Nigeria Remains One of the Most Corrupt Nations In The World- Transparency International

The recently released corruption perception index by global corruption watchdog shows that Nigeria remains one of the most corrupt countries of the world even when our leaders keep denying that Nigeria is corrupt.

Chukwudi OHIRI

Just as the year is about to wind down, Transparency International has released the 2013 Corruption Perception Index CPI, and according to its own preamble to the results, “Corruption continues to have a devastating impact on societies and individuals around the world, with more than two-thirds of countries surveyed scoring less than 50 out of 100 in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)”.

According to the report, most governments around the world had passed new laws promising as expression of their commitments to stamp out corruption but alas, “people are not seeing the results of these promises” as reflected in the index. According to Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International, “The Corruption Perceptions Index 2013 demonstrates that all countries still face the threat of corruption at all levels of government, from the issuing of local permits to the enforcement of laws and regulations.”

Transparency International explained that “the index, the leading global indicator of public sector corruption, scores countries on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean)” adding that “the results of the 2013 index serve as a warning that more must be done to enable people to live their lives free from the damaging effects of corruption”. More than two thirds of the 177 countries sampled in the 2013 index scored below 50.

This year, despite Nigerian government’s rhetoric about fighting corruption and its self-defense that ‘corruption is not the major problem of the country’, Nigeria was ranked 144^th out of 177 scoring a paltry 25 over 100 where score 0 represents a negative perception and 100 represents a positive corruption perception.

Interestingly, while most countries of the world are busy enacting laws that will invariably decrease corruption, Nigeria is busy tinkering with laws that will rather enhance it. A good example is the recent bill in the floor of the House of Representatives seeking to allow public officers operate foreign bank accounts—a well established avenue for money laundering and siphoning of public funds as experience has taught us over the years.

Rather than improve on its rankings, Nigeria has continued to slip down the ladder. In 2008 for example, Nigeria was ranked 121 at the peak of the anti corruption war spearheaded by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. That was the best rating Nigeria could ever get in the CPI.

A comparative analysis of Ghana, Rwanda and Nigeria in the corruption index showed that whereas Rwanda made steady progress year after year between 2008 and the current rating, Ghana maintained relative stability while Nigeria has steadily declined from 121^st position in the same 2008 to 144^th in the current year.

As already established, Rwanda moved from 102^nd position in 2008 to a laudable 49^th position in the current year, 2013 while Ghana fluctuated between 67^th position in 2008 and currently on the 63^rd position. The difference between these two countries is simply, matching words with action.

International analysts observed that quietly, there has been a revolution going on in Rwanda in the fight against corruption. The zero tolerance to corruption in Rwanda has made President Paul Kagame’s country a shining star and a reference point for many countries still enmeshed in the dungeon of corruption as the country is said to have phenomenally stamped down on corruption to the level where Rwandans can now go about their daily lives without the fear of being shortchanged by corrupt officials.

In recognition of this outstanding landmark, the African Union’s Advisory Board on Corruption and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) chose Rwanda as the venue for Africa’s Anti-Corruption Week this December. “The choice of Rwanda was deliberate,” according to Prof Said Adejumobi, head of UNECA’s Governance and Public Administration Division (GPAD). “Rwanda was chosen for its outstanding track record in the fight against corruption, not only in Africa, but globally. The lesson of Rwanda in its zero tolerance against corruption is that leadership and political will matters; independent and credible institutions are important; and citizens’ mobilisation and support is central in fighting corruption. Corruption is a powerful and insidious animal. You either fight or tame it, or it would fight you back.”

According to reports, the office of the ombudsman created in 2004 and headed by the former Chief Justice of the country, Justice Cyanzayire Aloysie played a key role in the positive leap witnessed in Rwanda through mere conscientisation of the people and public officials on corruption and its impact on both political and socio-economic life of a people. According to Justice Aloysie, “The anti-corruption campaign also focuses on the youth because they are the leaders of tomorrow”. “Thus, we train them to develop integrity in what they do. As a result, we organise anti-corruption awareness campaigns in high schools and tertiary institutions, and we are also working with the Ministry of Education to include in the school curriculum a course on integrity which incorporates Rwandan values.”

For President Kagame, his government reportedly took the fight against corruption so seriously that it has encouraged all the districts in the country to be actively involved in the struggle against corruption. An annual competition and awards have been instituted for the districts at which, based on the marks they attain for their work on anti-corruption and good governance, they are given national recognition by way of trophies and certificates. Anti corruption fight is now part and parcel of the national life of Rwandans.

