Senator Ali Ndume, the Senate Chief Whip has made a candid admission about the prevalence of corruption among Nigerian politicians, saying it is people-driven.
In a recent interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Ndume revealed that many politicians engage in corrupt practices, stealing public funds and sharing the loot with citizens to secure re-election.
According to Ndume, who represents Borno South, this type of corruption is “people-driven” and relatively small-scale, with politicians stealing amounts like N1 billion.
He contrasted it with more egregious cases of corruption, such as embezzling N1 trillion or engaging in drug trafficking, which he believes warrant harsher penalties, including the death penalty.
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Ndume stressed that he supports stronger punishments for corruption, including life imprisonment or lengthy prison terms for those who steal large sums.
However, he drew a distinction between smaller-scale corruption and more severe cases that cause greater harm to society.
He said:
“Our corruption is very small one. Our corruption is people-driven. You steal money, you go and share it with the people. If you don’t, you are not coming back for four years. Some will go and keep it. There is no reason for stealing.
“I’ve been in the National Assembly, I can’t say people will look at me on TV now and say I’m a clean person, No I have to say the truth. If the death penalty is supposed to be included in corruption, I will support it but somebody that stole N1 million, you go and kill him, and then somebody that stole N1 billion, you go and kill him, No.
“But I’m in support of saying you are progressive. If you steal N1 billion, maybe you go to life imprisonment, or imprisonment for 20 years, I support that. But if you go and steal, like I’m hearing, N1 trillion of government’s money, that means you have deprived many people, no, that person should be killed.
“The death penalty is the best deterrent for those being caught for drugs. If you do drugs, you are killing people. In fact, that means you have destroyed the lives of many people and killed many.’’
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