Transparency International AntiCorruption Crusade In Nigeria The Challenge Of

transparency international anti-corruption crusade in nigeria: the challenge of delivery n = i nigeria e =

Transparency International
Anti-Corruption Crusade in Nigeria:
The Challenge of Delivery
N
=
I
NIGERIA
E
=
R
I
A
Dr. Osita Agbu
Senior Research Fellow
Nigerian Institute of International Affairs
Lagos
Paper commissioned for the Kenya Meeting on
New Governments, Co-organized by the Government
of Kenya, TI-Kenya and Transparency International
October 11 – 13, 2004
---------------------
Transparency International
Anti-Corruption Crusade in Nigeria:
The Challenge of Delivery
1. Executive Summary
This case study focuses on Nigeria as an example of a country that is
not only in transition, but that decided to wage an anti-corruption
crusade without necessarily being forced to do so. Nigeria’s
anti-corruption reforms are seen to be self-imposed and fundamentally
geared towards improving the economy and ensuring better service
delivery to the people.
Country Overview
Nigeria is a country of over 126 million people, with a landmass of
about 923,768.64 sq. km and immense human and material resources.
However, its progress has over the years been undermined by long years
of military rule, political instability and systemic corruption up
until 1999 when a civilian government was elected into office after a
successful political transition process. It is therefore, possible
that the potentials that abound in this country can be translated into
real growth when corruption is reduced to its barest minimum and
service delivery enhanced.
In this study, the transition conditions under which the crusade
against corruption is being waged is examined, noting the impact of
military rule generally, the existence of weak institutions, the
dysfunctional legal system and the ubiquitous presence of competitive
ethnicity amongst others. It is observed in the study, that anti-graft
reforms were one of the major promises of the new government of
Olusegun Obasanjo during the Presidential election campaigns. On
assumption of office on May 29 1999, it still remained a major
signpost of his government. It is therefore against this background,
that the ongoing war against corruption in Nigeria can be evaluated.
Initiatives undertaken by the government
These include the establishment of the Independent Corrupt Practices
and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), The Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), implementing civil service
reforms, financial and banking Reforms, and the institution of the
Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU), otherwise known
as the “Due Process Mechanism”.
Overall Outcome
The New anti-corruption government in Nigeria has indeed, been able to
summon the necessary courage to frontally engage systemic corruption
in the country. However, the fact still remains that very little has
been achieved. It appears that on the average, there has been no
significant drop in the level of public sector corruption in the
country. Though less brazen now than before 1999, corruption still
persists. A major reason for this, in spite of the resources and time
put into the campaign is the observed conflict of interests on the
part of the “reform drivers”. Though, the President appears sincere in
this campaign, the same cannot be said of members of his team. Quite
often, conflicts of interests arise between the imperatives for
transparency on the one hand, and party loyalty on the other.
Therefore, leading this war by example cannot be overemphasized.
Major Challenges
The major challenges for ensuring the sustainability of the crusade
against corruption and therefore, providing better service delivery
will depend, firstly, on getting the people on board the
anti-corruption train through earning their support, and secondly, it
also depends on who leads the country after President Obasanjo
completes his second term in office. The study observes that getting
this support from the people will be difficult, as the anti-corruption
war is being waged at a time that the public sector is undergoing
painful civil service reforms that are hurting many families.
Conclusion
Nigeria’s anti-corruption reforms under the current civilian
government is on course, but presently ineffective. This is not to say
that the reforms do not have the potentials of reducing corruption in
the near future. Adjustments need to be made in the general reform
process, while good timing and balancing are essential for the success
of the campaign and of service delivery.
2. Country Overview
Nigeria has a population of about 126 million people (Chiori et.al,
1997:1). It is also blessed immensely with material and human
resources, which to all intents and purposes could have made her a
strong and prosperous nation. But the situation at present is far from
this. Many reasons could be adduced for its inability to attain its
potentials, but the ones that readily come to mind, include the long
years of military rule, political instability and institutionalized
corruption. Corruption in particular, appears to be rife in many
facets of national life. It is indeed, a national malaise.
The story of Nigeria is that of the progressive entrenchment of
corruption, which has culminated in the inability of subsequent
civilian governments to deliver service to the people. By 1999, the
institutions of society had decayed to unprecedented proportions, just
as opportunities had been privatized by the powerful. This was also
accompanied by the intimidation of the judiciary and the citizenry,
the subversion of due process, the manipulation of the civil society,
and the bastardization of democratic values and institutions. Access
to political power became a means of primitive accumulation, whilst
productive initiatives were stifled and ridiculed. The legitimacy and
stability of the state became compromised as citizens began to devise
extra-legal and informal ways of survival, and these further
entrenched corrupt practices (Obasanjo, 2003).
As a result of mismanagement and the relentless assault on the public
till, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita plummeted from
$1,010 in the early 1980s to less than $300 by 1999. About 70 per cent
of Nigerians survive barely on income that is less than one dollar a
day. Although Nigeria is the fifth largest producer of crude oil in
the world, and the largest producer in Africa, it still imports most
of petrol used locally. It is a country of contrasts, as it has both
the very rich, and the very poor. The UNDP 2004 Report, once again,
ranked Nigeria amongst the poorest nations in the world – a case of
poverty in the midst of plenty – behind countries like Ghana,
Cameroon, Egypt, South Africa and little known Equatorial Guinea
amongst others (UNDP, 2004). In addition, Transparency International
again rated Nigeria the second most corrupt country in the world, just
behind Bangladesh in its 2003 Corruption Perception Index (CPI). This
is in spite of the efforts made by the Obasanjo government to reduce
the incidence of corruption in the country.
In general, apart from spawning poverty and derailing development,
official corruption in Nigeria has created an ethnical vacuum
throughout the society.
