Malam Nuhu Ribadu’s decision this week to contest for the office of President on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was informed by a clear understanding of the political history of this country, the social forces in contention presently, and what is needed to change the way we play politics. Nigeria’s elite class, politicians and military officers alike, were for a long time obsessed with crude power and how to seize it through any means, fair and foul. When they bothered with politics, it was simply another instrument with which to take power and use it for their own private benefit, never for the public good. The needs of the ordinary people were never taken into consideration. Indeed power was used to suppress the people, often pitting them against one another, and thereby preventing the country realizing its full potential.

At the heart of the Ribadu presidential programme is therefore the urgent need to bring the ordinary people of this country, for a long time banished from the vital institutions of democratic politics and policy-making, back to the front and centre of efforts to transform Nigeria for the better. This is Mallam Ribadu’s central goal. It is clear to him that the present economic and social condition of Nigerian citizens is dire and calls for practical and workable programmes that will put an end to their misery.

It is an obvious fact that corruption in the echelons of public and private sector alike has become an epidemic, ambushing all efforts to return the country to prosperity and enable her to take her proper place in global affairs. Decades of sustained underinvestment in vital infrastructure and social services, caused in part by crooked officials diverting public funds to private ends, and in part by policy incoherence, has made it difficult for the country to compete with her peers in a 21st century world characterized by rapid technological innovations and fierce competition in globalized markets. Nigeria, since the late 1970s, has regressed from an African giant to a continental laggard; the laughing stock of the world.

These and sundry national woes are regularly ventilated by our politicians in the mass media and on the campaign stump. But this is where the Ribadu presidential campaign sharply demarcates itself from the pack. Nuhu Ribadu is bringing into the 2011 electoral process three vital ingredients: hard thinking and clear policy solutions to the nation’s diverse woes; impeccable public service credentials and personal integrity unmatched by any of his fellow contenders for the presidency; and a practical strategy of bringing Nigerian youth, now a significant demographic and political force in this country, into the election process.

Ribadu’s policy platform has focused on nine significant cross-cutting themes, each addressing a pressing national challenge. The policy themes are Human Capital Development, the Economy, Infrastructure, Governance, Youth Employment, Agriculture and Food Security, Defence and National Security, Niger Delta, and   Foreign Policy. Drawing on his own practical experience as a top level public official for nearly three decades and also the expertise of some of the finest scholars, policy mandarins, and community and youth leaders in this country, Mallam Ribadu has put in place a policy programme that addresses these problems and proffers clear solutions to them.

Some politicians, experts in rhetoric, have dismissed Mallam Ribadu as just “another anti-corruption crusader” with limited experience in politics and governance. Ironically, the country has been led by the so-called experienced politicians since the return of democracy in 1999 with nothing to show for it. Of course, Ribadu is not only about fighting corruption, even though corruption is clearly our country’s number one problem. Well before his appointment as executive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2003, an organization he shaped in just four years into one of the most effective corruption-fighting agencies in the world, the ACN presidential aspirant was a lawyer who as a young man in 1984 volunteered to join the Nigerian Police Force at a time the reputation of this institution was at its lowest ebb.

He went on to serve in the Force for 18 years as a public prosecutor with prosecution and conviction records that are unmatched in the 150 year history of the Nigeria Police. Ribadu was also a member of the highly commended Failed Banks Tribunal that sanitized the rottenness in the Nigerian Banking sector of the late eighties.  He was instrumental in developing the Legal and Prosecutions Department of the Nigerian Police, a unit that served as think tank and policy nerve centre of the police.

Ribadu also served in the Federal Government’s Economic Reform Team along with the likes of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Malam Nassir El Rufai, and Obiageli Ezekwesili, from 2003 to 2007. Ribadu operated at the highest levels of government in this period, and played a key role in shaping public policy that helped bring about the economic transformation which the succeeding government proved unable to sustain. Forced into exile in 2008, Ribadu went to St Antony’s College, University of Oxford as a visiting fellow, working with such notable Africa scholars as Professor Paul Collier on policies to reverse the continent’s economic decline. He also grappled with this important subject when he was latter appointed a fellow at the Centre for World Development, a leading Washington, D.C., think tank.

Ribadu’s approach to politics has provided a fresh and appealing sense of transparency, inclusion, and empowerment that is galvanizing the country’s youth. In Ribadu, Nigerian youth see a historic opportunity to chart a new course for their country. At the centre of this mass movement of young people is Team Ribadu, an initiative that is leading efforts to draw Nigerian youth and other vulnerable social groups long consigned to the margins of national politics to its very centre.

