Mr Ibrahim Magu, the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been honoured with an Award of Excellence for his patriotism and commitment to the fight against corruption by the Association of Registrars of Nigerian Universities (ARNU).
The association conferred the award on Magu on Thursday during its 14th Annual Retreat and 67th Business Meeting in Sokoto State University, Sokoto.
The Chairman of ARNU, who is also the Registrar of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Mr John Nnabuihe, said Magu has taken the fight against corruption to greater heights, noting that his incorruptible stance and remarkable achievements are second to none in the history of the country.
He added that the EFCC boss was also honoured in recognition of his patriotism and commitment to good governance in the county.
Nnabuihe also presented an award to Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal and other recipients.
The event with the theme: “Benchmarking the Nigerian Universities to Achieve Global Competitiveness”, attracted registrars from the nation’s universities nationwide and Nigerians from different walks of life.
In his keynote address at the occasion, Magu bemoaned the negative effect of corruption on education and the society, saying that the development was causing hardship, economically, socially, politically as the national wealth is depleted.
In his address entitled,” Strengthening Educational Academic Integrity, Role of Universities,” Magu said that it was regrettable that public expenditure meant for economic prosperity is now being channeled to the pockets of a few greedy people with its attendance consequences.
Magu, who was represented at the occasion by the Director of Organisational Support, Dr. Aminu Gusau, said, “Anywhere corruption sets in, it creates problems with devastating effect. Imagine the university, a place where people are moulded and sent out to different sectors of the society is becoming corrupt, then the whole society is distorted.
“Corruption in education affects more people than corruption in other sectors…because schools are breeding grounds for future generations. When a child is exposed to corrupt practices at the tender age, he tends to grow with it and with time exhibits the character anywhere he finds himself in the future”.
He said Nigerian universities are in a state of dilemma with challenges that calls the adoption of out of the box, sincere, and pragmatic solutions.
The EFCC boss said that educational integrity remains the panacea to the problems, adding that “everybody must ensure that integrity is their watchword at all times”.
Packaged by Emmanuel Okafor
