A Nigerian academic based in the United States of America, Toyin Falola, praised the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Is-haq Oloyede, for his probity in running the agency.
Mr. Falola, a professor of history at the University of Texas, Austin, USA, spoke at a political dialogue on corruption in Abuja on Tuesday.
The event was organized by the Independent Commission on Corrupt Practices and Other Related Crimes (ICPC) in conjunction with the Nigerian Anti-Corruption Academy.
Speaking on the theme of the dialogue, ‘Corruption, Social Norms and Behavior Change in Nigeria’, Mr. Falola praised Professor Mr. Oloyede for his exemplary leadership at JAMB.
“We must show leadership by example. Where is the JAMB registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede? asked Mr. Falola, prompting the JAMB Registrar to rise to his feet in the packed auditorium of the ICPC, the venue of the event.
“I want to dedicate this conference to Is-haq Oloyede who is here. We don’t have to look for examples. We already have an example,” he said, a rare acknowledgment from senior government officials in Nigeria.
Contrary to the widespread norm that public office in Nigeria is for personal enrichment, the renowned American academic said that Mr. Oloyede “has done his job without benefiting himself; thinking of the nation.
The academic added that JAMB’s registrar had endured “insults” for refusing to abuse his position.
“If we have people like him, I am sure we will solve this (corruption) problem,” he said.
Earlier in his speech, Falola called for a reorientation of leadership in Nigeria to tackle corruption.
He warned that the failure of the “political elite” to master political corruption could have dire consequences.
ICPC President Bolaji Owasanoye, in his welcome address, highlighted the need for a change in the social norms that perpetuate corruption.
Mr Owasanoye, Law Professor and Chief Advocate for Nigeria (SAN), said: “Achieving the goal of behavior change in a society with endemic corruption involves a complex and sometimes lengthy process…”
He noted that the task before stakeholders is to “untangle the web of issues involving political, social, economic, religious and ethnic factors that fuel corrupt practices.”
Mr. Owasanoye identified the social expectations of his peers, networks, groups and communities” as facilitators of corruption in the public service.
He urged meeting participants to dismantle social and cultural norms that pressure public officials to steal public resources.
Background
ICPC’s investigations revealed extensive corruption scandals that allegedly took place at JAMB before Mr. Oloyede emerged as head of the examining body.
Mr. Oloyede’s predecessor, Dibu Ojerinde, and four of his sons, along with companies linked to them, are being prosecuted by CIPC for theft.
In June 2023, the anti-corruption agency re-indicted Mr. Ojerinde at the Abuja Federal High Court after negotiations failed according to the prosecution.
Similarly, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2019 prosecuted a JAMB official, Philomina Chieshe, in Makurdi, Benue State, after she claimed that a snake swallowed JAMB’s missing N35 million.
Annually, the agency generates billions of Naira as revenue from conducting entrance examinations for high school graduates seeking university admission in Nigeria.
But before Oloyede emerged as a registrar, only a pittance of revenue generated by the organization was remitted to the government.
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