I recently attended a two days conference organized by Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development, in Washington D.C, on 16^th -17^th September. It will not surprise anyone to know that on both days Nigeria was used as a reference point by almost all the speakers when it came to financial integrity and corruption by past leaders and public office holders. Being the only Nigerian at the conference, it was very embarrassing to phantom that the only thing synonymous to Nigeria is corruption. 

The Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development, a consortium of Governments and NGOs, focuses on achieving greater transparency in the global financial system for the benefit of developing countries. Global Financial Integrity, a Washington, DC-based think tank and leader of the Task Force, estimates that the amount of money draining illicitly out of developing countries into western economies is approximately $850 billion to $1 trillion a year. These cross-border funds are generated as the proceeds of;  (a) bribery and theft by government officials (about three percent of the global total), (b) criminal activity such as drug trading and racketeering (comprising some thirty to thirty – five  percent of the global total), and (c) commercial tax evasion accomplished primarily through the mispricing of exports and imports (by far the largest component at about sixty to sixty – five  percent of the global total). Almost all of these shifts constitute permanent outward transfers. Only a fraction of them return to the countries of origin, and even then only as foreign direct investment. This massive transfer of wealth out of poorer nations is the most damaging economic condition undermining poverty alleviation and sustainable growth efforts in these countries, which are home to 80 percent of the world’s population.

Systemic, endemic and institutionalized corruption is the order of the day in Nigeria. Most public officers just want to keep taking and looting and only few try to give back through hard work, commitment and visible results. Corruption is the reason why most Nigerians live an impoverished live. Corruption is the reason why there are no good roads, power supply, clean water, 21^st century hospitals and schools. Corruption is the reason for the high mortality rate. Corruption is the reason why budgetary allocations do not reach its intended beneficiaries. Corruption is the reason why there are so many unfinished projects, by the time contractors are done bribing their ways, there will be no money left to finish the projects. Corruption is the reason why so many Nigerians are bitter about the state of the nation.

In 2006, Nuhu Ribadu in his interview with the British Broadcasting Service stated that More than $380bn has either been stolen or wasted by Nigerian governments since independence in 1960, a figure he came up with by looking through records kept by the Nigerian central bank and the ministry of finance. He also stated that  nearly $400m of illegally gained assets had been identified in the possession of a former governor of Bayelsa State. In 2005, Nigeria recovered $458m found in Swiss bank accounts linked to the country's late military ruler Sani Abacha.

The Director of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), Tim Daniel, revealed that Nigeria loses $110 billion annually to treasury looting. The Chairman of Economic Finance and Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri have also noted that former governors, ministers and members of legislature alone have stolen N285billion in this political dispensation.

Nigeria is a signatory to conventions we can tap into like the United Nation’s Convention Against Bribery and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption. Anti corruption conventions are especially important in providing a framework for addressing cross – border issues. They facilitate international cooperation in law enforcement by requiring countries to make the same conduct illegal, harmonizing the legal and institutional frameworks for law enforcement and establishing cooperative mechanisms. Both the AU and UN Conventions take a comprehensive approach to preventing and combating corruption. They both include preventive and punitive measures, as well as provision for international cooperation. Both conventions both contain provisions on the freezing and forfeiture of assets obtained through committing offences covered under the two conventions. It is also very interesting to add that in countries like Spain and France, non governmental organizations have the standing to file corruption charges against individuals.

The building efforts to curb corruption should include building a culture of respect our basic human rights, political will by our leaders to make corruption history, changing the mindsets of public office holders, where they believe the sins of corruption goes unpunished, punishing the acts of corruption, there should be no impunity; no one should be above the law, strengthening our anti graft agencies, implementing our laws, passing the freedom of information bill into law, Supporting programs which enhance the protection of journalists and whistleblowers. Non governmental organizations should join the publish what you pay and publish what you lend campaign. This campaign aims to help citizens of resource-rich developing countries to hold their governments to account for the management of revenues from oil, gas and mining industries. The campaign involving over 280 non-government organizations calls for the mandatory disclosure of the payments made by oil, gas and mining companies to all governments for the extraction of natural resources. Such disclosure would include tax payments, royalty and license fees, revenue sharing and payments in-kind, forward sales of future revenues and commercial transactions with government and public sector entities and would be a condition of stock exchange listing

Our public officers should stop dragging the name of our good country into disrepute. How much money can a person steal and spend? Stop the misuse of public funds for private gain! The fight against corruption should not been seem as a Nigerian problem, the fight again corruption should not be left to the anti corruption agencies rather, the fight against corruption should be seen as our problem, we the people of Nigeria, until we personalize issues, progress shall not be made. We need to put our house in order!

Robot  # 1 | 02.10.2009 18:37

...Read the full article.