Transition Conditions
It is therefore against the background of institutionalized political
and public corruption sometimes emanating from the very top (Ayua,
2001:15), that the Olusegun Obasanjo government assumed office after
the successful transition to civilian rule on May 29, 1999. Corruption
was identified at the onset of the Obasanjo administration as one of
the primary enemies of national development. It was therefore thought
that only a well-designed public sector accountability reform package
targeted at improving the governance indicators positively could
reverse the wrong trajectory of the Nigerian project. Obasanjo, a
founding member of Transparency International, probably having been
influenced by his work under this body, declared the campaign against
corruption as a fundamental mission of his government (Obasanjo,
2003).
In Nigeria, factors identified as having been instrumental in
enthroning corrupt practices include the character of the Nigerian
State and its elite, the nature of Nigeria’s political economy, the
weak nature of governmental institutions, a dysfunctional legal
system, a culture of affluence and ostentatious living, extended
family pressures; and quite frequently, ethnic loyalties and
competitive ethnicity (Agbu, 2003). In Nigeria, there are different
types of corruption, ranging from petty corruption to political
corruption. It is however, political and public sector corruptions
that are rampant. The is not to exonerate private sector corruption,
except that with respect to poor service delivery, the public sector
is the major culprit.
Therefore, during Obasanjo’s first term in office (1999 – 2003), his
administration established institutional and structural measures with
specific mandates on promoting transparency in government budgetary
and financial operations in the public sector. Some of the measures
include:
- Open and competitive tender arrangements for government contracts.
- The establishment of a “one process” mechanism that vets and
eliminates excess “fat” from government contracts.
- Massive anti-corruption campaign involving all public officials and
the President.
- Public sector reform to reduce, if not completely eliminate, the
opportunity for corruption, especially through the comprehensive
monetisation of benefits to public officers.
- A committed focus on privatization and auctions for government
licenses such as occurred in the telecommunications sector
liberalization programme.
- Increasing the likelihood of exposing instances of poor governance
and corrupt practices as well as sanctioning such acts through the
establishment of an independent anti-corruption agency and an Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission; and
- The establishment, in the President’s office, of a policy and
programmes monitoring unit to build a comprehensive policy data-base,
follow-up on all decisions of the President and monitor programmes in
ministries and parastatals.
Preparations for Transition
In terms of preparations for transition, it can be said that this was
embodied in the person of Olusegun Obasanjo, who later became
President in 1999. Anti-Corruption crusade as earlier mentioned, was
made a major plank of his campaign promises under the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), which later won the elections.
A comprehensive programme of public sector reforms was designed and
instituted as part of an overall economic reform agenda, which also
includes a “due process mechanism”. This was aimed at ensuring
prudence, transparency and accountability in public spending, with the
ultimate objective of being able to deliver service to the Nigerian
people.
3. Initiatives Taken By New Government
One good thing going for the fairly new government led by Olusegun
Obasanjo, is that it cannot be accused of lacking initiatives. Since
the inception of his administration, many important anti-corruption
and pro-reform measures have been designed and are under
implementation. Some of these include the Independent Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) headed by
Justice Mustapha Akanbi; the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), with Nuhu Ribadu as Chairman; the Budget, Due Process and
Price Monitoring Unit headed by Oby Ezekwesili, who is also the Senior
Special Assistant to the President on this matter. Further, the due
process mechanism is expected to be implemented at the state and local
government levels. Other visible actors actively engaged in the
anti-graft war in Nigeria include President Olusegun Obasanjo, who
recently uttered that the crusade against corruption could even lead
to some of the “reform drivers” loosing their lives, the Attorney
General and Minister of Justice - Akinlolu Olujinmi, Mrs.
Okonjo-Iweala – the Finance Minister, Mrs. Nenadi Usman – the Minister
of State for Finance, and the Director-General, National Agency for
Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) - Dr. (Mrs.) Dora Akunyili.
Designing a Realistic Plan of Action
There is no doubt that the government has a realistic plan of action,
which is a mixture of enlightenment campaigns, public sector reforms,
financial reforms, enacting of enabling bills against corrupt and
liberalization/commercialization of government utilities and
activities. So far, it has been a mixture of attaining both short-term
and long-term gains. Short-term in terms of stopping the looting of
public funds, and long-term in terms of targeting attitude change.
Reform Momentum
It is clearly evident, that the anti-corruption crusade and the
reforms generally have taken off, in spite of the opposition from
certain quarters and individuals - the organized labour on certain
issues and pockets of resistance from the public service. The
government appears to be at the stage of consolidating the reforms.
However, what is not very clear is the extent to which the government
has been able to carry the people along in the reforms. Clearly
visible is disenchantment with the momentum with which the Obasanjo
administration is instituting anti-people policies as if the anomalies
can all be corrected in one day. The implication of this on the
people’s perception, and hence, participation in the reform process is
clearly imaginable.
Whilst the positive role of the President in this crusade is not in
doubt, that of his appointees apart from those earlier mentioned
remains largely in doubt. Indeed, it is germane to observe that the
single, most important actor in the anti-corruption war is the person
of the President. However, conflicting signals arise when his
government falls short of prosecuting and punishing high profile
offenders and sweeping instances public of corruption especially
amongst politicians under the carpet. This is indeed, an irony. It
suffices to note, that quite frequently there appear to be conflicts
of interest, especially those involving the ruling party or principal
officers of the ruling party - the Peoples Democratic Party.
However, the government has been quite firm and rather uncompromising
in dealing with resistance to its reforms. Oftentimes, this is done in
a rather undemocratic and autocratic manner, giving the impression
that the democratic process, and indeed the National Assembly has been
arm-twisted or compromised. A good example is the controversial
Amendment to the Labour Act that was signed in September 2004, after
it passed through the Senate.
