The Lion King | 41
Why
you
should
blow the
whistle
I
f you sniff any unprofessional conduct,
behavior or fraud, around you, what
should you do? Reach out for the
whistle and blow it!
Blowing the whistle on fraud or any
irregularity creates a moral upliftment
that you are saving the organisation
and helping to eradicate evil or a bad
habit.
Silence or inaction in the face of fraud
or irregularities has a price that may be
too high to pay in the long run, hence
the need to always blow the whistle
when the need arises.
There are several reasons why you
should blow the whistle in the face of
fraud or irregularities. These include
the need to fight fraud and fraudulent
activities, reduce the risk of harm to
staff and the organization, as well as
promote good organisational govern-
ance.
Blowing the whistle is also a confidential
means of exposing fraud, and compels
investigation into any allegation to help
to flush out bad eggs in the system and
keep the organization running efficient-
ly and profitably.
Whistle blowers are well protected and
rewarded by the organisation because
of their importance to the survival of the
system.
It is only a suspicion, I do not have
evidence.
Blow the whistle anyway.
It will be investigated and if nothing
is found, no harm is done.
It is not my problem.
It will ultimate-
ly be your problem if the bank or
organisation suffers financial loss that
leads to rationalization of staff.
I do not want to be a “snitch”.
No,
you are not; you are only a dedicat-
ed employee concerned about the
bank’s or organisation’s common
goal and future; a good citizen
working towards a better society.
Nothing will be done about it.
No,
something definite is done about
every whistle blowing case. Report-
ed cases are investigated, recom-
mendations implemented, offenders
sanctioned in line with policy, lessons
learned internalized, whistle blower
informed about the outcome and
rewarded, if the case is substantiat-
ed.
It will only cause trouble.
Of course,
it will - for the fraudsters and their
accomplices.
What if I am wrong?
Not to worry,
you will not be penalised for it. It is
better to err on the side of caution
The confidential whistle blowing lines
in UBA are:
Fraud Toll Free Lines:
+234-8031230283; |+234-7080601300.
Email:
Seven things that may discourage
individuals or staff from Whistle
blowing:
than to keep quiet.
What if I am spotted?
A whistle
blower’s identity will be protected.
However, a whistle blower is encour-
aged to maintain confidentiality
also. Do not blow a whistle and then
blow your cover by spreading the
news that you are the one that blew
the whistle.
There have been instances where
a whistle blower tries to take credit
for reporting a case, or behaves in
a way that gives him or her away in
the office as the whistle blower.
Here are some of the
things that you can blow
a whistle on
Frauds and forgeries of any kind,
fraudulent intentions, activities, ac-
tions or inactions, unprofessional be-
haviours, example cheating, immor-
al relationships, connivance, among
others, irregularity of any type; for
example, mode of employment,
benefit administration, intentional
(even unintentional) policy violation
as well as collusion with syndicates,
customers and other third parties to
defraud the bank.
