By Muhammad Habibat Sani
Farida Abubakar felt an instant click of recognition the first time she attended a campus outreach by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission-Zero Tolerance for Corruption Club (EFCC -ZTC).
As with other participants, she had long decried the injustice that was now increasingly widespread. But she wanted to do more than complain—she wanted to act.
Over the years, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission – Zero Tolerance Club (EFCC-ZTC) at Usmanu Danfodiyo University has earned a reputation as a major bastion of justice, championing integrity and accountability among students.
It was this reputation that drew Abubakar in. Growing up in the early 2000s, she often heard the word “corruption” echoed on the radio and in school debates. Adults around her frequently described Nigeria as a corrupt nation.
“It used to sting,” she said. “Because I knew we’re not all bad. But corruption had already stained our image.”
As she grew older, she saw the concrete sense of the word. People paid bribes to beat the queue. Motorists with incomplete car documents greased the palms of police officers at checkpoints. What was even more disturbing was the general lack of shame that surrounded these illicit exchanges.
“At that point, I knew silence was part of the problem,” she said.
Days after the campus retreat, in 2024, Abubakar joined the EFCC -ZTC “to be among people who were ready to speak and act differently,” she said.
Laying the foundation
The Zero Tolerance for Corruption in Usmanu Danfodiyo University traces back to the Student Anti-Corruption Vanguard set up by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission around 2007.
Following months of inactivity, the Student Anti-Corruption Vanguard was later remodelled into the Zero Tolerance for Corruption—thanks to a partnership involving the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the National Association of Nigerian Students.
The club’s first president, Umar Bello Maijama, secured official recognition from the EFCC and the university administration—laying the foundation the club stands on today.
By 2023, the EFCC-ZTC had expanded to several Nigerian tertiary institutions, including Kebbi State University of Science and Technology and Shehu Shagari College of Education in Sokoto
Broadening the campaign
At UDUS, the club’s reboot was gathering momentum under the new leadership of Shehu Manir Waziri.
Growing up in Kebbi, Waziri had seen road-construction projects abandoned and public healthcare centres running low on drugs and staff. Waziri thought that these malfeasances persisted because social consciousness was largely absent, especially among the youth.
In 2021, drawing on years of frustration, he became the president of the UDUS chapter, pushing this social advocacy to the federal university in Kebbi.
The urgency of ZTC’s mission is clear when viewed against the backdrop of rising corruption in local tertiary institutions. Globally, Nigeria ranks 140th among 180 countries on the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International.
A 2022 survey across tertiary institutions in Sokoto State reported bribery for admission slots as the most common corrupt practice, followed by research fraud, exam malpractice and unethical practices by lecturers.
“Catch them young”
Beyond anti-corruption campaigns, the ZTC helps to cultivate personal and leadership development.
“For so long, I battled with expressing myself. I would get nervous and lose my words anytime I faced an audience,” recalled Abdulrahman Hassan, a 400-level Computer Science student, who was introduced to the club by his roommate. Hassan overcame his speech anxiety before long and became a vocal participant at congress meetings
Other members, like Zafeera Bello Ize, praise the club’s rigorous vetting process. “Before joining, I underwent training, screening and an interview,” she said. “Now, I can face any interview confidently and know what is required.”
Alongside campaigns, the ZTC hosts debates to groom its members in the art of public speaking.
The club has extended its outreach to secondary schools. In 2022, it organised sensitisation programmes in over 68 schools across 23 states—engaging secondary-school students on career paths and becoming better citizens.
“We wanted to catch them young,” said Usama Abubakar, a volunteer. “If they learn early, they won’t fall for it later.”
Keeping a check on the students’ union
At UDUS, the club led investigations uncovering fraud and misappropriation in the students’ union government.
Although the club doesn’t have prosecutorial authority, “what we do is, if we receive a petition, we investigate, get our findings, fact-check, and submit them to the school management for further action,” explained Abdulyazeed Musa Ishaq, an ex-vice president of the club.
Following the club’s findings, the university summarily suspended the student body and appointed a caretaker committee, cementing the ZTC’s image as a paragon of justice.
But there are challenges. “Financial problems remain one of our biggest hurdles,” admitted Ibrahim Shafiu Adamu, its current president.
Currently, the club’s funding is accrued from membership dues, which is insufficient to support “large-scale programmes that would give our work more reach,” he lamented.
Minimal commitment from members is an additional concern. According to Adamu, some students are often reluctant to open up about issues of corruption or unethical practices they encounter within the campus environment. Others simply lose interest after joining, showing little dedication to follow through with activities.
Meanwhile, Ishaq noted many students are more comfortable reporting misconduct to the EFCC ZTC than to the school management and believes that more institutional support could scale up the club’s impact.
Despite the odds, the EFCC-ZTC continues to thrive on the resilience of members like Abubakar. “We are trying to build a community that not only talks about integrity but also lives it,” she said.
Summary not available at this time.
