Osinbajo says Nigeria is in a battle between good and evil

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, believes that the the country is in a battle between good and evil and not necessarily between religions.

He said this while speaking at a public lecture organised by the Council of Chief of Imams, Ikeja Division in Lagos State on Saturday, November 10, 2018.

During the leacture, titled "The role of Muslim leaders in the South-West towards achieving peaceful and successful 2019 elections", the vice president said corruption is a major challenge that's perpetrated by people of all religions.

"I want to say to you that it's a battle between good and evil. What we are fighting in this country is a battle between good and evil; it is not a battle between religions.

"Corruption is our major challenge. The people that steal Nigeria's resources are both Christians and Muslims."

Osinbajo urged religious leaders to impress on their followers the importance of allowing peace and unity to reign in the country.

He also commended the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for carefully managing Nigeria's resources and investing in infrastructure and development than previous administrations despite earning less in revenue than previous administrations when the price of crude oil was high.

He said the administration has been able to help Nigeria's populace through Government Enterprise Empowerment Programmes like N-Power, TraderMoni Scheme, the Conditional Cash Transfer, and the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.

Buhari wants more than jail terms for looters

While addressing world leaders at the first edition of the Paris Peace Forum in France on Sunday, November 11, 2018, President Buhari advocated for more than jail terms for looters.

He called for a harder crackdown on perpetrators of illicit financial flows to discourage more public officials from mismanaging their nation's resources to the detriment of poor and vulnerable populace.

He said a more effective punishment would be to fully recover the profits and assets generated from illicit financial flows and corruption.

He said, "Our experience in Nigeria is that financial crimes, such as corruption and fraudulent activities, generate enormous unlawful profits which often prove so lucrative that the threat of a jail term is not sufficient to deter perpetrators.

"A more powerful deterrent is to ensure that profits and assets generated from illicit financial flows and corruption are recovered and returned to countries of origin.

"This is not to under-estimate the value of strong institutions. It only indicates that asset recovery represents significant deterrence compared to the traditional focus on obtaining conviction by the law enforcement agencies of the countries of origin."

The president also advocated for a crackdown on safe havens for corrupt assets as well as sanctions on lawyers, bankers, brokers, public officials and others whom he called 'transactional middlemen' who facilitate illicit financial flows.

He noted that Nigeria's Whistleblowing policy has facilitated the recovery of billions of naira from corrupt people. He said the recovered loot has been redirected to the development of critical infrastructure and programmes that will benefit all Nigerians.