In this post, we looked at the meness called Corruption in Nigeria. History and major cases of corruption, public institutions perceived as corrupt and Godfatherism. The powerful virus that is killing Nigeria as a state on second bases is curruption.
INTRODUCTION
Unarguably, corruption has been the leading factor contributing to the underdevelopment of the country. No institution is safe from corruption’s trap. Over the years, corruption has been ravaging the nooks and cronies of every sector. Ranging from mismanagement of public funds, embezzlement, and siphoning the treasure of the nation. Historically, no administration; military or civilian, has been found clean since the inception of Nigeria. And till date, no solution has been found to tackle the menace despite the frantic efforts by the government.
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Although, corruption is a global phenomenon the menace in this country is tragically overwhelming. On 29 September 2000, the Obasanjo-led government inaugurated the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to minimize the incidence of corrupt practices in the country. To curb money laundering, in 2003, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was also established by the president, Olusegun Obasanjo as a law agency to investigate financial crimes in the country.
After the creation of ICPC and EFCC, the country is recording enormous development in prosecuting and convicting many prominent Nigerian leaders but with little success. Unfortunately, few high-profile individuals face the wrath of law while the majority escape justice even though, they were found guilty of the offence. In furtherance, many cases were also buried and the victims are seen in the town enjoying luxurious lifestyles. What a country! While Nigeria battles corruption in all sectors, the Nigerian economic stance and power have been degrading and devaluating in the world.
In 2012, the country reported having lost over $400 billion to the coldest hands of corruption since independence. Also in 2018, the country was ranked 144th in the 180 countries listed in Transparency International’s Corruption Index. Recently, President Muhammad Buhari suspended the former EFCC Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, on corruption allegations. Panel was set to investigate his matter.
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WHAT IS CORRUPTION?
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one’s personal gain. Corruption may involve many activities which include bribery, influence peddling and the embezzlement and it may also involve practices which are legal in many countries. and it may also involve practices which are legal in many countries.
Political corruption occurs when an office-holder or other governmental employee acts with an official capacity for personal gain. Corruption and crime are endemic sociological occurrences which appear with regular frequency in virtually all countries on a global scale in varying degrees and proportions. Recent data suggests corruption is on the rise. Each individual nation allocates domestic resources for the control and regulation of corruption and the deterrence of crime.
HISTORY AND CASES
The rise of public administration and the discovery of oil and natural gas are two major events believed to have led to the sustained increase in the incidence of corrupt practices in the country. Efforts have been made by the government to minimize corruption through the enactment of laws and the enforcement of integrity systems but with little success. Greed, ostentatious lifestyle, customs, and people’s attitudes are believed to have led to corruption. Another root cause is tribalism. Friends and kinsmen seeking favour from officials can impose strains on the ethical disposition of the official as these kinsmen see government officials as holding avenues for their personal survival and gain.
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Pre-Independence and the First Republic
Corruption, though prevalent, was kept at manageable levels during the First Republic. However, the cases of corruption during the period were sometimes clouded by political infighting.
- Gowon administration (August 1966 – July 1975)
Corruption for the most part of Yakubu Gowon’s administration was kept away from public view until 1975. However, informed officials voiced their concerns. Critics said Gowon’s governors acted like lords overseeing their personal fiefdom. He was viewed as timid, and faced with corrupt elements in his government
- Murtala administration (1975 – February 1976)
In 1975, the administration of Murtala Mohammed made reformist changes. After a military coup brought it to power, the new government sacked a large number of prior government officials and civil servants, many of whom had been criticized for the misuse of power they wielded under the largely uneducated military of Gowon.
- Obasanjo administration (February 1976 – September 1979)
The first administration of Olusegun Obasanjo was a continuation of the Murtala Mohammed administration and was focused on completing the transition program to democracy, as well as implementing the national development plans. Major projects including building new refineries, pipelines, expanding the national shipping and airlines as well as hosting FESTAC was done during this administration. A number of these national projects were conduits to distribute favours and enrich connected politicians.
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- Shagari administration (October 1979 – December 1983)
Corruption was deemed pervasive during the administration of Shehu Shagari. A few federal buildings mysteriously caught fire after investigators started to probe the finances of the officials working in the buildings. In late 1985, investigations into the collapse of the defunct Johnson Mathey Bank of London shed light on some of the abuses carried on during the second republic. The bank acted as a conduit to transfer hard currency for some party members in Nigeria. A few leading officials and politicians had amassed large amounts of money. They sought to transfer the money out of the country with the help of Asian importers by issuing import licenses.
- Buhari administration (December 1983 – August 1985)
In 1985, a cross-section of politicians was convicted of corrupt practices under the government of General Muhammadu Buhari, but the administration itself was only involved in a few instances of lapsed ethical judgment. Some cite the suitcases scandal which also coincidentally involved then customs leader Atiku Abubakar, who later became vice president in 1999, and was indicted for various acts of corruption. “The 53 suitcases saga arose in 1984 during the currency change exercise ordered by the Buhari junta when it ordered that every case arriving the country should be inspected irrespective of the status of the person behind such.
