Corruption champion at the World Bank
This week, as the world is searching for a solution to the corruption problem, Nuhu Ribadu, the head of Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, described corruption as the cause of the failure of leadership and failure of governance in the developing world.
When asked about role that foreign companies play in fostering corruption, he said:
I have seen multinationals and big oil companies play by the rules elsewhere, but behaving badly in Nigeria and Africa because of our collapsed systems. We have to insist ourselves on the rule of law and order; then everyone will behave.
Ribadu has secured more than 150 convictions and recovered over $5 billion stolen public funds.
Comments (5)
Delicious
E-mail
Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
I totally agree with him. It dependece to the leadership how to enforce the rule of law in order to stop corruption.
Posted by: Eisa Khan A Ayoobi | Apr 8, 2007 7:10:04 PM
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs agrees that the World Bank’s anti-corruption campaign is necessary, but could use “smarter, skilful management systems and design programs;”
for example in providing the necessary leadership for programs in education development, infrastructure, disease control, and agricultural advancement. Prof Sachs has led by example in establishing the Millennium Village projects like the one in Bar Sauri near Kisumu in Kenya, where the local population is successfully applying his team’s “clinical economics” as well as the concrete fundamentals of poverty reduction. The community is totally engaged in the ownership of this brilliant solution-finding opportunity in the midst of challenging conditions. School attendance and performance has doubled, Malaria rates have been halved, harvests have tripled…Not through handouts, but investments! What makes his leadership style stand out, is that everything appears simple, uncomplicated and yet perfect. Like Parisian chic. Which leads to la question du jour:- is the World Bank interested in providing microfinance solutions for the rest of the hundreds of thousands of villages in Africa and other ‘corruption-ridden, poverty-stricken’ regions, or is it just going to continue “talking and arguing shop?”
Aggie Alando-Hoffer, Evaluation Specialist & Consultatnt, Paris -France
Posted by: Agnes Alando-Hoffer | Apr 12, 2007 9:44:09 AM
Daniel Smith in “Politicians cannot control Nigeria’s corruption crusade”, FT April 12, writes about Nigeria saying “its politics remains a stark scramble for power in which elites compete for domination of the state apparatus to reap the benefits of control over enormous oil revenues”, and so in fact little does the crusade matter anyhow, especially while oil prices remain high. As is, the Nigerians now elect a government to whom hand over the oil revenues that in reality belongs to themselves, only to have to spend the next couple of years licking boots in order to get some of that same oil money back, while the elected government officials, arrogantly, not in need of other tax income, couldn’t care less about them.
It is only when you get to understand this that you really get a feeling for what a wonderful opportunity the world seems to have lost in Iraq. Can you imagine what having helped to channel the oil revenues directly to the Iraqi citizens in a transparent way could have done? That could really have been called democracy building, and the setting of a great example for the citizens of Nigeria, Venezuela and all the other oil cursed nations to follow.
Posted by: Per Kurowski | Apr 13, 2007 6:50:07 PM
The simplest and the most effective way of fighting corruption is the free press. Since the free press is not in existence in a real sense than just physically for criminal government to play the democratic game, due to intimidation and actual physical harm of journalist for centuries, establishing a forum like this blog and inviting unanimous tips of official corruption from the regular citizens country by country will go a long way to expose the corrupt regimes in the public eye. Corruption is becoming very sophisticated now than ever, we need equally sophisticated and zeal by exposing the criminals by exposing for every one, including their immediate families to see who they are. The western world would not be accomplices for criminals if they are officially exposed who they are dealing with- monsters in our mist.
How it can be done? set up a corruption watch blog and invite every African to participate tipping the readers how, who and where corruption is prevalent and in a letter to the official of a government or institution where this corruption is going on ask him/her to face the public and answer the question. Since fear is why people are not speaking out the cyber space is the best place to face the music. For example if a corrupt officials owns some thing in western country by laundering money some one will get the opportunity to tip off the blog for follow up, with all the evidence including picture to confront the corrupt official and his agents. The deterrent factors itself will take us a long way. The locals know better if they get the forum and unanimity to overcome their fear.
We can call it a corruption clearing house and the participants’ corruption detectives. There is unlimited potential for the minimum resources
It is about time some body does it?
Just a thought
Posted by: Tess | Apr 16, 2007 10:23:28 PM
I agreed with Mr.Nuhu Ribadu´s Statement on the Corruption problem in Nigeria. The fact I want the World Bank and the International Organisation to know is that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is being used to achieve dirty Political Goals of the Ruling Party in Nigeria.
Infact, EFCC has really tried to expose these corrupt people but most of them are not prosecuted because they are the Political Allies of the President, this is too obvious and Ribadu will continue to say fighting corruption has been successful. The worst thing that happened recently was the April 2007 General Election which was a complete ENTHRONEMENT OF ILLEGALITY and CORRUPTION in Nigeria.There is no way a rigged Election can produce credible leaders of Integrity and there is nothing Nigerians can do because EFCC, INEC; Security Agents and Political Thugs provided Conducive Environment for the Ruling Party to perpetrate the Electoral Fraud.World Bank can go through the Comments and Reports of the Election Observers both Local and International.
EFCC Chairman would be among the beneficiary of the Fraudulent Election and is there any other form of FRAUD that is higher that Political Fraud,because without Political Fraud there would never be Economic and Financial Fraud. People´s Vote are not being counted. Our President Has even used his office extort funds from Corporate Organisations, Public Organisation and Individuals through his Presidential Library Project. We are yet to fight corruption in Nigeria. The recent election shows that Nigerian Children and unborn Generation need to pray very well for better Nigeria, if anybody tells you that all is well. They are beneficiaries of the Illegality and Corrupt Practices in Nigeria, A country where there is Selective anti corruption Campaign and Jungle Justice and the EFCC is not independent because is under Presidency nad President has the Final Say. Never take this comment as ambiguos but a real fact, Nigerians can not protest actively against the outcome of the last fraudulent election because 85% are in abject Poverty and leaving below ($1.00)one United States Dollars Per day.
Posted by: Lekan Oyewumi | May 7, 2007 4:35:21 AM