Mary Titilayo Omonoyan (Mrs), the Assistant Chief Superintendent (Education), Lagos Office of Independent Corrupt Practice and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), mentioned that corruption is not caused by greed because it lies in the mindset of the individual.
Mrs Omonoya made this statement during the dialogue organised by SIIDAfrica on Attaining a Corrupt Free Society; Structures and Will Power.
She further states that corruption is not caused by poverty as it is widely presumed, as one may not be financially rich but have a wealth of values that promote accountability, honesty, integrity, and transparency.
She defined corruption as equal to when someone has Monopoly plus Discretion minus Accountability plus Transparency plus Integrity (C=M+D-A+T+I). Eroded and distorted values lead to corruption.
Continuing, Mary Omonoyan took participants through the different functions and interventions of ICPC in combating corruption and how citizens and organizations can also engage or collaborate with the agency in reducing all forms of corruption in Nigeria.
Further, in her discussion, she highlighted some initiatives of the Independent Corrupt Practice and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had undertaken since its inception in 2000 till date (20 years). These include;
The Strategic Operations and Research Manager, SIIDAfrica, Samuel Odusanya, enlightened participants on the process of using the “C-Report”, an online Corruption Reporting Platform designed by SIIDAfrica to encourage evidence-based reporting of incidents of corruption by citizens.
Mr Odusanya stated that the C-Report platform allows citizens to report different levels of corruption, be it financial corruption/non-financial corruption at public/private spaces or electoral corruption before, during or after the election.
The platform also captures positive reports, which promote accountability, honesty, integrity, and transparency. The platform can be accessed through the SIIDAfrica website at www.siidafrica.org.
In his closing remark, The Director of SIIDAfrica, Olamilekan Lawal, made it known that the organization will be working in partnership with ICPC to get reports of incidents from citizens to the agency.
Mr Lawal commended the participants for their zeal to see an end to corruption in Nigeria; however, he requested that SIIDAfrica be glad to partner with other organizations, agencies, and MDAs to promote a corrupt-free nation.
“Other editions of the Dialogue will be looking at training citizens especially youths on how to write a petition and the procedures involved with specific reference to the use of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011.” He stated
The SIIDAfrica Dialogue is a monthly virtual discussion between citizens, especially young people and stakeholders involved in nation-building to engage, learn, and proffer lasting solutions to issues affecting young people’s capacity for inclusion in the development process.