Quite clearly, the people have not been involved in the implementation
of either the reform agenda or the antic-corruption crusade. Whereas,
there is a need for more enlightenment and transparency in
decision-making that affects the people, what is rather perceived, is
a sanctimonious bestriding of the political, economic and social
spaces by the executive and top hierarchy of the ruling party. Though
the anti-corruption crusade is all over the pages of the newspapers,
little or nothing appears to have been achieved in concrete terms.
======================================================================
Reforming Dysfunctional Institutions:
=====================================
The Arrival of the ICPC
In recognition of the pervasive nature of corruption in Nigeria,
Obasanjo on assuming office, caused to be passed into law the
Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act of 13
June 2000. The Act was the bill presented by President Olusegun
Obasanjo to the National Assembly for consideration at the inception
of his administration in 1999. The Act establishes the Independent
Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which
is an apex body saddled with the responsibility of fighting corruption
and other related offences. It was inaugurated on the 29th September
2000. The Act in Section 3(14) provides for the independence of the
Commission and gives the Chairman, currently, Justice Mustapha Akanbi,
authority to issue orders for the control and general administration
of the commission and acts involving corruption or related to
corruption. The Commission has a chairman, 12 members and a secretary
(ICPC), 2004).
The Commission is fundamentally mandated to prosecute and prescribe
punishment for corrupt practices and other related offences. Section 6
of the Act confers three main responsibilities on the ICPC. These are:
*
To receive and investigate reports of corruption and in
appropriate cases prosecute the offender[s].
- To examine, review and enforce the correction of corruption prone
systems and procedures of public bodies, with a view to eliminating
corruption in public life.
- Educating and enlightening the public on and against corruption and
related offences with a view to enlisting and fostering public support
for the fight against corruption.
In terms of activities, the ICPC engages in public enlightenment on
the evils of corruption. It has also created links with other
government institutions by creating anti-corruption units in Federal
Ministries and Parastatals with 100 of such units now established.
Also, the Commission in partnership with the United Nations Office for
Drug Control and Crime Prevention has an on-going pilot project – the
Judicial Integrity Project, the purpose of which is to strengthen
judicial integrity and capacity in Nigeria.
In terms of modus operandi, allegations made to the Commission are
referred to the Investigation Department, for preliminary
investigation. The investigating officers prepare a report, which is
sent to the Legal Department to determine whether or not a prima facie
case can be established. If a case is established, a charge is drafted
with proof of evidence and filed before a designated high court judge.
Where petitions do not fall under the offences provided by the Act,
they are forwarded to the appropriate bodies like the Police, Public
Complaints Commission, Code of Conduct Bureau, Human Rights Commission
or the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (ICPC, 2004).
So far, figures available show that the ICPC has been able to
investigate 608 of the 1,270 petitions it had received in the past
four years. This is less than half of the cases received; the reason
usually adduced attributed to lack of funds to investigate cases
(UNOCHA, 2004). Indeed, very interesting is the frequent statements by
the Chairmen of the Commission that the ICPC is being starved of
funds. However, amongst categories of public officials under
prosecution according to the ICPC include former governors, ministers
and high court judges. These are spread out in various courts.
Considering the general disenchantment with the result of the 2003
general elections in Nigeria, in which the ruling party appeared to
have rigged the elections to its advantage, the ICPC is probing
dismissed Akwa Ibom State (one out of the thirty-six states in the
country) elections tribunal members. They were accused by a defeated
gubernatorial candidate of a rival political party, the All Nigeria
Peoples Party (ANPP), of corruption during the adjudication of
electoral petitions (Onwubiko, 2004:64).
In general, the Act confers on the government the responsibility for
good governance beyond the executive levels and to the other tiers of
governance. It does not frown at investigating governors and other
political office holders at the state level for corrupt acts since it
is an institution of the Federal Government. However, the ICPC can be
said to have under performed because the law also forbids it from
investigating any corrupt practices perpetrated before its creation in
June 2000. This effectively lets off the hook all those who served in
successive regimes including the oil boom period of the 1970s, the
1980s and up till the end of the 1990s.
The ICPC has also been accused of bandying about scores of unnamed
ministers and governors supposedly under investigation in the past
three years, but has brought none to book even after the suspects had
left office. In effect, it appears that the government unwittingly
incapacitated its own crusade against corruption by not
conscientiously following due process of diligently investigating
corruption allegations and docking high-profile suspects (The Punch,
2004:7).
Also, apart from the government not showing enough political will,
especially at the level of the executive to prosecuting this war, the
National Assembly, but more especially, the Senate has proved a major
obstacle to the anti–corruption war and to the ICPC. In fact, it
succeeded in abrogating the ICPC Act in 2003. However, the body has
since then been reinstated. The travails, which this body has faced,
do not however, mean that it is totally useless. This is far from the
truth, as its very existence is symbolic of the Obasanjo’s professed
war on corruption. In fact, Nigeria signed the United Nations
Convention Against Corruption on the first of April 2004, which would
enable the country track down international collaborators in cases of
corrupt practices (Ojedokun, 2004).
Political Corruption
--------------------
This is one type of corruption in Nigeria that may be very difficult
to counter, mainly because politics in Nigeria is seen as a
winner-takes-all situation. Quite rife in the political environment
and under the present administration are many cases of corruption
involving elected politicians and political appointees. It suffices to
present two high profile cases involving the Senate.
Sometime in April 2004, some senators accused the Senate leadership of
employing a rather suspicious formula in sharing the N1.16 billion
quarterly allocations in the Senate (N135 exchanges for $1 US). Under
the contentious arrangement, the sum of N35 million was allocated to
the office of the Senate President, and N27 million to his deputy. The
other aggrieved senators had objected to the N1.7 million allocated to
each of the 97 senators as paltry for running their offices.
