CHRAJ urges students to lead the campaign against corruption

The Northern Regional Directorate of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has called on students to play active roles in the campaign against corruption in the country.

It said their active involvement would help to promote good governance and accountability in the country.

Speaking on the topic: “The legal regimes on anti-corruption and the role of the tertiary students in the fight against corruption”, Mr Stephen Azantilow, the Northern Regional Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), said the role of students in combating corruption in the country is vital and urged them to prevent corruption by helping to build an anti-corruption culture in the society.

Mr Azantilow was addressing students of the Tamale College of Education at a symposium organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), in Tamale, as part of planned activities under the Accountability, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (ARAP).

The ARAP, with funding support from the European Union (EU), seeks to promote good governance in the country by reducing corruption and improving on accountability and compliance with the rule of law.

The CHRAJ Regional boss said there is the need for students to act as agents of change and drivers of anti-corruption movements in the society, adding; “students are expected to criticize informal policy on campus and put pressure on government to ensure that the laws governing education do not provide opportunities for corruption”.

Mr Azantilow said as students, it is vital for them to understand and apply the values of anti-corruption in their everyday lives to drive transformation and bring sustainable development in their communities.

He said “as students, you need to be interested in fighting corruption in the country and you can do this by educating others on the adverse effects of corruption and the need to disengage from the act”.

“Endeavour to report any act of corruption to the appropriate institutions for action to be taken against the culprits and I urge you all to uphold to the principles of integrity and discipline, as it will contribute to development in the country”, he said.

Touching on legal regimes on anti-corruption, Mr Azantilow said, some laws and institutions have been established to combat corruption in the country adding that “the mere passage of laws cannot eradicate the canker. What this country needs is a multifaceted approach towards fighting corruption”.

Alhaji Abdul Razak Saani, Northern Regional Director of the NCCE, said corruption is depriving the citizenry of their rights to development projects in the country, and stressed the need for the students to get actively involved in the fight against the act.

Mr Alhassan Saliu, a student of the College, said there is the need to strengthen anti-corruption institutions with the needed logistics to enable them deliver their duties devoid of government interference.