TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL AND THE CHALLENGES OF CORRUPT PRACTICES IN NIGERIA 1993 – 1998

(A CASE STUDY OF GENERAL SANI ABACHA)

ABSTRACT

          The main objective of this work is to access and evaluate how corruption has eaten deep into the economy of Nigeria. Also to understand the negative impact on the economy growth and development of Nigeria. Different types of corruptions will be looked into and how Nigeria was created by the international community during the era of General Sani Abacha from 1993 – 1998. How prominent Nigerian lost their lives and freedom during this era.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title page              

Table of content     

Abstract      

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Transparency International Origin and Function

Background and History of

Transparency International         

Philosophy of the Movement and the Proceedings      

Organisation and Role      

Main Functions and Goals

Financing and Organistion

Transparency and Success

International (Except)

National (Except)             

Corruption Perception Index (CPI)        

History of Corruption       

Conclusion                      

CHAPTER TWO:

The Nature of Corruption under Abacha’s Regime       

Political Corruption 

Bureaucratic Corruption    

Electoral Corruption

Conclusion                      

CHAPTER THREE

Transparency International and Abacha Administration

CHAPTER FOUR:

Response of the Abahca Administration to Transparency

International

CHAPTER FIVE

Conclusion   

CHAPTER ONE

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL, ORIGIN AND FUNCTION

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter I will be looking at the background and history of Transparency international, why it was created, the philosophy of the movement and it’s proceedings. The organisation, their role, their main function and goals, financing and organisation and also history of corruption and it’s definitions.

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY OF TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL (TI).

Transparency international, briefly (TI), is a non-governmental organsiation with seat, acting world-wide, in Berlin which engages itself in national and international people and economical corruption fight and raising the awareness of it. This includes, but not limited to political corruption, it publishes yearly its corruption perception index, a comparative listing of corruption worldwide.

Transparency international were created in 1993 in Berlin friends from all over the world engaged by the former director of world Bank Peter Eigen and developed in shortest time to one most influential non-profit and partly-political independent movement of the most recent time, which can be compared concerning it political influence, for instance with Attac or Amnesty international. The head office of Transparency international and Transparency International Germany are in Berlin1.

          The cause for the establishment of the organisation was the idea, the world corruption, which had accepted unbelievable extents and effect in the time of the cold war to fight by independent influencing control of an outstanding and particularly control instance standing for itself.

The worldwide reasonance on the establishment of transparency international in the year 1993 was unexpected. The historical framework offered a favourable surrounding field. The old iron curtain was with the German  unit  finally  pleases,  the  core  of  the  European  union joined

themselves straight, the Gulf was in Iran and Iraq,  the  civil  war  in Yugoslavia humans for justice had sensitized and frame the U.S.A, “blew the democratic wind” the Clinton era. Much was ready in paying a new. The idea of transparency international fell on fruitful soil, however in response also defense and criticism provoked.

PHILOSOPHY OF THE MOVEMENT AND IT’S PROCEEDINGS

Transparency International already carry the basic concept in the name. In the variety of the different kind of corruption is according to the principles of the organisation as large common denominator, when solution, to prevent simple transparency in handling the things crucially, which it make possible, corruption leads into constructional courses. Because so paradoxically has from the point of view of this system also jedwede corruption in society and economics their sense. It is the symptoms for a malfunction in the system and if one liked to fight corruption, one must extract their fertile soil from her:

●  by consistent disclosure and transparency of the things and linear path by current control by independent supervision

●        by persuasive power and acceptance opposite concerning and authors.

●        by careful selection and rotation of the personnel within the ranges concerned.

Multi-eye principle with financial effective control decision Complete documentation, particularly in the assignment and procurement area.

          Most corruption accusation take place under poverty suffer on international level in state (south America, Africa). One of these states formed a proper vicious circle from poverty and corruption, which from own Kraft of the states hardly more is to be broken through and it makes susceptible thereby for outside political influencing control. When the fact appear particularly paradoxical that a certain “corruption impact is already presupposed” in investment funds (usually 10% of the sum total).