As the Senate was still ruminating on how to handle this scandal, a
fresh allegation of N330 million-contract scam, reportedly awarded by
the Senate leadership between December 16 and 23 broke out. The
contracts were said to have been awarded and paid for without the
involvement of the Senate Services Committee empowered to award such
contracts. Both scandals led to impeachment moves against the Senate
President by a Group of 86 senators. As expected, the Senate President
denied all the allegations, insisting that it was only his party – the
PDP that could remove him from office (The Punch, 2004b). This
insistence is instructive, because quite frequently the high profile
corruption in the country never really gets investigated, but is
usually swept under the carpet supposedly for the overarching interest
of the ruling party. Surely, there are conflicts of interests here. It
should be noted that, it is situations like this that have grievously
undermined Obasanjo’s anti-corruption crusade.
Civil Service Reforms
---------------------
The new government has also embarked on civil service reforms
involving the monetization of fringe benefits of public servants and
the downsizing of the work force as ways of enhancing efficiency in
the public service and generally ensuring service delivery. This is
also aimed at reducing corruption in the public service, as government
believes that the provision of fringe benefits as previously
understood and implemented constituted a drain on the national
economy. However, the monetization scheme is not going as smooth as
the government expected, even as the many public servants feel
intimidated and victimized and disenchanted with working for the
government. Indeed, I have heard a civil servant lament that the
government is visiting “economic terrorism” on the masses. The fear
indeed, is that if not properly implemented, the civil service reforms
may end up encouraging very daring corrupt acts by public servants who
ironically do not see any security in their present jobs. Even a newly
introduced pension scheme that is supposed to involve both the private
and public sectors is to all intents and purposes still hazy and not
well articulated.
This is not however, to say that the government has achieved nothing
in its fight against corruption in the public service. In 2002, the
government made a public display of having saved about N6.5 billion
monthly from emoluments collected by fictitious employees.
Surprisingly, nobody was identified and punished for this massive
looting. Also, in January 2004, the Minister of the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) revealed that 44,817 out of the estimated 200,000
Federal civil service workforce (or about 25 per cent) have been
discovered since 1999 to be either illegal or non-existent employees
in 69 agencies, including the Presidency. The FCT alone harboured
3,000 of such ghost employees who drew over N100 million annually as
salaries. States and military institutions were also involved in the
payroll fraud (The Punch, 2004c: 17).
In addition, Accountants-general of the 36 states of the country, at a
two-day forum organized by the Office of the accountant-General and
the World Bank resolved to not only support but to lead the anti-graft
war, and fight corruption and financial malpractice, while exhibiting
good example. They however demanded amongst others the establishment
of department of finance and accounts in all ministries and
extra-ministerial offices both at the federal and state levels. They
also demanded budget monitoring and accuracy of accounts information,
to achieve timely rendition of financial statement and the need for
government to adopt E-Accounting in all its ramifications (Oloja &
Okwe, 2004).
A major plank of the public service reforms under this government is
the objective of delivering service to the public. This is coming
against the background that an average Nigerian regards anything
pertaining to the public service as something you have to battle for,
and which you cannot get, unless you know someone within the system.
The feeling is that with the attitude of accepting or expecting
gratification, many public servants do not want the system to be
efficient, where efficiency implies satisfying the public.
A National Survey study was conducted by a consortium of institutions
in November and December of 2001, at the invitation of the Nigerian
Ministry of Finance. The study focused on the opinion of public
officials, households and enterprises, spread over six geo-political
zones of the country on issues associated with government service
delivery and related corrupt practices (Institute for Development
Research, 2003). Household ratings of service provided by the public
service, indicated that overall, citizens were dissatisfied with the
quality of public services delivered to them, but are particularly
unhappy with the police, and the national electricity provider – The
National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). Making up the second tier of
defaulting institutions, in the opinion of households, are public
health, water board and public education. Ironically, among the four
services achieving the highest ratings for good services are two that
ranked poorly - public health and public education. The social welfare
office and the post office (NIPOST) received some of the highest
approval ratings. Interestingly, when public officials were likewise
asked to evaluate the efficiency of national institutions, the
assessments generally coincided with those of household and enterprise
respondents. The police, NEPA, and political parties were described as
very inefficient by half or more of the public servants, with
municipal/local governments and members of the national and state
assemblies trailing not too far behind. At the other extreme receiving
high ratings were the Ministry of health, the media, and
Non-governmental/Community-based organizations, with more than 50 per
cent of the respondents suggesting that they are efficient or very
efficient. Relatively good scores were also awarded to the Ministry of
Education and the Central Bank. Overall, the study noted that there is
genuine and sincere commitment to fight corruption on the part of the
government. However, very few public official were willing to take a
principled stand against corruption. This suggests that there is ample
room to provide incentives to public officials to report corrupt acts.
The Obasanjo government as a way of directly addressing corruption
designed and entered into a service compact with all Nigerians known
as SERVICOM. SERVICOM resulted from a Report submitted by Dr. Wendy
Thomson and her team who did a diagnostic audit of the Nigerian system
of service delivery in the public sector and came up with some
recommendations. In brief, the philosophy of SERVCOM is that the
Assembly of Ministers and permanent secretaries, as the apex executive
team in the country has the constitutional and moral responsibility to
take on the challenge of service to the people.
Whilst Section one of the service compact reads thus – “We dedicate
ourselves to providing the basic services to which every citizen is
entitled in a timely, fair, honest, effective and transparent manner”,
Section Four, expects certain obligations from citizens. In Section
Five, the executive asserts its belief that the country can only
realize its full potential when citizens start to receive prompt and
efficient services from the state and this they are determined to
achieve.
However, five years into the life of the Obasanjo government, service
delivery is still poor in the country, whilst the burden of day-to-day
living is becoming harder on the people due to the economic reforms.
