 First, let me apologize for my voice. I had had a strain on my voice for the past two days, but I was so determined to be here today that I said, even if I could only whisper, I would come here and attend this event. And I'll let you know the reason. Last year, the EFCC chairman, while sharing one of his very many ideas on anti-corruption strategies with me, told me about the plan for integrity clubs in schools across the nation. And I told him my own journey in advocacy for integrity in Nigeria. Now, in 1995, I co-founded an organization called Integrity, and it has now morphed into an organization called Convention for Business Integrity, and it's here in Abuja. But that was 1995. I co-founded it with Mr. Sojiya Pampa. And one of the programs of that organization was the establishment of integrity clubs in schools. That was in 1995, but we never quite achieved it. This is why I feel such a deep commitment and attachment to this project. And I'm particularly pleased that I'm able to witness the launch of the operations manual for integrity and zero tolerance, for integrity and zero tolerance clubs in our schools. I'm happy that with the dynamism of the EFCC chairman and his team, they are able to realize a dream that some of us had so many years ago, but somehow were not able to achieve. I think it's a vital step in finally achieving the milestone in building a future against the disaster of corruption. And I want you to take note of those words, the disaster of corruption. And the conceptualization of the manual deserves commendation. And the establishment of the clubs in schools is also timely. Because the truth is that perhaps the greatest challenge that we face today as a nation and as a people is how to safeguard our young people and the coming generations from the ethical crisis and confusion that is confronting our nation. The false notion, and I describe it as an ethical crisis and confusion, because there is confusion about what exactly corruption means and how it plays out in the lives of people and the nation. There's a false notion that we can get away and get ahead by cheating or stealing, whether in public or private life. And I want you to take note that I say that it's a false notion. The error of thinking that there will be no consequence for defrauding others, whether it is your employers or whether it is government or whether it is cheating in an exam. It's an error to think that there will be no consequence. The reason why many people believe these false notions is that there seems to be many in our society whose wealth cannot be explained and many even amongst young people who live by defrauding others. So we hear of the Yahoo Yahoo explosion. Several have been convicted by the AFCC on several locations, several of these individuals. And many people who say that young people today rarely find role models amongst professionals or even amongst public servants who are able to explain how they made their wealth. These are all symptoms of the crisis that we're experiencing. Let me say why it is an error to think that corruption pays. It's a mistake because many societies in the world were like us where we are today. There's nothing peculiar about Nigeria or peculiar about Nigeria's corruption. We like to sound as if there's something about us, but there's nothing peculiar. Many, many societies have been where we were. They were extremely corrupt, cheating in examinations, public servants stealing resources, extorting from people. You want to get a passport, you have to go and hire a consultant. You want to get a driver's license, you must pay a bribe. All manner of things. Shop assistant working in a shop must steal the inventory of the shop owner. All of these things are not new. They are all the features of a society that begins by believing that it is possible for individuals to enrich themselves by deceit, and then everything will be all right. But very soon, societies, they suddenly discover that it's not possible, that eventually the society will collapse, that eventually, even those who are stealing the resources of society would have to be accountable, would have to be accountable for it. What these societies did was to take an all of society approach to fighting corruption and fighting dishonesty. And this is why this particular exercise, these integrity clubs, are very important. I'll come to that in a moment. The other fact is that many who think, and in those societies, many people thought, we'll get away with this corruption. They're often surprised that the long arm of the law, sometimes very, very slow, eventually will catch up with the criminal. There is no time bar or statute of limitation against the commission of a crime. A man who steals this year can be arrested in 10 years' time for his crimes. So when you steal, you cannot sleep with both eyes closed. Every knock at the door will get you worried. I remember a young lady in a university in the southwest of Nigeria. She was in year five of a medical degree program. When it was discovered that she had used a false certificate for entering the university, the university had done an audit and discovered so many. But this particular lady was very pathetic because she had passed the exams all the way to year five. And it was discovered that she had used a false certificate. The decision that had to be taken, of course, is that she had to begin afresh. She could no longer, despite the five years she had spent, it could not stand. Even if she had received a degree, if fundamentally the basis for that degree is wrong, that's the end of it. And one day it will be discovered, which is why I think that it is important for us to realize that integrity pays and we must let young people, and all of you young people, must understand that. The recognition that honesty, trustworthiness are crucial individual and collective attributes for successful people and communities is fundamental. Every corrupt act is not just a crime, it's a crime against society, it's not just something that helps an individual, it's a crime against society. And every one of us must realize that every time we permit somebody around us to commit a crime and get away with it, eventually it catches up with all of us as a society. I'll tell you a very quick story. I was a student in England in 1981, at that time I was doing postgraduate work in the United Kingdom, and at