Team Ribadu is organized from the ward level up to the federal centre in Abuja, drawing together energetic and capable youth passionate about their country in a powerful network of volunteers. These youth, from all ethnic, religious and social sections of the country have spread out implementing projects in voter education, election participation, anti-rigging measures and policy enlightenment – all designed to bring the youth vote to Mallam Ribadu who they have come to recognize as the game changer in Nigeria’s 2011 presidential election.

For the first time in Nigeria’s political history voters are being offered the opportunity of putting into office an articulate, intelligent, and thoroughly-detribalised young man who is broadly accepted in all corners of this country, north and south, Christian and Muslim. This is unprecedented. For too long Nigerian politics was marked by petty elite and ethnic squabbles, ignoring the citizens and their all-too real problems. But not anymore. Mallam Nuhu Ribadu is running for president not for himself, his family, his tribe, his region or religion, but for the common good of all Nigerians. His platform is already transforming the way ordinary Nigerians from Aba to Zungeru, from Badagry to Yola, think about power, politics and public policy.

What we are witnessing before our very eyes is the reinvention of Nigerian politics.  


By
Dapo Olorunyomi, Bashir Bello Akko, Ike Okonta, Chido Onumah

Mallam Nuhu Ribadu has condoled the family of late elder statesman and foremost nationalist, Pa Anthony Enahoro.
Ribadu, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), described Pa Enahoro as “a true elder statesman, who was always interested in the plight of the Nigerian people.”

“Pa Enahoro was like a father to us all. He was a nationalist who at a very young age dedicated himself to the fight for the freedom of our people. He never jettisoned that struggle. Until he died, he continued to demand for the enthronement of good governance that will better the life of the Nigerian people,” Mr. Ribadu stated.

The former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) urged all Nigerians to remember Pa Enahoro as an eternal champion of freedom. According to him “the best way to remember our late father, Pa Enahoro, is for all the progressives to come together to fulfill his wish of enthroning a truly progressive, people oriented government at the national level.”