Just recently in Nigeria, Mr. Abragahou Aminu, a Lagos based French teacher was allegedly beaten up mercilessly by some policemen for recording ‘unethical public show of shame’ involving two police officers in uniform and a commercial bus driver. High Chief Sandra Duru, Executive Director, Pre-Adult Affairs Organisation took it upon herself to seek justice for the battered teacher by registering her protest in some media houses and Sahara Reporters in a petition titled: ‘The Disgraceful Conduct Of Lagos PPRO Ngozi Braide – An Open Letter to IGP MD Abubakar.’  In the petition, Duru alleged: “He (Aminu) was initially detained at the Ketu Police station. When we contacted Ngozi Braide, Lagos PPRO to intervene, she insulted us, saying that she had been looking for a scape goat amongst Nigerians that do record the illegal (corrupt) activities of the Nigerian Police. Ngozi banged the call and the next we heard was that Aminu has been transferred from Ketu police station to the Lagos PPRO, then to Ikeja police Area “F” command. All these happened simply because Aminu used his mobile phone to record an incident between a commercial driver and a-team of police officers”. The matter is still pending in the court as at press time but suffice it to say that both government and the ordinary citizens of Nigeria are still paying leap service to the anti corruption campaign. In Rwanda, our reference point, ordinary citizens were overtly empowered and protected by the law to take part in the struggle to fight and expose corruption wherever it is found. This has been paying off.

While Nigeria is still battling with the implementation of assets declaration by public officials, Justice Aloysie revealed that “it is mandatory for all high-level officials, from the president down to judges and director-generals in ministries, to declare their assets before, during, and after, leaving office. “Also all civil servants in charge of the management of public funds have to declare their assets,” “We investigate the origins of their assets to make sure that what they have declared on paper matches their wealth in reality.” Beyond that, “Rwanda’s Leadership Code of Conduct prescribes that every 30 June, the relevant officials hand in their assets declaration forms to the Office of the Ombudsman. If they fail to meet the deadline, sanctions are taken against them in the form of a warning, suspension, 25% cut in salary, dismissal, public denouncement, and finally prosecution”. Finally, Justice Aloysie revealed, that “In conducting investigations, we can go to the neighbours of the officials concerned, we can consult other citizens who know the officials, we can go to the banks where the officials have accounts to check on the status of those accounts, and we also work with the Lands Office where every piece of land sold or bought in this country is registered. Regarding the ownership of cars, we can get information from the Tax Office where the details of cars are also lodged. So you can’t hide.” Because of this zero-tolerance, corruption has been reduced considerably in Rwanda. “This is evidenced by the indices published by Transparency International, the World Bank’s Government Indicator, the East African Bribery Index, and others. All of these indices show a sharp decline of corruption in Rwanda,” a proud Justice Aloysie said.

Today, Rwanda is enjoying the respect and patronage of foreign investors and as the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon remarked during the last International Anti-Corruption Day, 9 December 2012: “Corruption destroys opportunities and creates rampant inequalities. It undermines human rights and good governance, stifles economic growth, and distorts markets. The cost of corruption is measured not just in the billions of dollars of squandered or stolen government resources, but most poignantly in the absence of the hospitals, schools, clean water, roads and bridges that could have been built with that money and would have certainly changed the fortunes of families and communities. As the international community strives to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and forge an agenda for economic and social progress in the years beyond, addressing the problem of corruption becomes all the more urgent.”

Put more succinctly, unless corruption is booted out in the national life Nigerians, any rhetoric about national transformation will remain utopian and whatever gains made by the present administration will soon fizzle out like early morning dew. The truth is that the problem with Nigeria is not about the right laws or policies on the fight against corruption, but in implementation of the existing laws with courage and political will.

Search For New CBN Governor: More Likely Successors Emerge

As the first tenure of the current CBN governor tails off to the end and his reluctance to do a second term coming upbeat, more names touted as possible replacements for the Kano Prince continue to pop up.

By Chukwudi OHIRI

Nigerians may yet again witness another round of surprise package from President Goodluck Jonathan when he finally unveils the identity of the next Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor as more names have emerged to swell the list of likely candidates to replace Sanusi Lamido Sanusi come June 2014.