- Babangida administration (August 1985 – August 1993)
The regime of general Ibrahim Babangida or IBB, has been seen as the body that legalized corruption. His administration refused to give an account of the Gulf War windfall, which has been estimated to be $12.4 billion. He rigged the only successful election in the history of Nigeria on June 12, 1993. He lives in a very exquisite mansion in his home state of Niger. General Ibrahim Babangida’s tenure, corruption became a policy of the state. He routinely disbursed vehicles and cash gifts to people to earn loyalty, and the discipline of the military force eroded. The term “IBB Boys” emerged, meaning fronts for the head of state in the business realm, someone who will transact dirty deals from drug dealing with money laundering.
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- Abacha administration (Nov 1993 – June 1998)
The death of the general Sani Abacha revealed the global nature of graft. French investigations of bribes paid to government officials to ease the award of a gas plant construction in Nigeria revealed the level of official graft in the country. The investigations led to the freezing of accounts containing about $100 million United States dollars. In 2000, two years after his death, a Swiss banking commission report indicted Swiss banks for failing to follow the compliance process when they allowed Abacha’s family and friends access to his accounts and to deposit amounts totaling $600 million US dollars into them. The same year, a total of more than $1 billion US dollars were found in various accounts throughout Europe.
- Abdusalami administration (June 1998 – May 1999)
The government of Gen. Abdusalami was short and focused on transiting the country quickly to democracy. Albeit, the suspicion remains that quite a huge amount of wealth was acquired by him and his inner circle in such a short period, as he lives in quite an exquisite mansion of his own adjacent IBB’s that exceeds whatever he might have earned in legitimate income. Indeed, the major Halliburton scandal implicated his administration, and this might have financed his opulence.
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- Obasanjo administration (May 1999 – May 2007)
Various corruption scandals broke out under Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency, including one of the international dimensions when his vice president was caught in cahoots with a US Congressman stashing cold hard cash (literally) in freezers. In addition to this, the KBR and Siemens bribery scandals broke out under his administration, which was investigated by the FBI and led to international indictments indicating high-level corruption in his administration. Corruption tied to Olusegun Obasanjo included the Transcorp shares scandal that violated the code of conduct standards for public officers, and the presidential library donations at the eve of his exit from the power that pressured associates to donate.
- Umaru Musa Yar’Adua administration (May 2007 – May 2010)
Yaradua’s ascent and time in office were short, although a fair number of corruption scandals from previous administrations came to light under his tenure and went uninvestigated due to lack of political will and poor health. Yaradua’s various acts of political corruption using his attorney-general to frustrate ongoing local and international investigations of his powerful friends like Governors James Ibori, Lucky Igbinnedion, and Peter Odili which led to huge losses to their states
- Goodluck Jonathan administration (2010–2015)
Nigeria corruption rating by TI improved from 143rd to the 136th position in 2014. In late 2013, Nigeria’s then Central Bank governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi informed President Goodluck Jonathan that the state oil company, NNPC, had failed to remit US$20 billion in oil revenues owed to the state. Jonathan, however, dismissed the claim and replaced Sanusi for his mismanagement of the central bank’s budget. A Senate committee also found Sanusi’s account to be lacking in substance. After the conclusion of the NNPC’s account audit, it was announced in January 2015 that NNPC’s non-remitted revenue is actually US$1.48 billion, which it needs to refund to the government. Upon the release of both the PwC and Deloitte report by the government at the eve of its exit, it was however determined that truly close to $20 billion was indeed missing or misappropriated or spent without appropriation.
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- Muhammadu Buhari administration (2015–present)
The government of President Mohammed Buhari has been perceived as one that has failed in curbing corrupt practices in government.
PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS PERCEIVED AS CORRUPT
The following list contains the institutions perceived as the most corrupt. It is culled from the Nigeria Survey and Corruption Survey Study, Final Report (June 2003) Institute for Development Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (IDR, ABU Zaria). In February 2019, it was reported that Nigerian Police Force officers commonly gained extra money by extorting local residents of the sum of 50 Nigerian naira.
On July 30, 2019, three Nigeria Police Force Officers from Anambra State were arrested on charges of extorting three residents. On March 9, 2020, two Nigeria Police Force officers from Lagos, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Adebayo Ojo and Sergeant Adeleke Mojisola were both arrested on charges of extorting a woman.The next day, another Nigeria Police Force officer from Lagos, Inspector Taloju Martins, was arrested after being caught on camera extorting a motoris .
GODFATHERISM
In Nigeria, there is a very big gap between the rich and the poor. Due to this, there is space in politics for richer people to manipulate results and candidates. The BBC did an article in February 2019 detailing how much of an effect ‘godfathers’ can have on the outcome. For example, it was reported, “They are political sponsors, who use money and influence to win support for their preferred candidates.” It is explained that these ‘godfathers’ groom a candidate that they trust can implement the policies they want”.