The issue of corruption generates much of the heat in the debate over Nigeria's forthcoming presidential election, scheduled for Saturday. Outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo portrays the bitterly-contested election as the fight of a lifetime, one against the forces of corruption he has spent two terms trying to crush. His opponents, for their part, accuse him of selectively using state institutions – including the highly-regarded Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) – to target his political enemies. Ahead of the election, the executive chairman of the EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, urges Nigerians and all Africans to press for "zero tolerance for corruption," and for countries outside Africa to refuse to take "blood money from the corrupt leaders of poor countries."
Corruption is the greatest challenge to progress across much of the developing world. In Nigeria, it has poisoned our potential. Between 1960 and 1999 more than $440 billion was stolen from the Nigerian people. As a foot soldier in the battle against corruption, I have seen that—for all of Africa—the ultimate cost of corruption is immeasurable. Apart from providing fertile ground for injustice and violence, I believe that corruption is responsible for as many deaths as HIV/AIDS.
The corruption endemic to much of the developing world is not just about bribery, but about mismanagement, incompetence, abuse of office, and an inability to establish justice and the rule of law. It is time to realize that if we want, in the words of the international campaign by NGOs, to "make poverty history," corruption must be addressed first. No matter how generous donor nations might be, if we in the developing world are not willing to be accountable for how we use our human and natural resources, donor funds will have no lasting effect.
Over the last three years, Nigeria has become a country at the forefront of the war against corruption.
Fighting corruption is, first and foremost, about establishing the rule of law, so this has been the primary focus of Nigeria's anti-corruption campaign.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is the agency on the frontline of these efforts. Since I was appointed to lead the EFCC, I have been determined to address systemic corruption head on. We have gone after top-level politicians and businessmen, and we have brought them to justice.
In a country that never saw one conviction for fraud or corruption before the beginning of our reform campaign, we have now recorded 150 convictions, with 400 more cases awaiting decision in the courts. We have recovered $5 billion dollars in stolen public funds.
Nigerian reform efforts have been a success because they are home-grown; supported by the Nigerian people, and by the current Nigerian leadership. Nigerians are sick and tired of being known the world over as scam artists. In credible polling throughout the country, the fight against corruption is measured as among the electorate's top concerns, next to food, healthcare and education for their families.
But corruption fights back.
The process for identifying corrupt officials is open and transparent. However, those against whom we have laid charges use the resources they have stolen to fight back. They own radio and television stations and newspapers, and can hire the best lawyers. But they cannot run away from the facts, nor ultimately from the court of public opinion.
We have proven that we can tackle corruption on our own—but we are still asking for help and support from abroad to guarantee that these efforts do not falter.
The World Bank was one of the first agencies to support Nigerian reform efforts. The bank's grant of $5 million in 2005 allowed the EFCC to target political corruption among high-stake elites, including members of the executive branch of government and members of parliament. This money came at a time when these very same officials halted the appropriation to the EFCC to stop us from pursuing leads.
Our efforts cannot stop at our borders. Up to 80 percent of the "grand corruption" perpetrated in Africa is dependent on mechanisms that send misappropriated money abroad. Nigeria's Financial Intelligence Unit now talks with its counterparts all over the world, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States, the British Metropolitan Police, the German BK, Interpol, and others. This network is making it increasingly difficult for those who steal from Africa to find safe havens for their money.
We need more countries to say they will not take blood money from the corrupt leaders of poor countries. Just this simple step—refusing to take money from someone stealing it from a poor country—addresses more than half the problem of corruption in Africa.
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There are financial institutions in the world that are trading with this stolen money. These institutions, by refusing to acknowledge the source of these funds, are de facto standing up against development and against Africa's poor.
As Nigerians go to the polls to elect a new president on Saturday, I can only offer one piece of advice: whomever you choose, make sure that they are willing to wage a war against corruption. Excuses made by those who collaborate with corruption, such as "it is not just me," should no longer be tolerated. The same is true for all of Africa. We must get to a point where there is zero tolerance for corruption as the everyday way of life.
The $5 billion that has been returned to Nigeria is money that ought originally to have been spent on education and development. We are now using it is to improve our health sector, among other initiatives. Maybe one day those who are stealing in Africa will be treated like pariahs in all decent and civilized gatherings. Maybe then we can bid a permanent farewell to state kleptocracy across the continent.