Financed in development assistance project usually from tax funds to be the same country the corruption again. Hence, it most often in interest of foreign ruling powers or companies to promote the corruption in a country to induce if not straight, in order to enrich itself.

The beginning of transparency international is not confrontative but consenstative contrary to Amnesty international of Green peace, D. H. the government or to stand comparing head as supporters and aids on an equal footing in things corruption to the side and meet them with reason and understanding. A beginning that always does not become and pretty often in the cross fire of the criticism was gladly seen stands. Straight of others non-governmental organisation (NGO), like Attac or Green peace, those their popularity from the power of the mass and the road refer. Peter Eigen justifies this proceeding with his origin.

Someone like the director of the world Bank within the range East Africa nearly 25 years “more over the top” in the political, social and economic High Society operated, could demonstrate badly also over 60 years again with a protest poster before company building.

It had to continue, where it had stopped. Above in the executive floor, in addition, this explains the success of transparency international. Before scarcely 15 years in particularly citizen of Berlin Manson as bare vision based, applies for transparency international today as one of most successfully anti-corruption movement of the world, which operate in the meantime offices in over 90 states locally established national and chapters information. The work beginning of Transparency International is to work “from above” itself thus with the powerful ones made of government to set economics and society to a table and to convince it from the sinnhaftigkeit  the non-corruption to. At the soundest one thing is that corruption is simply expensive the argument convenience so far most frequently to co-operate in the context of the transparency international consultation with the responsible anti-corruption expert2.

ORGANISATION AND ROLE

Transparency International (TI) as a group of some 100 national chapters, with an international secretariat in Berlin, Germany originally  founded in Germany in May 1993 as a not for profit organisation TI is now an international non-governmental organisation (NGO’s) and claims to be moving towards a completely democratic structure TI say  of itself.

Transparency international is a global network, civil organisation leading the fight against corruption it brings people together in a powerful worldwide coalition to end the devastating impact of corruption on men, women and children around the world. TI’s mission is to “create change toward a world free of corruption”.

Transparency international as a global network fighting corruption in national arena in number of ways. They bring together relevant player from government civil society, business and the media to promote transparency in elections, in public administration in procurement and in business. TI global network of chapters and contact also use advocacy campaign to lobby governments to implement anti-corruption reforms.

Politically non-partisan, TI does not undertake investigation of alleged  corruption  or  expose  individual  cases,  but  as time were work in coalition  with  organizations that do. It  develop tools in fighting corruption and work with other civil society organizations, companies and government to implement them. TI is a non-partisan and to build coalition against corruption. Transparency international has the skills tools, expertise and broad participation to fight corruption on the ground as well as though global and regional initiative.

MAIN FUNCTIONS AND GOALS

1.       it help design and implement system for financial and administrative oversight of grants and project of the Americas Department (one country and multi-country) and provides administrative and logistical support to two senior programmed  co-ordinators;

2.       being the lead co-ordinator, including financial and administrative management and monitoring of activities and result of the grants provided to TI nations in the Americas through the TI Anti-corruption. Delivery change (AD:DC) global programmes; and

3.       Provide lead logistical supervision and co-ordination of key regional meetings.

The works of Transparency International is around and demand in population; enterprises and politics. In order to arrange for example the annual corruption index of the countries questionnaires provided with questions how; Which sector are according to their opinion affected particularly by corruption? (with a valuation of 1 (corrupt free) to 5 (particularly corrupt) as strongly their life is affected by corruption? (with valuation scale 1 (not at all) totally).

Credit it or a member of their household in the last 12 months in any form bribe paid? (Answer Yes or No). On the basis of these data monthly to be different topic diagrams for the different nations. In transparency international quarterly news type character (TIQ    ) are the intermediate result as well as other messages to seen order than booklet from TI to refer free of charge event and results approximately around the world to the homepage.

In the Annual report (annual report) the analyses and research result are combined into the previous year. Additionally single results are published about special (bribe payers survey corruption special brochure) separately.

FINANCING AND ORGANISATION

The foreign officers are subject to bilateral and multilateral financing and organisation. The parent company transparency international attaches importance to the fact that the daughter offices as selfly-sufficient as possible in its respective homeland or operational areas to become active to be able to sense from country to country and from culture to culture other rules must be considered and be supposed. Also, the definition of corruption is individually made in each country.

