Abuja — US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, yesterday warned that corruption was eroding the legitimacy of the Yar'Adua administration and contributing to the rise of militant groups in the country. She said America was prepared to lend a helping hand militarily in ensuring a lasting peace in the crisis-ridden Niger Delta region.
Clinton, who is on a three-day official visit to Nigeria as part of her 11-day tour of Africa, said she had "excellent" talks with President Umaru Yar'Adua on expanding Nigeria's role in the region and in the world.
But appearing later at a town hall forum, she said Nigeria suffered from "a failure to use the wealth that God gave you to lift up the people."
"The lack of transparency and accountability," she said, "has eroded the legitimacy of the government and contributed to the rise of groups that embrace violence and reject the authority of the state."
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Amidst applause from the crowd made up of civil society groups and political parties, the secretary of state said the U.S. supported Nigeria's entry in the Group of 20 -- the club of key rich and developing nations -- but hesitated because of its corruption.
She cited many figures, including a World Bank study which said that Nigeria's corruption and related problems had cost the country some 300 billion dollars over the past three decades.
She said the problem of the country was that of failed governance at the three tiers of government.
"Nigeria is a country that provides two million barrels of crude oil daily. It has the seventh largest natural gas reserve in the world but, according to the UN, the poverty level in Nigeria has risen to 76% from a previous record of 46% over the last 13 years. This is one of the many reasons why Nigeria is troubled," she said.
"The raw numbers are staggering but they don't tell you how many hospitals and roads could have been built; they don't tell you how many schools could have opened, or how many more Nigerians could have attended college or how many mothers might have survived childbirth if that money had been spent differently," she said.
According to Clinton, Nigeria was at a crossroads in its socio-political and economic challenges. She advised the Federal Government to engage its citizens in deepening true democracy in the country.
Clinton, who said she was in Nigeria on behalf of her country, said, "The foundation of democracy is trust; democracy is not just about election but the protection of the people's right."
She challenged Yar'Adua to fix the nation's flawed electoral system, saying a truly independent electoral system was critical to free, fair and acceptable election.
She pledged American support for Yar'Adua's seven-point agenda but was quick to add that the president required good governance to pilot the agenda.
She also called on the government to reset a goal to deal with the challenges of corruption in the country by ensuring transparency at all levels of government.
During the session, Clinton met with 17 faith leaders for a roundtable discussion, opening with a Muslim prayer and closing with a Christian one.
Sounding another key theme of the Obama administration, she called for interfaith understanding "one of the most important tasks" in the world.
The secretary of state also acknowledged Nigeria's role in peacekeeping in Africa, adding that both countries had agreed to establish a bilateral commission to address different concerns of both countries.
She described Nigeria as a "friend, ally and partner" and praised the country for deploying peacekeepers to Liberia -- the next stop in her tour tomorrow.
Earlier at a press conference, Clinton said the U.S. and Nigerian armed forces would soon hold talks to "determine what Nigeria would want from us for help" in ensuring a lasting peace in the Niger Delta.
She disclosed this after holding talks with both the foreign affairs and defence ministers, Chief Ojo Maduekwe and Major-General Godwin Abbe (rtd) respectively.
The AFP news agency quoted Clinton as saying that the U.S. would only play a supporting role, stressing: "We know this is an internal matter. We know that this is up to the Nigerian people and government to resolve".
Commenting on the efforts of the Federal Government in granting amnesty to the Niger Delta militants, the secretary of state admitted that the effort so far was promising.
Her words: "We think Nigeria's efforts are very promising to try to bring peace and stability to the Niger Delta."
Earlier, Chief Maduekwe had told Clinton that the amnesty to the Niger Delta militants would usher in peace in the troubled region within the year.
Nigeria last week started implementing an amnesty offered by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to armed groups in the Niger Delta, where attacks have battered crude production and cost the country billions of dollars in lost revenue.
Maduekwe, appearing at the joint news conference with Clinton, said the amnesty was a "bold and imaginative" way to end the unrest in which hundreds of oil workers have been kidnapped.
"The president is very optimistic ... that by the end of the year with the political traction that the amnesty is generating, the response should be able to bring about a restoration of peace and a sharp reduction in violence," he said.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the region's main armed group, says it is fighting for a larger share of oil revenue for the region's impoverished local communities.
Maduekwe said the amnesty was already boosting the oil industry in Nigeria, which was recently surpassed by Angola as the top oil producer in Africa.
"With just the mere perception that peace is coming back, the oil levels are gradually coming up again," he said.
He did not give figures.
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The problem of corruption in Nigeria is staring us in the face everyday. It is up to us to do something about it or stay with status quo. Everybody in Nigeria is corrupt starting from the president to the janitor including kids yet unborn. It is part of our DNA and genetic makeup. We even carry it around with pride as a badge of honor. We did not need somebody else to tell us what is wrong with our crazy system. Even as Mrs. Clinton was speaking, we knew in our hearts that we know what is wrong with our society. How do we start? Y'Aradua will return his eight point something billion he made as a school teacher or what? His 7-point agenda is just a gimmick, a fancy phrase coined to defraud us the more. He took office more than 2 years now and has not killed a fly. What a country.
i wonder why the pdp cheiftains are raising eyebrow over the statements of hillary clinton when it is even glaring to the nigerian populance that the statements are based on facts. in this era of oil boom it is surprising that we are still under-developed when countries like malaysia that has only tourism as their major source of income are developed. then we need to ask where all the monies we are making is going to and we read in the papers how much is being spent on unneccesary oversea trips of the so-called people in government.