… As World Bank hails FG’s economic growth strategy, others***
Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, says until corrupt Nigerian leaders start getting jailed, the war against corruption will never be won.
Soyinka said this in Abuja on Monday at the 8th Commonwealth Regional Conference for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa.
The playwright said he recently visited the new head office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission which will be inaugurated this week.
He said on arrival at the building, he specifically asked the acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, to take him to the VIP (Very Important Person) section of the detention facility but was delighted to hear that all suspects were treated equally.
Soyinka said, “That we have been bled dry in this nation by corrupt leadership and their agencies is nothing to reiterate. It is a given. And I took the trouble yesterday to visit the headquarters of the EFCC. I wanted to see what would be the mode of hospitality of some of our leaders who will surely, sooner or later, pass through the doors of that beautiful building.
“I am not a vengeful person but I think until we ensure that some of our leaders pass through those doors, this struggle against corruption in this country will not be won, will not be over.
“And so, I spoke to Magu and I said I want to see where the presidential wing is. I said as a human rights person, I want to make sure you treat them right when they come here and he said ‘sorry it is an egalitarian institution, and I said I would take that message back to them that they should get ready to go down a little bit in status when the time comes and justice catches up with them.”
The Nobel laureate said for now, the responsibility of anti-corruption agencies should be to recover the rest of Nigeria’s stolen funds which could be used in developing the nation.
Corruption started after me –Gowon
In his reaction, however, a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, said corruption started after he left government in 1975.
Gowon said leaders who came after him started looting because they did not want to end up like him, who was poor after leaving office.
The former military head of state, who ruled from 1966 to 1975, recalled that he was attending an Organisation of African Unity summit in Kampala, Uganda when he was ousted from power.
He said it was his aides that contributed money for him to travel to Britain where he went into exile.
He said, “I can assure you we did not know anything such as corruption. Yes, some of my ministers were accused of corruption but I can assure you that it was something we tried to make sure it didn’t happen especially in our public service.
“But after I left office, in 1975 and the state in which I left office, I can assure you that apart from my salary, it was those members of staff that were with me during the OAU meeting that contributed their estacode to ensure that I had something to live on after I had been asked to leave office.
“That was the only one and then I said I wish I had probably done something, made sure I had provided for the future. I think it was that experience that probably made some after I had left office (sic), it was what made those that came after me probably to make sure that they provided for the future and therefore, you should not blame them for doing that after the experience that I had.”
Legal framework needed to repatriate looted funds –Buhari
In his remarks, President Muhammadu Buhari said there was a need for countries to come up with a legal framework that would make it easy for the repatriation of stolen funds.
Buhari, who was represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, said the absence of legal basis for cooperation in some countries, differences in legal and procedural frameworks, language barriers, bank secrecy rules, jurisdictional issues, lack of funding were some of the obstacles standing in the way of effective mutual legal assistance.
He added, “While public sector corruption is the usual focus, the private sector complicity is significant especially with large multinationals engaged in tax evasion but it is the more complex web of public-private collusion and connivance that results in proceeds of corruption ending up in countries and their financial institutions and systems, dismantling the conspiracies that fasten the export of stolen assets is probably as important as the theme of this conference.
“It underscores the fact that fighting corruption is futile if we do not ensure that the proceeds of corruption find no safe haven and that such proceeds are fully recovered.”
Also speaking, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Ms. Patricia Scotland, said English-speaking countries in Africa were beginning to wake up to their responsibilities as regards fighting corruption.
She commended the Buhari government for recovering $3bn.
In the meantime, the World Bank Group on Monday commended the strategy of the Federal Government in the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.
The global lending institution said this in a statement issued in Abuja.
The ERGP was launched last year to restore growth by diversifying the economy, stabilising the macroeconomic environment, investing in infrastructure and improving the country’s business environment, among others.
The main principles of the ERGP are to tackle the constraints to growth; leverage the power of the private sector; allow markets to function, while upholding the country’s core values; and promoting national cohesion and social inclusion.
The bank said in the statement that its executive directors, who visited Nigeria to meet with top officials of the government, were encouraged by the growth plan.
The statement said the delegation of 10 executive directors from the World Bank Group visited Nigeria to get a better understanding of the country’s development priorities with a special focus on the energy sector.
The executive directors held discussions with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; as well as governors of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Edo, Lagos, Taraba and Yobe states.
The statement quoted the delegation’s spokesperson, Patrizio Pagano, to have said, “Our visit to Nigeria is to help us get a better understanding of the country context, assess the World Bank’s interventions on the ground, and support opportunities that will keep the country on a path of sustained development.
“We commend Nigeria’s implementation of its new Economic Growth and Recovery Plan and the Power Sector Recovery Plan, both of which are important for regional integration to ensure trade and capital flows, which will ultimately lead to greater growth.”
It added that the executive directors also met with beneficiaries of the World Bank’s supported projects in agriculture, education, health, youth employment, community development, soil erosion and public financial management as well as representatives of the private sector, civil society organisations, diplomatic missions and development partners.
During the visit to Nigeria, the delegation visited the newly-inaugurated Azura-Edo Power Plant in Benin City, which is a key project in the government’s power sector reform agenda and is supported by the World Bank Group.
The executive directors, according to the statement, observe that Nigeria has continued to implement institutional policy reforms for restoring macroeconomic resilience and growth across sectors with support from the World Bank Group.
They reiterated the World Bank Group’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s growth in a way that would be inclusive, job enhancing and reducing poverty and inequality.
The bank said critical to the inclusive growth objective was reforming the power sector, boosting critical investments in human development, and mobilsing finance for development by creating a conducive environment for private sector participation.
Punch