Transparency international sub-divide it national offices (national chapters) in groups as regional and working groups which can act drop referred also independently. TI avoids it to interfere directly into the interest of the national chapters and depends on their international work exclusive of their structural so the local civilian – social forces are to be mobilize and promoted.

Transparency and success

The principal purpose is the idealistic vision of total and world wide eliminating of corruption. On the way to this vision TI could already obtain some success and partial success.

International (except)

Change of consciousness with worldwide organisation such as the world bank to prevent completely particularly advanced by their new president.

Wolfson worldwide convention against corruption at the United Nation’s (presented 2003 in Mexico)

OEDC convention against the bribery of foreign sovereignty carrier of 1997, in which 34 hands  oneself export countries obligate, the bribery abroad by their export.

Convention of the laws to national right can be accussed in Germany for a bribery abroad taken place and condemned also valuably.

National (except)

Development of evaluation of the OECD convention in German right and demand of the development and application of anti-corruption laws. Thus TI Germany submitted a detail statement June 2003 for the phase II of monitoring process and fighting corruption conditions.

Influencing control on the formulation of the tax adjustment law TI pursues the goal that the practice of fiscal authorities follow clear the will of legislator and de-facto-removability of bribe payment is not waited at home and aboard.

Since the beginning of year 1999 opposite TI and TI-Germany the OECD, the European Union and the federal Government was active, in order to reach the export credit and institutions for export insurance of the OECD member states (the ECAS) may not have cover export traders, if they care by bribe payments or corruption for a long time is tried to obtain by clear regulations for the public export credit promotion an internationally effective basis3.

Transparency international’s biggest success has been to put the topic of corruption on the world’s agenda international institution such as the world Bank and the international monetary fund (IMF) now view corruption as one of the main obstacle for development, whereas prior to the 1990’s this topic was broadly discussed. TI furthermore, played a vital role in the introduction of the United Nation convention against corruption and the OECD Anti-Bribery convention4 .

CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX (CPI)

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) besides the world Bank corruption index is the most commonly used measured for corruption in countries worldwide. To form this index, Transparency international complies survey’s that ask businessman and analysists book in and outside the countries their analyzing, their perceptions of how a country is. Relying on he numbers of actual corruption cases would not work since law and enforcement of law differ significantly from country to country.

HISTORY OF CORRUPTION

The history of corruption is as old as the world because ancient civilization have traces of widespread illegality and corruption thus, lipset and Lenz5 (2000) not that” corruption has been ubiquitous in complex societies from ancient Egypt, Israel and Greece down to the present”. Corruption is also believed to be in any continent, region, and ethnic group. It cut across faith religious denominations and all system and affects both young and old, man and woman alike. Corruption is found in democracy and dictatorial politics feudal, capitalist and socialist economics, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist culture are equally bedeviled by corruption. This does not, however mean that the incidence and magnitude of corrupt activities are the same in every society. Some countries are more corrupt than others. “As George Orwell notes in his read book, Animals farm. All animals are equals, but some animals are more equal than others6.

Though, (corruption) seen as global phenomenon but it is more devastating to the developing economic and to the so-call “Third world”.

 However, corruption is pandemic in Nigeria and in many other African and Asian Countries, their leaders as well as the followers are corrupt. The problem of corruption is traceable to the debauchery of colonial rule (Ekeh 1975, 1985 Osaghare 1988) 7

Among the theories of Africa politics that has help to understand the predicament and more importantly the issue of endemic corruption, include theory of two publics developed by Peter Eke. Prebandalism popularized by Richard Joseph and Gurnal Myrdals soft state thesis. Others have captured Africa as a rentier, patrimonial and neopatrimonial state. These theories are important not only to understand the predicament in Africa countries but also providing explanation for the pandemic corruption ravaging Africa countries.

Ekeh (1975, 1985), argued that one most striking impacts of colonialism was the emergence of two public realm. The primordial and civil public realism which related differently with the private realm in terms of morality. For Nigeria, Eke (1975) argued: only right i.e. benefits

are expected from the state by its citizens who own duties or responsibilities to a native sector. The former forms the basis of an amoral civil public realm and the later a public was concerned with illegitimate and exploitative colonial rule and had no moral linkages with the private realms. It was an amoral public realm in which cheating the system was considered a patriotic duty (Ifidon 1996; 162).