Though significant improvement has been achieved in the
telecommunications sector, this has been attributed to the
privatization logic rather than to the war on corruption. Though
slight improvements have been noticed in the provision of electricity
and the state of federal highways, clean water, sanitation, quality
education, healthcare, repair of urban/rural roads are still awaiting
the fulfillment of the service compact. Again, the attitude of public
servants to service delivery is still cosmetic rather than genuine as
they appear dejected with the way the reforms are going. Clearly
evident is the fact that those who the reforms impact on directly, and
who are supposed to benefit from the reforms – the workers- are not
part and parcel of the decision-making processes. The reforms have
been top-down and totally lacking a ‘human face’.
Judicial Reforms
----------------
Permit me to observe that any effort at addressing corruption in
Nigeria must take seriously the issue of reform of the judicial
system. This is a system that has been intimidated and therefore
corrupted, first by the military, and now by the politicians.
Political corruption and the police constitute the other two leprous
legs of the tripod of corruption in Nigeria. The judicial system needs
to be strengthened and given independence in order for the people to
have confidence in the courts.
For now, oftentimes one technical objection or the other stalls
proceedings in Nigerian courts, especially the high courts. On the
other, there are frivolous ex-parte applications for
interim-injunctions/orders and outright long adjournments. Quite
pertinent is the fact that the Rules of the High Courts are highly
unsuitable for ICPC or EFCC cases or criminal complaints. The
technical and time consuming rules have been exploited by suspects to
frustrate proceedings in the High Courts and delay the trial of
suspects (Omowa, 2002:8). This apart, many innocent Nigerians are
languishing in prisons, even when their cases have not been heard in
court. For now, the only visible action so far taken by the Federal
Government is the effort at getting the courts to clear as many of the
subsisting cases as is possible. Very little has been done in terms of
carrying the anti-corruption war to the judiciary, except maybe for
efforts at strengthening it.
Corruption in the Police
------------------------
To say that corruption in the police still persists, is to put it
mildly. It is still endemic and almost always appears incurable. It is
indeed ironical that those institutions of society that are supposed
to uphold or maintain the law, that is, the judiciary and the police,
are two of the most corrupt. It suffices to note that the police is
still generally perceived, not as a friend of the public, but as a
foremost enemy for various reasons, least of which include the
harassment, extortion and brutalization of innocent citizens and road
users (Catholic Secretariat Forum, 2003). The police also easily serve
as a tool to be used by politicians in denying the citizenry their
right to vote and their rightful votes during elections. In spite of
the huge amount expended by the Obasanjo government in reforming the
police through the provision of equipment and recruitment of more
personnel amongst others, the service provided by the police is still
far from average. The police in Nigeria is presently experimenting
with community policing. It is hoped that will help build a more
service-oriented and corrupt free police force.
In general, what is clear from examining the effort at reforming these
dysfunctional institutions is that it is very difficult in situations
in which the leadership (not just the President) is perceived to lack
the political will to execute the anti-corruption war. Again, the
failure to design people-oriented strategies only makes the task of
checking corruption an exercise in futility.
Financial Reforms
As we saw earlier, the government has put in place measures to ensure
transparency and accountability in financial dealings especially in
the public sphere. These range from the institution of the “Due
Process Mechanism”, banking reforms, amendment of the Money Laundering
Law, to efforts at recovering looted public funds from around the
world.
An important measure put in place by the Obasanjo administration as a
way of fighting economic and financial crimes in the country, is the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). This body was set up
in 2002 to tackle crimes including fraud and money laundering.
Basically, money laundering, as we know it is the criminal process
whereby the proceeds from crimes are hidden and then integrated into
the financial system as legitimate funds.
According to statistics from the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Company for
example, massive losses were incurred in the country in 2002. These
include attempted frauds to the tune of N13 billion with a projected
loss of N1.3 billion, 34.1 per cent (N443 million) of which was
traceable to fraudulent transfers and withdrawals. Forged cheques
accounted for 26.35 per cent or N342 million while cheque suppression
took about 16.03 per cent or a loss of N208 million (Catholic
secretariat Forum, 2004).
Of all the anti-corruption institutions set up by the Obasanjo
government, the EFCC appears to be the more effective body. It is led
by Police Commissioner Nuhu Ribadu. Statistics show that the EFCC has
recovered more than N100 billion (US $757 million) over the past two
years and has arrested more than 500 people for money laundering. A
major breakthrough was achieved by the Commission when it signed an
agreement with the European Union (EU) that forbids serving
politicians and government officials from opening bank accounts in
Europe (UNCHA, 2004). According to Nuhu Ribadu, the Commission is
prosecuting over 100 cases in court, while about 300 other cases are
at various stages of investigation (EFCC, 2004). In addition, no fewer
than 500 persons are behind bars for offences related to the theft of
petroleum products, oil pipeline vandalizing and attempts to defraud
individuals at home and abroad through false oil contracts. He noted
that incidents of pipeline vandalism have decreased from 904 cases in
2002 to about 450 in 2003 as a result of the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) alliance with EFCC (EFCC, 2004). He
however, identified subsisting problems facing the fight against crime
by the Commission as corruption amongst law enforcement officers, even
after a whopping sum of over N250 billion had been expended on them.
Insufficiency of courts and judges and hence congestion of cases in
court (particularly prosecution of economic and financial crime
related cases), bank frauds, forex abuses and manipulation, Advance
Fee Fraud or 419, and money laundering.
