The Minister of Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, says corruption and corrupt practices fuel insecurity in the country, calling for all hands to be on deck to fight the menace.
The minister said this, when he paid a courtesy visit to Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, the Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), on Tuesday in Abuja.
Tunji-Ojo said the purpose of his visit was to strike a synergy between his ministry and the ICPC.
He expressed the belief that collaborating with anti- corruption agencies could help to tighten the belt and block loopholes even within the administrative processes.
“We know the Ministry of Interior is responsible for the enhancement of internal security and, of course, corruption is one of the biggest threats to security in Nigeria.
“So, we don’t need to move too far before we get to the point of intersection, where our interests remain.
“We believe that in leveraging and collaborating with ICPC, we might just be saving our country from a lot of effort that is needed in righting the wrongs.
“We believe that all over the world the language is pro-activeness, the language is prevention, the language is no more detection or correction,” he said.
According to him, the world is moving and is moving so fast.
He noted that as product of the 20th and 21st centuries, there was the need to learn the language of the 22nd century.
“And, the language of the next generation, which we must learn as a country is to build strong institutions.
“One believes that the strategic relationship between these two agencies can of course block a lot of reports, can prevent and, of course, can deter even the imagination of ill doings.
“If we do not do that, we will continue to run after the criminals. And, once we are running after the criminals, it becomes a game of fun to the criminals,” he said.
He explained that all over the world the criminals would be running after the state to meet up with the state, not the state running after the criminal.
NwokeAgulu