Let consider the word corruption and what do we mean by corruption?

Peter (1978) identified three dimensional approaches to the definition. These are definitions based on legal criteria, public opinion and public interest. From the legal perspective, political corruption is connected to any behaviour that violates some formal standard or rule of behaviour set down by a political system for its public officials. For example 8Nye (1967:419) conceives political to mean an act which “deviates” from the formal duties of public role because of private regarding (personal, close family, clique)  pecuniary  or  status  gains; or violates rule  against  the  exercise of  certain  types  of  private  role-

regarding influence”. This definition includes behaviour such as bribery (use to prevent the judgment of a person into a position of trust)’ nepotism (bestowal of purpose reason of inscriptive relationship rather than merit and the misappropriation (illegal appropriation of public resources for private uses. ( Banfield 1961).

Another classic perception of corruption is that of Rogow and Laswell (1963: 132-133) for them corruption is taken to be a violation of the public interest. The definition is also lacken to ambiquitous because public interest like public opinion is difficult to determine.

          Brinkerhoff (2000:241) see “corruption as subsuming wide variety of illegal, illicit, irregular and/or unprincipled activities and behaviours”. From this perspective, corruption then is importantly a moral, political and legal issue.

In this context, corruption is a multi-conceptual that has legal, social, political, economic and ethnical connotations. It comes in various forms, it simply conceived in this as misuse, or improper use of power and influence, deliberately and consciously for personal aggrandizement

or group advantage. In this sense, corruption connotes the abuse of public role or resources or the use of illegitimate forms of political power and influence by public or private practice. Conceived in this manner, corruption is inextricably tied (but not limitedly) to politics, more especially i.e. politics defined from Harold Lasswell tradition of “who get what when and how” and perhaps how much. The struggle over resources otherwise known as” National cake: in the Nigeria society has taken a debilitating approach permitting all forms of corruptions. The idea that the “national cake” is meant to be shared rather than baked, by the various ethnic group that constitute Nigeria Federation provides a fertile group for the kleptomaniac elites to siphon the public fund9.

          Corruption has been a major cause of injustice in society, where greedy and selfish people pervert the norms of society, that guider its well-being. Recent world attention on corruption is due to evidence abounding that corruption damaged the fabric of society in many ways. It makes governments and communities uneconomic, unstable and unsafe. Most crisis in Africa is caused as a result of corruption, Nigeria in Particular is embedded by corruption. Bribery which is the most popular form of corruption has rendered government uneconomic and ungovernable. Bribery encourages unfair advantages and renders competition, a features of democratic struggle invalid. By receiving bribes. People in authority abuse trust. In some countries in Africa, bribery is so rampant that it has gain social acceptance as a way of doing business. In other countries like Nigeria bribery has become endemic and a (necessary) way of life, for public officials as a way of earning additional incomes. This has led to extortion of bribes from the public and people need to pay these extortion bribes to pursue business or personal well-being10.

By far the most destructive form of corruption in Africa is perpetrated by the rich who seek excessive riches and adopt extravagant lifestyle to the extent that it significantly affects the well-being of society.  It  is  this  type of  corruption  that African leaders have  been  identified  with  and  which has worsened their human crisis

situation;. By making the leaders self-centered, greedy and insensitive to the needs of their people, who daily grapple with poverty, disease, violent, starvation, war and death.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, transparency international that was founded in Berlin in 1993, has been able to tackle corruption through its various network in the national and international arena, it has been able to bring people together in a powerful worldwide coalition to end the devastating impact of corruption on man, women children around the world free pf corruption.

Corruption breeds poverty, sickness low life and unequal distribution of income and wealth. This face produced by corruption wish was formerly the face of the third world and much more the portrait of Africa can now be seen all over the world. Corruption is therefore a global phenomenon, yet the poor are mostly victims as their poverty is created by the greed of others. Corruption and poverty go hand-in-hand.

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