In the past few decades, Nigeria has been on a free fall relative to most other countries on matters of development, transparency in government, inclusiveness and institutional integrity.

The trajectory of this slide has been relatively straight and smooth, with new lows recorded every now and then. Several attempts to arrest the fall have failed woefully. The reinstatement of Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, into the federal civil service is yet another dark record – a colossal failure of a system that ought to be vehemently averse to corruption in any form.

It’s interesting to see that a couple of reactionary steps have been taken to pacify the enraged and distraught public over what the ruling All Progressives Congress has described as “an embarrassment to the Federal Government”.

Considering that all of these were set in motion only after a news report exposed the national shame, one wonders how long Maina and his abettors in government would have carry on unabashed even in the midst of a much publicised war against corruption.

The main issue with Maina’s illegal reinstatement is the rather unfortunate reality that the anti-corruption drive of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has failed in the only place it can win – sanitising and building strict accountability into the system.

What Maina’s reinstatement shows is that impunity in its rawest form still exists at the highest level in our country, giving a select few the audacity to do whatever they see fit, no matter how unlawful it might be. A weak or failed system is one which can be easily bent and exploited at will by a few powerful men and women.... READ MORE
https://thoughtleaders.ng/the-main-issue-with-mainas-reinstatement/