Protocols
50 years ago, the founding fathers of our great nation secured independence for us and laid the foundations for a united Nigeria. They had unwavering faith in the people of this country; that when the fetters of colonization were removed they would be able to transform their lives for the better. They firmly believed that Nigerians would create the systems and enduring processes that would deliver economic growth and stability, egalitarian development, improved living conditions and quality of life for the people.  They built schools and universities; they established banks and other financial institutions, farm settlements, and various industries as precursors of a vibrant economy with a small, but enterprising private sector.
They tried to nurture a fledgling democracy. Their aspirations were abruptly terminated by a military coup in January 1966. After the long years of military rule and several half-hearted attempts to return the country to democratic governance, the people’s right to freely elect their leaders and representatives was restored in May 1999. The restoration brought high expectations, the hopes and promises encapsulated in freedom. Those expectations have not been met; the promises remain unfulfilled.
Today we are on the threshold of another general election, the fourth since the restoration of democracy. I believe this is an opportunity for change, to orientate our shared values into restoring the foundations of our nation. I believe it is possible to build a united Nigeria devoid of ethnic or religious conflicts; a Nigeria where the well-being of the people is of paramount importance; a Nigeria that inspires the highest level of patriotism in her citizens. I believe that it is possible to ensure justice for the people, to ensure the security of lives and property, and the peace and stability that would engender growth and development.
I know that you also believe that it is possible. And that is why, standing with you on this faith in our nation’s capacity to transform into a NEW NIGERIA, I declare my intention to run for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
I learnt the true meaning of public service from my late father, Mallam Ahmadu Ribadu, who was a minister in the First Republic. Growing up in Yola, I watched and listened as my father and his colleagues, drawn from all parts of the country, selflessly grappled with the challenges of their time. I understood that public service meant putting the interest of the people first. It meant working with them, and consistently doing those things that would ultimately improve their lives and empower them to contribute to the development of the country.
I chose to study law at university because it had become clear to me from events in the nascent Nigeria that the rule of law was vital to national stability and progress. I started my working life in Lagos, one of our great cities, where all of our people, Muslims and Christians, poor and privileged come together in their daily struggle to earn a living. I chose Lagos because I learnt as a child, from the example of my father’s compound, that a good way to understand a nation with such diversity as ours is to leave your own comfort zone and dwell among its people where their various energies complement each other.
I chose to join the Nigeria Police Force because to be a policeman is to serve your nation, putting your very life on the line. My career as a police officer culminated in my being chosen to head the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. If you spend your entire life preparing for public service, you cannot but achieve results when you are given the opportunity to serve with the right team. The efforts of my colleagues and I, in turning this government institution into one of the most reputable crime-fighting agencies in the world, in the short space of four years, was not a fluke. Our modest achievement at the EFCC was not a miracle.
But when you fight corruption, corruption fights back. Our lives and the lives of our families were threatened. Twice I escaped the assassin’s bullets and was forced to leave this country I love so dearly; to leave my wife and young children and go into exile in 2008. My public service career was abruptly terminated. In spite of these ordeals, it never crossed my mind to give up the hope of a better Nigeria.
The time has come to turn a new page.  If you, fellow Nigerians, elect me as your next president, competence will be the hallmark of policy formulation and execution. I shall bring into public service very capable individuals to ensure the Nigerian taxpayers get value for their investment in government.
Nigerians now have an opportunity to lead the quest for change in terms of political and socio-economic development. Together, we will set the stage for a NEW NIGERIA, a dynamic society that will be the vanguard of the efficient and effective utilization of the huge endowment of natural and human resources of the African continent for rapid economic growth and development.
The first port of call in this vision of restructuring our economy for growth and development is the simple challenge of returning humility to government. Last year alone, while our country earned about N86 Billion in revenue, at least half went on imports that includes some of the most exotic vanities a developing country should encourage. This is not the path to progress. Already we are running a scandalously shameful budget ratio where overheads and recurrent expenditure is a staggering 75% of annual spending; and where the 25% balance is sure to disappear through the notorious corruption chute.
The pervasive poverty in Nigeria can be attributed to the inefficient utilization of our abundant resources characterised by poor leadership, gross mismanagement, nepotism, and most insidiously, corruption.  Poverty reduction, therefore, will be an underlying factor in addressing the challenges of development in the 21st century. The structures and institutions that underpin economic prosperity will be thoroughly overhauled starting with the development of human capital. Knowledgeable, healthy, creative, and hardworking people will be the pivot for the new Nigeria.
 The health sector is critical to the welfare of the entire citizenry, especially our women and children who are exposed to the greatest risks. Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. The mortality rates for infants and children under the age of five years are also among the highest in the world, a clear reflection of the failure of the primary health care system. It is totally unacceptable that large numbers of Nigerian children are dying of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases in the face of tremendous advances in this area of health care.
We will work assiduously to establish an effective primary health care system. We will also develop facilities that will ensure that the widest range of advanced medical care is available to all our people locally. To this end, six super specialist hospitals namely, National Heart Hospital, National Kidney Hospital, National Cancer Hospital, National Children Hospital, National Women Hospital and National Neurosurgical Hospital, will be built across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
Another issue that requires serious attention in the health sector is the dearth of skilled/qualified personnel especially in the rural areas, and this is a major contributor to high maternal and infant mortality rates. Concerted effort will be made to remedy this situation, and to also encourage greater specialisation in various fields of medicine for which personnel is highly lacking. The pharmaceutical industry will be supported to provide essential drugs; and the issue of fake and sub-standard drugs will be treated with the urgency and national attention it requires.
Functional and qualitative education is important for positive social transformation, personal empowerment and national development. Our education sector faces huge challenges in terms of funding, access, and quality assurance, among others.  We shall significantly increase funding as a step towards attaining the UNESCO recommendation of 26% budgetary allocation to the education sector. To improve access at all levels namely, primary, secondary and tertiary education, the Federal, State and Local Governments will be encouraged to work together to expand facilities and train additional personnel; quality assurance at all levels will also receive appropriate attention. Adult literacy and non-formal education programmes will be put in place to enable all citizens to contribute effectively to national development.
We will invest time, effort, and resources in the economic empowerment of women and improve their participation in politics and decision-making. We will create a caring and inclusive society where vulnerable Nigerians, particularly the elderly, orphans and vulnerable children, and the physically challenged, will be covered by a social security programme. We will develop a secure and efficient identity management system as a first step towards establishing such a programme.

The key thrust of our economic policy will be to create jobs and provide employment for our people, especially the youth. We shall budget within our means, reduce over-spending, and plan for a steady and attainable economic growth rate of 7-8% per year for the next five years and 8-10% per year for the years following that.

