Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Jibrin Okutepa, says Nigeria cannot defeat corruption through speeches, slogans, commissions, committees or enactment of more laws.
Okutepa said the fight against corruption can only be meaningful when those in leadership demonstrate by their conduct that public office is a trust and not a licence to accumulate wealth.
In a post on his X handle on Wednesday, legal luminary stated that if leaders genuinely want to curb corruption, they must first lead by example.
According to him, the greatest weakness in the anti corruption fight is not lack of laws or institutions, noting that Nigeria has both, but the gap between what leaders preach publicly and what they tolerate or practise privately.
He said when those entrusted with public resources live extravagantly without satisfactory explanation for their wealth while public institutions struggle to provide basic services, citizens lose confidence in the moral authority of government.
“Leadership is ultimately about example. A leader who demands accountability from subordinates but refuses to account for public resources sends a dangerous message,” he said.
Okutepa added that a government that prosecutes corruption selectively while shielding politically useful individuals weakens institutions established to fight corruption, and when political loyalty is placed above integrity, corruption becomes a system of governance.
He said the fight must begin at the top, with political leaders submitting themselves to the same standards of accountability they demand from citizens, ensuring transparent public expenditure, open and competitive procurement, and appointments based on competence, integrity and public interest rather than patronage.
He also said those entrusted with public funds must be able to explain how such funds were obtained, spent and accounted for.
The Senior Advocate warned that celebration of unexplained wealth gives social legitimacy to corruption, noting that when individuals of questionable means are honoured with appointments and celebrated at public functions because of wealth or political influence, the message to younger generation is that integrity is optional.
He called for independence of accountability institutions including anti corruption agencies, the police, judiciary and auditors, stressing that they must be protected from political interference and that no one should be considered too powerful to investigate or too connected to prosecute.
Okutepa said leadership by example also means preventing corruption before it happens by refusing gifts that compromise public confidence, avoiding conflicts of interest, respecting procurement rules, declaring interests honestly and insisting that public resources be used only for public purposes.
He said Nigeria does not lack patriotic citizens but needs leadership that gives practical meaning to integrity.
“The strongest anti corruption campaign is not a speech; it is the conduct of those who occupy public office,” he said, adding that corruption will begin to retreat when integrity becomes the currency of leadership and accountability becomes the condition for public office.
