Do we continue with the anti corruption war or should we reverse to the past? Buhari asks Nigerians

President Muhammadu Buhari says corruption poses a big threat to the general election and the country’s democracy.

The president said this in an op-ed titled “Corruption Threatens Nigeria – And Its Election”.

Buhari said while his administration is devising ways to tackle corruption, the social vice “innovates to resist the law”.

He added that he shares the same desire with Nigerians who wish to see the speedy execution of projects and end results of his anti-corruption fight but that due process must be followed to ensure “allegation never takes the place of evidence”.

He urged Nigerians to re-elect him while promising to “continue forward on this testing path against corruption”.

“A Yoruba proverb states that only the patient one can milk a lion. Likewise, victory over corruption is difficult, but not impossible. We must not flounder in our resolve,” he said.

“I know many Nigerians would like to see faster action. So do I. But so too must we follow due process and exercise restraint, ensuring allegation never takes the place of evidence. For that is not the Nigeria we should wish to build.

“This is the challenge of our generation: the variable on which our success as a nation shall be determined. But the vested interests at play can make this fight difficult. By way of their looting, the corrupt have powerful resources at their disposal. And they will use them. For when you fight corruption, you can be sure it will fight back.

“There is no doubt that this Administration has changed the way we tackle corruption. The choice before voters is this: Do we continue forward on this testing path against corruption? Or do revert to the past, resigned to the falsehood that it is just the-way-things-are-done? Or that it is just too difficult – too pervasive – to fix? I know which one I would choose. It is why I am asking Nigerians for another four years to serve them.”