Corrupt Nigerian leaders and others on the continent steal over $2 trillion every year from their countries according to the United Nations. The money, the organization said is lost in public assets moved across borders via money-laundering or undeclared holdings.
The figure comes as the UN, World Bank and other watchdogs meet in Doha, Qatar, try to give a four-year-old anti-corruption agreement some teeth. But hopes are low of countries agreeing to independent reviews into countries’ finances to look for missing money. Countries such as Nigeria, China, Iran and Russia are resisting such measures. Two previous summits have failed to expand the powers of the UN’s anti-corruption convention. “We hope to have a commitment to action,” said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister who is now managing director of the World Bank. “We’ve had a lot of talk. Now we’d like to see some action.” she stated.
There is also disagreement over how best to implement the tracking of money, because of tax havens and secretive banking codes in some nations. According to Global Integrity – an independent information on governance and corruption- Nigeria continues to suffer from poor accountability across all branches of government.
An annual survey carried out by the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) also grouped Nigeria as one of the most corrupt country in the world beside Angola, Cameroon, Kenya and Mozambique. The organization surveyed 90 countries using opinion polls prepared by independent institutions including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum. Finland was rated cleanest followed by New Zealand which tied with Sweden and then Canada. Britain was among the top 10 least corrupt countries.
The United States was ranked 14th and France 21st least corrupt. “Our index is a vital reminder to the international community that far more must urgently be done to fight bribery,” TI Chairman, Peter Eigen, told reporters.