highhandedness, some alleged victims claiming to have paid millions of Naira to get employed in the MDAs, some got the job, some did not; the money was paid to a former aid of the chairman, Haruna Kolo;  the chairman says the commissioners lied against her because she refused to do their bidding, including selling slots for employment, that Kolo did not work for her and that her signature was forged by some criminal minded persons.
The Commissioners, substantiating their claims, insist that Dankaka collected 10 per cent from MDAs who came for employment and also gave “juicy” jobs to her children and signed appointment letters for ghost workers.The Delta Commissioner specifically said, “If there is any request for recruitment, the Chairman of Federal Character, Dr Dankaka will request the Chief Executives to come to her office and discuss 10 per cent. She does collect 10 per cent from all MDAs of all the employment she is signing. All those 10 per cent she collects, those are the slots that she employs agents that are selling. “I have two employment letters here of her children in juicy agencies where the annual salary is N6.1 million, the other one is N8.2 million. I have the appointment letters here. And I just also want to inform this committee, if she finds any agency doing employment that is paying more than these MDAs, she will move them to that MDA. She moves them from MDA to MDA.”
“She has a lot of agents selling slots for her. After selling, they have a central pool where they remit all the monies to, whereby they will withdraw and collect dollars and give to her. I have all the account details here. In my submission, we have a lot of things to reveal.” Madam Chairman maintains that she did no wrong. that she already made a name and was very rich before becoming the commission’s chairman and that she was there to contribute to the growth of the nation and the good of Nigerians and not to enrich herself. Haruna Kolo appears and says ,“yes, I sold jobs but I did it for the chairman and the proceeds went into her account.” And the drama continues. We hope that the committee chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, and his members are ready for what is coming because more dramatic scenes are definitely unfolding. Job racketeering is a big business in Abuja and probably some other cities in the country. Some civil servants and well connected individuals live large by fleecing young graduates. Two years ago, a friend’s brother-in-law was asked to pay N1million for a job in an agency under the Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja. His poor mother, a retired primary school teacher, had to borrow money from a bank so that her only son, who had not gotten a job five years after graduation, would secure employment.
Incidentally, since the money was paid, it has been one story after another.  Initially, an “employment letter” was given to him. He started work but after three months, himself and all the people that were employed along with him, about 500 of them, were asked to stop work because due process was not followed in their employment.
These people have made a lot of efforts to see that they get enrolled in the system. Some months ago, they staged a protest at the national assembly, where the law makers after due consultation with the authorities involved with the employment, assured them that their appointment will be regularised. They are still waiting for the fulfilment of the promise. The story of how some people will be on the payroll of some local government councils, ministries, agencies, departments and parastatals both on the states and federal levels but are never seen at work is not strange in the country. Some of them have other full time government jobs.
As Hon Oluwole Oke rightly pointed, “Historically and specifically, since 1960 – the 1990s, Nigeria boasted of one of the best crops of public servants in the world and service delivery was at the highest level of professionalism.”However, this situation has since changed, largely because of the method of recruitment and the quality of recruitment into these public institutions, which is driven by fraud, abuse, corruption and pecuniary considerations.” … the process of recruitment and employment into the civil service has become one that is fraught with endemic corruption. Public Institutions have since stopped the process of advertising for jobs and vacancies. “Even in the few instances where adverts are published, the slots are already commoditised and available for the highest bidders. In other words, most public institutions now sell employment positions, notwithstanding the qualification of the applicant and the ability of the applicant to perform optimally on the job.”
The story is not different in appointments into top positions in all tiers of government. Competence and capacity are jettisoned while nepotism, tribalism, ethnicity, religion and political affiliations and other mundane considerations enthroned. State resources are used for personal gains and reward supporters; there is lack of transparency and accountability in government operations and financial transactions. How does the nation develop both economically and otherwise this way? What is the hope of the poor people who cannot afford to buy jobs and who do not know somebody that knows somebody? Why do we deliberately continue to widen the gap between the haves and the have nots and expect to enjoy peace and security in the country? Sure, laws like the Corrupt Practices and other Related Matters Act aimed at dealing with corruption are there but how have the institutions saddled with the responsibility of enforcing these laws and regulations and punishing offenders fared in discharging their duties?
Indeed, there is a need for a holistic fight against corruption in Nigeria, starting from the leaders to the led. Our institutions, various sectors of the economy, the civil service, the electoral bodies and others need to be purged of corruption if Nigeria must move forward. Our leaders must muster the political will to deal with corruption and to do that effectively, they must free themselves from corruption, as he who seeks must do equity.
Our leaders, both political, religious and traditional, should stop rewarding corrupt people. Rather, reward should be for people of integrity, who have distinguished themselves in the society so as to encourage others to do good. It is important that the country stops paying lip service to corruption. The laws must be followed to the letter and applied to every corrupt citizen irrespective of his status, political affiliation, religion, ethnicity or tribe.
It is hoped that the House of Representatives will get to the root of the FCC’s case and others yet to come up. Nigerians need to know who is lying between the commissioners, Dankata and Kolo. The committee should not forget to beam the search light on the National Assembly because the situation there might be worse than that of the MDAs.
Nigerians also wait for the outcome of the committee’s investigation and their recommendations. Will they be put to good use or swept under the carpet like those of other similar committees and probe panels in the past? We keep our fingers crossed.

By: Calista Ezeaku