X-raying Corruption in Africa

By Peter Nwokolo

In a documentary captioned “The Africans, a triple heritage” written by one of Africa’s most distinguished history scholar, the late Professor Ali Mazrui, a Kenyan national and serialized on NTA in the 1980s, a true story was told of how a junior accountant of one of the Ministries in Ghana in the 1960,s uncovered a huge fraud while going through some documents in his office.

Amazed at the volume of the fraud, he had immediately taken the documents to his superior and announced excitedly to his boss about his discovery, apparently expecting a pat on the back for what he thought was a patriotic duty. But his boss had smiled at him whimsically, asking him “not to worry, that there is always enough to go round for every one”

It is such notion of  “plenty to go round” that had triggered off a culture of graft and wanton looting of State treasuries across Africa.
This monster was then passed on from one administration to the other, resulting naturally to serious under-development of the continent and impoverishment of its peoples. In Nigeria for instance, it is estimated that well over 400 billion dollars of the country's wealth has been frittered away in the last fifty years through official corruption and graft. While Governments continued to pay lip service to tackling this canker-worm, the level has increased in lips and bounds, aided and abetted sadly by cronies overseas.

While several billions of dollars has been appropriated to the power sector in the last 17 years for example, the nation could still not generate more than 4000 megawatts of electricity in a country of over 160 million people. Same applies to the roads network as well as other social infrastructure. Over 70% of Nigerians continue to live in abject poverty and squalor while a few wallow and flaunt their ill gotten wealth before a bemused and bewildered majority. Practically all Government businesses and enterprises have failed, just as private enterprises owned by individual Nigerian businessmen continue to flourish and make profits

Government owned companies have all been ran aground through mismanagement and avarice. From the telecommunications to the newspaper industry, the list is endless.

Government officials have always taken issues with social commentators and public affairs analysts who they insist write only about the ills of our political leaders without emphasizing on the good side of the bargain and my position is simple, show me the giant strides that has been made over the past 30 years and I will immediately take up my trumpet in praises. The fight against official corruption in Africa has always been treated with such levity, that some people have even called for prayers as a means of stemming the tide in Nigeria. If a public official who is either a Christian or a Moslem did not take God into reckoning before dipping his hands into public funds, I wonder what prayers he needs when he is already enjoying his loot.

Such mundane calls is only an indication that some people still do not understand the incalculable damage that official graft has dealt to the national economy and to our well being as a people and as a nation.

A situation where half of our annual budgetary allocation is spent in servicing official salary and other allowances certainly cannot augur well for the progress of the country. The President rode to power on the promise of fighting corruption to a standstill.The fight against corruption must be all embracing and must cut across the political divide. there must be no sacred cow.

The president should borrow a cue from China. Bo Xilai was a very high ranking member of the Chinese Politburo, the highest decision making body of the Chinese Government but once he was accused of corruption, President Xi Jinping did not hesitate to order his arrest and prosecution.Today, Bo Xilai is serving a long jail term to serve as a deterrent to others. Nigerians are waiting. The best way to start however is to run a transparent and corrupt free administration and ensure that basic infrastructures are put in place.

When a Government stays in power for ten years and above, no matter how well intentioned, lethargy sets in and the enthusiasm to deliver good governance to the greatest number of its citizens becomes less attractive. Europe and America must help in this direction by ensuring that its banks and other financial outlets are not used as conduit pipes to stash stolen funds from Africa. It is not enough to accuse African leaders of corruption when in actual fact; such illegally acquired wealth still finds its way to overseas banks and businesses. The fight against official corruption must be a collective one.

It must be noted however that not all African countries are mired in this act of official thievery,  Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia and a few others are presently witnessing what can be described as a reference point in democracy and good governance and off course, Nigeria is surely making progress, more bite is needed to rein in corrupt practices across all sectors.

All economic and anti-corruption agencies must be strengthened and empowered to enable them carry out their statutory duties. The investigative arm of these agencies must be such that the men and women who work there receive the right training, to ensure that they remain pro-active and nip such corrupt tendencies in the bud and where any case has been established, that the culprits are prosecuted and sent to jail to serve as a deterrent to others.

The freedom of information bill which was only just recently enacted by the national assembly can go a long way in tackling corruption if Nigerians are well sensitized as to what their duties are in the fight against official graft. They must understand that they have a responsibility to call to question the activities of their elected officials and be in a better position to access information relating to public servants without let or hindrance.

Nigeria and indeed other African nations can only make progress if funds appropriated for specific projects are judiciously and prudently utilized for the purpose for which it is meant.

Comrade Peter Nwokolo is a public affairs analyst based in Lagos.