Newslodge Nigeria editor-in-chief and COO Musikilu Mojeed has said that corruption is largely responsible for rampant poverty and instability in the West African sub-region.
Mr. Mojeed recently made this statement while speaking to members of the Rotary Club of Accra-North in Ghana, a West African country.
Speaking on the topic “Stealing from the poor: West Africa’s corruption epidemic”, the award-winning investigative journalist lamented that West Africans have been “impoverished enough” by the political class.
The editor-in-chief, who is the national president of the newspaper in Nigeria International Press InstituteHe stressed that the main problem affecting the sub-region stems from corruption and that if immediate measures are not taken to reverse the situation, the sub-region and Africa could be doomed.
He urged members to pressure governments to fight corruption the same way they fought to stop the dreaded wild virus of polio.
“Addressing corruption is very important because it is at the root of almost all the problems we have in the sub-region. Part of the problem of rampant poverty and instability in the subregion is largely due to corruption,” he stated.
‘The most corrupt in the world’
Mr Mojeed, citing recent reports from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and International Transparency (TI), said the sub-region was the most corrupt in the world.
“The Corruption Perceptions Index provides scores for each country from zero to 100 and ranks more than 180 countries. If a country scores between 100 and 80, it can be said to be clean. But in general African countries have been shown to be very corrupt,” he stated.
Apart from Cape Verde, which scored 60 percent, the editor-in-chief said no other West African country scored higher than 50 percent and none were in the top 70, adding that the ranking of the subregion in 2021 was equally poor.
“Maybe I’m telling you what you already know, but we never get tired of talking about corruption. In addition to the TI index, UNODC also published a report in 2022, which indicates that despite the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan adopted in 2014, corruption is still rampant in Ghana and most West African and African (countries). But that of West Africa is much more endemic,” he stated.
“In terms of the prevalence of bribery, the UNODC report indicates that 26.7 per cent of Ghanaian adults paid a bribe to a public official in 2021. That is huge. The report goes on to report the prevalence of bribery based on the employment status of those who pay the bribe, which means that even when you are employed, you still have to pay the bribe to obtain the service. Among salaried employees in the private sector, 37.8 percent said they paid a bribe to obtain the service,” Mojeed added.
He said the report showed that police officers were the most corrupt, followed by the Ghana Immigration Service and the Ghana Revenue Authority, adding that Ghana has a number of high-profile corruption cases being handled by the country’s Special Prosecutor’s Office.
“What this data tells us is that the government is losing a lot of revenue. The money that should have come as revenue to the Ghanaian government goes into the private pockets of the police, immigration or revenue officers, doctors, nurses, elected officials, etc.,” he said.
‘What can be done’
Mojeed said that as a way to address it, corruption should be designated as a crime against humanity and the culprits sent to jail. International Criminal Court to face trial.
He argued that corruption deprives governments of income, erodes public trust and damages the image of the countries of the subregion.
“The mere fact that we continue to say that West Africa is the most corrupt region in the world means that a number of investors would not come to the sub-region because they believe that our judiciary is corrupt, our public servants are corrupt, and our government officials are corrupt and cannot do clean business
“It means that there will be huge unemployment because people will not set up factories and that we will continue to import even the most basic commodities. We must realize that corruption endangers citizens,” he stated.
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“When there are poor quality services, it means that the roads that are built this year may collapse next year and people will continue to die on those roads, there will be an increase in the accident rate, the schools will be bad, there will be inefficient hospitals. where people would die from treatable diseases, the infrastructure will never be delivered because there will be no money.”
‘Support whistleblower laws’
Mojeed said that in addition to designating corruption a crime against humanity, the Rotary club and the media should also push for workable whistleblower laws in several countries in the subregion, as well as raise awareness among the citizens of those countries. countries about the dangers of corruption. corruption.
“It is important that we all continue to partner with the government in the war against corruption and to oppose people with corruption problems who are competing for public office in our different countries,” he said.
Earlier in the event, Club President Thomas Shabashie, introducing guest speaker Mr. Mojeed, said there was an urgent need for leaders in the West African sub-region to address corruption.
Shabashie explained that Mojeed was “handpicked to address what has become an existential threat” not only to the sub-region but also to Africa.
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Let hear it in the comment below if you do have an opinion on this; Corruption is responsible for instability and poverty in West Africa —- Editor-in-chief of the Premium Times