Every government recognizes the importance of foreign investment in kick-starting the economy, creating more jobs and increasing the well-being of the citizens. President Obasanjo was in India last week appealing to Indian businessmen to invest in Nigeria. The trip, no doubt, would be one out of other numerous trips the president would be taken to get as many as possible credible investors to invest in the Nigerian economy.
However, ambitious as the President might be, this may not actually translate to the result expected by his administration. Quite recently, the Nigerian government received a knock from the Germany-based Corruption Watchdog- the Transparency International. In its 2004 report, Nigeria is ranked the third most corrupt country. It scored 1.6 out of 10 to secure the unenviable third position, a step up from the second position it occupied for a couple of years. With 1.5 each, only Bangladesh and Haiti scored worse than Nigeria.
But very bitter at the ranking, government officials availed themselves of the weapon afforded by Fredrick Galtung, and reached for the credibility of TI. Galtung, founding Head of Research of TI, has queried the indices used in measuring corruption levels. Officials flayed the report, describing the methodology used as “misleading, faulty and outdated”. According to them, the report glossed the truth of the nation’s determined efforts at reform. Nevertheless the point has been made.
Obviously, Obasanjo’s government has put up some efforts at taming corruption. Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) was set up in the early days of his government; its impact is yet to be felt. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is also in place, doing its best to prevent and punish economic and financial crimes. National Agency for Food and Drug Administration has made the business of drug faking and adulteration unprofitable. Also witnessed is some transparency in the award of contracts at the federal level.
Despite the efforts, corruption remains the major factor that impedes the nation’s growth, investment and development process. It is still firmly rooted in the nation’s social fabric, fostering poverty, misery and squalor. Resources are still being misappropriated through large government corporation like NNPC, NEPA and NITEL. Still, nothing can be done without gratifying some people. Access to government officials, records and data, freedom from arrest, securing employment, school admission, license, permit, signature and approval are still sources of bribery.
Corruption still has a free reign because politicians and their allies, civil servants, cannot fight the scourge. The evidence of their inability was brought home by Obasanjo’s statement that it was difficult to deal with corruption in the country. “It is not easy to deal with corruption. In it, you find the high and the low, your friends and even those you respect” Obasanjo said.
Obasanjo’s admission of difficulty reinforces the observation of Mustapha Akanbi that there is no adequate political will to fight corruption. Akanbi, Chairman of ICPC said: “I have seen recently that there is inadequate political will to fight corruption in this country”. He continued: “when the Commission was established in 2002, there was clear political will on the part of our leaders”.
Ribadu Nuhu Mallam, Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) ascribes the failure of the Federal Government’s anti-corruption campaign to corruption amongst law enforcement officers. “The principal reason for the failure of our law enforcement agencies is corruption. In fact, it went so bad that in some cases, law enforcement officers were found to be the principal perpetrators of the crimes” Ribadu said.
The recent pullout of Vodacom from Nigeria, over issues relating to brokerage, is a major blow to the administration’s desire to attract foreign investment. In fact this is a red flag to many other firms who might be willing to consider investing in Nigeria. A big multinational firm like Vodacom, aside from indirectly paving way for more investment, will create more economic clusters in the telecoms sector and the economy in general.
Another nauseating thing is the rate of scams emanating from Nigeria and among Nigerians. There is none of the prominent names in Nigeria whose names have not been used by these crooks. How receptive would it be if in turn these people at one point write a genuine business letter? There is the tendency to doubt its authenticity. An appreciable measure has not been evolved to put these bad apples in check.
The battle against corruption must involve certain measures. There must be the will to step on toes. The temptation and rewards of corruption are too great for the average Nigerian not to engage in it. The risks of engaging in corruption must outweigh its benefits. If people think the risks of corruption are imprisonment, lose of freedom and disgrace, they may think twice before doing it. Corruption flourishes when there is too much discretion for officials, when corruption is glorified rather than being sanctioned, when it takes many days to register business and property. Simplifying these processes and sanctioning those fingered is crucial to the fight against corruption.
Above all, tariffs and other barriers to trade must be scaled down. Regulations, licensing requirements and other barriers to entry for new firms and investors must be simplified. Government assets must be de-monopolized and privatized. Transparency and accountability must count in government transactions. Efforts that exclude these measures will surely fail to arrest the plague of corruption and rubbish whatever efforts aimed at attracting investors, either local or foreign.