An example of the enormity of financial crimes in the system is the
trial of five Nigerians and former Union Bank (Nigeria) Director over
N36 billion fraud, which sank Banco Noroeste S.A. of Sao Paulo. This
particular 419 scam is historic in its dimensions. Even the amount
involved is unequalled in the history of 419 scam in Nigeria. Permit
me at this juncture, to explain what this “419” means. It is derived
from the Nigerian Criminal Code, Section 419. Basically, it
criminalizes the offence of financial fraud. Titled “obtaining by
Trick”, it is initialed as ‘OBT’. This is what is popularly called
Section ‘419’. The number has thus become the acronym, which
identifies financial fraud in Nigeria. As it were, it is a criminal
offence (Uchegbu, 2004:17). The trial of this offence mentioned above,
clearly indicated the resolve of the EFCC to fight corruption and
prosecute financial crime offenders, as the officers of EFCC were
offered bribes by the culprits at various times (Oasanmi, 2004:8). By
May 2004, EFCC was actually able to obtain an order from the Federal
High Court, Abuja, freezing the bank accounts of the three individuals
charged with defrauding this Brazilian Bank to the tune of $24.2
million (Soniyi, 2004:1).
In terms of other financial reform matters, President Obasanjo gave
legal backing to his administration’s fight against financial crimes
when he signed the money laundering Bill into law. With the new law,
it becomes a financial crime for an individual to transact a business
in cash of over N500 000. It also forbids corporate organizations to
transact business in cash worth more than N1 million at a time. The
new money laundry law not only prohibits the laundering of proceeds
from crimes or illegal activities, but also prevents the transfer of
any sum exceeding $10,000 to or from Nigeria except through the
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). There have however, been criticisms of the
provisions, as some think that the stipulations are too harsh (The
Guardian, 2004:64).
The Banking sector is also undergoing some reforms to ensure better
service delivery not just to the public, but also to improve economic
performance. A new bank reform by the CBN requires of all Banks in the
country, to raise their capital base to a minimum of N25 billion by
the end of 2005, failing which they will loose their licenses. This
has created some panic in the banking sector, with many banks either
merging in order to be able to raise their capital base, or
repositioning to source funds from the public. Prior to this demand by
the CBN, many of the banks relied largely on public sector deposits to
finance their organizations.
This apart, the banks had been bedeviled by fraud, poor conduct of
personnel which fell short of legal and moral standards. There are
problems with standards for financial transactions. Many banks were
known to declare fascinating but spurious profits in order to attract
investments. They also engaged in round tripping, advance fee fraud
(419), and creative accounting which in recent times have resulted in
the demise of even international conglomerates (Catholic Secretariat
Forum, 2004).
The government has indeed tried to sanitize the banking and financial
system of fraud and other related activities detrimental to the
economy. An anti-money laundering conference was held in Abuja in 2003
to seek ways of stemming this crime. From the conference it was
pointed out that banks had contributed to money laundering through the
“mad rush for deposits”, without checking to see how such deposits
were acquired (Uchegbu, 2003:17).
On the issue of cyber crime, the government has given approval for the
amendment of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Related Offences Act
1995, to accommodate electronic telecommunications - based offences.
This will compel Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Global System
for Mobile Telecommunication (GSM) operators to register with the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for proper monitoring
and supervision.
On the recovering of looted funds, the government over the past four
years intensified efforts towards repatriating some of these funds
estimated at over N170 billion. However, what is most worrisome is the
inability of the government to prosecute and jail those found to have
embezzled public funds. This again, may be one of the reasons why the
general public does not think much of the government’s war on
corruption.
So far, the Obasanjo government has received support for this quest
from countries like Switzerland and the Jersey Island, off the Coast
of the United Kingdom. Switzerland has so far refunded $50 million of
the Sani Abacha loot, out of about $500 million stashed away in Swiss
bank accounts, which is just a trickle of the total of about $4
billion loot. The government has also recovered some monies from
Luxemburg, Liechtenstein and Jersey Island. $149 million and $80
million were also recovered at different times, while Nigeria and
Switzerland have agreed on the repatriation of $6l8 million. This is
the largest being expected from the Swiss government (Oluyinka,
2004:56).
In fact, a purported agreement signed between the Federal Government
and the Abacha family on loot recovering before the late dictator’s
son was released from prison appear to have been sacrificed on the
altar of political expediency, as Abacha son later denied that any
agreement existed. However, in September 2004, the EFCC declared the
younger brother of the late General Abacha, Alhaji Abdul Kadir, wanted
for questioning over allegations of conspiracy, stealing, official
corruption and money laundering (EFCC, 2004). He is said to be on the
run. In retrospect, the missing $12.4 billion Gulf oil windfall in
1991 as contained in the Pius Okigbo Panel’s Report still remains
unresolved.
The “Due Process Mechanism”
This again, is one of the many strategies to check corruption in the
public sector especially with respect to the award of contracts. It
has been observed that it is in the award of contracts by the various
governments in Nigeria that the poor transparency image of Nigeria is
mostly ascribed. The government therefore, set up the Budget
Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU) that commenced a
process of contract award review, oversight and certification,
commonly known as “Due Process”. This is a simple mechanism that
certifies for public spending only those projects that have passed the
test of proper project implementation packaging. Such packaging must
have adhered strictly to the international competitive bid approach in
the award process (Obasanjo, 2003).
According to Oby Ezekwesili, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the
President on Budgets, Due Process and Price Monitoring, the Federal
Government lost an estimated N900 billion to inflated contracts in the
last twenty years. This was mainly because the process of contract
award did not follow the due process and the principle of
transparency. Therefore, with the establishment of this office, the
government has drastically reduced the incidence of inflated
contracts. According to a press release by the Federal Government, N350
million was saved from a contract already awarded when the due process
was applied to an ongoing road contract worth N3.5 billion (Nigerian
Tribune, 2004).
In terms of assessment, though the due process is still far from the
promised, there is a sense in which one can state that there has been
some improvement in the handling of contract awards by the government.
Hence, the process is generating some support from professionals.
