Abuja: The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has charged Nigerian students to embrace anti-corruption values as the foundation for national development. Demola Bakare, Director of Public Education at ICPC, gave the charge during a visit by students of the Economics Department, Nasarawa State University, to the Commission’s premises in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Bakare urged the students and the country as a whole to deploy the ‘Three Rs’ mantra of reject, resist, and report corrupt practices to defeat the menace in the nation. While welcoming the students, he said the excursion was an opportunity for them to understand the mandate and operations of the commission. Bakare noted that exposing the youth to the realities of corruption early would help shape their conduct before they assume leadership positions in the future.
The ICPC official explained that the commission introduced what he called the ‘Three Rs’ mantra for fighting corruption, stressing that Nigerians must reject, resist, and report corrupt practices. Rejection, he stated, is personal and means refusing to be part of corruption in any form. Resistance involves speaking out against corrupt acts by family, friends, or colleagues. He further explained that reporting becomes necessary when advice fails and the act threatens the citizenry, adding that reports can be made anonymously.
Bakare emphasized that enforcement alone could not win the anti-corruption war. Values inculcated from youth, he said, influence behavior even in public office. The ICPC has, since 2009, infused an anti-corruption curriculum into primary, secondary, and teachers’ education subjects across the country. Bakare disclosed plans to introduce anti-corruption modules in university General Studies courses, subject to budget approval, to reach all Nigerian undergraduates.
The director highlighted that the Commission’s Public Education Department has two divisions: Stakeholders Mobilisation and Value Orientation, which drive the reorientation project. He explained that beyond formal schools, ICPC reaches out through the National Anti-Corruption Coalition of civil society and youth-focused NGOs. The commission also partners with the National Directorate of Employment, NURTW, and the National Council of Women’s Societies to broaden its reach.
Furthermore, Bakare mentioned that National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) members are engaged through its Community Development Service groups on anti-corruption to take the message to communities and markets. Speaking on behalf of the delegation, a lecturer from the Economics Department, Elama Abayelis, thanked ICPC for the opportunity to have firsthand information about its work. Abayelis remarked that corruption remains a major setback to economic development, no matter how much is taught in classrooms or attempted by government.
He concluded that direct engagement with institutions like ICPC would help students become advocates for truth, countering misinformation on social media, and enrich their knowledge of ICPC’s structure, responsibilities, and role in Nigeria’s development.