Taiwo Olokun  # 2 | 02.10.2009 19:47

Please visit: GraceTruth7.org   There, you will find the updated version of my article "Newsweek-Adeboye"

emj  # 3 | 03.10.2009 12:50

Being the only Nigerian at the conference, it was very embarrassing to phantom that the only thing synonymous to Nigeria is corruption. Eherm Fatima, dats the sort of embarrassment we face and experience daily everywia we go. That which u experienced at the conference is small compared to that which i as a Nigerian in diaspora face each time i introduce myself. This past few weeks have been very painful and harrowing for me to the extend that it got to a point that i almost denied my roots..i had to tell some people that am from Africa and that was it...i saw the face of someone i was trying to do some business with when i confirmed that am from Nigeria West Africa...i was then waiting for him to come out with his fears...but thank God i had very good personal references. You made mentioned of the the anti corruption agency not being the only one to fight corruption and that Nigerians shld be involved...how? when we report blatant and obvious cases of corruption... is Farida the EFCC boss selective about them? Why has she not being able to prosecute corrupt politicians whose files wia handed over to her? She is currently flexing ur muscles with the bank thingy...which if we are not careful will end up with the same ringaringaroses jerky end. Financial Integrity and Transparency cannot be viewed and discussed in isolation...is the Efcc transparent in it's dealings? Nigeria is a signatory to conventions we can tap into like the United Nation’s Convention Against Bribery and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption. Anti corruption conventions are especially important in providing a framework for addressing cross – border issues. They facilitate international cooperation in law enforcement by requiring countries to make the same conduct illegal, harmonizing the legal and institutional frameworks for law enforcement and establishing cooperative mechanisms. Both the AU and UN Conventions take a comprehensive approach to preventing and combating corruption. They both include preventive and punitive measures, as well as provision for international cooperation. Both conventions both contain provisions on the freezing and forfeiture of assets obtained through committing offences covered under the two conventions. It is also very interesting to add that in countries like Spain and France, non governmental organizations have the standing to file corruption charges against individuals. It will interest u to know that the AGF is not keeping with the terms of the convention...i very much doubt if he understands it...he seems to be either so retarded or just plain stupid. BTW are u related to Farida?

denker  # 4 | 03.10.2009 13:17

wat precisely is dis woman talking about...? i do not understand...i swear to allah..lol!

Auspicious  # 5 | 03.10.2009 13:41

+ I recently attended a two days conference organized by Task Force on Financial Integrity and Economic Development, in Washington D.C, on 16th -17th September. It will not surprise anyone to know that on both days Nigeria was used as a reference point by almost all the speakers when it came to financial integrity and corruption by past leaders and public office holders. Being the only Nigerian at the conference, it was very embarrassing to phantom that the only thing synonymous to Nigeria is corruption. Yup, that's the bitter truth. Yet, whenever the need to defend (more like pay lip-service to defending) Nigeria's image or integrity, the likes of Ms. Dora Akunyili never find this sort of thing to campaign against. No, you never find them standing up to go about the country to campaign against corruption or abuse of power. No, you never find them going around the country to campaign against an endemic culture of electoral malfeasance. No you never find them going around the country to enjoin citizens to demand accountability of their local and national leaders. No, you never find them going around the country to exhort the people to defend their rights and their votes. No, you never find them going around the country's university campuses to campaign against campus gangsterism. No, you never find them going around the country to campaign against things as 419 and other social vices. BUT you find them going about the country doing everything else: Like going about lecturing the good people of Nigeria on how they need to stand-up for the country (government?) as currently constituted!. Like going about complaining about how Sony is depicting one of our more corrupt leaders as the very epitome of corruption that he is. Like telling a people cheated by their own insuffrably inefficient government how they need to "join hands" to make Nigeria great again! Like blowing a gasket whenever another foreigner pokes fun at one of the many things that a laughable about Nigeria as currently constituted. Like going to meet my palm-wine tapper relative deep in the farms of Ekiti to lecture him on the need to promote Nigeria's image (yeah, he will leave his meagre means to promote your thieving government!:rolleyes:). Like using Somalia as a yard-stick for comparison whenever Nigeria is ridiculed as a stunted nation despite an abundance of resources. Nigerians will naturally support and defend their country if the good people (rather than the current elite criminals) are allowed to run things the right way. Granted, every nation has its share of corruption - huge, bad corruption. Alas in our homeland, it stalks the land like a fearless beast, devoring everything in its path with almost unchallenged impunity. The embarrassing realities will remain with us for sometime to come (despite the abundance of everything that some of our sister-nations lack) until the status-quo is dismantled. In the meantime, the self-deception of the Akunyilis of Nigeria continues. Auspicious.