Malachy Uzendu
14 November 2008
Abuja — German President, Mr. Horst Koehler yesterday in Abuja commended anti-corruption Agencies in Nigeria for being on "good track" in tackling corruption in Nigeria.
He gave the commendation at a round-table conference at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja with the leaders of anti-corruption agencies.
The two prominent anti-graft agencies Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were represented at the round-table by Dr. Uriah Angulu, a member of the ICPC and Mrs. Farida Waziri, Chairman, EFCC.
Koehler at the meeting said he was impressed by the brilliant presentations by both the ICPC and EFCC, stressing that "it shows that the agencies are very serious in their multifarious approaches of tackling the menace."
However, he sought to know the root cause or causes of corruption in Nigeria , given the enormous proceed from oil revenue.
Koehler wondered how huge sums of money were being spirited out of the country with impunity. He also wondered why the oil boom which he described as bonus had not translated into quality life for the people. Saying that most of the industrialised countries have no oil, but their citizens are living comfortably.
He Koehler gave example of the part of Germany he and his wife came from. "It is from the South. For decades, it was an impoverished area, no industries or infrastructure; neither do we have any national resources. But today, the area had been transformed as the people used agriculture to put smiles on their faces," he said.
He therefore, posed the question; would it have been better for Nigeria if it has not discovered oil?
In response, Dr. Angulu said, he too believed Nigeria would have been better without oil. "Because in the past, Nigeria was thriving well with agricultural products in the North and the South." He said as soon as oil was discovered, all the cotton, cocoa and other agricultural produce disappeared, and the people started scrambling for oil money. Nigerians he said should start returning to the land, so that people in every part of the country could start living well.
Dr. Angulu also suggested that, for the war against corruption to be won, political office should be made less attractive by reviewing emoluments for political office holders.
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