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi has continued to drum it into the ears of anyone who cared to listen that he would not be seeking a second term in office as CBN’s helmsman at the expiration of his first five-year tenure. Feelers from government circles are that even if Sanusi desired a second term, he apparently may not get the nod from the presidency for very obvious reasons. One of such reasons will be his penchant for dabbling into political affairs vociferously and sometimes tending to be at cross roads with the government.

Apart from advising President Goodluck Jonathan to announce his successor at least three months to the end of his tenure, Sanusi has also been speaking on the qualities his successor must posses in order to sustain the gains he had already recorded. Reactions to these recommendations seem to have expanded the horizon of the search for a possible successor to include the likes of Mr. Philip Oduoza, the Group Managing Director of United Bank for Africa (UBA) and renowned professors of political economy and management expert, Pat Utomi.

Analysts had earlier tipped some of the CBN deputy governors among Sanusi’s likely successor. Deputy Governor, Operations, Tunde Lemo; Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Sarah Alade; and Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Kingsley Moghalu were among the insiders mentioned while Managing Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mustafa Chike-Obi; Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria, Bisi Onasanya and Managing Director, Access Bank, Aigboje Aig-Imoukuede were tipped for consideration if the presidency finally decides to pick the candidate from outside the apex bank circle. So much has already been said about the respective credentials of these candidates.

The new entrants are believed to have emerged as fallout of Sanusi’s recent recommendation that the new CBN Governor must be able to develop the market. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who spoke during the Women in Successful Careers (WISCAR) fifth anniversary in Lagos penultimate week expounded on the qualities expected of his successor. According to him, “central banking has changed. I think the market has developed. To be honest, if any Central Bank Governor misbehaves, the market punishes the economy immediately. So, the market is a major factor. Even as a governor, by the time your capital market crashes, and your currency goes down, you will know that it is either you restore stability, or you are out of the job. That’s important”. Bloomberg also quoted Sanusi to have said: “It could be from within or outside; it doesn’t really matter. What’s important is the institution and to have the right balance.
“If you have someone, say, with a strong economic theoretical background, you need to make sure at the deputy governor level, you’ve got strong banking supervisory, regulatory oversight background. “If it’s a banker that’s more into operations and financial stability then you make sure that you’ve got enough economists to complement it. It’s very collegial.”

In view of the above submission which concurs with the opinion of analysts that “managing the country’s monetary policy by ensuring macroeconomic stability, price and exchange market stability and a single-digit interest rate, all taking place with high growth and jobs, remain the tasks facing the CBN today”, the new CBN governor is therefore expected to posses beyond paper qualifications, practical and verifiable track record of the technical know-how needed to run the apex bank.

Sequel to this, Prof Pat Utomi and Mr. Philip Oduoza’s names are now being rumoured among analysts to have joined the list of top contenders. Indeed, sources within the CBN and the presidency affirm to this new development and even suggest that either of the two can cause major surprise in the race. What then is in their credentials that stand them out to be the surprise joker of the presidency?

 Philip Oduoza

Going by the recommendations of both analysts and the CBN Czar, Mr. Philip Oduoza may well fit into the description that is being sought after. He has been the Chief Executive Officer and Group Managing Director of United Bank for Africa Plc since August 1, 2010, stepping into the big and intimidating shoes of Mr. Tony Elumelu, (the immediate past GMD of the UBA Group) which many thought would be too big for him. Prior to his appointment, Phillip Oduoza was the Bank’s Deputy Managing Director overseeing its operations in the South, which is the UBA Group’s largest strategic business group. He also served as Executive Director of Retail Financial Services and has more than 22 years banking and Financial Services experience which cuts across Banking Operations, Relationship Management, Credit/Marketing, Technology Implementation, Risk Management, Lean Banking Methods and Brand Management, having worked with several other banks before joining UBA about a decade ago.

At a time emphasis is built around e-banking, Mr. Oduoza’s gamut of experience in Information & Communications Technology (ICT) will work in his favour having served as Chairman and Director of ValuCard Nigeria Plc until 2011. He had earlier served as an Executive Director of Standard Trust Bank as well as Director of InterSwitch Limited. He is Alumnus of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program and an honorary senior member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. Mr. Oduoza holds an MBA (Finance) and a first class BSc degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Lagos. Mr. Oduoza is seen as a traditional conservative banker.