Summary:
Overall Outcomes and Current Status
The government under President Olusegun Obasanjo has been able to
summon the courage to concretely address corruption in a society in
which corruption had become institutionalized and systemic. Some of
the key reforms carried out so far, like the privatization policy, the
“due process mechanism” and the banking reforms indicate that it is no
longer “business as usual”. The reforms in the public sector, though
difficult to accept wholly, have the potentials of altering
perceptions, attitudes and manner in which public institutions work.
In other words, it is likely that in the long run, the reforms will
lead to better service delivery. However, in the short term, the pains
are enormous, as the government did not put in place safety nets for
the unlucky victims of the reforms. These unlucky victims may indeed,
become tomorrow’s social malaise.
The above comments notwithstanding, my opinion, and I believe, the
opinion of a significant number of Nigerians, going from the personal
interviews conducted is that there is no significant drop in the level
of corruption in Nigeria. However perpetrators are becoming more
cautious and ingenious, rather than brazen as was the case before.
The main obstacles to the anti-corruption reforms include the
politicians and the significant number of police personnel who only
pay lip service to the reform. In addition, the lack of political will
to prosecute high profile individuals for corrupt practices coupled
with the very slow judicial process in the country are key obstacles.
A major success factor, which has been identified, but which sadly is
missing, apart from maybe, the person of President Olusegun Obasanjo,
is “leadership by example”. Many of those interviewed, attributed the
failure of the corruption crude to his factor.
On main reform drivers, these include the President and his immediate
cabinet, the Heads of the ICPC, EFCC, the “Due Process” mechanism, the
Minister for Finance and the Minister of the FCT.
Current Challenges
Some of the current challenges include:
- How to win the people over to join the anti-corruption crusade. This
is because if the reform is actually meant for the benefit of the
Nigerian people, why will they still remain aloof to the crusade.
- How to stop the judiciary from acting as an obstacle to the
operations of the EFCC and ICPC.
- How to get the policemen who are supposed to uphold the law, from
breaking the law, intimidating innocent citizens, and robbing citizens
with the guns entrusted to them. This inability to reform the police
force has so far, made nonsense of the overall corruption campaign.
- The need for the government to muster enough political will, by
avoiding conflicts of interest, in the prosecution of the war against
corruption.
- Government should increase the funding given to ICPC, which time and
again, has insisted that it is woefully under funded. This has
undermined its capacity to investigate cases.
- The need to give the economic reform package a human face, as
Nigerians are loosing their jobs without an alternative, while
graduates and bulk of the youth cannot find employment. This is
dangerous as simple logic suggests that it is only when one is full,
that he can find strength to fight corruption.
- The need to find solutions to instances of political patronage,
nepotism and self-aggrandizement especially amongst politicians.
- Addressing the issue of delayed payment for executed contracts or
outright non-payment. This serves as an excuse for the inflation of
contracts.
- Properly addressing the problems of fiscal federalism, and how to
ensure an equitable and popular distribution of resources in such a
way that corruption is not encouraged.
- The need to ensure that the reforms are internalized through
building ownership by the people, so as to ensure that the reforms
survive the regime changes in the political arena and of political
actors.
- Finally, the ultimate success in stamping out corruption in Nigeria
will depend on who leads the country after President Obasanjo
completes his second term in office.
Evaluation and Lessons Learned
==============================
Considering that the crusade against corruption is one of the major
promises of the Obasanjo administration on assuming office, and also
considering the amount of resources, human and material deployed for
the crusade so far, one is constrained to return the verdict, that the
crusade is a failure. This is not to say that there have not been
pockets of successes. However, overall, the crusade has hardly made
any dent on the level of corruption in the country.
If we consider the above verdict critically from the point of view of
service delivery, we will easily understand when the anti-corruption
war can be said to have failed. This is not to say that with
adjustments here and there, it is not possible for the war to
eventually, become a success. However, the war on corruption in
Nigeria as it appears presently, is one of retreat, of excuses, and
this is not good for the campaign. The present government is five
years old, and no high profile person has been jailed in a country
undergoing what is supposedly a silent revolution. Ideally, punishment
should accompany crime, and this has not been happening to the rich
and powerful in Nigeria. For example, the trial of some top officials
of the Ministry of Defense that were accused of stealing close to half
a billion Naira, was quickly and mysteriously discontinued (Nigerian
Tribune, 2004; The Punch, 2003). Therefore, wrong signals have been
sent that the government is lacking the political will, and that some
toes are too powerful to be stepped on.
On the other hand, a plus for the anti-corruption war, is the courage
deployed by the President to even begin the war. This is important, as
without the desire, the war would not have even started. Again, the
practice of publishing its budgets, records of revenue collection,
statutes and rules, while encouraging other ministries and extra
ministerial departments to do likewise is a commendable way of showing
transparency in government financial activities. The government has
also standardized the financial reporting system at the federal,
states and local levels. This is also, a welcome initiative.
However, on the whole the major lesson is that apart from putting in
place new institutions, and engaging in public enlightenment on the
evils of corruption, it is most important that the leadership is seen
to ‘lead by example’. This is not just at the level of the President,
but indeed, at all key leadership levels of the society. Failure to do
this does not allow the idea to permeate and be concretized. In
Nigeria, the anti-corruption war has not been concretized from the
peoples’ perspective. It suffices to observe as was noted in the
Service Compact, that ‘it is not necessarily the message of
leadership, but the evidence of leadership that the Nigerian people
can trust’.
Recommendations
On the assumption that the anti-corruption crusade in Nigeria is still
on course, though ineffective, the following recommendations are
proffered:
- The government should as a matter of urgency give the reform
measures a human face. This is because the government cannot expect to
execute anti-people policies on the one hand, and successfully
prosecute a war against corruption involving the people on the other.
- It is only through ‘leadership by example”, that the anti-graft war
can be won. The crusade must take priority when conflicts of interests
arise.