We will invest in infrastructure, in health and education, and in creating the enabling environment for thriving investment in all key sources of growth and development, namely agriculture, the extractive industry, manufacturing, financial services, information and communication technology (ICT), arts and culture, as well as housing and construction.  These sectors hold the true key towards genuine economic recovery. To give just an instance, while the current housing crisis requires investment in 16 million houses to resolve it, a smart annual investment in one million houses annually could yield 30 million jobs annually.

These measures are impossible without adequate supply of electricity. Therefore, I emphasise that the perennial problem of insufficient power will be quickly brought to an end. Various sources of producing electricity, namely water, gas, coal, wind, and nuclear will be explored.  Indeed a nation with eleven idle coal sites alone cannot advance a convincing argument against investment in clean coal technology to power its economy.

Many of our roads are in deplorable conditions mainly because of the high volume of heavy traffic on them and lack of maintenance. We will partner with the private sector in building and operating a modern railway system in order to reduce the burden on the roads and make them to last longer. The crucial role of the private sector in growing our economy and creating employment cannot be over-emphasized.
We have a private sector that is capable of great enterprise and we will encourage this by streamlining the processes that tend to escalate the cost of doing business in Nigeria. We will also minimize the time required to start a small business. Our greatest asset is our large population of young people, full of energy and ideas; and it is the responsibility of both the government and the private sector to provide the opportunities that will enable our youth unleash their creative energy in the productive ways that will help to propel us into the echelons of the largest global economies.
In doing all these, we must be mindful of the fact that governance is about the people; it is about their well being. Our conduct as both public officers and captains of industry must be such as would support the well being of our people, our nation. To this end, we must fight every form of corruption and ensure that our people enjoy the full benefits of our national resources. Our processes and transactions must be transparent in order to inspire confidence and we will empower the anti-corruption agencies to effectively discharge their mandates.
In setting an effective development agenda for Nigeria, discipline, crime prevention and law enforcement as well as overall national security will be accorded the highest priority. The appropriate penalties must apply to infringements of rules and regulations; and the penalties must constitute enough deterrent to prevent future misdemeanours. Non-enforcement or partial enforcement of laws causes chaos and encourages all manner of anti-social behaviour and excesses bordering on impunity.
The importance of discipline in the development of any society cannot be over-emphasized because the effects permeate both individual and communal life and contribute towards the proper organisation and smooth running of any system. Discipline, hard work, courage, and perseverance were fundamental to the philosophy or values of our founding fathers. We also need to embrace these values in order to build a safe, peaceful, and stable Nigeria; a strong Nigeria that will lead by example in the Gulf of Guinea and the rest of Africa; and be a worthy partner on the global scene.
To complement this, we shall give premium to the welfare and competence of our security forces, and the military, and attend to decades of neglect in the military where efforts to keep the world safe through peace mission operations have created in our army perhaps the largest global community of neglected widows.
The issues I have raised are fundamental to setting Nigeria on the path to greatness. The outcome of any sound economic policy depends wholly on the ability of the people who run the system to faithfully implement it and, basically, that implies an educated, healthy, competent, and disciplined workforce. The catalyst, however, is leadership; a leadership with the commitment and political will to follow through on difficult, sometimes painful and tough decisions. A leadership that is mature enough not to jettison an idea or abandon an on-going project that would be of tremendous benefit to the nation simply because it was initiated by someone else, or another administration. I pledge, before you all today, that I will provide the required leadership. And in the spirit of transparency and accountability, I promise that our plans will be published so that Nigerians can track our progress.
Much as I would like to talk about the issues and challenges in every sector, I will conclude with the Niger Delta. Nowhere is the shame of our nation more visible than in the Niger Delta. To say this is not to claim that the other regions have been symbol of excellence, but the burden we face as a nation is the lack of gratitude to the region that produces the bulk of our wealth. There is no gainsaying that there are critical issues that must be resolved in this part of our beloved country - youth militancy, oil spills and environmental degradation, unemployment, and so on. These are challenges that we will address with empathy and resourcefulness.
I wish to reiterate that it is possible to build a united Nigeria, devoid of ethnic and religious conflicts; a peaceful and stable Nigeria where lives and property are secure; a place where law and order reign; a beautiful, happy place that we will all be proud to bequeath to our children, and to generations yet unborn.
It is important for us to set the stage for growth, peace and prosperity in these early years of the 21st century. The next few years are critical and there is much work to be done. We have always had the means but not the capacity to fulfil our God-given potential as a nation. God willing, we shall remedy this and enable Nigeria to rise as a true Giant of Africa. We, Nigerians, are a people of faith; may the Almighty, Faithful God reward our faith.


