JIDE OJO

“More than $1bn seized from Mr. Abacha’s bank accounts has been returned. But many African states have not helped their cause, often because thieving politicians are still in charge. When Switzerland returned $500m of Mr Abacha’s money, most of it disappeared again”

–The Economist, October 10, 2019

When in 2016 a former UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, in a conversation with the Queen of England described Nigeria and Afghanistan as “fantastically corrupt”, many Nigerians excoriated the former British leader. However, growing evidence has confirmed this. The latest of such is the report in The Economist magazine of October 10, 2019 which revealed that about $582bn has been stolen from Nigeria since independence in 1960. This was according to Chatham House, a British think tank, which was quoted in an article published by the magazine titled, ‘Catch me if you can, African kleptocrats are finding it tougher to stash cash in the West’.

At least N11tn is said to have been diverted in the power sector alone since 1999, while N1.3tn public funds were reportedly laundered between 2011 and 2015. In the article, the magazine said so much has been plundered from the continent that “tracking it all is tricky”. It quoted Britain’s International Corruption unit as saying it has confiscated £76m ($117m) loot from Nigeria since 2006.

“Another £791m has been frozen worldwide, thanks to its work,” it said, adding that “it barely makes a dent in the £100bn of illicit funds which Steve Goodrich at the Transparency International, a watchdog, reckons enters Britain every year”. The Economist said African leaders’ best way of hiding and moving stolen funds is to set up “a raft of anonymous shell companies and bank accounts”. It spoke of how Sani Abacha, a former military head of state, stole Nigeria blind and “deposited billions of dollars in banks across the rich world, no questions asked”.

The article, however, said gone are the days when stealing public funds was easy as it is “becoming a bit harder to get away with” now. “Anti-corruption campaigners and muckraking journalists have busied themselves trying to uncover stolen assets,” it said. “Western governments, tired of seeing aid money stolen, have toughened up money-laundering and bribery laws.”

The news report set me thinking. Imagine what that humongous amount stolen from the country and stashed away aboard could have done to address our developmental challenges. Just reflect on the number of schools, hospitals, roads, rail lines, stadia, low cost houses for the poor and other infrastructure that such a princely sum stolen from the public till could have provided. If this huge sum was not pilfered, would we be borrowing trillions of naira to implement our national budgets?

It is a collective shame of our past and present leaders at all levels that this giant has been crippled by their action and inaction. Are we cursed? Last week, I was interviewed on Arise TV News on the discovery of hydrocarbon deposits (crude oil) in the Kolmani River II Well on the Upper Benue Trough, Gongola Basin, in the North-East. Though it was an exciting news, I was however unenthusiastic as the ones discovered and being explored in the Niger Delta since 1956 have not brought us, especially the region, the desired development. Rather, it has led to sorrow, tears and blood via environmental degradation and grand corruption. Last August, the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, quoting the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, said in the first six months of 2019, the nation had lost about 22 million barrels of its crude oil production to oil theft. What assurances are there that additional ones being discovered in the North-East will not suffer a similar fate?

I am rankled by the buck-passing of successive administrations on the issue of corruption. Rather than tackling the menace headlong, our leaders are busy trading blame about the person whose administration is most corrupt. Yet, they are all culpable. In fairness to President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, they have sustained the anti-corruption initiative of his predecessors. For instance, the Treasury Single Account, Bank Verification Number, Integrated Payroll Personnel and Information System as well as the Government Integrated Management Information System which were initiatives of his successors have been sustained.

Buhari has further introduced the whistle-blower policy and traced the proceeds of crimes and accelerated the recovery of stolen funds. In June 2018, the President assented to the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, to provide a domestic legal framework for obtaining international assistance in criminal matters. This measure has strengthened the law enforcement agencies in obtaining evidence, investigating suspects and facilitating the recovery, forfeiture and confiscation of property implicated as proceeds of crime.

Under Buhari’s government, the anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal, the Nigeria Police, the Bureau of Public Procurement, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation and Fiscal Responsibility Commission have been better resourced than previous administrations. However, in spite of all these, grand corruption still exists in the country. This is because despite signing on to the Open Government Partnership and having a Freedom of Information Act since 2011, much of the activities of government at all levels are still shrouded in secrecy. This has largely aided corrupt practices.

There is no greater evidence of sustained corruption in Nigeria than the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index which in 2018 ranked Nigeria as the 144th least corrupt nation out of 180 countries with a score of 27 over 100. This is still an unenviable position in the comity of nations.

Truth be told, Nigeria cannot develop given the quantum of stolen wealth being witnessed in the country annually. Much of this is carried out by the political elite in cahoots with rogue bankers, lawyers and bureaucrats. It is therefore imperative to scale up the anti-corruption war in the country through sustained advocacy for open government, prudent management of our commonwealth, stricter controls over financial management, better legal regimes and funding of the law enforcement agencies especially those involved in the anti-corruption crusade. In addition, there should be better sensitisation of the general public to the evils of corruption by the media and religious leaders. The drivers of corruption such as unemployment, poverty and impunity must be tackled through creation of employment opportunities, poverty reduction measures and law enforcement.

Follow me on Twitter @jideojong

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