Nigeria Would Have Collapsed By Now If Jonathan Won 2015 Election – Itse Sagay

BEVERLY HILLS, May 06, (THEWILL) – The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PCAC, Prof. Itse Sagay SAN on Thursday declared that had it been former President Goodluck Jonathan won the 2015 presidential election, Nigeria would have been facing the same economic crisis being experienced in Zimbabwe and disintegrated.

He spoke in Abuja at the anti-corruption summit organized by the Federal Ministry of Justice, Open Society Initiative for West Africa in conjunction with ONE Africa to brainstorm on issues and present a common position at the forthcoming 2016 International Anti-Corruption Conference billed to hold in London on May 12.

The presidential aide, while expressing his disappointment at the level of corruption that was perpetrated during the administration of Jonathan, argued that the country would have by now been under the yoke of heavy economic disaster if the Buhari administration did not come on board.

He noted that corruption is fighting back in Nigeria very vigorously to frustrate the current anti-corruption war of the Buhari administration, adding that those fighting back are corrupt Nigerians with huge war chest at their disposal.

Sagay, while highlighting the roles of the PCAC and its mandate in the anti-corruption war of the Buhari administration, said his committee had completed a draft for the establishment of special court which would try special offences, including corruption and kidnapping. He added that after the draft is subjected to all the legal processes, the courts that will be established will deal with the special cases speedily.

According to the Senior Advocate, “Given the unrestrained stealing and the enormous economic pillage under the Jonathan administration, it is not a surprise that the Nigerian economy is lying prostrate. The present administration needs time to fill in the big holes that were left by the previous administration.

“It is therefore irrational for anybody with perverse mentality to say that they should bring back corruption. The truth is if Jonathan had won the 2015 election, by now Nigeria would have completely become a failed state like Zimbabwe with huge inflation rate of N10 billion, or probably all of us would have to carry our little belongings to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.

“Nigeria would have witnessed a ferocious economic disaster if the Buhari administration had not emerged. All that is going on now is the rebuilding process of the economy that was so destroyed by the previous administration. Those praying for the return of Jonathan should thank God for not answering their prayers because it would have been a terrible nightmare.

“We must be patient and rational in our thinking for the inevitable change of the Buhari administration to come. It will surely come, but it is not a magic wand,” Sagay declared.