- Corrupt individuals no matter how highly placed in society should be
exposed, prosecuted, and if found guilty, jailed and ostracized, and
their illegally acquired property confiscated to serve as deterrence
to those intending to engage in corrupt practices.
- Public enlightenment as to the evils of corruption and the penalties
should be intensified at all levels of governance.
- A monitoring unit should be established in the Presidency to monitor
all cases under investigation by the anti-corruption agencies such as
the EFCC and the ICPC. This will serve as an independent conduit for
briefing the President on matters before the anti-corruption agencies.
- The results of public probes should be released to the public as
soon as concluded. The practice of allowing the President or a
Governor to decide the faith of public probes should be
constitutionally addressed, as the present practice encourages
corruption.
- The Freedom of Information Act should be speedily passed by the
legislature, as this will assist the war against corruption.
- The government should continue to make the environment difficult and
inconvenient for corruption to thrive. This is because it is the
nature of environment that Nigerians live in that makes corruption
possible. The war against corruption needs to be sustained
irrespective of changes in government.
- The government at all levels should ensure that prompt payments are
made for contracts awarded and executed. This will help in reducing
the propensity to subvert the contract award process.
- There is also the need for the prompt payment of salaries in the
public sector, while ensuring effective worker security and retirement
benefits. In addition, the merit award system must be revitalized to
encourage worker interest in delivering service to the public.
- Public donations and fund raising ceremonies constitute incitements
to corruption in Nigeria. They should be discouraged by the
government, while those who wish to make donations could do so
privately.
- The international community and organizations in the forefront of
the fight against corruption must be sincere in their criticisms and
rating of countries of the developing world undergoing transitions.
Logically, more weight should be attached to corruption in advanced
countries, than to corruption in the developing countries since the
conditions of living vary greatly.
- Finally, since governance is a social contract, the Nigerian
government at all levels must provide basic security and
infrastructure in all parts of the country to enhance its legitimacy
and garner the necessary support for its anti-corruption reforms.
References
1. Agbu Osita (2003), “Corruption and Human Trafficking: The Nigerian
Case”, West Africa Review, Volume 4, No.1.
2. Ayua I. (ed) (2001), Proceedings of the National Conference on the
Problems of Corruption in Nigeria, March 26 – 29, Abuja.
3. Catholic Secretariat Forum (2003), The Police and Security in
Nigeria: The Moral Imperative, Forum Report, August.
4. Catholic Secretariat Forum (2004), Accountability in Financial
Institutions: The Imperatives of Legal and Ethical Standards, Forum
Report, March.
5. Chiori et.al (1997), Nigeria Handbook, Abuja, Federal Ministry of
Information and Culture.
6. Daily Champion (2004), “EFCC Declares Abacha Brother Wanted”,
September 8, Available on-line at URL
http://allafrica.com/stories/200409080330:html.
7. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (2004), EFCC Saves Nigeria
N70 Billion, Available on-line at URL
http://www.efccnigeria.org/links/n/2004823nigeriafirst.html.
8. EFCC (2004), Corruption among Law Enforcers Hinders Anti-graft war,
says Ribadu, Available online at URL
http://www.efccnigeria.org/links/n/20044825vanguard.html.
9. Federal Executive Council (2004), SERVICOM: Service Compact With
All Nigerians, Abuja, March 21.
10. ICPC (2004), “Nigeria Independent Corrupt Practices and other
Related Offences Commission – a Brief Overview”. Available on-line at
URL http://www.Icac.org.hk/news/issue17 eng/button2.htm
11. Institute for Development Research (2003), Nigerian Governance and
Corruption Survey Study: Overall Summary Report, Zaria, Ahmadu Bello
University, June.
12. Nigerian Tribune (2004), “Inflated Contracts”, March 9.
13. Nigerian Tribune (2004), “Obasanjo’s Solution to Corruption”, July
6. The Punch (2003), “Revving up the anti-graft war”, October 2.
14. Oasanmi Kunle (2004), “How a N36 billion Scan Sank a Brazilian
Bank”, Comet, February 8.
15. Obasanjo Olusegun(2003), “Nigeria: From Pond of Corruption to
Island of Integrity”, Being text of a lecture delivered by President
Olusegun Obasanjo at the 10th Anniversary Celebration of Transparency
International, Berlin, November 7.
16. Ojedokun Lere (2004), “FG ratifies UN anti-graft Convention”,
Daily Champion, Nigeria, April 2.
17. Oloja Martins and Mathias Okwe (2004), “Accountants-General to
lead Anti-graft war”, The Guardian, Nigeria, September 10.
18. Omowa Joseph (2004), “Liberating the Nation from corruption”,
Nigerian Tribune, July 13.
19. Onwubiko Emmanuel (2004), “ICPC probes dismissed Akwa Ibom
Election Tribunal members”, The Guardian, Nigeria.
20. Oluyinka Akintunde (2004), “Abacha Loot: Nigeria, Switzerland
agree on repatriation of $6l8 million”, The Punch, May 7.
21. Soniyi Tobi (2004), “EFCC to freeze 419 Suspects’ Assets”, The
Punch, May 27.
22. The Guardian (2004), “Obasanjo Okeys Money Laundering Bill”, March
31.
23. The Punch (2004), “Nenadi Usman’s Allegations”, May 19.
24. The Punch (2004b), “Senate: Another Cover Up”, May 7.
25. The Punch (2004c), “Ghost Workers in Public Service”, January 30.
26. Uchegbu Achilleus (2003), “Combating Money laundering through the
Financial System”, Daily Champion, June 9.
27. UNDP, Human Development Report, 2004.
28. UN office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Nigeria: Why
Obasanjo’s War on Corruption is Faltering, IRIN, July 30, 2004,
Available on-line at URL http://www.irinnews/report/REPORTED/check.
29
NIGERIA