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Nigeria: Why Corruption Thrives - Onosode
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This Day (Lagos)
12 May 2008
Posted to the web 12 May 2008
Patrick Ugeh
Abuj
Foremost industrialist and administrator, Mr. Gamaliel Onosode, has given reasons why corruption has become endemic in the country, tracing the frequent changes in the country's socio-political and economic environment as few of the things that pull public probity and morality down.
The former "Super Perm-Sec" also warned that prosperity could not be attained and, even if attained, would not endure if probity and corporate governance are not given adequate attention.
Onosode stated this in a paper titled, "Ethics and Corporate Governance in Nigeria - the Role of Poise Nigeria", which he presented at a function organised by Poise Nigeria in Abuja.
Quoting Okike (1994), he said: "Corruption challenges can be traced to the various changes in the nation's socio-political and economic environment. These changes include experimentation with different styles of government, economic experiences and changing fortunes of the people - from poverty through civil war, affluence occasioned by oil boom, depression and many ethnic and religious tensions."
According to him, this transformation has significantly impacted the general lifestyle of an average Nigerian, to the extent that it is influencing the larger society and subsequently, corporate institutions.
"If the unprecedented growth that we are witnessing in our stock market must be sustained," he warned, "businesses must endeavour to seek out ways to improve their ethics and governance culture so as to remain attractive to both the local and foreign investors."
Moreover, he added, it had become a prerequisite for listing in most prestigious international stock markets, noting: "It is, in fact, the basis for transparency, accountability and sustained confidence without which no enterprise can pursue excellence and long term prosperity."
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Remarking that in the majority of developed economies, mergers and acquisitions were a constant occurrence he pointed out that a Mckinsey Investor Opinion Survey of 2002 demonstrated that of more than 200 global institutional investors managing US$ 2 trillion, 84 per cent were willing to pay a premium of 18-27 per cent for a company they had good reason to trust.
This, he said, was because of the belief that "a trustworthy company will not let one down and would protect one's interests."
According to Onosode, the same survey noted that 85 per cent of the respondents considered corporate governance as important as financial performance and that 73 per cent would pay more for shares of a well-governed company than a poorly governed one with comparable financial constraints within the same industry.
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