...As Nigeria ranks 136th in latest global corruption index.
By James Ojo, UNN
It is no gainsaying that corruption is one of the chief problems facing Nigeria apart from insecurity. And in spite of measures intensified by the federal government in combating this menace, the frequent cases of embezzlement in the court seems to have made nonsense of this crusade.
While most Nigerians could not afford the basic needs of man like food and shelter; statistics showed that Nigeria is Africa's biggest economy. In the latest global corruption index released by Transparency International, Nigeria ranks 136th most corrupt country in the world and 3rd most corrupt in West Africa after Guinea and Bissau.
This record is Nigeria's best ranking on Transparency International's corruption perception index(CPI) under president Goodluck Jonathan. Nigeria was ranked 144th in 2013, 139th in 2012 and 143rd in 2011 with the 2014 position bettering that of 2013 by eight places. The 2014 report shows that the least corrupt country in the world is Denmark as it ranked 1 of 175 nation's surveyed, with Somalia and North Korea both ranked as the most corrupt nations of the world.
Reacting to Jonathan's effort at combating corruption in Nigeria, the Senior Special Assistant to the president on public affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe; revealed in Abuja that the President Goodluck's administration is leaving no stone unturned to stop corruption in Nigeria.
According to him, "There is no doubt that Nigeria is winning the war on corruption. It may not be immediately apparent to those who do not understand the dynamics of applying creative techniques in upturning an age-long habit that has cost this country a lot in terms of financial resources; but to those like the officials in Transparency International knowledgeable in the nuances of fighting corruption, a lot of grounds have been covered," he said.
Speaking on specific areas where the Jonathan's administration has achieved some landmark achievement; Dr. Okupe said,
"one major area this fight has been visible is the agricultural sector where the administration's carefully articulated and executed Agricultural Transformation Agenda ended 40 years of corruption in the distribution of fertilizers to farmers".
"The same thing applies to the reforms in ports where we have successfully plugged many loopholes which some corrupt officials had exploited to delay genuine business transactions and harm the Nigeria economy," he said.
"The old corrupt system of government direct procurement and distribution of fertilizer as well as the operations in the various parts and government agencies contribution in no small to the negative rating of Nigeria by the Transparency International and other global watchdog," he added.
While explaining the various strategies explored to achieve this feat, Okupe said "While it was important for suspects involved in corruption cases to be tried, and if found guilty, sent to jail. What is more important is for the development of mechanisms, the institution of structures and enactment of policies that would plug loopholes and foster transparency, such that at the propensity for corruption os ,are more difficult and eliminated completely".
Indeed, the Jonathan's administration is fighting corruption but considering the rich historical, natural, and mineral resources we are awashed with; more is demanded of us. From the foregoing, more effort must be geared towards fighting corruption in Nigeria. This will help maximize our resources to generating more employment, bring development to all sectors of the economy and collectively achieve Nigeria's Vision 2020.
By James Ojo, UNN
It is no gainsaying that corruption is one of the chief problems facing Nigeria apart from insecurity. And in spite of measures intensified by the federal government in combating this menace, the frequent cases of embezzlement in the court seems to have made nonsense of this crusade.
While most Nigerians could not afford the basic needs of man like food and shelter; statistics showed that Nigeria is Africa's biggest economy. In the latest global corruption index released by Transparency International, Nigeria ranks 136th most corrupt country in the world and 3rd most corrupt in West Africa after Guinea and Bissau.
This record is Nigeria's best ranking on Transparency International's corruption perception index(CPI) under president Goodluck Jonathan. Nigeria was ranked 144th in 2013, 139th in 2012 and 143rd in 2011 with the 2014 position bettering that of 2013 by eight places. The 2014 report shows that the least corrupt country in the world is Denmark as it ranked 1 of 175 nation's surveyed, with Somalia and North Korea both ranked as the most corrupt nations of the world.
Reacting to Jonathan's effort at combating corruption in Nigeria, the Senior Special Assistant to the president on public affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe; revealed in Abuja that the President Goodluck's administration is leaving no stone unturned to stop corruption in Nigeria.
According to him, "There is no doubt that Nigeria is winning the war on corruption. It may not be immediately apparent to those who do not understand the dynamics of applying creative techniques in upturning an age-long habit that has cost this country a lot in terms of financial resources; but to those like the officials in Transparency International knowledgeable in the nuances of fighting corruption, a lot of grounds have been covered," he said.
Speaking on specific areas where the Jonathan's administration has achieved some landmark achievement; Dr. Okupe said,
"one major area this fight has been visible is the agricultural sector where the administration's carefully articulated and executed Agricultural Transformation Agenda ended 40 years of corruption in the distribution of fertilizers to farmers".
"The same thing applies to the reforms in ports where we have successfully plugged many loopholes which some corrupt officials had exploited to delay genuine business transactions and harm the Nigeria economy," he said.
"The old corrupt system of government direct procurement and distribution of fertilizer as well as the operations in the various parts and government agencies contribution in no small to the negative rating of Nigeria by the Transparency International and other global watchdog," he added.
While explaining the various strategies explored to achieve this feat, Okupe said "While it was important for suspects involved in corruption cases to be tried, and if found guilty, sent to jail. What is more important is for the development of mechanisms, the institution of structures and enactment of policies that would plug loopholes and foster transparency, such that at the propensity for corruption os ,are more difficult and eliminated completely".
Indeed, the Jonathan's administration is fighting corruption but considering the rich historical, natural, and mineral resources we are awashed with; more is demanded of us. From the foregoing, more effort must be geared towards fighting corruption in Nigeria. This will help maximize our resources to generating more employment, bring development to all sectors of the economy and collectively achieve Nigeria's Vision 2020.
No comments:
Post a Comment