Corruption rising in Nigeria despite govt”s fight – report
A workshop to follow up on commitments Nigeria made at the Anti-Corruption Summit in London this May to fight corruption is likely to be overshadowed by corruption trends across Africa. The latest Global Corruption Barometer finds corruption is on the rise. Three in four Nigerians surveyed felt corruption had increased between 2014 and 2015. […]
A workshop to follow up on commitments Nigeria made at the Anti-Corruption Summit in London this May to fight corruption is likely to be overshadowed by corruption trends across Africa.
The latest Global Corruption Barometer finds corruption is on the rise. Three in four Nigerians surveyed felt corruption had increased between 2014 and 2015.
The government of President Muhammadu Buhari has made "change" and "anti-graft" its mantra since last May but 78% of Nigerians still feel the government is doing badly in its fight against corruption, according to the survey.
"The people of Nigeria are suffering from the economic downturn. They need to know that the government is using all of its resources to benefit public services. This requires a serious crackdown on corruption, as well as transparency when it comes to how recovered stolen assets will be used. Words are not enough,” said Chantal Uwimana, director of Africa for Transparency International.
This comes amidst announcement that Nigeria has recovered more than $10 billion in looted cash and assets.
“We need to know who stole the money and when they will be brought to justice. There should be no impunity for the corrupt,” said Uwimana.
Analysts believe the high proportion of Nigerians who feel the country is doing badly in fight against corruption reflects low public trust.
But it puts Nigeria slightly ahead of South Africa and Ghana, the three considered the worst performers among countries where corruption has increased.
Public opinion suggests police is 47% more likely to be corrupt compared with business executives and government and tax officials, the survey found.
Federal legislators and local government councillors are 33% likely to be corrupt.
An estimated 75 million people in sub-Saharan Africa paid a bribe, gave gifts or provided a favour in the last 12 months to a police officer, teacher or school official, health worker, government official, judge or court official in order to get a public service.
"It goes across all borders, not just in one country," said Craig Fagan, head of global policy advocacy and research at Transparency International.
"We are seeing it in land, health, education, and that’s affecting the poorest, and we need to work together to make a difference, to make sure the poorest doesn’t pay the most when it comes to corruption."
People classified as the poorest are twice as likely as rich people to pay a bribe. People in urban areas were also more likely to pay bribes, comkpoared with those in rural areas.
Twenty-three percent of people aged under 55 were more likely to pay bribe, comkpoared with 13% of people 55 and older.
Men account for 57% of people who pay bribes, compared with 43% of women.
The bribes were given for public services: courts police, household services, documents or permits, public schools or hospital services.
Little of it is reported, and analysts worry underreporting is fuelling the practice.
"We have a responsibility to make sure the public understands it and reports it, and they need to see punitive measures or consequences for the perpetrators," said Ronald Menoe, a South African anti-graft activist.
"People who are politically connected or occupy positions of power, when they commit corruption, you don’t see measures in most cases. Where there are punitive measures, it is a lightweight kind of punishment that they get. We see that demotivating the public in reporting corruption or being active in the fight against corruption in general."
Only two in 100 among respondents in the survey felt it was too expensive to report corruption. More people either were afraid of the consequences, felt reporting wouldn’t make any difference, felt corruption was normal or didn’t know where to report.
A combined 12% felt officials themselves were involved or just didn’t know how to report.
South Africa, which polled nearly the same level of corruption as Nigeria is seeing a more active citizenry and public participation, said Menoe.
"Politics is starting to get interesting. We are getting opposition parties and challenging the government and they are putting the anti corruption agenda on the table and people are starting to understand the role they need to play in fighting corruption."
The anti-corruption movement is gaining traction in Nigeria. The Zero Corruption Coalition alinenhas more than 60 civil society groups working to rid the country of deep corruption. In all, more than 100 of them work in budget, health, contracts and the extractive sector.
"That’s why we have the responses we get, the anger we get and the ability to respond and issue statement and demonstrate on the street against corruption when the need arises," said Kolawole Banwo, senior programme officer at the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, a partner of Transparency International in Nigeria. It will house Transparency’s local work when it begins in Nigeria.
"It is a cycle. Don’t forget one of the things that created all the anger in what led to the defeat of the previous administration were issues of corruption, and it was not just the APC that were speaking. We started talking about the things and the need for change long before APC was formed.
"That’s because we were pointing out monumental crises and corruption in the extractive sector, in NNPC. We were always issuing statement, carrying placards.
"Whereas you cannot say it is because you did this that that happened, you cannot deny the fact that what you did contributed to the overall pool that eventually resulted in when Nigeria decided enough is enough, we needed a change, lets try something else.
"From what is coming out now, we know what we were saying back then were true and is being confirmed day by day by the kind of things we did then."
Slight positive changes to Nigeria’s ranking on the corruption perception index is encouraging, but not nearly enough.
Despite Malawi’s monumental 2012 scandal "Cashgate" in which public officials siphoned millions of dollars of public fund, which prompted its international partners to freeze support for Malawi, corruption scandals in Nigeria are the stories heard round the world.
Said Moses Mkandawire, executive director of Church and Society Proogramme in Malawi: "Normally we just read the report. but when you got institutions of governance that are working, funded and given space to operate freely without undue interference and they are able to call out corrupt individuals and apply due process, that’s the step for governments to take."
Among solutions proferred by anti-graft groups is access to report to ensure "people have a place to go, they are not feeling the victim alone," said Fagan.
"The other is make sure the big fish fry, that we are not just going after the point person, the school administrator or teacher but that the one up the chain who is really getting rich off the backs of the poor. It is also about coming up with how to make sure there is no more impunity."
The Panama Papers gives a glimpse of assets hidden offshore in secret tax havens, aided by international enablers of corruption in the global financial system.
Nigeria has pledged Transparency and accountable management of stolen assets but state anti-graft agencies need to investigate and prosecute offenders to get legal release on looted funds.
“We want to see progress on this in Nigeria and with the law enforcement authorities in other countries. This is not a problem specific to Nigeria. The global financial system has to tackle this by holding the enablers of corruption – the lawyers, bankers, accountants for example – to account,” said Uwimana.
Transparency also wants to see Nigeria following through with the Open Government Partnership it has agreed, as a means to encourage openness, transparency and accountability.
"There is a lot of corruption, it is systemic and it has gone everywhere, but there are those that are in charge of our collective interest and we have put in position of trust as elected or appointed officials and we think those ones owe us a duty to manage the resources that is our common wealth in the interest of us," said Banwo.
Proportion of people who think ordinary citizens can make a difference varies wildly among African countries but in the end ,corruption comes down to responsibility and accountability, said Menoe, not just finger pointing.
"It doesn’t help to always make a mistake first, and then you apologise and you have to move on with your life. How about we raise young people who are accountable and people of integrity," said Menoe.
"Those are the first baby steps before we reach the issue of changing the law or making sure there are punitive measures. We have got a role to play as citizens. Just report it. When you see it, report it."