NOUN: State corruption and crimes
The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has
presented a book on state crimes and corruption which have brought to fore the
bane of national development, DOMINIC AKPENSUEN reports.
Background
In the words of Professor Moses Udo Ikoh
of the Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa state, “Crimes against the state are
generally seen as subversion, rebellion, treason, mutiny, espionage, riot and
unlawful assembly.”
Professor Ikoh further said that crimes
against the state are numerous in nature. They come in different shades such as
bribery and corruption, tax evasion, money laundery and other economic crimes. The academician maintained
that these categories of criminalities have devastated the economic growth of
the state in all sectors, as he revealed that human trafficking, smuggling of
narcotic drugs and many forms of criminal acts have seriously destabilised
state development.
Unarguably, Nigeria is blessed with high
intellectual potential that are deep into a variety of crimes and corruption,
whether traditional, religious or political. And even the judiciary that should stand as
the hope of the common man has been enmeshed in high cases of corruption,
making the society an unhealthy environment for safe human habitation.
NOUN
to the rescue
Against this background, the National
Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) hosted academics and other stakeholders
during a book launch. NOUN held that
crime and corruption have sunk the nation into grave decay and strangulated national
economic development. The university has taken the bull by the horns by charting
the way forward in the fight against these crimes.
In a book titled, “Crimes Against the
State in Nigeria”, scholars have proffered solutions to the problems of crime
and corruption. The book which has nineteen (19) chapters in 453 pages stated
that to succeed in tackling crimes against the state, the judiciary must
awaken and stand to its responsibility.
Despite laws that are made by the state
to curb these heinous acts, the crimes go unabated. It is because laws made in this regard are
being influenced negatively by bad politicians based on their political agenda,
non-citizen-oriented government interests as well as the character of the
criminal justice system.
When
state oppresses citizens
The book contains chapters by scholars
from various higher institutions of learning, who contributed their research
efforts on how best crime and corruption can be addressed in Nigeria. The foreword,
written by one of the authors, Professor Sam Smah of NOUN Abuja, advanced that
crimes against the state have been a deeply controversial subject to many
Nigerians. He added that in several instances, the legitimacy of government
authority is deployed to define what crimes against the state are in a rather
defensive ways than protective of the citizens. Smah, a professor of criminology
and security studies, stressed that crimes against the state have made deep
impressions in such a way that it is clear that it is the state that commits
crimes against the citizenry. The state sponsors terrorism, ethnic cleansing
and religious persecutions through the use of state resources and forces,
resulting in the extermination and oppression of the less privileged of
minorities in the society.
Although the perpetrators do hide their
crimes by using state resources and other cruel means for defence, economic and
financial crimes are designed to block the free flow of resources for
development in all sectors. Crimes against the state in Nigeria involve
non-state actors and individuals whose actions can be interpreted as self-defence
and self-determination.
The preceding line of argument is that
crimes against the state and citizens are most obvious in weak states ravaged
by corruption, insecurity and other forms of criminalities, where there is
least resistance to the use of force by the state operators to disperse those
who have unarguably been criminally denied the so-called benefits of democracy
and good governance from state-owned resources and opportunities.
The event, which took place in
collaboration with other scholars on December 3, 2020, at the senate building
in the premises of NOUN headquarters Abuja, was graced by high-profile
personalities: professors, deans of various faculties, senior lecturers, directors,
as well as political officeholders and technocrats across Nigeria, were in
attendance for the official presentation of the book.
In his welcome statement, the chairman
of the occasion, Professor Rufai Ahmed Alkali, commended the organisers and attendees
for their good faith in scholarship despite the devastating impact of Covid-19
pandemic on the economy. The former two-time pro-chancellor and chairman of the
governing council of Federal University of Technology, Minna, (FUTMinna) Niger state,
also raised fundamental questions for researchers in the university system and
requested them for remedies against the universality of crime and criminality.
Alkali who is also a visiting professor at the National Universities Commission
(NUC) said crimes against the state in Nigeria must be vigorously fought and
even if not totally eradicated, they must be reduced to the lowest level.
According to him, crime is a general phenomenon that has affected
virtually all the sections of the society in Nigeria, Africa and the entire
world. He admonished that managers of state apparatuses should rise to the
occasion.