Civil society group losing anti-corruption war – CACOL

November 29, 2012 by Temitayo Famutimi

A civil society group, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, has lamented that the fight against corruption by civil society organisations in the country has lost steam.

The Executive Chairman, CACOL, Debo Adeniran, said despite the fierce anti-graft posture and campaign made over the years by civil societies, the monster of corruption was still rearing its ugly head.

He said the rank and file of the civil society coalitions were dwindling, adding that the powers that be had poached several staunch anti-graft campaigners to the other side of the divide.

Adeniran spoke on Wednesday during a courtesy visit by the group to the PUNCH Place, the corporate headquarters of PUNCH Nigeria Ltd.

He said, “As the anti-graft war is becoming fierce day in day out, it is unfortunate that the corrupt people are beginning to win the day as the majority of government institutions are enmeshed in corrupt tendencies.

“Bitter still, our arsenal as civil society organisations is being depleted by the powerful cabal who keep on poaching on our rank and file.

“Many anti-corruption campaigners have switched over and joined the bandwagon of institutional corruption in various tiers of government.

“Unfortunately, they now see things differently. We have also lost some anti-graft activists to the cold hands of death and they are not being replaced.”

Adeniran frowned on the manner the society celebrated those who plundered the collective resources of the country and called for more community-based enlightenment for the people at the grassroots.

He said, “It’s a pity that instead of ostracising corrupt leaders, many of our people in the grassroots have turned themselves into professional praise singers.

“They simply cheer those people who have made their lives miserable and kept them perpetually below the poverty line. There is definitely a need for more grassroots mobilisation to end this social ill.”

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