Unlike Lamido Sanusi, Mr. Oduoza is not the talking type and silently and discreetly, he sets his goals and delivers on them. This assertion is very evident in the remarkable feat he is achieving in the UBA group and yet, he does not blow his own trumpet nor does he dabble into political issues that have no bearing with his profession. He is apolitical to the core but is a strong advisor to many leaders. When it comes to business and marketing of the bank, his aggressive and innovative marketing techniques, surpassing that of his predecessor cannot be matched.
Under his headship, The Banker Magazine, a publication of Financial Times, named United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), the Bank of the Year, Africa (2012) and there are speculations that it might win the laurel over and over again. UBA also won the country awards for Senegal and Cameroon, making it a total of three awards received in a single event. According to the organizers, UBA was chosen on account of the Bank’s successful turnaround to profitability following the write-offs and clean-up of its balance sheet in 2011. The Banker also stated that other reasons for the selection of UBA were the notable consolidation of UBA’s business across Africa as well as its innovative cross border payment/remittance products and platforms which have made trade and financial transactions easier and more convenient in the continent. 
J.P. Morgan, a leading financial services firm with global scale and reach, recently named United Bank for Africa (UBA) as one of its  'preferred stocks in the Nigerian banks space in recognition of its recent growth indices under the headship of Mr. Oduoza. In 2012 also, and in keeping with its tradition of recognizing deserving institutions, Heritage Newspaper of Liberia named the Liberian Subsidiary of UBA as Liberian Bank of the year.

On a personal note, Mr. Oduoza has won several awards for himself in the banking and financial services sector. He was recently named Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) 30 “CEO of the Year” by African Investor; one of the leading investment and specialist communications firm advising governments and businesses on investments in Africa. Mr. Oduoza was chosen in recognition of his exceptional achievements over the last year which is seen as an “inspiration for business and government leaders working to raise Africa’s investment profile” the award organizers said in a statement. The judging panel considered excellent leadership skills, enhanced organisational image, innovation and originality as well as alignment with the millennium development goals in choosing the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) 30 CEO of the year. Commenting on the award, Oduoza said, “I am excited about the significant strides we are making at UBA.  I dedicate this award to the multi-cultural, multilingual staff of UBA. We take pride in our pan-African heritage, and the significant contributions we are making to economic development on the continent” suggesting that he is not egotist.

Within the banking circles, Mr. Oduoza is seen as an unassuming and indefatigable banking guru whose mastery of the dynamics of macro-economics is outstanding and enigmatic. One thing that might give him an edge on other candidates if geopolitical consideration is given any consideration is that he is both of the South-South and South-East geopolitical zones, his father being South East (Imo) and his mother being South-South (Edo). Could he be the round peg in a round hole the presidency is looking for?  Time will tell.

Prof. Pat Okedinachi Utomi

Pat Utomi has become a household name in Nigeria and whenever issues about the Economy arise, he is indubitably a reference point. Could this be the reason why he is being touted as possible replacement to Sanusi at a time Nigeria is in dire need of technocrats to paddle the sinking ship of the economy?

He is One of Nigeria’s prominent professors of political economy and management expert. A Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of Nigeria and a former presidential candidate, with a passion for the dignity of the human person and the spirit of enterprise, he got admission into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1973 to study Mass Communication. Patrick Utomi graduated from university of Nigeria Nsuka in 1977. After youth service, Prof. Utomi left the country in search of knowledge at the Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. He left with the aim of grabbing a master degree in Business Administration and Journalism, the ultimate for him then was to become a “media mogul” in Nigeria. But mid-way into the programme, he was encouraged by Professor Patrick O. Ngara, the Institution’s Director of African Studies to study something else. Prof. Utomi heeded to this advice and took a specialty in Public Finance and Budgeting. In Prof. Utomi’s words, “My dream was to become a Director of Budget in Nigeria.”

He was later appointed professor of the social and Political Economy Environment of Business and Pioneer Entrepreneurship Teacher at Lagos Business School in 2003. He has been a scholar-in-residence at the Harvard Business School and the American University in Washington, D.C.

The passion and dexterity with which Utomi analyses economic policies is so stunning that ideally, one would simply conclude that the cap fits him. There is no doubt that he has full grasp of political economy and may excel if given the opportunity. But theories, sometimes do not conform with practical reality.

At the moment, pundits are weighing the body language of the presidency to know if continuity or other factors will influence the appointment of the new CBN governor. Apart from that, ethno-tribal considerations and balance may play a big role in the elimination process not ignoring political leanings of the prospective candidates. Whoever emerges, Nigerians are more interested in bringing economic stability and growth through sound macro economic policies into the polity.

Brazil 2014 final World Cup Draws

GROUP A

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ECUADOR

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