Tinubu’s Anti-Corruption Pledge: Law, Politics and the Promise of a Moral Reawakening

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration that “no one is above the law” may sound familiar in Nigeria’s long political theatre of anti-corruption promises. Yet, his latest assertion delivered through Vice President Kashim Shettima at a joint workshop of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Judicial Institute (NJI), comes with both data and defiance. Over 7000 convictions and N500 billion (naira) in asset recoveries, according to him, stand as proof that his administration is walking the talk. Beyond the figures recovered, beds a strong tale of power, politics and a nation’s moral struggle. Yet, none in is prison, comparatively to what Nicholas Sarkozy just contracted in France. This mighty be a new revised rhetoric in an old battle that is assumed to be hosting compromised figures who are driving-actors, in the midst of these sociopolitical-pandemic.

Tinubu’s message was clearly stripped of political polish – the old practice of shielding allies from prosecution has no place under his watch. “There is no person or group who can accuse this administration of shielding political actors on account of their affiliation”. It’s a statement that reverberates through Nigeria’s complex web of patronage, where political loyalty has long served as a form of legal insurance.

In a country where anti-corruption campaigns often oscillate between genuine reform and selective enforcement, Tinubu’s insistence on impartiality marks both a promise and a test. The EFCC’s conviction statistics may impress on paper, but the real question remains whether such zeal extends to the political elite or stops at the low-hanging fruits of fraud and cybercrime. Nation’s justice from the moral compass the EFCC may be tainted.