that time all you needed to do was, I mean well it was difficult, let me just cut a long story short, difficult to send your money abroad for your fees, you had to go through a long process, central bank, et cetera, et cetera. Anyway, in the university where I was, I couldn't pay my fees in a particular term because my fees had not come from Nigeria, it was taking a long time. So I went to a counselor in the university and asked what help I could get, because I had to defer the fees and all of that, and the counselor said, why don't I just go to the bank? I said, bank? Can I go to the bank? I said, I should go to the bank and ask for a loan. I said, but I don't have any money. How can I go to, I don't have any collateral. How do I go to the bank? I said, no, I should go up there and ask. So I went to the bank, the not-west bank then in England, and as I went to this bank I saw a lady across the counter, and I explained my situation to her. I was expecting my check. This was a bank where I had an account, and I explained to her that I was expecting my check. I didn't know when it could be up to six weeks or seven weeks. I wasn't sure. She looked at the ledger, my ledger, I saw that I had a little money, maybe about a hundred pounds or something. And she said, okay, how much do you need? I said, 600 pounds. And she went, I was still standing at the counter, and brought the 600 pounds with a note paper which I signed to say that when my check came, it'll come to the bank. So I took away 600 pounds across the counter. I did not sit down anywhere. I did not beg. I just simply explained, and that was 1981. By 1984, of course, when my check came, I paid back. By 1984, it was impossible for a Nigerian to open a bank account in most banks in England. By 1984, I'm not saying borrow money. I'm saying open a bank account. As soon as they see your green passport, say no, no, no, no, no, no. Can't open a bank account here. Why? Because many students and many had used credit cards in those, in the banks where they had their accounts. When they were going home, they would buy cars, buy fridges, buy all sorts of things, but their credit cards hadn't disappeared, and they would never pay back. It was a Nigerian thing. Many people knew that it was going on. Of course, nobody said anything. Nobody checked. So it was impossible. Years after, it was still very difficult for Nigerians to open accounts. See, other countries, nationals, opened accounts, they didn't mind. But when they saw your passport, they said, no, no, no, we don't. So whatever, and I'm not talking about loans, so at a point, it was possible for you to borrow money across the counter. In another few years, you can't even open an account. So whatever act of corruption a person does, whatever act of dishonesty, it always has an impact on the future for others, even in the present for other people. It's not just about yourself. Today, when you hear yahoo, yahoo, yahoo, people say, ah, you know, there are people who even justify it. You read some people who just say, oh, yes, it's because they don't have money. Oh, it's because they are poor. That's why they are yahoo, yahoo. No, that's not true. There are many, many poor people all over, young people all over the world in different countries. The difference is consequence. If you know that you'll be caught and dealt with, you will not do it. And you must also recognize that it destroys the reputation of your country. And that reputation is important because you want to go abroad to study. You want to do business abroad. You want to do business with people. If the only thing people have ever heard is that ah, these people are four or nine. They do four or nine. They do yahoo. If that's the only reputation that there is, then you're in trouble. So I want to say to the young people here in particular that you represent the army that must fight corruption, not because somebody has preached to you or because it seems like a nice thing to do. No, because your future depends on it. The reputation of your country is all that you will have in the next few years. You want to do business. Whatever you want to do, you want to go abroad. Whatever it is that reputation. And those who destroy the reputation of your country are not doing you good. They are doing you great evil. And you must ensure that you join the army to fight corruption, to fight dishonesty, because it simply is dangerous, not just for you, but for the entire society and for the future. Every public officer who steals, robs the Nigerian society of funds for health care, for education, et cetera. Every time a public officer steals money, whether the mine is from your tribe or from your village or not, because people excuse stealing when it comes from their own part of the world. They say, oh, it's OK. After all, it's my brother, it's my sister. But never forget that everybody, every public officer who steals resources makes it more difficult for you to access good education, to access good health care, good roads, and all of that. Because public money is not for private pockets. It is meant for the public good. It's meant for public infrastructure. So everybody who is pocketing public resources does harm to our country and does harm to the future and to all of the young people in our country. So integrity clubs must become policemen against corruption and wrongdoing. Whether it is a member of government or a shop assistant with your friend or in your own class, you must fight against cheating, because cheating destroys not just individuals, it destroys societies. And ultimately, it will affect you whether you realize it now or not. So let me again commend the visionary chairman of the FCC, Mr. Abdul Rashid Bauer, for this great initiative. And also for realizing that we must develop an anti-corruption army. That army is waiting in our schools. And that we must teach them that corruption is the worst destroyer of destinies and people. And that they must fight it as one fights a mortal enemy in a war. So I want to thank you all. But I want to ensure, I want you to ensure that individually and collectively, let us support this effort. And I'm so happy that we have chosen a school, not the ICC, and I think I join others in commending the FCC chairman for choosing a school, not ICC or Transcore Hilton, because this is truly where that war must begin. Thank you all very much.