A NEW NIGERIA IS POSSIBLE!  It is possible.
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL
GOD BLESS NIGERIA. 



Nuhu Ribadu                                                                        
Action Congress of Nigeria

Misinformation: Nuhu Ribadu was selective in going after innocent politicians when he was the EFCC chairman.
Fact: Nuhu Ribadu only went after state officers who abused their public trust or failed to account for resources appropriated for the welfare of citizens. For this reason, there was not a single individual who was innocent of the charges brought against him/her.

Many of the critics of the law enforcement process tend to miss out on the fact that the process of investigation and prosecution of public officials entrusted with public power is defined by a scrutiny of those entrusted with such authority and is for that reason unavoidably selective. The EFCC, under the leadership of Mr. Ribadu, did not move against innocent citizens but streamlined its activities and energies on public officers who abused their office.


Misinformation: Nuhu Ribadu was used by former president Olusegun Obasanjo to go after his political enemies while he was at the EFCC.
Fact: This was a propaganda concocted by many of the public officials who found themselves needing to answer questions on account of their mismanagement of public resources. Owing to the fact that these officials had the means and resources far in excess of what could ever be available to law enforcement officials, they attempted to use this propaganda as a strategy to inoculate themselves against lawful scrutiny and as a basis to escape accountability.

Evidence that this was false was the fact that not a single one of the officials that was investigated and subsequently found guilty could claim that he was wrongfully investigated. Many have in fact been found guilty or are subjects of local and foreign investigations.

Misinformation: Nuhu Ribadu owns oil blocks, mansions in Dubai, Europe, and the United States.
Fact: This is the most laughable, comical and cynical conjecture by the whole gang of state looters which Mr. Ribadu had always and still continues to insist is hinged on this profound truth: that when you fight corruption righteously and with unrelenting will, corruption fights back with virulence and some of its famous tools are propaganda, lies, and distortion to achieve a regime of mind conditioning. However, it is also a reflection of simply how cynical Nigerians have become about the challenge of a truthful and honest desire by some to bring truthful change to our country.

Mr. Ribadu is the only senior police officer who has received three back to back commendations, the Inspector General of Police Award, on account of integrity and professionalism. He also undoubtedly ranks tops amongst senior police officers on secondment who have brought glory to the force on account of their integrity. More so, it is now common knowledge that this is the same man who first rejected a N50million bribe from a businessman and on account of that bribe, the same man had to serve time for trying to bribe a public officer.

Lastly, only few Nigerians can pretend to be ignorant of the fact that Mr. Ribadu was offered $15million in bribes by a former state governor. This same money was paid promptly to the Central Bank of Nigeria and that bribery act, in itself, used to charge the state governor to court.

Misinformation: Nuhu Ribadu is just as corrupt as other politicians.
Fact: As has been stated earlier, Mr. Ribadu is probably the most investigated public officer on all sorts of fabricated and trumped up charges, all which have come to naught. It is understandable that those who see Mr. Ribadu as their enemy will stop at nothing in trying to discredit him, especially at the time when he is now seeking a high elective executive position. But his answer to them then, and now, is to offer a simple shred of evidence.

Missinformation: Nuhu Ribadu is unsuited for the rough and tumble of Nigerian politics.
Fact: There is no rough and tumble more challenging than torrential police work especially if you have to confront violent crimes like robbery and so on. But also, people forget that anti-corruption fight is one of the most challenging and frightening assignments that anybody can attempt to tackle. In all his assignments, whether as a Divisional Police Officer or as a member of the failed banks tribunal where he had to prosecute economic saboteurs or in fact when he had to design and build Africa’s most functional institution against economic and financial crimes, the EFCC, Mr. Ribadu always came out with distinction.


Misinformation: Nuhu Ribadu does not have any experience.
Fact: From a historical perspective especially as concerns presidential leadership in our country, people suddenly forget that youth is not an argument of incompetence as the example of General Murtala Mohammed amply shows. Given the kind of experience that Mr. Ribadu is bringing to the table, it is without doubt that he is perhaps one of the most qualified on account of his experience, his competence and his promise.

