The acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has called on Nigerian parents to see themselves as change agents who can help the nation overcome the varied challenges that corruption has placed in its path to development.
Magu also urged parents to have a rethink about their priorities, saying that the quest for wealth and inordinate pursuits of ostentatious living have made it impossible for them to inculcate the right values in their children.
He gave the charge on Saturday, May 11, 2019 in Lagos in a paper titled, โFamily As An Effective Agent In The Fight Against Corruption, Economic and Financial Crimesโ at the fourth edition of the International Day of Families organised by Entertainment Bus-Stop Limited.
Magu, who was represented by Ayo Oyewole, Head, Public Affairs, EFCC Lagos Office, described the family as a critical stakeholder in the nation-building, adding that, โFamily is one of the primary agents of socialization. Family members teach the child the norms, values, morals, beliefs and ideals of the society. In the family, the child first learns what is good and bad and what is right and wrong. It is from the family that a child develops specific habits, traits of character, attitudes and values.โ
He, however, lamented that some parents had failed in their responsibilities, considering the extent of the moral decadence in todayโs Nigeria.
Making references to religious teachings against corrupt practices, he noted that parents owe their children the obligation of putting them on the right paths, so that they will be good ambassadors of the country.
He said: โFamilies are expected to monitor the associations their children keep. Evil communication, they say, corrupts good manners.
“They should question what they read and what they do to ensure the purity of their minds.
“The various indicators of the failure of the family and our society are apparent with the spate of criminality among the youth.
“The infamous Yahoo-yahoo narrative remains a negative reference point.”
Magu, who also urged parents to join hands with the EFCC to fight corruption, which he described as โour common enemyโ, said: โYou have to begin to foster public support for the fight against economic and financial crimes and corruptions at home.
โWe are faced with a serious situation and if you must leave here today with only one thought, it must be that you will henceforth lend your voice to the anti-corruption advocacy initiatives of the government and the collaborative agencies.
โIn order words, you must resolve to give the bar of the fight against corruption, economic and financial crimes a lift.โ
While emphasizing that the Commission works in partnership with both local and international stakeholders to fight the menace of corruption, he reiterated that the Commission had been operating in an environment fraught with challenges, including โlegal technicalities, lack of cooperation from some state and local governments, public attitude towards corruption, the phenomenon of corruption mentality in Nigeria as well as slow judicial system occasioned by tactics of defence lawyers and interlocutory appeals.โ
He, however, expressed confidence that the ongoing fight against corruption would be sustained, so that looters of the common patrimony would not go unpunished.
