Emmanuel Okoro (not his real name) is
a Nigerian Public Servant who has just bought a mansion in highbrow suburb of
Maitama in Abuja. His family and friends congratulate him, ‘He has arrived’,
they say, referencing the great luck that has fallen upon him - “We thank God
oh!”
Most of those patting Emmanuel on the
back fail to ask a fundamental question: How could he afford it? Can he afford
this property on his current income? Some go further to explain his source of
wealth by boldly saying ‘it’s not just his salary, he is into ‘contracts’’, as
if that made the money legitimate. The acceptance of unexplained wealth is one
of the reasons that corruption thrives in Nigeria. When people engage in
corrupt activities, they are celebrated and not ‘booed’ or punished.
In many cases ‘unexplained wealth’ is
created through the corruption which is hobbling the essential public services
needed by Nigerians. Corruption in the award of public contracts is one area
where a number of corrupt public officials become wealthy. Billions of naira
are spent on various capital projects (roads, hospital buildings etc) yet many
of these projects are never completed. Whilst the poor in rural communities in
Nigeria find it hard to access basic public services like health care, the
public servants and politicians responsible for making this happen get richer.
On the 31st of January of
2018, the UK government introduced the Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) which is
an investigative tool that aims to interrogate the source of wealth of property
owners in the UK and will aid in the recovery of corrupt assets particularly
when politically exposed persons (PEPS) or individuals with luxurious
properties cannot justify the source of their wealth. This act will help
Nigeria to recover corrupt assets and end the impunity of some of our
officials. However it would be much more impactful if our own asset declaration
law was properly implemented, instead of what is currently experienced where a
large number of public officials do not declare their assets. Even in cases
where some declare their assets at the beginning of their tenure, they hardly declare
their assets when leaving public office.
Beyond having a policy or an
executive order in place, there needs to be a change in behaviour amongst
Nigerian generally. We need to start asking questions when we see our family
friends or family members that have suddenly acquired luxurious properties or
cars which is apparently above their legal income. Pastors and priests in
churches need to stop collecting thanksgiving donations from church members who
they know have been corrupt.
Nigerians cannot continue to allow
these practices. We need to start asking questions. We need to stop tolerating
and celebrating unexplained wealth.
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