He was a graduate of law before he joined the police and holds a Master’s degree in law. He has had far more convictions as a prosecutor in courts than any police officer including recording landmark cases that have reshaped our jurisprudence like the famous case of Osahon vs. the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Mr. Ribadu has written what is generally regarded as the most authoritative thesis on the jurisprudence of corruption in Nigeria.

From scratch, he has also built what is now generally regarded as the region’s leading training and research institution on economic crimes (TRI, Karu) which many other older services are currently using for their own capacity building training. He also helped build one of Africa’s most respected financial intelligence institutions NFIU) which today provides intelligence for all law enforcement institutions in this country.

Not to forget the fact that he was a member of the economic management team that helped design the landmark economic reform program headed by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (between 2003 and 2007) which is today considered the most glorious phase of our country’s democratic process. He is a graduate of the country’s leading Policy and Strategic Studies Institute; a former fellow at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford University; and also a former fellow at the elite Centre for Global Development, Washington D. C.

For a man who has put in a quarter of a century to meritorious service in nation building in our country, it will be totally immodest to characterise this as lack of experience.

The name, Nuhu Ribadu, is familiar to all Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora. He is the czar of the Nigerian anti-corruption agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Ribadu sounds a different meaning to different people. Some see him as the controversial hunter's dog of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo. His traducers  claimed that Obasanjo used him to hunt down personalities who held incongruous views regarding the president's aspiration in the opposition camps or the "disobedient" PDP chieftains. But for whatever reason, Ribadu is associated with and known
 for, this young police officer has made his mark in the national polity.
Ribadu is a dogged corruption fighter who walks where even the angels fear to set foot on. He fearlessly introduced probity and accountability in public services, so much so that it was believed, when he was in power  that the fear of Ribadu was the beginning of wisdom. Therefore, as Nigeria continues to occupy an unenviable position in world corruption ranking  by  Transparency International, his coming out at this crucial period to contest  for the presidency should
 be hailed by all and sundry, especially the progressive-minded.  Like those who fight against drug barons, Ribadu put his life on edge for the country, yet when the Obasanjo government came to and end, the succeeding government of  late President Umar Musa Yar'Adua began to persecute him. He was promoted and demoted  in the police force  and was asked to pull out of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), where he had gone for a course. All this was the tribulation he had to suffer for stepping on the toes of the "big boys" who surrounded the late President Yar'Adua. They visibly threatened to take their pound of flesh from him. When he found that his life was threatened, he had no alternative but to seek asylum abroad. However, well-meaning Nigerians and
 corporate organizations, within and outside, continued to honour him despite his persecution  by the government of the day.
In a joint statement dated  December 9, 2009, by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism; Socio-Economic Rights & Accountability Project (SERAP), Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC); Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), and Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), jointly named Ribadu as "our own equivalent of Amnesty International's Prisoner of Conscience and Individual at Risk." According to a statement to be read at the ceremony on behalf of the award jury by Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), and member of the board of SERAP: "This is an
 exceptional gathering for an even more exceptional man. Today the world celebrates the International Anti-Corruption Day, and we consider it a special day to celebrate the courage and commitment of a man who, despite obvious personal risks, decided to say 'enough is enough', and to give his all to the fight against corruption in Nigeria."
The groups also said that, "As chair of EFCC, Mr Ribadu provided an outstanding leadership in fighting corruption at all levels of Nigerian life. He tracked down high and low-level officials. Mr  Ribadu recorded over 300 criminal convictions in four years, which included governors, ministers, members of parliament, bankers, and a former Inspector-General of Police. He has recovered over $5 billion stolen public funds."
Assassination attempts on Ribadu's  life, and his unlawful sack from the police, his persecution at home, separation from wife and children and loneliness abroad, was the  price he had to pay for his commitment and his work as an anti-corruption defender. But he remains a source of tremendous inspiration for all anti-corruption and human rights defenders in our country.
Ribadu, our anti-corruption hero, has entered the presidential race; the onus is  ours to give him  the maximum support in order that he carries his corruption fight to a higher level of leadership. What is more? Ribadu's  agility and youthfulness as a young man is an added advantage to his track-records in the race to the  presidency. More so that the fashion of the world today is to go for young energetic  leaders. Barack
 Obama of the US and British PM David Cameron are good examples for us to emulate to make sure that the youth snatch the governance baton of our dear country from the old breed. The ball is now in our court.
 
 • Sidi wrote in from Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, FCT